Software x264 vs NVENC

[NonGamerPlays]

I'm curious if anyone has the same issue as I do so wondering if I should be loading the CPU up to save my GPU here.

When I play VR games like Dirt Rally 2, I have zero issue playing at high fps and high graphics. BUT when I try and play AND record with OBS my system starts to complain - dropped frames and nasty stutters sometimes while driving 100+ mph (160+ kph).

I'm wondering if I'm over-burdoning my GPU when using NVENC in OBS. Should I give more work to the CPU for better performace while recording?

My PC specs:
Win 10
Intel i9 12900K CPU
Asus 3090 GPU
64GB DDR5 memory
NVMe gaming drive

 

[prgmitchell]

Reproduce your issue and send the log here

 

[NonGamerPlays]

I'm not sure if this will give you the details you need...
BUT I'm also running my OBS with NDI trying to offload some of the work to another computer but in this setup I'm recording the game, the game audio, and the microphone on my gaming PC and I'm sending game audio via NDI to my laptop which uses OBS to capture my camera and the NDI source for game audio (for easier syncing for the two separate video files).

I'm at this point because the NDI setup did help somewhat when I started using two computers but it's not great. Also just updated my Nvidia gpu drivers right before playing - I had loads of stuttering in-headset but the recording isn't choppy (which is typical).

Log file: https://obsproject.com/logs/Sam3PTDtjawVQLzP

[edit] The log basically says what I already knew... I'm overtaxing my GPU so should I use Software x264 to make the CPU work harder?
I don't believe Dirt Rally 2 even has a framerate limiter and vertical sync for VR is an oxy-moron at best (can't use it I mean).

 

[prgmitchell]

I'm not sure if this will give you the details you need...
BUT I'm also running my OBS with NDI trying to offload some of the work to another computer but in this setup I'm recording the game, the game audio, and the microphone on my gaming PC and I'm sending game audio via NDI to my laptop which uses OBS to capture my camera and the NDI source for game audio (for easier syncing for the two separate video files).

I'm at this point because the NDI setup did help somewhat when I started using two computers but it's not great. Also just updated my Nvidia gpu drivers right before playing - I had loads of stuttering in-headset but the recording isn't choppy (which is typical).

Log file: https://obsproject.com/logs/Sam3PTDtjawVQLzP

[edit] The log basically says what I already knew... I'm overtaxing my GPU so should I use Software x264 to make the CPU work harder?
I don't believe Dirt Rally 2 even has a framerate limiter and vertical sync for VR is an oxy-moron at best (can't use it I mean).

Yeah doesn't look you are losing many frames in OBS, nothing to worry about there.

16:30:54.463: Output 'NDI Preview Output': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 86 (0.1%)
16:30:54.488: Output 'NDI Main Output': Total frames output: 160509
16:30:54.488: Output 'NDI Main Output': Total drawn frames: 160424 (160510 attempted)
16:30:54.488: Output 'NDI Main Output': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 86 (0.1%)
16:30:54.488: Video stopped, number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 1/296644 (0.0%)

If you mean you are having performance issues in-game try the NVENC settings from this guide but use the P1 preset instead of P5.

Advanced Recording Settings Guide | OBS

OBS Knowledge Base. Recommended settings when using Advanced Output mode

obsproject.com

 

[NonGamerPlays]

Ah yes I’ve done that before! I remember following those steps. Somewhere along the line though I switched back to simple can’t remember why (NDI maybe)?

I’ve tweaked some settings - turned off NDI, set the output to mkv and reduced my headset resolution from 90% to 80% in steamVR.

I had a much better experience doing that just a bit ago. But a big issue is sometimes I have no problems and sometimes I have all the problems lol.

I’ll try going back to the advanced record options and P1 this weekend maybe.

Thanks!

 

[rockbottom]

Rendering lag is on the NDI output & I noticed your NDI install is stale. The installed version is not vetted for OBS 31.0.2. If you still have trouble, update to the latest version of the plugin along with the latest version of NDI tools or the NDI runtime (v6.x.x) on both PC's.

