Surface Pro 7+ Recommended setting to avoid fps drops

[konsolenritter]

What did you change (against your experiences you made before), so what was the solution to your recent problems?

And may you provide an actual log showing that streaming or recording?

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

They certainly did not teach us that in school.

Regular academic school - no reason they would/should teach such things. If a computer school, then shame on the school as those are all well-known truisms in the desktop support world. And there aren't easy, magic-button fixes. so yes, incumbent on user to figure these things out why trying to get the absolute most out of a system.. similar to what is required knowledge for a NASCAR/F1 or similar mechanic is not taught in basic trade school. Apple and Microsoft make operating systems, with slightly different target audiences & design standards, but in both cases, if you want to use your compute device for something outside the bounds of the original design (which is what you are doing) then some tweaking is required. Just beware that a lot of YouTube video on PC settings advice is complete garbage

It just the inconsistency that is killing me...
Why in the world would CPU usage fluctuate between ~ -10% and +30% ? Why would frame rate be stable one time , while all-over-the-place another (same scene; different sessions)?

Lots of possible reasons:
- If you playing pre-recorded videos which were created with different encoders (or a dozen other differences), that can cause significant CPU usage differences (especially if some work with GPU video decode, and others don't)
- Monitoring in Task Manager is a good first step. The question is are you asking about overall CPU usage, or a specific process (OBS?) usage? Lots of background processes, all of which are totally normal, can drive such differences. Such 'fluctuations' may appear random, but that's only because most users (99+%) don't care and aren't pushing their machines, so to not overwhelm the vast majority for whom it is not relevant, such activities/processes are 'under the covers'. As mentioned, Task Mgr is a good starting point. But, unless you plan to pursue certification level tech support knowledge level on WinNT OS, I'd argue that learning some basics is worthwhile, but it is a 'rabbit hole' so to speak so beware if that is really where you want to spend your time.
- Windows (and MacOS) run a number of background processes after startup (and varying time delays) and then again on an on-going basis. And I haven't seen a consumer operating system, running 3rd apps, that doesn't need a regular reboot (exact schedule varies by OS, usage model, specific apps, etc). My approach (decades of experience and sticking with what I know works) is to not 'lock' a computer over night. I at least logoff, usually shutting down. I almost never use Windows Hibernate/Suspend. Before livestreaming, I reboot at least an hour ahead of time, and I let it sit idle for a little bit, so all of the OS background activity can complete. Do I know how to work-around such time constraints.. yes, but it isn't worth it to me.

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

But the audio is out of synch. How do I fix this so it won't happen in the future?

Depends on a couple of factors... a common issue is an overloaded system, and the audio drifts (as something has to give). The easy fix is a more powerful computer, or reduced workload.
Is audio joining video before reaching OBS computer? if yes, that would be odd to get out of sync, as both usually have same time stamp so kept in sync naturally (not always, but usually). IF audio path is separate (which is common), then question is a/v sync timing difference consistent? if yes, then typical solution is manually add delay to audio signal in OBS to get into sync. If sync difference varies during recording, then it will be more complex to solve.

 

[Seamndel]

Is audio joining video before reaching OBS computer? if yes, that would be odd to get out of sync,

The Setup is: PS3 > HDMI Splitter > Elgato HD60S+ > OBS. Aren't a&v suppose to reach my PC at the same time?

Just so you know: I use OBS's audio in real time as well (meaning, I connect my headphones to the PC and listen to the game/characters through there; not through the monitor) and the Voices/SOund is pretty much in perfect synch.

It's just that the recordings themselves are out sunc in the audio department.

 

[Lawrence_SoCal]

Not my area of expertise, so hopefully someone else will chime in. Correct in that I'm assuming Audio and Video coming over HDMI signal (doesn't have to, but assuming that is what you have set up). In which case, a common cause is overwhelmed PC

 

[Seamndel]

Recently I've started running 2 instances of OBS (both as Administrator) to varying degrees of success:
Sometimes both .mkv files get recorded properly, sometimes only one instance get's recorded (with no apparent trace of the second instance in File Explorer), sometimes neither file gets recorded.

Here's an example of a gameplay recording at 720p 29.97fps that came out alright - at least to my naked eye - AND had its' facecam footage turn out fine as well:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

Let me clarify: when I say "recorded" I mean having pressed a hotkey that engaged a 40s long replay-buffer (I almost never stream/record whole sessions).

I want to somehow ensure that both replay buffers always get recorded properly.


I assume the this dual recording setup gets messed up because my system doesn't have enough power/resources, so I've thought of one possible way to ameliorate this: what if I set one hotkey to activate 1) replay-buffer on the GAMEPLAY instance 2) another hotkey which would activate the FACECAM instance's replay buffer a couple second later?

Example: CTRL+G > 40 second GAMEPLAY replay buffer > 2 seconds pass > CTRL+F is automatically sent by the system > 42 second FACECAM replay buffer.

Do you think I can decrease the moment-to-moment computation efforts and thus get both replay buffers recorded (with no audio synch issues or screen tearing/skipped frames). Obviously, I'll need to synch gameplay to facecam via an editing software in post, but that's fine, since I intend on automating the whole process eventually anyway.

Or, should I try and have only one instance run as Administrator and the other run as regular instance (with both replay buffers set to the same hotkey)?

I've taken previous advice to heart and now record only at either 29.97 and 59.94fps when using the Elgato HD60S+.

My setup:
Device name SurfacePro7PLUS
Processor 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1165G7 @ 2.80GHz 2.80 GHz
Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.8 GB usable)
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Operating System Windows 11
Face Cam GoPro Hero3+ Black (with an Elgato 4k Link adapter)
Console PS3
Capture card: Elgato HD60S+

OBS log file where only one instance got recorded and had noticeable audio lag: https://obsproject.com/logs/h8279gBFfVgLz9IW