Dual PC Streaming Setup

[cyph0rg]

Hello,

 

Currently I already have a dual PC streaming setup.

Configuration is as follows: 

__________________________________

Gaming PC:

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-UD3 Ultra
CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-6600K Processor
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 FTW Gaming
RAM: Avexir Core Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR4 2400

Streaming PC:

CPU: 2 x Intel® Xeon® X5670 Processor
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti SC Gaming
RAM: 96GB Unbuffered ECC RAM
Input: AVerMedia Live Gamer HD 2

_________________________________________

 

I am thinking of upgrading my streaming rig since I notice that even with the power of two Xeon processors the encoder is being overloaded.

 

I am thinking of getting an AMD Ryzen 5 1600x, Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x4GB DDR4 3200MHz on an MSI B350M Gaming Pro motherboard, and just reuse the 1050 Ti that is currently in the server machine.

I am streaming 1080p@60fps, please tell me what you think of this setup, is the 1600x strong enough or should I opt for a Ryzen 7 instead and is 8GB of RAM enough for such a machine? I am running other apps on the streaming rig like chrome with a few tabs open, discord, spotify or another music player, twitch bot, discord music bot and so on.. I would substitute the server machine completely as I do feel that it is slowly coming to the end of it's natural lifespan..

 

Also on another note, is the gaming pc configuration I am currently running strong enough for upcoming AAA titles or should I start thinking about an upgrade in the near future?

 

Best regards,

cyph0rg.

https://www.twitch.tv/cyph0rg

[Streetguru]

13 minutes ago, cyph0rg said:

 

Why don't you just replace the CPU in your main machine with an R7 2700X? Simplifies things a fair amount, and can do 1080p streaming just fine.

[cyph0rg]

5 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

Why don't you just replace the CPU in your main machine with an R7 2700X? Simplifies things a fair amount, and can do 1080p streaming just fine.

I do prefer having separate machines for this as I am running the stream and my games on separate internet connections plus it gives me a lot more flexibility in terms of monitor real-estate etc..

 

*currently running 6 monitors*

[Streetguru]

1 minute ago, cyph0rg said:

 

Well I'd probably go for an 8 core Ryzen chip at minimum. And go for the ASrock Pro 4 board, don't go for MSI in any event.

 

 

[cyph0rg]

1 minute ago, Streetguru said:

Well I'd probably go for an 8 core Ryzen chip at minimum. And go for the ASrock Pro 4 board, don't go for MSI in any event.

Okay, but again, keep in mind the processor will only be encoding data from the gaming PC, I won't be doing any gaming on the same machine.
Also, why such a definite no on the MSI board?

[Streetguru]

6 minutes ago, cyph0rg said:

Okay, but again, keep in mind the processor will only be encoding data from the gaming PC, I won't be doing any gaming on the same machine.
Also, why such a definite no on the MSI board?

MSI AM4 boards aren't too great.

 

The 8 core just means you never have to worry about it when it comes to streaming. The 6 core is likely fine for 1080p though.

[cyph0rg]

1 minute ago, Streetguru said:

MSI AM4 boards aren't too great.

 

The 8 core just means you never have to worry about it when it comes to streaming. The 6 core is likely fine for 1080p though.

Okay, what about Ryzen 1st gen vs the new 2nd gen cpus?

[Streetguru]

3 minutes ago, cyph0rg said:

Okay, what about Ryzen 1st gen vs the new 2nd gen cpus?

I'd go 2nd gen for sure, better clocks at lower voltages, and better memory support even on X370, likely even on B350 as well

 

 

[cyph0rg]

9 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

I'd go 2nd gen for sure, better clocks at lower voltages, and better memory support even on X370, likely even on B350 as well

Also, would a 450W power supply be enough for a machine like that, I ran a few calculators, they all say that this machine will draw anywhere between 330W-400W depending on overclocking.

But I though I'd ask, just in case..

[Streetguru]

3 minutes ago, cyph0rg said:

Also, would a 450W power supply be enough for a machine like that, I ran a few calculators, they all say that this machine will draw anywhere between 330W-400W depending on overclocking.

But I though I'd ask, just in case..

Calculators are generally useless, a Ryzen 8 core will draw probably 150W-200W under full load depending on your OC, 1050ti has a 75W max Most you'd ever draw is around 300W as just 1080p streaming at like Very Fast settings likely won't put your CPU under full load, and the GPU will basically never get used.

