Question / Help High CPU spikes and Low Fps Fluctuation

Kingdilph

New Member
So I looked at both posts that were stickied on the forum and couldn't figure out my issues. Recently I've been having intermittent fps drops and 15%+ CPU usage when running OBS. The odd thing is if i restart my computer I go back to relative normal numbers I'm not sure whats triggering these spikes. https://gist.github.com/anonymous/cc53b018dd144852186eab495a4b8c69

My Pc needs to be upgraded could it be my CPU/GPU dying? I had another issue a few months ago and had to change my old GTX 770 because of kernal driver errors but haven't had anything like that since. Also i notice a significant drop in fps while having OBS open with a game something like 20-30 frames in Rocket League going from 130 fps to something like 70-80 ish or lower. Thanks
 

Bull3t

New Member
Hi Kingdilph, I have the same issue. I can stream Paladins and for over two hours I get no huge FPS degradation.
OBS says it is using around 3-6% percent of my CPU with Paladins. This has now happened to me once on Paladins.

However when I play Warframe my FPS will degrade to a point where I'm getting around 30 FPS. After like an hour OBS says it is using 15% percent of my CPU.

When I stop streaming my FPS is still really low. I even close out of OBS and my FPS doesn't improve. I have to reboot my PC for it go back to normal. The odd thing is my over CPU is not getting 100% used, by the game and streaming at the same time. Also my 60 FPS stream will tank to mid 30 FPS. What is causing this issue?

Custom Built PC:
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K @ Stock
RAM: Avexir Blitz 1.1 Gaming Dragon 16GB DDR3 1600Mhz (XMP)
SSD: Samsung 850 Pro Series 512GB (OS)
SSHD: Seagate ST4000DX001
Mobo: ASUS Maximus VII Hero
OS: Windows 10 Home 64-Bit Version 1703 (15063.674)
GPU: ASUS ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1080 Ti OC 11GB (NVIDIA 387.92 WHQL)
PSU: Corsair AX860 Platinum
Monitor: ASUS ROG Swift PG278Q (144 Hz + Gsync)
Headset: HyperX Cloud Revolver S
Keyboard: Logitech G19s
Mouse: Razer Naga

Important Information:
OBS 64 bit version 20.0.1
Play at 1440p at 144 FPS/Hz
Stream at 720p at 60 FPS/Hz
Internet Speed: 100 Down and 40 Up
Stream Bitrate: 3500
Log file: https://gist.github.com/anonymous/b85fd2c3c27aa6752ec66a259891e451
 
Last edited:
@Kingdilph,
There is no recording/streaming attempt shown in either of your uploaded logfiles, can you do at least a ~5 minute record/stream test (Doing everything as you would normally in-game) and upload a new logfile please.
- OR -
Is it an issue of just running OBS without recording/streaming? If so, can you provide more detail or your system specs, like Bull3t did. I cannot assist in troubleshooting an issue such as this, other than a suggestion of capping your fps (The best frame rate is the highest stable frame rate you can achieve, without dropping rendered frames) to free up system resources, lowering your graphics settings in-game (AA first, shadows second, lighting third, texture detail fourth) and a suggestion of hardware upgrade: Firstly upgrading your GPU, secondly your CPU.

If you don't already, overclocking your CPU will help greatly in any case, i5 2500k CPU chips were great for overclocking and most could easily hit 4.4-4.5Ghz on air with a Hyper 212 EVO or better.

If it is the latter issue then hopefully someone else can. (I have an i5 2500 non-k, which is now feeling somewhat outdated for recent hardware intensive games when doing local recordings, mainly due to the lack of overclocking ability on a non-k skew, coupled with a r9 290x Tri-X OC) Here are some links to an overview of relative performance for CPU and GPU:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php
https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php

@Bull3t,
Not sure why you would have a frame drop over time, other than maybe a memory leak in-game or temperature throttling of your CPU/GPU? (I don't play Warframe, so could not say)

15% usage of your CPU is perfectly normal for OBS when streaming, could even be higher dependent upon OBS settings.

Your logfile shows conflicting information regarding your streaming output and what you have listed, it states your are streaming at 1080p60fps with a CBR of 6000...

Your logfile shows you have rendering lag issues:
07:50:37.145: Output 'simple_stream': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 32745 (12.3%)
Given the fact you play at 1440p144fps you need to either reduce some settings slightly (AA first, shadows second, lighting third, texture detail fourth) or cap your fps to a lower value (The best frame rate is the highest stable frame rate you can achieve, without dropping rendered frames) This will reduce the load on your video card which will alleviate the rendering lag, that being said you have a 1080 Ti so no idea as to why it is having trouble keeping up?

Your logfile also shows some slight issues with network bandwidth issues:
07:50:37.145: Output 'simple_stream': Number of dropped frames due to insufficient bandwidth/connection stalls: 1547 (0.6%)
Try slightly reducing the bitrate from 6000 to a lower value, I would drop it by ~250 then check in your logfile after your next streaming session, if still an issue then lower again by another 250.

btw @Bull3t,

Hello from Adelaide!
 
Sorry for late reply...
You have a huge amount of dropped frames due to your GPU not handling recording/streaming whilst playing the game/s:
19:45:36.921: Output 'simple_file_output': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 15220 (64.0%)
19:45:36.950: Video stopped, number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 7674/23732 (32.3%)

If you do not, you need to cap your fps, this will help a lot to start with.
Your GPU is really falling behind in terms of its ability to perform in more modern day game titles. Upgrading your GPU will really help.
 
There is no output of a recording/streaming attempt in that logfile...

Cap your frame rate in-game to 60 if you don't already. This by itself will help quite a bit I believe.

Try setting the streaming output to 720p60fps, that might help a bit in reducing load on your CPU.

I only just upgraded from an i5 2500 non-k, pretty much the exact same chip as yours except a locked multiplier on the processor... I would say it is your GPU that is really struggling to record/stream whilst playing the game, especially so if you have an unlimited frame rate.
 
Sorry again for the late reply, have been under the weather with pretty bad hay-fever...

You have your webcam running at 1080p30fps, which really isn't needed and will take up a lot of resources as an overlay at that resolution, you should drop the resolution to 720p30fps.

I think you need to re-do you scenes, you have a heap of them, especially the scene 'Ultra Dilph' where you have a heap of sources with filters (31 in total)
Your media source 5 is set to looping, is this intentional?
Your media source 4 'Arnold2.wmv' is set to not clear on media end, is this intentional?
Your media source 'Yeah' and media source 'Fart' is set to not close on media end, is this intentional?

My personal opinion is start from scratch, just set up a baseline where you are recording/streaming only via Game Capture, no other sources/scenes, just straight game play capture.

Set your recording output to:
720p60fps
CQ 18-23
HQ preset
High profile
Set your streaming output to:
720p60fps
CBR
3500 bitrate

You really need to cap your fps in-game to 60 or 61-63 if you get screen tearing (3rd party monitoring tools such as MSI Afterburner or EVGA Precision can do this)

Do a recording/streaming output for a few minutes, this will give you a baseline performance output (In your logfile, encoding and rendering lag) for which you can build your scenes and sources upon with your current hardware.

Check your logfile for rendering/encoding lag, if there is none, add your webcam and set it to 720p30fps output. Proceed to make sure it functions correctly via preview, then do another recording/streaming output for a few minutes.

Check your logfile again for encoding/rendering issues, if all clear then set up your other scenes and sources, keep it simple and test each scene and source you add individually to make sure they function correctly in preview and in a recording/streaming attempt.

Don't rush through the troubleshooting process, you need to take your time and be thorough to be sure you get the best output possible.
 
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