Hello,
I'll try not to be too long-winded.
I've used OBS many years ago without much issue, so I have some light experience.
In the past I've used AMD ReLive to stream without any issues or performance impacts.
I just tried Nvidia GeForce experience and it worked fantastically without any issues or performance impacts.
My current setup is:
Windows 10 (very latest version, Creators update)
i7-3770k OC'd @ 4.5ghz
Nvidia GTX 1080 (the very latest drivers)
8GB DDR3 1600mhz
This time around I followed the https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/full-video-guide-for-obs-studio-and-twitch.377/ guide. The standard settings seemed to be fairly inline with what I've used it the past.
The Problem:
Performance impact has been so drastic it is making games unplayable while using OBS.
I've been using uLLeticals CS:GO FPS Benchmark map to do some testing.
Without OBS, my AVG FPS results were ~350 consistently in the benchmark. With OBS it was averaging under 100 in the benchmark.
I quickly found that performance was so bad with various settings that it was becoming pointless to run the entire benchmark run repeatedly. So what I did was I would just load into the pre-benchmark room in the CS:GO benchmark map, which is a smallish square lobby, and just eyeball my FPS counter naturally (there would be a button you can tap on the wall to begin the benchmark).
Without OBS : Solid ~700-800fps (buttery smooth).
With OBS : Solid ~80fps (stuttery mess, unplayable).
Here is where it gets odd.
I tried x264, NVEC, and QuickSync.
I tried ultrafast settings. I tried faster settings.
I tried 1080 downscaled to 720. I tried sub-720p downscale.
I tried 20fps, I tried 60 fps. I tried 1000bitrate, I tried 3000 bitrate.
I tried the most minimal settings I could conjure up, and I tried some more moderate settings.
I monitored CPU temps, never exceeded 60c (Noctua NHD15), and CPU load was never maxing out at 100%.
It quickly became apparent to me that it didn't matter which settings I was using, I consistently arrived at the same floor of performance impact.
This is the weirdest part.
~800 FPS with no OBS........ ~80 FPS with OBS on...... I then exited out of the OBS Studio program expecting my FPS to return to ~800 fps. It did not, it could only achieve ~400 fps. I would actually have to relaunch the game program to return to peak performance of ~800 fps. I double tested and reproduced this phenomena in an online deathmatch server. The game client must be reset after using OBS to return to normal performance levels (this is why I tagged this as a bug report I guess).
The fact that the game could not return to normal performance levels after exiting OBS Studio leads me to believe there is a real issue here that might lie outside of my system or my settings.
Frustrated, I fired up Nvidia Geforce Experience for the first time ever, turned the settings to max quality with 3 Mbps, and loaded into the benchmark room with my typical ~700-800 fps. If this works so well, why didn't NVEC in OBS Studio work?
Conclusion.
I'm not really asking for help, I'm just putting my experience out there in case it might be relevant to somebody. I'll attach a few log files for the heck of it. I've toggled my settings so much I'm not exactly sure which settings these logs are from. Also if this post gains traction or someone is interested, I can re-apply some settings and grab some screenshots of the CS:GO FPS counter in that pre-benchmark lobby to verify my claims/experiences.
I'll try not to be too long-winded.
I've used OBS many years ago without much issue, so I have some light experience.
In the past I've used AMD ReLive to stream without any issues or performance impacts.
I just tried Nvidia GeForce experience and it worked fantastically without any issues or performance impacts.
My current setup is:
Windows 10 (very latest version, Creators update)
i7-3770k OC'd @ 4.5ghz
Nvidia GTX 1080 (the very latest drivers)
8GB DDR3 1600mhz
This time around I followed the https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/full-video-guide-for-obs-studio-and-twitch.377/ guide. The standard settings seemed to be fairly inline with what I've used it the past.
The Problem:
Performance impact has been so drastic it is making games unplayable while using OBS.
I've been using uLLeticals CS:GO FPS Benchmark map to do some testing.
Without OBS, my AVG FPS results were ~350 consistently in the benchmark. With OBS it was averaging under 100 in the benchmark.
I quickly found that performance was so bad with various settings that it was becoming pointless to run the entire benchmark run repeatedly. So what I did was I would just load into the pre-benchmark room in the CS:GO benchmark map, which is a smallish square lobby, and just eyeball my FPS counter naturally (there would be a button you can tap on the wall to begin the benchmark).
Without OBS : Solid ~700-800fps (buttery smooth).
With OBS : Solid ~80fps (stuttery mess, unplayable).
Here is where it gets odd.
I tried x264, NVEC, and QuickSync.
I tried ultrafast settings. I tried faster settings.
I tried 1080 downscaled to 720. I tried sub-720p downscale.
I tried 20fps, I tried 60 fps. I tried 1000bitrate, I tried 3000 bitrate.
I tried the most minimal settings I could conjure up, and I tried some more moderate settings.
I monitored CPU temps, never exceeded 60c (Noctua NHD15), and CPU load was never maxing out at 100%.
It quickly became apparent to me that it didn't matter which settings I was using, I consistently arrived at the same floor of performance impact.
This is the weirdest part.
~800 FPS with no OBS........ ~80 FPS with OBS on...... I then exited out of the OBS Studio program expecting my FPS to return to ~800 fps. It did not, it could only achieve ~400 fps. I would actually have to relaunch the game program to return to peak performance of ~800 fps. I double tested and reproduced this phenomena in an online deathmatch server. The game client must be reset after using OBS to return to normal performance levels (this is why I tagged this as a bug report I guess).
The fact that the game could not return to normal performance levels after exiting OBS Studio leads me to believe there is a real issue here that might lie outside of my system or my settings.
Frustrated, I fired up Nvidia Geforce Experience for the first time ever, turned the settings to max quality with 3 Mbps, and loaded into the benchmark room with my typical ~700-800 fps. If this works so well, why didn't NVEC in OBS Studio work?
Conclusion.
I'm not really asking for help, I'm just putting my experience out there in case it might be relevant to somebody. I'll attach a few log files for the heck of it. I've toggled my settings so much I'm not exactly sure which settings these logs are from. Also if this post gains traction or someone is interested, I can re-apply some settings and grab some screenshots of the CS:GO FPS counter in that pre-benchmark lobby to verify my claims/experiences.