Question / Help Is my computer too weak?

uw0tm8

New Member
LOG:

https://gist.github.com/90bc6940bd8024e67792

My rig specs:
i5 2500k at 4.0ghz
GTX 285 1gb
8gb 1600mhz RAM
asus p8z68-v lx Motherboard

Unfortunately, when I try to start previewing/streaming, my CPU (even with quicksync enabled) jumps to 80% (around there) and I seem to be dropping frames (from 60 frames to 51... to 55.... to 52)

I just wanted to know if my rig is too weak, and what do I need to upgrade to have a stable 1080p crisp stream?

Is my GFX card the bottleneck? my CPU?

I also used the lowest encoder settings as well.... (#7 option, fastest speed) :(
 

Sapiens

Forum Moderator
Your CPU is fine, your GPU is terrible and your OBS settings are more or less insane. I can only assume you followed some harebrained guide on Youtube.

Go to Settings > Encoding and:
- Switch your encoder back to x264. Quick Sync on Sandy Bridge CPUs is pretty bad for live streaming.
- Lower your Max Bitrate to 2500
- Uncheck "Use Custom Buffer Size"

Go to Settings > Video and:
- Change your Resolution Downscale to 1280x720
- Change your FPS to 30

Go to Settings > Advanced and:
- Change your Scene Buffering Time back to 700
- Check "Use CFR"

Go to the properties window for your C920 webcam's source and set a custom resolution of 1280x720.

If performance is still poor then your GPU is most likely to blame, and you'll need to downscale the resolution further.

If you only want to make local recordings instead of streaming, refer to https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/how-to-make-high-quality-local-recordings.16/
 

uw0tm8

New Member
Thank you very much for your help.

Could you recommend a good GPU that will be able to handle 1080p + 60 fps streaming that won't break the bank? I don't even play on my PC, I just stream off the Xbox One with my Avermedia U3 capture card and yet my PC can't handle that, lol.

Your CPU is fine, your GPU is terrible and your OBS settings are more or less insane. I can only assume you followed some harebrained guide on Youtube.

Go to Settings > Encoding and:
- Switch your encoder back to x264. Quick Sync on Sandy Bridge CPUs is pretty bad for live streaming.
- Lower your Max Bitrate to 2500
- Uncheck "Use Custom Buffer Size"

Go to Settings > Video and:
- Change your Resolution Downscale to 1280x720
- Change your FPS to 30

Go to Settings > Advanced and:
- Change your Scene Buffering Time back to 700
- Check "Use CFR"

Go to the properties window for your C920 webcam's source and set a custom resolution of 1280x720.

If performance is still poor then your GPU is most likely to blame, and you'll need to downscale the resolution further.

If you only want to make local recordings instead of streaming, refer to https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/how-to-make-high-quality-local-recordings.16/
 

FerretBomb

Active Member
Thank you very much for your help.

Could you recommend a good GPU that will be able to handle 1080p + 60 fps streaming that won't break the bank? I don't even play on my PC, I just stream off the Xbox One with my Avermedia U3 capture card and yet my PC can't handle that, lol.
GPU doesn't factor in very heavily at all, so long as it's semi-modern (and the GTX 2** line are relatively ancient), so OBS can work with compositing/scaling before it's handed off to the encoder.

For 1080p@60, you're probably looking at a multi-CPU, multi-core dedicated encoding machine to cope with the demands of encoding video in real-time at that resolution and framerate. Which will still look poor given that the bitrate needed to run that resolution and framerate is well over triple the recommended maximum Twitch ingest, and almost double the rate at which your stream would be considered a denial-of-service attack, so you'll be bitrate-starved.

If you still want to go for it at 1080@60, the standalone encoding system and CPUs needed to handle the real-time encoding load should only cost a couple thousand.


Short version, unless you're a partnered caster and making a living at this? Time to rein it in a bit. The 'golden point' for non-partnered streamers is 720p @ 30fps, with 2000kbps bitrate. 60fps is mostly numbers-wanking when it comes to broadcasting. There's a big difference between playing at 30fps and 60fps. Casting? Not so much. 60 just wastes bitrate, and i5s tend to run out of gas after 720@30 anyway.
On the up side, once you get a semi-modern GPU, your current rig should be able to handle this.
 
Top