15:46:15.299: [obs-ndi] obs_module_load: you can haz obs-ndi (Version 4.13.2)
15:46:15.299: [obs-ndi] obs_module_load: Qt Version: 6.6.3 (runtime), 6.6.2 (compiled)
15:46:15.299: [obs-ndi] load_ndilib: Trying 'C:/Program Files/NDI/NDI 5 Runtime/v5/Processing.NDI.Lib.x64.dll'
15:46:15.300: [obs-ndi] load_ndilib: Found NDI library at 'C:/Program Files/NDI/NDI 5 Runtime/v5/Processing.NDI.Lib.x64.dll'
15:46:15.339: [obs-ndi] load_ndilib: NDI runtime loaded successfully
15:46:15.340: [obs-ndi] load_ndilib: NDIlib_v5_load found

Release DistroAV 6.0.0 · DistroAV/DistroAV

1. Important Update This Version has major & large code changes. Starting v6 the plugin has been re-branded DistroAV from OBS-NDI. 2. Breaking changes - Uninstall OBS-NDI OBS-NDI must be uninstall...

github.com

 

[rockbottom]

Some other suggestions:

Disable Game DVR, it's not needed & can waste resources.
Run your monitor @ 60HZ when using OBS. That monitor stinks for hi-refresh rates, 100HZ is the max.
Global & Source audio are being used concurrently. I personally run one set-up or the other but never both concurrently YMMV.
Fix your NDI & Games - Flat Scenes, both are bugged with multiple Display, Game or Window captures. There should only be (1) per Scene to avoid interference.
For your recording, try zeroing B Frames & disable Lookahead/Visual Tuning. Compare to older recordings, should look sharper with no B frames.

 

[NonGamerPlays]

Rendering lag is on the NDI output & I noticed your NDI install is stale. The installed version is not vetted for OBS 31.0.2. If you still have trouble, update to the latest version of the plugin along with the latest version of NDI tools or the NDI runtime (v6.x.x) on both PC's.

15:46:15.299: [obs-ndi] obs_module_load: you can haz obs-ndi (Version 4.13.2)
15:46:15.299: [obs-ndi] obs_module_load: Qt Version: 6.6.3 (runtime), 6.6.2 (compiled)
15:46:15.299: [obs-ndi] load_ndilib: Trying 'C:/Program Files/NDI/NDI 5 Runtime/v5/Processing.NDI.Lib.x64.dll'
15:46:15.300: [obs-ndi] load_ndilib: Found NDI library at 'C:/Program Files/NDI/NDI 5 Runtime/v5/Processing.NDI.Lib.x64.dll'
15:46:15.339: [obs-ndi] load_ndilib: NDI runtime loaded successfully
15:46:15.340: [obs-ndi] load_ndilib: NDIlib_v5_load found

Release DistroAV 6.0.0 · DistroAV/DistroAV

1. Important Update This Version has major & large code changes. Starting v6 the plugin has been re-branded DistroAV from OBS-NDI. 2. Breaking changes - Uninstall OBS-NDI OBS-NDI must be uninstall...

github.com

Thanks RB! I didn't realize it was outdated - I had better results once I turned off NDI so that might explain it. I've decided to avoid NDI now and try and just record gameplay on main PC and webcam on laptop with OBS too.

Some other suggestions:

Disable Game DVR, it's not needed & can waste resources.
Run your monitor @ 60HZ when using OBS. That monitor stinks for hi-refresh rates, 100HZ is the max.
Global & Source audio are being used concurrently. I personally run one set-up or the other but never both concurrently YMMV.
Fix your NDI & Games - Flat Scenes, both are bugged with multiple Display, Game or Window captures. There should only be (1) per Scene to avoid interference.
For your recording, try zeroing B Frames & disable Lookahead/Visual Tuning. Compare to older recordings, should look sharper with no B frames.

I'm not sure where DVR is so I'll look for it!
I don't game on my monitor though - I game on my VR headset and 60hz is too low for VR - minimum is 72 but way better at 90+ so I'm not sure how I could do that - hz and fps aren't the same but my record max is 60fps if that matters.

I'll try the last thing you suggested... a lot of this is gibberish to me haha! OBS gets more complicated the more I learn about it lol.

[edit] Ohhhh I see you're saying to have the monitor running at 60 rather than 100 while recording because the OpenVR mirror or SteamVR mirror utilizes my monitors refresh rate - gotcha! Okay I'll go down to 60! Shame as I was happy to have a monitor above 60hz but I didn't buy the monitor for gaming.

 

[rockbottom]

Game DVR can be found in the Windows Gaming settings.

Lots of testing on my system, best results are obtained with OBS when keeping everything running in the same timing & avoiding any funky refresh rates. More than likely you would be able to run that monitor @ 120HZ or maybe even 240HZ like I run mine at times but unfortunately it only goes up to 100HZ.