Question / Help FPS drops/Loss of smoothness

H

HeartBreaker_TV

Member
CSGO (haven't tried other games) is runnin' quite poorly. Stuttering quite a bit when streaming, fps drops, feels rough/not smooth.

I typically used AMF as I used to have that same rough/not smooth feeling when using x264 and nobody could find a solution..then I started using AMF and things were good. I'm not sure if it's the latest update of that..the latest update of OBS or what.

I have updated my GPU drivers, OBS, AMF. I am running the latest version of windows with the gaming stuff but I've set it to off and I've used the provided fix for the fps drops in the stickied thread.

My specs:

i7 4790k @ 4.0
R9 390X
Gigabyte z97x Gaming 5
8GB DDR3
650W PSU
Dual monitor setup (144hz / 144hz)
128GB SSD
500GB HDD

I tried capping FPS at both 200 and 150 (if I'm not streaming I can reach 500 fps.

Alright..so I used x264 (has never been good for me), quicksync, and AMF to have them all for comparison.

AMF: https://gist.github.com/0ce4693a49fd8d9df4765f1631fb5e3b

x264(I think) https://gist.github.com/1d7897a96d35e0535a3ad941ec16bed1

quicksync (I think) https://gist.github.com/435656d3a084b064939abbc7460bd3d4
 
H

HeartBreaker_TV

Member
I'd ask helpers to consider there's a larger issue here than "cap frames to give GPU more headroom."

LOTS of these threads popping up recently (my own included). All of our GPU's didn't suddenly get worse and start requiring capped fps (which does not solve the issue btw).
 
Fenrir

Fenrir

Forum Admin
Please understand that while you may be experiencing the issue with OBS, and it's easy to try and point the finger there, it's rarely OBS is the actual cause when it comes to performance issues.

Drivers update. Operating systems update. Programs get installed and uninstalled that even though they may seem unrelated can have a real impact on the performance of a PC.

Video encoding in general is a very resource intensive task, so any minor changes to PC performance will be very noticeable.

Going off the logs you provided, in order:

Log 1 (x264 first, then AMF):
Code: 
19:11:42.734: Output 'adv_stream': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 85 (1.2%)
...
19:25:20.167: Output 'adv_stream': Number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 2 (0.0%)
19:25:20.167: Output 'adv_stream': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 104 (0.4%)

Log 2 (x264):
Code: 
18:40:34.126: Output 'adv_stream': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 251 (1.5%)
...
19:07:38.834: Output 'adv_stream': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 122 (0.3%)
...
19:11:42.734: Output 'adv_stream': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 85 (1.2%)

Log 3 (x264 again):
Code: 
18:40:34.126: Output 'adv_stream': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 251 (1.5%)

All of this points to your GPU not being able to keep up with both the game and the compositing that OBS requires to function. The Windows 10 CU (which you're on) added a lot of garbage for Game Mode and Fullscreen Optimization that has been causing tons of performance issues for everyone. This is not something that OBS has any control over, or can do anything about. The game capture issue IS something we can fix, though it was not our fault that it broke.

Have you tried a tool like GPUz and monitored GPU load while the game was running, but not OBS?
 
H

HeartBreaker_TV

Member
Fenrir said:
Please understand that while you may be experiencing the issue with OBS, and it's easy to try and point the finger there, it's rarely OBS is the actual cause when it comes to performance issues.

Drivers update. Operating systems update. Programs get installed and uninstalled that even though they may seem unrelated can have a real impact on the performance of a PC.

Video encoding in general is a very resource intensive task, so any minor changes to PC performance will be very noticeable.

Going off the logs you provided, in order:

Log 1 (x264 first, then AMF):
Code: 
19:11:42.734: Output 'adv_stream': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 85 (1.2%)
...
19:25:20.167: Output 'adv_stream': Number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 2 (0.0%)
19:25:20.167: Output 'adv_stream': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 104 (0.4%)

Log 2 (x264):
Code: 
18:40:34.126: Output 'adv_stream': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 251 (1.5%)
...
19:07:38.834: Output 'adv_stream': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 122 (0.3%)
...
19:11:42.734: Output 'adv_stream': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 85 (1.2%)

Log 3 (x264 again):
Code: 
18:40:34.126: Output 'adv_stream': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 251 (1.5%)

All of this points to your GPU not being able to keep up with both the game and the compositing that OBS requires to function. The Windows 10 CU (which you're on) added a lot of garbage for Game Mode and Fullscreen Optimization that has been causing tons of performance issues for everyone. This is not something that OBS has any control over, or can do anything about. The game capture issue IS something we can fix, though it was not our fault that it broke.

Have you tried a tool like GPUz and monitored GPU load while the game was running, but not OBS?
Click to expand...

