Question / Help Streaming CPU or GPU intensive ?

TwilightBl1tz

New Member
So hey guys! i always been a very active gamer and a pretty good one if i may say so my self. But i was never able to stream while holding a steady FPS. my current CPU is about 5 years old and VERY outdated. So i'm saving up for a new CPU.

Think i'm going for the I7-4770k. Seems like a solid CPU, My question is, will this be enough to stream games like new Call Of Duty Ghost, and maybe even BF4? * GTX 760 is what i'm using as a gpu atm *
And to finish my question, Is it true that streaming is mainly CPU intensive? And barely uses any resources from the GPU?


Thanks in advance,

Bl1tz
 

Momentum

Member
GPU is there to provide 3D processing for the game itself, whereas CPU is there to grab the frames from the GPU framebuffer and encode it into a h264 video thats beign streamed to twitch or whatever streaming service u use...

So, streaming puts heavy strain on the CPU part of it, therefore depending on what kind of encoding u choose, it will use more or less CPU time for encoding task. If u put too much of your CPU into encoding task, it will fall behind in supplying your GPU with enough data for 3D processing of the game your playing.

Basicaly, better encoding = lower PC performance dedicated to gaming
normal encoding = good PC performance and good stream quality
 

dodgepong

Administrator
Forum Admin
The GPU is also used to composite the scene in OBS, and is utilized for certain capture functions, but it doesn't take as much GPU as a game. You don't need a super-high-powered GPU for streaming, you just need a compatible one that isn't terribly old.
 

TwilightBl1tz

New Member
Hmm cool thanks guys!

So do you think i'll be able to stream at a steady FPS of a minimal of 60 with a I7 4770 + GTX 760 ( BF4 / CoD Ghost ) ?
 

Krazy

Town drunk
Not for BF4, it destroys high end rigs like they're going out of style. QuickSync might help, though.
 

jincuteguy

New Member
Do you need 2 monitors to use Quicksync to stream? Cause I tried the QuickSync, and even though I enabled it and it showed up in the OBS options, the screen is black.

pc spec:

2600K @ 4.5ghz
Asus Z77 Saberbooth board
GTx 780
Enermax 850W psu
Windows 8 64bit
 

Krazy

Town drunk
The easiest way is to just plug a second monitor into your iGPU, though. Other methods vary in effectiveness.
 

jincuteguy

New Member
That was the guide that I followed to get quicksync to work, but the screen just black cause I only have 1 monitor.
I mean "black" as in when I click the "preview scene" in OBS, and it was showing the other screen which i don't have.
Because when I extended the screen for the Integrated grahpic for QuickSync, that's when it shows a Black screen in OBS, and if I don't extended the screen like in the guide, the QuickSync option won't be enabled in OBS. So I really don't know how did you guys get Quicksync to work?
 

jincuteguy

New Member
Krazy said:
The easiest way is to just plug a second monitor into your iGPU, though. Other methods vary in effectiveness.

Yea but i don't have a 2nd monitor, that's why I asked if you need a 2monitor for Quicksync to be usable in OBS.
 

FerretBomb

Active Member
You need to set up your scene in OBS by adding sources. It doesn't automatically grab a given screen. Also, Monitor Capture under Win7 is REALLY REALLY SLOW, and should only ever be used as a last-resort... Window Capture (aero on) and Game Capture are what you should be using.
 

don burtron

New Member
I have i7 4770k 16gb ram and 2x gtx780ti's and mine runs it at 60 fps fine..
I think it would come down to bandwith.. I have 38MB load and stream at 3.5mb up so I dont use much cpu to stream.. other option is get a stream card.. it helps run the stream better but you might have to go to watercooling
 

Sapiens

Forum Moderator
other option is get a stream card.. it helps run the stream better but you might have to go to watercooling
Using a capture card will not improve stream performance in a single PC setup as the card doesn't handle encoding. I'm also not sure how or why you're associating using a capture card with the need for water cooling.
 

Videophile

Elgato
Not for BF4, it destroys high end rigs like they're going out of style. QuickSync might help, though.
Wrong. I have a 7970 and a 4770k and I am streaming and playing BF4 and I am usually at 60fps. It takes some configuring though(Limit OBS's threads as well as BF4's threads).
 
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