Question / Help severe fps drops while obs runs on second monitor

[cubescast]

Hey Guys,

Since i switched to OBS Studio i have to deal with massive fps drops while OBS Studio runs on my second monitor. However when i drag it to my main screen the lag is gone completly, even if my second monitor is still on. This is highly disfunctional for me, because i can´t look at OBS while streaming and have to tab out to change settings, etc. I dont want to switch back to the old OBS because i really enjoy the interface and features of OBS Studio and i dont even know for sure if the old one has the same issue or not.

My setup:
Mainboard: Asus Z170-A
CPU: Intel I7 6700k (4,0 GHz)
GPU: Nvidea GTX 980 Ti
RAM: HyperX FURY 16GB 2133MHz DDR4
Monitor1: Benq XL2411Z (144 Hz) -- DVI
Monitor2: LG W2261 (60Hz) -- HDMI

I really hope that some of you have an idea why i am experiencing that problem.

Thanks in advance !

 

[Flare]

I have this problem as well. I need to have OBS Studio on my main monitor to make it not lag. If I put it on my secondary monitor, then it lags up a storm and the stream/recordings get choppy.

OBS Studio - 15.4
OS: Windows 7 64bit
CPU: Intel i7 2600k
GPU: Nvidia GTX 750 Ti

Both of my monitors are 60hz and the main one is hooked up through HDMI and the other one is DVI. I haven't tried if the problem goes away on classic yet, but I want to stick with studio for its extra features.

 

[RytoEX]

This is an issue that has been discussed a fair bit on these forums. These are some possible solutions and workarounds that have been tossed around:

1. Plug both monitors into the same output source (video card or motherboard).
2. Set both monitors to the same refresh rate.
3. Set your OBS Studio FPS to either 30 or 60 (numbers that evenly divide into 60).
4. Limit your capture framerate to 30 or 60.
5. If you're capturing a game, cap your game's FPS to 60.
6. Turn on V-Sync (or some variant like adaptive V-Sync or G-Sync).
7. Minimize OBS Studio.
8. Disable the OBS Studio preview.
9. Put OBS Studio on the same monitor as what you're capturing.

You do not have to do all of these, and it may turn out that none of them help on your system, but these have been suggested by others throughout the forums with similar setups (multiple monitors, different refresh rates, etc.). Anyone with more direct experience on the issue is welcome to provide corrections for the list above or provide new information.

 

[Flare]

I've actually tried all of that and the only solution I've had is #9 which is to have OBS on the main monitor no matter what. It's kind of inconvenient since I'd like to look at the information while I stream. 1~8 didn't work for it at all and most of my OBS was set up that way anyways.

 

[Flare]

This still happens on 16.1 for me. I still have to stick to using one monitor only or else OBS gets mad and lags.

 

[koala]

OBS on my secondary monitor works fine for me with no fps impact with these 2 different systems:

computer 1:
Windows 10
cpu i5-3570k
gpu gtx 670
main monitor: dvi on gtx 670, 60 Hz
secondary monitor: dvi on gtx 670, 60 Hz

computer 2:
Windows 10
cpu i7-6700k
gpu gtx 1070
main monitor: displayport on gtx 1070, g-sync (up to 144 Hz)
secondary monitor: dvi on gtx 1070, 60 Hz

You might want to check with gpu-z if your main graphics card is using the full pci bandwidth of x16. Check the "Bus Interface" field, x16 must appear 2 times while obs and your app you want to record is running.

 

[Flare]

OBS on my secondary monitor works fine for me with no fps impact with these 2 different systems:

computer 1:
Windows 10
cpu i5-3570k
gpu gtx 670
main monitor: dvi on gtx 670, 60 Hz
secondary monitor: dvi on gtx 670, 60 Hz

computer 2:
Windows 10
cpu i7-6700k
gpu gtx 1070
main monitor: displayport on gtx 1070, g-sync (up to 144 Hz)
secondary monitor: dvi on gtx 1070, 60 Hz

You might want to check with gpu-z if your main graphics card is using the full pci bandwidth of x16. Check the "Bus Interface" field, x16 must appear 2 times while obs and your app you want to record is running.

Thank you for the info! I downloaded gpu-z and here's my information http://i.imgur.com/KyjODpY.png I never realized that my GPU Load was so high when I had OBS and my capture card window open. That's probably the problem, but I'm not sure if i could fix that.

 

[RytoEX]

@koala
Great information!