[cyph0rg]

2 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

Calculators are generally useless, a Ryzen 8 core will draw probably 150W-200W under full load depending on your OC, 1050ti has a 75W max Most you'd ever draw is around 300W as just 1080p streaming at like Very Fast settings likely won't put your CPU under full load, and the GPU will basically never get used.

Alrighty, thank you!

 

Also - slightly off topic, or not since it is still related to streaming..

Is there any benefit to running the 'CPU Usage Preset' at lower than the "veryfast" setting?

[Streetguru]

2 minutes ago, cyph0rg said:

 

The lower you can go the higher quality your stream will be, especially with lower bitrate streaming.

Very Fast is usually good enough though.

Can find plenty of comparisons, though youtube compression is probably screwing things up a bit
 

 

[cyph0rg]

9 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

The lower you can go the higher quality your stream will be, especially with lower bitrate streaming.

Very Fast is usually good enough though.

Can find plenty of comparisons, though youtube compression is probably screwing things up a bit

Thank you, again I found a lot of useful information regarding this.

Don't understand though my current streaming machine with the 2 X5670 Xeons in it get the "Encoder overloaded" message even at the "veryfast" preset.

I still can't wrap my head around how does that happen with CPU utilization floating between 20%-25%.

[Streetguru]

10 minutes ago, cyph0rg said:

 

Are you on the latest version of OBS? What's your bitrate and all other settings? That machine should have no problem streaming.

[cyph0rg]

2 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

Are you on the latest version of OBS? What's your bitrate and all other settings? That machine should have no problem streaming.

Bitrate = 6000

Keyframe = 2

Preset = veryfast

Profile = main

 

Yes - Latest OBS 64-bit version.

[Streetguru]

1 minute ago, cyph0rg said:

Bitrate = 6000

Keyframe = 2

Preset = veryfast

Profile = main

 

Yes - Latest OBS 64-bit version.

Try keyframe at 0?

I can do 1080p 50,000 bitrate at very fast on my R7 1700 without breaking a sweat. keyframe is at 0

[cyph0rg]

6 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

Try keyframe at 0?

I can do 1080p 50,000 bitrate at very fast on my R7 1700 without breaking a sweat. keyframe is at 0

Okay, I was mistaken about the 20%-25% cpu load, it is at 35%-40% - stream is stable, no encoding overload so far, however for some reason - FPS is floating around 55, while supposed to be stuck at 60 as I understand.. 

 

*EDIT* Dips to around 35-40 fps every now and then.

[Streetguru]

3 minutes ago, cyph0rg said:

 

Maybe try increasing it's priority in OBS, and force it to only use core 0-11 in CPU affinity.

[cyph0rg]

6 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

Maybe try increasing it's priority in OBS, and force it to only use core 0-11 in CPU affinity.

Tried that, did not help. However I just stumbled upon a thread on the OBS forums, stating that OBS currently does not support more than 22 threads and can actually cause instability. Something I didn't find when I was researching the issue when first encountered it, manually disabling 2 thread in task manager didn't help however there was a reply to the tread suggesting to add 'threads=12' to the "x264 Options" which I did, the stream is currently running flawlessly for about 4 minutes, CPU usage is floating between 25%-30% framerate is GLUED to 60 FPS, bitrate is floating around the 6000 point as expected.. 

 

Original thread:

https://obsproject.com/forum/threads/for-video-encoding-more-cores-or-more-ghz.10722/

 

[cyph0rg]

Very weird issue though, whenever I change scenes cpu spikes - fps drops and encoder overloads..

[Streetguru]

34 minutes ago, cyph0rg said:

 

Maybe it's just some strange incompatibility with the xeons. Or maybe it's something to do with your capture card, no idea.

[wildgg]

i was reading through this real quick so sorry if i missed something.

 

any 4c/8t cpu should be fine for a streaming pc but more cores=higher the preset in obs you can push. with a 6c i would expect medium and 8c+ slow/slower.

450W PSU is fine unless you go with intel/x299 and overclock the cpu then you would need a better PSU.

