Question / Help High CPU Usage While Streaming

[N4thyra]

Hey guys,

my PC specs are

AMD A8-5600k 3.6GHz
8GB ram
!! integrated graphics card!!! HD 7660d
1x monitor 24" 1920.1080
1x monitor 24" 2560x1440

I play poker and while I'm not streaming my CPU usage is around 30%, but while streaming it sometimes gets up to 100%. I wonder whether if I buy a graphics card if it gets better. I'm not a big streamer, but I do enjoy streaming though I do not plan on getting a better PC. I can buy a cheap GT740 OC.

My question is, if I get that card, will it recdure CPU USAGE?

EDIT: When I tried to downscale resolution to 720p it got better, but I'd like to stream at least at 1080p.

 

[alpinlol]

Well garbage CPU for streaming paired with a 1440p Resolution.

07:19:53: Video Encoding: x264
07:19:53: fps: 30
07:19:53: width: 2560, height: 1440
07:19:53: preset: veryfast
07:19:53: profile: main
07:19:53: keyint: 60
07:19:53: CBR: yes
07:19:53: CFR: yes
07:19:53: max bitrate: 1800
07:19:53: buffer size: 1800


Downscale by a lot at least 2.0 and consider buying actual Hardware suited for that kind of Resolution

In your Case a dedicated GPU would help but only by a margin your System is simply not up for that task.

 

[N4thyra]

I do agree that my actual PC isn't very fast :-D. Streaming worked pretty well at 1080p, but after I bought my new monitor and connected it to my computer it started lagging as hell while streaming. Thanks for the answer!

 

[alpinlol]

I do agree that my actual PC isn't very fast :-D. Streaming worked pretty well at 1080p, but after I bought my new monitor and connected it to my computer it started lagging as hell while streaming. Thanks for the answer!

Yup thats the scaling 1440p is by for more intense on the CPU compared to 1080p and 1080p on your CPU is probably already close to the Limits for really Light games.

Sorry to put it that blunt but by experience when it comes to CPU Questions thats the fastest way to explain it.

 

[N4thyra]

No problem, you've been honest with me which is fine. I've noticed that my CPU usage is about 30-40% while running my applications without OBS. How much % of my CPU may take my integrated graphics card? I do think that if I buy an external graphics card, my computer might run faster. I wouldn't mind streaming just 1080p, my upload isn't probably fast enough for 1440p anyway. I only want to get my PC work with the two screens on my current resolutions without any lags.

 

[alpinlol]

Since you were using Monitor Capture I dont really know what Game you are trying to play + stream but I think that 720p30 is probably the max you can get away with on your CPU.

A dedicated GPU in the case of an APU will maybe give you 3-4% less CPU usage compared to the iGPU but the biggest problem is actually the voltage regulation, when your iGPU needs Power the Controller will always prioritize your iGPU because thats what counts in literally any Applications, but streaming literally cuts through that and that will result into further Issues.

In the long run I would rather suggest saving Money for a proper CPU/MB/GPU I personally really like the Intel Xeon E3 1231v3 those come at around 240$ but with close to an i7 Performance. In that case you can reuse couple of your current Parts like DDR3 RAM.

 

[N4thyra]

I've just checked out that Intel which looks great, but in my opinion it's pointless for me as I do not plan on streaming the newest games. I'm a poker player who enjoys playing on-line poker. There are a few applications that I need to run

1) PokerStars (it's a poker client)
2) HoldemManager
3) TableOptimizier
4) PostgreSQL
5) An Excel sheet
6) Notepad
7) Browser (running YouTube for instance)
+ OBS with 1080p output

These are all applications I need to run while playing poker. None of them requires a great computer.

 

[alpinlol]

Well all Tasks are quite easy on the CPU except the SQL can be a bit taxing but shouldnt really since I doubt you really push it.

For the Browser ever since they are all moving to HTML5 its also quite easy on the CPU.

Since you have barely any Movement on the Screen you can stream 1080p30 with superfast or ultrafast Preset and a 2k Bitrate that should totally be fine. Go ahead test it and if possible post a new Log with your own input about the Quality.

 

[N4thyra]

The stream works perfectly. My CPU is working on 70-80% of its maximum, but it isn't laggy at all. The ultrafast settings have made the difference and the quality is still good enough. People do not have to see every single pixel of my screen as it isn't required at all. However, I can't set up 1080p. I can choose 2560.1440, 2048x1152, and 1760x960(I've set this one as default).

Thanks for your help!

Edit: I'll buy a cheap graphics card like http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5113#ov to make my processor work more smoothly.

 

[alpinlol]

Glad I could help.

If possible buy something like a GTX 750 the GT Cards tend to have really slow Memory.

 

[Simon Alden]

Can anyone on this thread mention how to stream the excel sheets? I can get an exe program working, poker screens but not Excel. Any thoughts?