Understood. My main point with that was just saying that being told "cap your fps" every time is simplifying it or giving a non-working answer.

I will use DDU and remove all drivers and then go back a few as there have been several updates I downloaded via the AMD Radeon settings tool.

I also started suffering from that prior to force upgrading to CU (remember I was the guy who had a windows 10 from November 2015 somehow). Although I do think it got worse with the update. I've turned off game mode, DVR, Game Bars, and went to csgo.exe and turned off full-screen optimization as well.

I verified my game cache on CSGO and it helped me game run (while not streaming). I went into a server after and got between 400-600fps last night. Re-did the verification and then just went to stream again and bam...real bad FPS drops/stuttering gameplay.

New log: https://gist.github.com/c051bf88a4552a2c883591aad5c1ddf0

Will check back after DDU.
 
Fenrir

Fenrir

Forum Admin
The reason we say "cap your FPS" is because in 99% of cases, it fixes the problem. I understand it might seem like many users have the same issue that you do, but just because the results are similar, does not mean the cause is the same. We get this issue, A LOT. Almost every time it's someone running a game with uncapped FPS because "xXProGamerXx's BEST CS:GO PERFORMANCE MAKES YOU BETTER PLAYER A+ I PROMISE" video told them too. It gets old, and that's why our first response is to always try that first.

That said, I want you to understand that I think there is something very unique going on in your case.

Have you tried in a clean scene collection (full collection, from the menu at the top of OBS, not just a new scene) with only a single game capture source in it to test? I see that you have quite a bit of sources that could potentially be causing an increase in GPU usage.
 
H

HeartBreaker_TV

Member
Fenrir said:
The reason we say "cap your FPS" is because in 99% of cases, it fixes the problem. I understand it might seem like many users have the same issue that you do, but just because the results are similar, does not mean the cause is the same. We get this issue, A LOT. Almost every time it's someone running a game with uncapped FPS because "xXProGamerXx's BEST CS:GO PERFORMANCE MAKES YOU BETTER PLAYER A+ I PROMISE" video told them too. It gets old, and that's why our first response is to always try that first.

That said, I want you to understand that I think there is something very unique going on in your case.

Have you tried in a clean scene collection (full collection, from the menu at the top of OBS, not just a new scene) with only a single game capture source in it to test? I see that you have quite a bit of sources that could potentially be causing an increase in GPU usage.
Click to expand...

No, I totally get that.

I did a just game capture scene, however, I did not do it from the menu at the top of OBS. I did the just new scene.

When click Scene Collection > New Scene - OBS stops responded and I have to force close it.
 
H

HeartBreaker_TV

Member
When I rebooted with DDU installer and did minimal installer from the AMD Driver download (website) OBS opened with the new scene collection so I got to test it. Was smooth.

Log: https://gist.github.com/65f2d3610b031f4e7fc539ebc11bb10e

Still have:

15:47:17.328: Output 'adv_stream': Number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 1 (0.0%)
15:47:17.328: Output 'adv_stream': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 104 (0.5%)

But it felt a lot better.
 
Fenrir

Fenrir

Forum Admin
Well that's definitely not a good sign (edit: the crashing on scene collection change, that is). Try this instead:

Close OBS

winkey+r -> enter %appdata% -> enter

Find the obs-studio folder, name it obs-studio-backup (so you can go back later) and then launch OBS. Should essentially be a "reset" and you can add just the game capture source to test.

When you're done, you can close OBS and delete the new obs-studio folder that will be created and rename the -backup one. Or keep the new scenes and recreate your setup, if the performance is much better with the new scene collection.
 
H

HeartBreaker_TV

Member
This is a log file from a "reset" version of OBS studio with Game Capture, Streamlabs event list, Streamlabs Alerts, and my webcam at 720p.

Log file: https://gist.github.com/db9304fc875ede35d2b7c380ee1a938c

It was delightful. 400 fps.

Twitch clip: https://clips.twitch.tv/SourShinyPancakeBudStar

Quality could probably improve a little.

The real test will be whether the performance stays the same while also running the ESEA client. A CSGO anti-cheat client with a matchmaking system/league, etc.
 
Fenrir

Fenrir

Forum Admin
I'm at my limit on things I know to try here. If the ESEA client is causing issues, but it's working fine without, I know nothing about it or how it works to offer any further advice.
 
H

HeartBreaker_TV

Member
I rolled back to the last AMF driver before 2.0.0 and things have been pretty smooth thus far. It may be somewhat related to temps/computers time on..although I turn it off at night as I think it got a little more choppy after a couple games. Will need to try it again to make sure. Appreciate all the help you've given thus far, Fenrir.
 
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