Question / Help Kind of an odd idea for crossfire/sli streaming. Need feedback.

[DavidGX]

So for some games, at least for me, crossfire will run happily with OBS like Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing Transformed. Some, like Rust, it will work with OBS if I switch to the game scene AFTER launching the game via a hot key combo. Some, like Batman Arkham Origins, don't like it at all and my second 7970 goes idle if I try streaming it in OBS, regardless of what I do. Not a MAJOR problem, but I would really like to take advantage of all my hardware while streaming.

I had a thought.

What if I got something like an Elgato, put it between my PC and monitor (that's hooked up via HDMI) and brought footage from the Elgato BACK INTO the PC via USB and streamed that? Would that get around this? Am I completely insane? Are the bird people really trying to eat my earlobes? ARE YOU LISTENING TO MY THOUGHTS RIGHT NOW?

 

[Krazy]

Yes, capture cards are a good way to ensure compatibility with SLI/Crossfire. I don't really recommend an Elgato, though. If you have Intel or Renesas USB 3.0 ports, I would recommend an XCapture-1, otherwise most internal PCI-E cards will work quite well.

 

[Boildown]

First, Elgato is garbage.

Second, while using a capture card can work, you'd be better off using a second PC to put the capture card into, not putting the video signal into the same PC. A lot of people, including me, do just this.

If you run at 1080p you have a lot of options for capture cards. Probably the best are what Krazy mentioned, or the Avermedias if you want a cheaper option. If you run at higher than 1080p, you might be out of luck unless you spend more money on a higher end option. Then again, at 1080p, you probably don't need Crossfire or SLI.

 

[DavidGX]

Why is the Elgato garbage? Low quality? Something else? As far as second PC streaming, I happen to have a second little PC with 16GB of RAM and an 8 core AMD chip (first generation Bulldozer) that might do a decent job. The only tutorial I can find for second PC streaming (that doesn't use a capture card) uses Quicksync on the main system (which I have, through my 3770k.) Would that get around any Crossfire/SLI issues or should I just throw a capture card in the second system?

Thanks.

First, Elgato is garbage.

Second, while using a capture card can work, you'd be better off using a second PC to put the capture card into, not putting the video signal into the same PC. A lot of people, including me, do just this.

If you run at 1080p you have a lot of options for capture cards. Probably the best are what Krazy mentioned, or the Avermedias if you want a cheaper option. If you run at higher than 1080p, you might be out of luck unless you spend more money on a higher end option. Then again, at 1080p, you probably don't need Crossfire or SLI.

 

[Boildown]

Because USB 2.0 isn't fast enough and it compresses the video in order to make it fit, which makes it look like garbage. Also they won't release their SDK (or something like that) so the OBS devs can't write proper support for it.

I don't think the Quicksync trick you mention will work because it still requires you to run OBS on the Crossfire system, thus you have the same problem as before.

 

[DavidGX]

Yeah, I tried Quicksync earlier and my second GPU still went idle in Arkham Origins. I guess what I need to do is install a capture card in my second system that will work as a pass-through so I can run my output from PC 1 into it and have it come back out to my monitor. Or maybe a good external one with HDMI pass through. I just gotta find one (that isn't $300+.)

 

[DavidGX]

I suppose if I used something like this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=B00B2IZ3B0&linkCode=as2&tag=davshouofsmah-20 as a passthrough from my main PC -> avermedia portable -> monitor and hooked the USB cable from the avermedia portable to my second PC and had OBS installed there streaming the output it would work. But then there's the issue of my webcam and mic. I guess those could just be connected to the second PC. My only other concern, then, would be my USB headset. I'm not sure any audio would even go out through the HDMI cable to be captured and streamed.

Any ideas? Maybe it would be simpler to use that device but just bring the feed from it back into my main PC and stream it that way?

Edit: I should add that using a second PC with the avermedia and running OBS on my second PC, I'd need some alternate way to hit shortcuts so I could scene switch. Hmm...

 

[Krazy]

OBS Remote will do what you want. Let's you control OBS remotely from another PC.

Seriously though, avoid external capture cards, except for the XCapture-1.