Question / Help High CPU Usage & FPS Drop when Live

Lexaaoff

Lexaaoff

New Member
Hi everybody :)
My problem is linked to streaming with OBS, maybe not only with OBS but because we are all here for only one reason : OBS & streaming, I need your help :/

First of all, let me give you some informations :

| HARDWARE

MB MSI B85M-G43
CPU Intel Core i7 4790 3.6GHz
cooled by CoolerMaster Hyper 212x
RAM 12Gb RAM DDR3
GPU EVGA GTX 1080 FTW
MONITOR 120Hz​


| OBS SETTINGS

| ADDITIONNAL

Camera Logitech C920
Internet Speed http://www.speedtest.net/result/5721006495.png
​


So guys, this is my main issue :

When I'm streaming some Battlefield 1 or Rainbow Six Siege (capped myself at 120fps to avoid VSync), I saw that my CPU usage is really high (90%).

1) On Battlefield 1, offline with high graphic settings, I can get maybe ~120fps but when i'm going live, my fps go down to ~70-80 or even less.
BF1 take ~65% of my CPU, OBS around 18% plus my other software, I can finally hit ~90%.
I checked a lot of streams recently with rig's streamers, how these people can stream a really clean 720p60 on BF1 for example with only 1 computer ?

2) According to this bench'video, this guy use a similar GPU but a different & better CPU (i think) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRay19yMiLU
How can he reach this amount of FPS with maxed graphics ? There is a huge difference with my results.

3) I would like to stream with 120fps ingame & 60fps on livestream but when I go live, my game is now ~70-80fps. Compared to others streamers that I saw, a lot of them use the K version of my CPU which is 4Ghz - 4,4Ghz+, is this difference of performance really because of my CPU ?

P.S : During my broadcast, my stream is fine, 0 drops or loss images, I just want to improve the quality of my stream :)

Thanks for your future answers guys ♥
 
B

Brazen

New Member
FPS drops are normal when streaming or recording with x264. It's almost impossible to not get any FPS drops when streaming with x264. Try using a different encoder such as NVENC or Quick Sync, they are really good encoders in terms of performance, but x264 is best for quality, but worst for performance.
 
Lexaaoff

Lexaaoff

New Member
Okay thanks for your answers Brazen, I thought to use NVENC since i have a really good GPU but it need a really high bitrate & i'm not a Twitch partner :/
 
arcchar

arcchar

New Member
Have a same problem =(
4790 + 980, when i record on 30000 kb/s (nvenc) ofline - i have 80-110 fps (ultra settings)
and whne i go live with 10000 kb/s (nvenc) i have drop tp 40-70 oO...
 
B

Beardedbob

Member
Hi,

x264 uses CPU to encode therefore you will always get a fps drop even more so with only 4 physical cores available. You could drop the cpu preset this will release some CPU from the encoding process but this will reduce the quality.

If you use the dedicated GPU chip to encode the steam e.g. Nvenc then this will result in a much lower quality stream compared to x264 software as it requires a much higher bitrate, twitch for non partner limited this to a max of 3500.

To avoid a fps hit generally you need to offload the x264 cpu load, this is usually done via a capture card installed on a separate streaming pc dedicated to this task.

As your cpu is the 4790 3.6 no OC version then I expect your CPU is maxing out hence the fps limit.
 
arcchar

arcchar

New Member
Beardedbob said:
Hi,

x264 uses CPU to encode therefore you will always get a fps drop even more so with only 4 physical cores available. You could drop the cpu preset this will release some CPU from the encoding process but this will reduce the quality.

If you use the dedicated GPU chip to encode the steam e.g. Nvenc then this will result in a much lower quality stream compared to x264 software as it requires a much higher bitrate, twitch for non partner limited this to a max of 3500.

To avoid a fps hit generally you need to offload the x264 cpu load, this is usually done via a capture card installed on a separate streaming pc dedicated to this task.

As your cpu is the 4790 3.6 no OC version then I expect your CPU is maxing out hence the fps limit.
Click to expand...

I repeat, when i go offline record with OBS Studio in 30000kb/ps - i have strong 80-120 fps, but if i go online with 10000kb/ps - i have 40-60 fps... in both cases i use nvenc in proirity decoding
 
J

Jollyriffic

Member
I'm going to blame your issue on windows 10.
i've had these same issues on that OS, and still do with an i7-3770k.
with AND Without overclocking in w10 i was hardly able to game and stream at the same time using the absolute quickest cpu preset.
Performance on w10 dropped 50-75% depending on the task i was running vs w7.
I had recorded the performance tests but the ssd i use for recordings died before i remembered to upload it.
doing 4.8ghz overclock in w10 actually still performed much slower than downclocking my i7 to 3.0ghz (did this just for the comparison video i made).

w7 i'm able to run medium preset, play a game, have around 40 tabs open in chrome playing both netflix and youtube, and even run photoshop. Something i can not ever hope to do in w10 even with the current updates and drivers to date.

You're a 4-core 8-thread cpu with newer architecture than i have. my turbo mode is 3.9ghz yours is 4.0ghz. There's no reason at all you shouldn't be able to do 1080/60fps/medium preset with any game on the market.

my hardware for comparison:
i7-3770k currently overclocked to 4.8ghz (have tested on both stock and overclocked using medium preset without issues on either)
g.skill sniper ddr3 2133mhz 2x 8gb sticks
gigabyte wf3 7950 (not overclocked) 3gb vrma
os on 240gb ssd / games on 960gb ssd (currently and has zero effect on obs or gameplay other than loading/saving speeds)
h100 liquid cooler with lapped block and i7 delided to get to 4.8ghz
Just to make it clear, i can do medium preset, 60fps, and play any game, max cpu i ever use is 80% but generally i do 45fps and use about 75% cpu or lower.
 
I

idxearo

Member
Hi Lexaa,
Unless you have an overclock 8 core 16thread+ intel CPU, you wont see the FPS you want while streaming.
Or a dual PC streaming setup. The benchmark from the video is just recorded footage, does not mean much for streaming. Everyone has this issue with 1 pc setup on similar CPU's. But that is a reality, not so much an "issue".

Hi arcchar,
Hopefully, you understand that offline recording and live streaming are still two different things. With 10000kb/ps I assume you are trying to live stream 1080p 60 FPS to youtube which is quite the heavy task for video card, on ultra settings. Drop your settings, or use intel quick sync instead.
 
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