Obs Settings For My Low End PC
- Thread starter rares.1
- Start date
Lawrence_SoCal
Active Member
did you run auto-configuration? and it still won't work?
sorry to tell you this, but not surprising really, as H.264 encoding takes more resources than your system has, and you want to be playing a game as well? And I'm betting you have a HDD not a SSD, right? you could get deeply into system hardware resource utilization, and try upgrading select components... but not really worth it (unless you can get the parts for free)... as a much newer, used system is bound to be cheaper in the end.
Be aware that your PC is VERY old (9 generations on the CPU), and under-powered for such work. IF it will work (and I don't know that it will), you are going to need a simplistic OBS setup, and heavily optimized OS and OBS for an under-powered PC.
I tried to stream with an Intel i5-6300HQ (2.3GHz 4c/4t circa Fall 2015), 8GB RAM, SATA SSD Win 10 Home edition, Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M and failed as the PC wasn't up to the task (no gaming, just alternating between USB webcam and simple pre-recorded videos, alongside a PPTx slide show window capture, streaming at 720p 30fps with no OBS effects/filters). I’ve learned a lot more about OBS since then, and I might be able to just squeak it out, but wasn’t worth it
So compared to what I had, you have a 2 generations older (and ultra low power i3) CPU, and GPU that doesn't support NVENC(??) ... uh, be careful with expectations.
Now there are folks on this forum with WAY more knowledge and they might be able to get this to work.. but it would be tricky even for them. And the end result might not be anything you'd be happy with (low resolution, frame rate, bitrate, etc)
sorry to tell you this, but not surprising really, as H.264 encoding takes more resources than your system has, and you want to be playing a game as well? And I'm betting you have a HDD not a SSD, right? you could get deeply into system hardware resource utilization, and try upgrading select components... but not really worth it (unless you can get the parts for free)... as a much newer, used system is bound to be cheaper in the end.
Be aware that your PC is VERY old (9 generations on the CPU), and under-powered for such work. IF it will work (and I don't know that it will), you are going to need a simplistic OBS setup, and heavily optimized OS and OBS for an under-powered PC.
I tried to stream with an Intel i5-6300HQ (2.3GHz 4c/4t circa Fall 2015), 8GB RAM, SATA SSD Win 10 Home edition, Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M and failed as the PC wasn't up to the task (no gaming, just alternating between USB webcam and simple pre-recorded videos, alongside a PPTx slide show window capture, streaming at 720p 30fps with no OBS effects/filters). I’ve learned a lot more about OBS since then, and I might be able to just squeak it out, but wasn’t worth it
So compared to what I had, you have a 2 generations older (and ultra low power i3) CPU, and GPU that doesn't support NVENC(??) ... uh, be careful with expectations.
Now there are folks on this forum with WAY more knowledge and they might be able to get this to work.. but it would be tricky even for them. And the end result might not be anything you'd be happy with (low resolution, frame rate, bitrate, etc)
Totally agree with Lawrence_SoCal,
I have the same gen (4th gen) Dell Optiplex 9020 with the Core i5 processor (4570), 16G of RAM and the Nvidia Geforce GT 610 graphics card and it'll do OBS, but not do two screen captures at once without some issues. I don't stream at this time, and if I did, it'd be for live YouTube content. At the moment, it's what I have, yes, running Windows 10 (bought it refurbished in 2019 to replace an ailing old Dell Studio XPS with the first gen Core i7 [920] processor, running Vista and had 4G of RAM).
This current PC is an upgrade, even though the graphics card, I carried over from the old PC (it, itself was a replacement for the original ATI Radeon card that had died in 2015). I did try to pad this current PC with a slightly newer, and slightly faster graphics card, but it didn't work. For starters, it didn't really fit with the shroud and cooling fan, and secondly, I could not get it to output video to both monitors (DVI was fine, VGA, not so much, HDMI, don't know), Problem was, I run the small form factor version of the desktop and space is very limited as the PCIe slot is near the power supply, and it tops out at 14A on the +12V rail, at best, the card, the GeForce GT 730 needs to see 20A.
Even here, I am due for an upgrade for 1080 output/editing, but especially on OBS as it is CPU intensive to begin with. I'm trying to do it with OBS outputing 720, which technically is mostly HD footage, even though YouTube does not consider it HD.
I can edit in 1080, but the issue is, I edit in proxies and even it does not scrub smoothly and output to 1080 when exporting and it plays back fine in VLC. That and if I try to utilize both cameras and edit them in Hitfilm (my editor), it can develop the occasional artifact or lose frames, single camera, not an issue, or overlay graphics or a JPG photo etc over video is fine.
