Question / Help Games run half-speed when OBS is running

[Pine]

So I have no idea how to explain this better, but when I have OBS running in background some games seem to run at half speed/drop frames/whatever. I am not even streaming or recording, just having OBS open affects this. And these are pretty old games, so performance should not be an issue (Fallout, System Shock 2, Hotline Miami)

16:09:31: OBS 0.10.1 (mac)
16:09:31: CPU Name: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     P7550  @ 2.26GHz
16:09:31: CPU Speed: 2260MHz
16:09:31: Physical Cores: 2, Logical Cores: 2
16:09:31: Physical Memory: 4096MB Total
16:09:31: OS Name: Mac OS X (NSMACHOperatingSystem)
16:09:31: OS Version: Version 10.10.3 (Build 14D136)
16:09:31: Kernel Version: 14.3.0
16:09:31: hotkeys-cocoa: Using layout 'com.apple.keylayout.Estonian'
16:09:31: audio settings reset:
    samples per sec: 44100
    speakers:        2
    buffering (ms):  1000

16:09:33: video settings reset:
    base resolution:   1280x800
    output resolution: 852x532
    fps:               30/1
    format:            NV12
16:09:33: No blackmagic support
16:09:33: Failed to start search for DeckLink devices
16:09:39: output 'adv_stream' (rtmp_output) created
16:09:39: output 'adv_file_output' (flv_output) created
16:09:39: encoder 'streaming_h264' (obs_x264) created
16:09:39: encoder 'adv_aac0' (ffmpeg_aac) created
16:09:39: encoder 'adv_aac1' (ffmpeg_aac) created
16:09:39: encoder 'adv_aac2' (ffmpeg_aac) created
16:09:39: encoder 'adv_aac3' (ffmpeg_aac) created
16:09:39: service 'default_service' (rtmp_common) created
16:09:39: coreaudio: device 'WavTap' initialized
16:09:39: source 'Desktop Audio' (coreaudio_output_capture) created
16:09:40: coreaudio: device 'Built-in Input' initialized
16:09:40: source 'Mic/Aux' (coreaudio_input_capture) created
16:09:40: source 'Scene' (scene) created
16:09:40: source 'Display Capture' (display_capture) created
16:09:51: Display Capture: Dropped 3 frames
16:09:52: Display Capture: Dropped 1 frames
16:09:59: Display Capture: Dropped 1 frames
16:11:58: Display Capture: Dropped 3 frames
16:12:00: Display Capture: Dropped 1 frames
16:13:01: Display Capture: Dropped 1 frames

 

[dodgepong]

Well, your computer is pretty slow, too. Encoding is pretty resource-intensive, so this isn't that surprising to me.

 

[Pine]

Is is that intensive? Like I streamed Evoland and it seemed pretty ok, I guess without OBS it was smoother. But the original Fallout doesn't seem like a very resource heavy game. And in that game even the cursor is really slow in the main menu. Really weird.

 

[Light And Magic]

I still have this exact same issue on my mid 2010 Mac Pro. I upgraded to Yosemite for various reasons last night and still for example in EVE Online my frame rate dropped from 82 to 43 after just starting OBS (not streaming).

 

[Lain]

Probably depends on your video adapter as well. If your system doesn't have a dedicated graphics adapter (i.e., it's using the intel integrated chip), then it may take a much more noticeable hit.

 

[Light And Magic]

I use ATI Radeon HD5770 which is old but was good enough until I started using OBS. I am now trying to find a decent replacement that won't break the bank and I will report back what it does for me. In the meantime, I wish I could use my 6 Intel Xeons to do the rendering in OBS...

 

[fenque]

I have the same problem, fps in the game drops to from 60 to 30-20 just from the fact that running obs with syphon inject

//gtx650

 

[Lain]

Good enough for maybe playing those games (those are very old games and aren't very demanding).

Because OBS is a live capturing/encoding program, it also requires both CPU and GPU while the game is active, so if you're running on a 2-core with a relatively weak GPU like a 5770 , you're going to definitely run in to some performance issues. Your 2-core CPU is also on the lower speed spectrum of 2-cores as well.

In my humble opinion I feel like if you want to do serious live recording or streaming then you really do need to get some better equipment for it. Ideally 4-core CPU at least, and a more up-to-date GPU.

 

[Light And Magic]

I replaced my Radeon 5770 with a somewhat stronger card, the EVGA GTX 680 4 GB Classified. It pushes my frames per second in quiet EVE Online areas close to 200 but it drops way below 100 when OBS starts up. And during normal gameplay it is dangerously close to 30-35 frames per second when I get an easy 70-80 without OBS running.

I'd say that is the most heavy resource hog I have ever seen on my 6-core Mac Pro.

 

[Lain]

What capture method? Could you include a log file?

 

[Light And Magic]

I use Game Capture at the core of every scene I create in OBS. EVE Online gets Syphon injected and then it works. I do this for other games I stream too. I am really grateful for your hard work, Jim, but wish my Mac Pro could handle it faster.

 

[Lain]

Sorry for the delayed response - I'd be interested in seeing a log from the latest version if you have time.