Periodic quality drops on stream and recordings | RTX 3070 & Ryzen 7 9800X3D | No Dropped Frames in Stats

[bardzomilo]

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some help regarding an issue with my stream quality.

The Problem:While reviewing the VODs from my recent streams, I noticed that the quality periodically drops and becomes blurry. I have tested this further by recording locally to my computer instead of streaming, and the issue is exactly the same on the local files.

I have tried changing the bitrate and other related settings, but it didn't seem to make a difference, especially since the problem persists even when recording directly to my disk without streaming.

Comparison Clips:I am attaching two clips to demonstrate the issue:

1. Clip 1 (In-game Menu): Here you can see that the camera quality is perfect and very sharp. https://www.twitch.tv/bardzomilo/clip/ReliableVastSwallowHeyGirl-xhysoEjbO4N9wcJ6
2. Clip 2 (During Gameplay): Here you can see the quality degrade. Please watch this clip until the end — you will notice that as soon as I start searching a container (static screen), the quality automatically improves and becomes sharp again.https://www.twitch.tv/bardzomilo/clip/ObliviousSpinelessGuanacoPJSugar-1jpHDRbXvEFu5nEB

OBS Stats:Despite the quality drops, the OBS Stats window shows 0% skipped or dropped frames (both for Rendering and Encoding). The average time to render a frame is stable at ~0.4ms. Everything looks perfect in the stats, but the actual video output "floats" and loses clarity from time to time.

Logs: https://fileport.io/nkdquDxYFY5a

My Setup:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 (Usage stays around 65-70%, Temps around 85°C)
• Camera: iPhone 15 Pro (connected via 10Gbps cable)
• Internet: 1000/1000 Mbps Fiber

I am using Game Capture as my source. I have already tried switching between NVENC and x264 encoders, but the problem persists on both. I am attaching my settings below.

Does anyone know what might be causing this loss of quality when the hardware and stats seem to be performing fine?

Thanks in advance for the help!