streaming Requesting Guide to Streamlabs OBS settings

[mamba935]

Hello,

 

I am a small streamer, I like streaming video game content to my friends. My PC specs are strong, but still I find lots of stuttering in my streams and I am unsure what settings to use with my hardware and with my games. I tend to be technically literate (I work in IT) but stream settings are something new to me.

 

Hardware specs:
Ryzen 7 2700X, cooled by NZXT Kraken X72 with noctua redux fans

Asus Crosshair VII Hero WiFi

ASUS ROG 2080 SUPER Advanced

2x16GB TridentZ NEO RGB @ 3200Mhz CL 16 (x470 wont go above 3200 sadly)

2x1TB Samsung 970 EVO ssd

Seasonic 1000W Titanium PSU

Lian Li PC-011D Razer with all 9 fans populated, so no airflow issues

Gigabit Ethernet from Charter Spectrum (only gigabit option in my area, speeds are pretty good)

Monitor 1: 2560x1440 @ 144Hz

Monitor 2: 1920x1080 @ 120Hz

Razer Kiyo webcam 720p 60Hz

Optional: I have an elgato 4k60 Mk2 capture card, but I don't think plugging it into the same PC that runs the games will really do anything. Maybe I'm wrong?

 

I run HWINFO while streaming, and my GPU temps never exceed 75 degrees C, and my CPU never exceeds 50C, so I know temperatures aren't my limitation.

My RAM usage hovers between 40% and 60% while streaming. GPU is pinned in some games (War Thunder, Risk of Rain) but not in others (Rocket League, which is capped at 175FPS). I run all my games at 1440p, and prefer them to run at 100Hz or more with decent detail settings, since its a 2080S.

 

I have tried both CPU and GPU/NVENC encoding, and have found mixed results with both. Since I have an 8C/16T CPU that runs at decent boost clocks, usually 4.2GHz all-core with 2 cores at 4.3, I imagine that CPU encoding would be the way to go, but regardless of my encoder I notice pretty severe hitching in the stream content. My games tend to run fine--except for Risk of Rain, which is unplayable unless I change the resolution to 1080p--but the stream performance is all over the place. Sometimes it runs smoothly, streaming 1080p 60 fps with variable bitrate between 4800-5500, but most of the time what viewers see is a stuttering mess, where every second or so there is a severe hitch in gameplay.

 

I know there are people out there who have a lot more familiarity with streamlabs settings, so I beseech you for your wisdom. The main points I'd like to know are:

1) Will running the capture card make a single difference or not?

2) Should I be using game capture or window capture in Streamlabs

3) Based on my specs, and desire to game at 1440p144hz and stream at 1080p60hz, which encoder should I use, and with what settings?

4) Is streaming at 1080p60hz an overzealous goal with my specs and lack of capture PC?

5) Are there any other settings in streamlabs that will enhance my streaming experience and performance?

 

I appreciate anyone who reads this to the end, and your advice is appreciated. I know merely what I desire, and I seek to learn what I must do. Thank you for your time. 

 

Addendum: An in-depth dive into stream settings and the effect on performance would be an interesting video for the LTT team to make, I think a decent portion of the community would benefit from Streamer Tech Tips.

[AlwaysFSX]

1- It shouldn't make a difference for you
2- Game capture
3- Nvidia's NVENC is the best balance you're going to get for performance and quality. It's consistent. With x264: CPU heavy games will hurt encoder performance / encoder performance will hurt CPU heavy games
4- It absolutely shouldn't be

5- Have you set the process priority to high for Streamlabs OBS?

When you're streaming can you see if you're dropping frames because it's taking too long to encode frames, render them, or if it's a network drop? I'm not super versed in Streamlab's OBS but my understanding is that it's similar enough to OBS Studio:

[mamba935]

Thank you very much for your reply. 

 

3 minutes ago, AlwaysFSX said:

When you're streaming can you see if you're dropping frames because it's taking too long to encode frames, render them, or if it's a network drop?

What would the limitation/bottleneck for encoding and rendering frames? When I get a chance to test this out I'd like to know what's holding me back

[AlwaysFSX]

1 minute ago, mamba935 said:

Thank you very much for your reply. 

