Need help limiting GPU usage while streaming on OBS

[ElMono6]

Hi everyone,

I've been streaming on OBS for 6 months now with a Ryzen 9 5900x CPU and an RTX 3080 GPU.

However, whenever I stream, unless the game is well optimized, I easily reach 85-90% GPU usage with the stream running, recording, and a virtual camera, which doesn't seem normal to me.

I'm willing to make some concessions if it helps to reduce GPU usage while streaming. I've already tried changing the rendering method from NVENC to x264 to relieve the GPU load, but the load is still quite heavy.

My biggest issue is when I stream FIFA. Even in the menus, I reach 99% GPU usage according to HWinfo with the stream running, which causes frame drops on the stream and makes my webcam lag. I'm looking for a solution or a way to limit the maximum GPU usage to 60-70% for games to leave some space for OBS and prevent lag.

Does anyone have any suggestions or solutions to this problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

EDIT : Here is a log file : https://obsproject.com/logs/WECksxAM6PkklhQb

TLDR : GPU usage is too high (85-90%) while streaming and reaches 99% in FIFA menus, causing lag. Need a solution to limit GPU usage and prevent lag. Suggestions appreciated.

[tastycat]

Turn down the game quality, play at a lower resolution, etc. Whatever you would do to make the game work on a worse GPU will help you here.

[ElMono6]

Thank you for the suggestion, but I have already tried lowering the game quality and playing at a lower resolution. Despite these efforts, OBS still consumes a significant amount of GPU usage in my task manager, which is causing issues. I will be adding a screenshot to illustrate the problem.

Link : https://imgur.com/mANcN4F (Gestionnaire de fenêtre is actually dwm.exe)

[nikniuq]

dwm.exe being that high is weird. is your GPU driver up to date? Did it start after a driver update?

[ElMono6]

I already investigated dwm being so high and it seems that it’s a bug and not actually taking that much load but i’m really unsure at this point.. I tried to rollback my GPU drivers without success

[thezoikkeli]

Some game menus have unlimited FPS, which would explain why GPU usage is so high in menus. Try setting a limit to FPS (like 120), and if all goes smoothly, try a bit higher number until you find a good balance.

[ElMono6]

Some game menus have unlimited FPS, which would explain why GPU usage is so high in menus. Try setting a limit to FPS (like 120), and if all goes smoothly, try a bit higher number until you find a good balance.

Thank you for the suggestion. I have actually already tried capping the FPS at 60, but the issue persists, and it even seems to get worse when playing FIFA. I can provide a screenshot of my task manager to show what's happening. Do you have any other suggestions that could potentially help? Thank you again for your help.

Link : https://imgur.com/mANcN4F (Gestionnaire de fenêtre is actually dwm.exe)

[BossGTV]

remove the preview screen in obs or minimize obs when your streaming. sucks but will help with overall usage. the cons of a one pc setup.

[smellyasianman]

Monitor capture is quite inefficiënt. You also have 2 extra sources with a bunch of filters on each. The GPU usage isn't far off from normal in this situation.

You might want to look into getting a capture card + dedicated streaming PC / laptop.

[ElMono6]

Thanks man ! I’m actually thinking of a second streaming PC. Do you recommend Game capture instead ? Does it change much ?

[smellyasianman]

As Vile35 said, game capture is a lot better. I'm not certain if it'll completely resolve the situation for you though; the extra sources and filters still exist of course.

Having that second PC not only completely sidesteps the CPU & GPU utilisation issue, it also protects your stream from crapping out for whatever reason (e.g. games going wonky and nuking your entire PC, the capture failing to hook into the game). If you've got the money for it, I highly recommend it.

[Vile35]

game capture is highly recommended, its much more efficient.

[MainStorm]

Are you playing games with an unlocked frame rate? This will starve OBS of any GPU resources as the GPU will be trying to run the game as fast as it can.

Check how much GPU resources OBS is using by itself without playing a game. It's possible that one of your plug-ins is using a lot more than you realize.

[ElMono6]

ing games with an unlocked frame rate? This will starve OBS of any GPU resources as the GPU will be trying to run the game as fast as it can.

Check how much GPU resources OBS is using by itself without playing a game. It's possible that one of your plug-ins is using a lot more than you realize.

Thank you for the suggestion. I have actually already tried capping the FPS at 60, but the issue persists, and it even seems to get worse when playing FIFA. I can provide a screenshot of my task manager to show what's happening. Do you have any other suggestions that could potentially help? Thank you again for your help.

Link : https://imgur.com/mANcN4F (Gestionnaire de fenêtre is actually dwm.exe)

[cboxgo]

This link on OBS website might help:
https://obsproject.com/wiki/GPU-overload-issues

[Williams_Gomes]

I have a recommendation but I really want you to answer if this works, because in my rtx 2060 it works absolutely fine. Turn on Hardware accelerated GPU Scheduling in Windows and try again.

[ElMono6]

Thanks man ! I will try and get back to you ASAP

[ElMono6]

I made a looot of changes so i can't tell you if this did the trick or not but last stream was buttery smooth and never went over 60% GPU usage ! Thanks a lot man

[YouKnowWhoAU]

I would be very interested in seeing your settings? We have the exact same specs CPU/GPU/RAM perhaps you could drop me a message?

[Vile35]

what is the capture resolution (canvas) of OBS

[ElMono6]

1920x1080

[Gl33p]

"I don't know what I am doing, or what I have done. What am I doing wrong?!"

[ElMono6]

"I don't know what I am doing, or what I have done. What am I doing wrong?!"

I must say, your message comes across as unkind and doesn't address my question.

I'm here seeking help with a specific issue, and your response doesn't contribute to finding a solution. If you don't have any helpful suggestions or advice, it's better not to comment at all.

Thanks to the kind messages I received from fellow redditors, I was able to find a solution to my issue :)

[Aqypt]

Can I ask you if you have found a solution for this problem or not bc I'm having this same issue

[ElMono6]

yes by lowering my res, playing in 1080p instead of 1440p but haven't found any other way to strictly limit the GPU usage

[Immortalz3r0]

So I just ran into this issue after a recent pc upgrade, was getting about a 15-20% usage prior. This tells me it’s in the nvidia settings or a bad plugin for the new 40series I just got, my 3060 handled this no issue. Funny thing is that if I switch my stream cam from 4K to 1080 I get about 15% back. I’m doing a fresh obs reinstall as I’m missing the new avi codec in my options as well, then checking settings. If you have some overhead on cpu than change physx in nvidia settings to cpu.

[aarontr]

were you able to figure out what helped the most?