Question / Help GPU usage drops while internet/ethernet (network) spikes (FIX FOUND)

[PureW0lf]

FIX FOUND... Look @ post # 9 below for the issue.

Hi, ive been using OBS for about 9 - 12 months for live streaming & recording without any issues. Within the past week Ive noticed i was getting a notice about "encoding overloaded" & the video freezing for a second or two. So after a lengthy search Ive tried numerous attempts to fix the issue (malware removal, reductions in setting, driver updates, etc). Ive noticed that while lowering output screen resolution & fps removes the notice at the bottom left side of the screen, but the video will still freeze for a second or two around every minute. This happens weather or not im recording.

Ive also noticed dips & spikes in the Performance tab of the Task Manager. Only while im connected to the internet either by wifi or ethernet. when the GPU usage drops for a second or two i see a spike in traffic on the internet side (seen on 2 different computers on 2 different networks, same GPU). If i disconnect from the internet, I no longer have this issue.

Im getting the same issue weather im using OBS v22.0.2, 22.0.1, 21.1.2.

Im using the NVENC H.264 encoder (streaming & recording) because i have a Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 4GB, driver version 399.34 (up2date).

Windows 10 (1803 up2date)
i7-2600 CPU (air cooled Cryorig H5)
ASUS P8Z68-V LE Mobo (Bios 4102 up2date)
16GB (4X4) of Corsair DDR3 1600MHZ
250 Samsung SSD
3TB Hitachi HDD
Seasonic 550w PSU 80+ Gold

Any help would be great.

 

[Elixerin]

When you use NVENC (your gpu) to encode and decode video like streaming and recording it uses a lot of power, in which case i recommend using x264 in either streaming or recording with vice versa of the opposite to relieve some load.

 

[PureW0lf]

@Elixerin Ive tried that & I get the same issue. Im just wondering what the connection is to the internet spike (ethernet or wifi) and the GPU usage droping for a second or two at the same time. It doesn't do it when i disconnect from an internet connection.

Here is an example of what they are doing.

 

[Elixerin]

@Elixerin Ive tried that & I get the same issue. Im just wondering what the connection is to the internet spike (ethernet or wifi) and the GPU usage droping for a second or two at the same time. It doesn't do it when i disconnect from an internet connection.

encoding overloaded and internet spikes/dropped frames are two completely different issues and i doubt they are correlating each other right now, if you think its the internet (as you mentioned the spikes with Ethernet or WiFi) then i would go that route in matters of a resolution. However, i think a sudden spike in net wont really cause a drop in GPU usage but in any case if it goes back to normal after the spike isn't it okay? i believe the real problem right now is the encoding being overloaded so in essence to record anything you dont need the net so the net spikes become irrelevant. gpu usage moving around while your internet is hovering above and below shouldnt really matter, repeated tests of disconnection and re-connection during computational-heavy tasks(like recording or streaming) kinda like swapping to wifi or disconnecting like you said might be the root of the "issue" however i would solve the encoding process first as an encoder overload wont bring back any promising visual results, even with the best net and gpu. hope it helps.

 

[PureW0lf]

@Elixerin I understand what your saying. The only issue is that when I disconnect from the net my encoding issue goes away. Also that pic from above is from OBS being open, running a 10 slide slideshow, & not streaming or recording. & GPU it still is dropping usage to 1% while im connected to the net, but all good when i disconnect. In addition if i test my GPU with MSI Afterburner & Kombustor 3 Im not having any issues (ie low to high over clocks).

Riddle me that one Batman...

Thanks for the help.

 

[PureW0lf]

@Elixerin I just wanted to say, I'm big enough to admit when I'm wrong, & I am ***wrong***. After testing more settings, still nothing being any different, I decided to start a new profile & new scene collection. Even though the network spikes are the same, the GPU usage drops have stopped. If I return to the previous scene collection the issue returns. So that leaded me to believe the issue is in the scene collection some how. I say this because the program settings are still the same...

Once again, Riddle me that one Batman...

I hope this helps some else that maybe having "encoding overloaded" issues.

 

[carlmmii]

There's no recording or streaming attempt in those logs, but something that jumps out at me is the insane amount of broken connections to network files. I would ensure you keep everything you're using as a media source on your actual computer.

That also might explain the correlation between network usage and gpu dips. OBS doesn't have the necessary file, so it can't complete the render... in the mean time, it's waiting for the network activity to complete so it can get the data and continue the rendering process.

 

[PureW0lf]

@carlmmii That sounds very plausible, Thanks...

 

[PureW0lf]

Fix Found...

@Elixerin & @carlmmii

I want to thank both of you & let you know I have found the problem.

Ive found that the issue was network related. The reason why i was having network spikes that caused GPU usage drops was some of my Sources (ie pictures) were trying to pull them off of a server i am currently not connected to. Once I removed or changed the picture Sources from the former network to the local PC, the GPU drops stopped.

So in conclusion, it was the fact that OBS was trying to pull a Source from a disconnected network. This is what was causing the GPU usage to drop. Because it could not render the disconnected network Sources.

 

[carlmmii]

So.... nailed it! Glad you got it fixed. :)