 

What would the limitation/bottleneck for encoding and rendering frames? When I get a chance to test this out I'd like to know what's holding me back

If your computer is prioritizing a game over encoding your stream, your stream will have inconsistent frame generation / drop frames. Which the viewer will see as stuttering.

(to my understanding)
Dropped because of encoding is that the computer decided to drop the frame entirely because it took too long to encode and send it on it's way.

Dropped because of rendering is that that it took too long to generate the frame before it's encoded.

Dropped because of the network is an issue somewhere along the line of when you sent out the frame and the streaming service receiving it, typically ISP's lagging the connection for your data.

All three of these will make a stream stutter, but they're all different issues that cause it.

[mamba935]

Last question, will setting priority to high on streamlabs have any impact on gaming performance, or will it just sideline other processes and put the game and stream at the forefront?

[Moonzy]

25 minutes ago, mamba935 said:

Since I have an 8C/16T CPU that runs at decent boost clocks, usually 4.2GHz all-core with 2 cores at 4.3, I imagine that CPU encoding would be the way to go

nah, use nvenc

 

26 minutes ago, mamba935 said:

Optional: I have an elgato 4k60 Mk2 capture card, but I don't think plugging it into the same PC that runs the games will really do anything. Maybe I'm wrong?

26 minutes ago, mamba935 said:

1) Will running the capture card make a single difference or not?

it shouldnt affect anything

 

26 minutes ago, mamba935 said:

2) Should I be using game capture or window capture in Streamlabs

game capture unless if it doesnt work for some reason (ie, in laptops that use iGPU to power the internal display)

 

27 minutes ago, mamba935 said:

3) Based on my specs, and desire to game at 1440p144hz and stream at 1080p60hz, which encoder should I use, and with what settings?

NVENC

1440p60 should be achievable

though depends on what service you're streaming to and what bitrate you can afford

 

28 minutes ago, mamba935 said:

4) Is streaming at 1080p60hz an overzealous goal with my specs and lack of capture PC?

nah, i do 1440p60 on a single box easily

 

28 minutes ago, mamba935 said:

5) Are there any other settings in streamlabs that will enhance my streaming experience and performance?

in streamlabs no, but i find that sometimes limiting in-game fps will reduce stuttering

[mamba935]

1 hour ago, Moonzy said:

though depends on what service you're streaming to and what bitrate you can afford

I stream to twitch. When you say what bitrate I can afford, is that a limitation of my internet service provider? I can get 4800+ bitrate consistently, and when I set it to variable bitrate it tends to sit above 5000 with irregular dips down around 4800

[Moonzy]

Just now, mamba935 said:

I stream to twitch. When you say what bitrate I can afford, is that a limitation of my internet service provider? I can get 4800+ bitrate consistently, and when I set it to variable bitrate it tends to sit above 5000 with irregular dips down around 4800

For twitch, do 1080p60 at 6000kbps max

If your upload speed is lower, use whatever your upload speed it minus ~10% for some headroom, ie 5000kbps upload, set obs to 4500kbps

[mamba935]

Just now, Moonzy said:

For twitch, do 1080p60 at 6000kbps max

If your upload speed is lower, use whatever your upload speed it minus ~10% for some headroom, ie 5000kbps upload, set obs to 4500kbps

Thank you so much, I really appreciate the help. Ill look into all of this later tonight. 

[AlwaysFSX]

11 hours ago, mamba935 said:

Last question, will setting priority to high on streamlabs have any impact on gaming performance, or will it just sideline other processes and put the game and stream at the forefront?

Negligible performance impact.

[mamba935]

@AlwaysFSX and @Moonzy thank you both for you help. I was able to stream War Thunder and Rocket League today, with the games running at my preferred resolution and settings, and with my stream running smoothly at 1080p60. I appreciate you both very much.

[AlwaysFSX]

6 hours ago, mamba935 said:

@AlwaysFSX and @Moonzy thank you both for you help. I was able to stream War Thunder and Rocket League today, with the games running at my preferred resolution and settings, and with my stream running smoothly at 1080p60. I appreciate you both very much.

\o/ That's awesome to hear!

[decolon]

For twitch 720p 60 is the recommended stream setting due to 1080p having issues for the audience. You should do 720p 60 until you get affiliate (to get access to advanced transcoding options) before you move to 720p otherwise a lot of people won't be able to watch your streams.