 

i've have used a older x58 for a streaming pc and the issue that i ran into was the same as you. what weirdly fixed it for me was the windows power settings.

so i had to open the window 'power options' then select high performance then switch back to balanced and then just leave it open. you can minimize the power options but do not close it down!

i think this had something to do with older bios versions.

[dragonhart6505]

Instead of building an entire new PC, why not get a recent AMD card like a 580 or a Vega on the streaming rig and encode using Advanced Media Framework plugin for OBS? It uses the GPU and has nearly no bearing on CPU usage. I have an RX460 4GB and i5 4460 on a single PC and only the RX460 (and lackluster internet...thanks Xfinity) holds me back streaming 1080p60 in a few titles, but only just. As a result, if im streaming a game more GPU bound I stream at 1080p30 which is still fine for most games. If I had something like a 580 or even just a second GPU itd be no sweat. You've got 2 entire PCs where the GPU would be doing nothing BUT encoding on the stream setup, so it'd be a cake walk for you.

[cyph0rg]

21 hours ago, wildthing said:

i was reading through this real quick so sorry if i missed something.

 

any 4c/8t cpu should be fine for a streaming pc but more cores=higher the preset in obs you can push. with a 6c i would expect medium and 8c+ slow/slower.

450W PSU is fine unless you go with intel/x299 and overclock the cpu then you would need a better PSU.

 

i've have used a older x58 for a streaming pc and the issue that i ran into was the same as you. what weirdly fixed it for me was the windows power settings.

so i had to open the window 'power options' then select high performance then switch back to balanced and then just leave it open. you can minimize the power options but do not close it down!

i think this had something to do with older bios versions.

Thank you for the input! Greatly appreciated - will research further into it!

 

21 hours ago, dragonhart6505 said:

Instead of building an entire new PC, why not get a recent AMD card like a 580 or a Vega on the streaming rig and encode using Advanced Media Framework plugin for OBS? It uses the GPU and has nearly no bearing on CPU usage. I have an RX460 4GB and i5 4460 on a single PC and only the RX460 (and lackluster internet...thanks Xfinity) holds me back streaming 1080p60 in a few titles, but only just. As a result, if im streaming a game more GPU bound I stream at 1080p30 which is still fine for most games. If I had something like a 580 or even just a second GPU itd be no sweat. You've got 2 entire PCs where the GPU would be doing nothing BUT encoding on the stream setup, so it'd be a cake walk for you.

First of, with the GPU markups right now due to crypto-miners buying a GPU is out of the question.

And second - you probably missed the part about the server's lifespan is probably coming to an end, so I need a replacement and running a single PC streaming setup does not work for me..

 

 

P.S. - Did some more research, and for my case of use - should probably go with 16GB of ram, perhaps I'll upgrade my main system to a 32GB kit and reuse the 16GB for the streaming rig, on the other hand that ram is rather slow, I shall get something along the lines of 3000MHz, 3200MHz or even higher if possible as I've seen many reviews on the Ryzen architecture heavily dependent on memory speed..

 

Best regards,

cyph0rg.

 

https://www.twitch.tv/cyph0rg

[dragonhart6505]

56 minutes ago, cyph0rg said:

with the GPU markups right now due to crypto-miners buying a GPU is out of the question

theyre coming down and manufacturers are going to be shipping more GPUs very shortly. even at todays prices, its still cheaper than building a whole new rig

56 minutes ago, cyph0rg said:

you probably missed the part about the server's lifespan is probably coming to an end

no, i didnt miss it. i know the system seems to be on its outs, i figured using GPU accelerated encoding would spare the system some more time. even in your new system it would free up resources for other tasks like multitasking with a browser open, your green screening, audio mixing, etc. doing all of that at once, even off of old dual xeons, is rough. encoding your stream with a GPU will let those applications/processes run from the CPU freely without OBS reliance on it.

 

it was just a suggestion, throw my 2 kopek into the hat

 

edit: my mistake, you were hosting another streamer. removed the misinformed stream settings

 

edit 2: watching your last stream, it certainly seems like your stressing that system alot even at relatively common bitrate. not sure why youre source stream looks so...garbage. excuse the insensitivity...nothing meant by it, but it really is full of artifacting. whereas with GPU encoding, even at 5500-6000 the artifacting is minimal. just how GPU dedicated encoding works vs CPU based encoding from my experience

 

regards mate, good luck