So yes, you will need to upgrade Get at LEAST a 6th gen Core i5, or i7 with 10, or 11 (11 will only work on the last couple of gen based boxes, which can be an issue as I think MS has stopped selling 10 in stores or online.)
Lawrence_SoCal
Active Member
Ha, had the same Studio XPS tower (24GB of RAM, same i7-920) that died not too long ago when PSU went up in smoke...
now running on a temp setup on a spare Precision 3500 tower that I got a cheap Xeon x5675 CPU upgrade for 6c. does most everything I need but not real-time video.. Numerous SSDs installed, and I'm able to run multiple OSes simultaneously via VMware workstation... looking for a new system, capable of 4K video editing... but probably need it to be a laptop (not a good mix.. but it is what it is)
a 6th gen Intel i5 or i7 might be able to barely get by with 1080p footage, if you are REALLY good at optimizing OS, OBS, and sources... otherwise get much newer for not that much more ...
Win10 works fine up until latest 12th gen big/little CPUs, and even then Win10 still works (but CPU scheduling implications... get complicated... for me, Win11 is a PoS just like WinME, Vista, 8, etc. I'm really NOT looking forward to a new system that may essentially require Win11... just ugh)
Suslik V
Active Member
You may read the:
obsproject.com
and similar threads to find some additional info. But in general, as was said, this PC in too slow for the capturing task.
Recording meetings in 720p or 1080p on slow laptop
Hi everyone I am a beginner so this is probably an easy question, but I could not fin a clear answer on this forum. I just want to be sure. I use OBS to record meetings on a 1920x1080 screen laptop (with an SSD; in case that matters).The processor is an Intel Core m3-6Y30 and the laptop can get...
That's why I emphasized the word least as I'd consider that the absolute bare minimum for SOME editors, like Hitfilm for at least some versions. Not sure if that's still true for the most current version, and why I went with that as at the time I downloaded it, the bare minimum specs for it were this computer I run now. Then they did a quick update several months later to add in proxies, and I jumped onto that version (2021.2) Then later that year, they did a version 3, then 2022, and now an update for this year. By last year, they were up to at bare minimum a 6th gen, if not newer processor.
I was fortunate not to have had the PSU die on that old Studio XPS, but the HDD, (yes) a Western Digital Blue (formerly the Caviar Blue) started crapping out at 10 years old, which is a testament to the drive itself (have had good luck with Western Digital mechanical drives). I now run a Samsung EVO 870 SSD for the main drive, mechanicals for everything else, including a now ancient Simple Drive external for storage and 2 WD Passport external drives (again, all mechanical). Chose the Simpledrive due to it being the most reliable and had a WD spinner in it. Now SD is now part of Hitachi.
SUPERNOOB20
New Member
Hello, fellow low-end user here. I use OBS to stream in my 2016 Pentium laptop (N3710 processor), and it works "fine" for games that aren't too resource demanding :)
I agree that our hardware is long outdated and you should replace it with more powerful equipment if possible. Your CPU and GPU seem to be way more powerful than mines, though o.o but who knows, I am not an IT expert either.
Here are some general tips:
- Change your CPU usage to "ultrafast" right away. Then keep track of your CPU usage while recording/streaming. If your CPU never goes above, say, 50% or 60%, you can try going down to "superfast", and repeating the test all over again.
- Like Lawrence has pointed out, try a lightweight OS, like XFCE Linux or similar (Mint, Debian...)
- Shut down background processes while streaming if you're not using them! That will go easier on your CPU and RAM (Discord, Steam, unneeded tools or antiviruses...)
I still don't have enough money to get better equipment, so it'll be interesting trying to optimise our settings to get the most out of our current setups.
If there's anything else I can possibly lend a hand with, please let me know~
I agree that our hardware is long outdated and you should replace it with more powerful equipment if possible. Your CPU and GPU seem to be way more powerful than mines, though o.o but who knows, I am not an IT expert either.
Here are some general tips:
- Change your CPU usage to "ultrafast" right away. Then keep track of your CPU usage while recording/streaming. If your CPU never goes above, say, 50% or 60%, you can try going down to "superfast", and repeating the test all over again.
- Like Lawrence has pointed out, try a lightweight OS, like XFCE Linux or similar (Mint, Debian...)
- Shut down background processes while streaming if you're not using them! That will go easier on your CPU and RAM (Discord, Steam, unneeded tools or antiviruses...)
I still don't have enough money to get better equipment, so it'll be interesting trying to optimise our settings to get the most out of our current setups.
If there's anything else I can possibly lend a hand with, please let me know~