@Flare
I think @koala meant the "Bus Interface" field on the "Graphics Card" tab. I'll attach an example. See how my Bus Interface reads "PCI-E 3.0x16 @ x16 1.1"? That's what @koala meant when saying "x16 must appear 2 times". The whole string means that the card is currently running at PCI-E 1.1x16, but it can support up to PCI-E 3.0x16. The reason it's currently running at 1.1 is due to a power-saving feature, but it goes up to PCI-E 3.0x16 once it's under load. You'll probably want yours to be at as high of a PCI-E rating as your system supports while running OBS Studio and your game, which your system will probably do automatically, unless your power or graphics card settings forbid it.

Please check your first tab and get back to us.


EDIT: @koala thankfully called me out for being a forgetful dunce. I've edited in a screenshot for posterity.

 

[koala]

I meant the first tab, and @RytoEX, you forgot to attach a demo. Here is an example from me, where you see my graphics card is actually running at x16 speed (this is the x16 after the @).

 

[Flare]

This is mine and when I have my games and OBS open it goes from 1.1 to 2.0, so I guess it's a power saving feature.

 

[Flare]

Is there anything funky in my log? I've been getting some slight freezing in 16.2 for some reason.

 

[Flare]

I don't use the full screen preview. I just use it to look at the information in the regular windowed mode

 

[Schauerland]

I have the same problem.

what resoultion are you recording? I have 2560x1440 and when the game is very hungry and my gfxcard ist fully loaded, the preview starts lagging very bad when the canvas and output is also 2560x1440

when i set canvas/output to 1920x1080 OR switch off the preview, the lag is gone (without changing game resolution or settings).
So i think it's a combination of heavy load on the graphics card and SCALING of the window (preview)

MAYBE it would help if the scaling was calculated by cpu and not gpu? but i don't know how hard it would be to implement a switch to select scaling renderer (cpu/gpu)

i thing for now we have to options: switch preview off or pull down the game settings so the game runs smooth and the gfx card isn't on its limit.

 

[Flare]

My canvas is just 1280x720 since my games are 1280x720. I still have to have OBS on the same monitor that I'm window capping on or else it lags.

 

[Flare]

I still have this problem where OBS will just freeze randomly while looking at the preview window and that freeze will show up on stream. If I turn off the preview that freeze still shows up. I've tried reinstalling OBS, nvidia drivers and microsoft framework.

 

[RytoEX]

I still have this problem where OBS will just freeze randomly while looking at the preview window and that freeze will show up on stream. If I turn off the preview that freeze still shows up. I've tried reinstalling OBS, nvidia drivers and microsoft framework.

In that case, I'd advise you to start your own thread and post complete log files from a session that shows a streaming attempt where that issue occurs. We seem to have inadvertently hijacked the thread.

 

[Flare]

In that case, I'd advise you to start your own thread and post complete log files from a session that shows a streaming attempt where that issue occurs. We seem to have inadvertently hijacked the thread.

I have a log in this thread and found this one that had the issue I was having. I'll just drop this from my recent stream to see if anything is up https://gist.github.com/anonymous/9908947c8ba5c75970052d9bc4da52cd

 

[kiknit]

I found the fix for me, and it also worked for a few of my friends. I made a post complaining about the same issue with logs, but I guess it never got activated/posted b/c I couldn't find it again. Then again I'm retarded so it may be here somewhere. Anyways the fix it to
Click GAME CAPTURE on your source list
Check the box "Limit Capture Framerate"

Now I can finally play any game dual monitor with anything I want on either monitor, and I get ZERO fps drop or Stutter!!! Its so nice. When the box wasn't checked and I had OBS open(not recording or streaming/just open it could even be minimized) with game capture on I would get like 30 fps in CS:GO and barely any of my CPU was getting used.

 

[HyperActiveh]

This is an issue that has been discussed a fair bit on these forums. These are some possible solutions and workarounds that have been tossed around:

1. Plug both monitors into the same output source (video card or motherboard).
2. Set both monitors to the same refresh rate.
3. Set your OBS Studio FPS to either 30 or 60 (numbers that evenly divide into 60).
4. Limit your capture framerate to 30 or 60.
5. If you're capturing a game, cap your game's FPS to 60.
6. Turn on V-Sync (or some variant like adaptive V-Sync or G-Sync).
7. Minimize OBS Studio.
8. Disable the OBS Studio preview.
9. Put OBS Studio on the same monitor as what you're capturing.

You do not have to do all of these, and it may turn out that none of them help on your system, but these have been suggested by others throughout the forums with similar setups (multiple monitors, different refresh rates, etc.). Anyone with more direct experience on the issue is welcome to provide corrections for the list above or provide new information.

THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOU'RE MY SAVIOR!