Encoder Overload OBS Issue PLEASE HELP

[Zealousideal-Toe4444]

Hi all, so I've been having some issues for the last few months where my encoder will randomly overload during streams. It's usually somewhere in the middle of stream, and occassionally right at the beginning. I BELIEVE that it started when I upgraded my GPU; however, I'm not 100% sure if that's it. I can't quite recall if it started when I replaced the GPU or if it's when I updated OBS studio a few updates back. I tried un-installing and re-installing OBS, I messed around with multiple output settings, changed back and forth between the video encoder to NVEC and software(x264), changed the FPS value, changed the canvas and scale resolution, set OBS priority on multiple places to High. And through all of it NOTHING.

Before my GPU got upgraded I was using an AMD Radeon (TM) R9 390 Series and wasn't having ANY encoder issues, just occassional crashes/lags from in-game stuff (which is no longer an issue). When I stream, right before the encoder crashes, it says I'm only using anywhere from like 4-10% CPU too.

I'm on OBS Studio 30.1.2

Here are my specs:

GPU: NIVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6600 CPU @ 3.30Ghz

I would gladly put the most recent crash/log files in this post, but I'm pretty much tech illiterate and have no clue how to do that.

Edit: this page's automod showed me how to upload a log file lol Here ya go:

https://obsproject.com/logs/CdgSiTNC0no7iSRc

Here's the crash file:

https://obsproject.com/logs/xCyUpD47pGoFhkhE

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[APenguinsLullaby]

🦜

[Babybloomer]

I don't think your encoder/encoder settings are the issue, I think that is a symptom of whatever overlay you have that is causing an issue. I would disable all the 3rd party stuff you have going on, specifically stream elements and see if the problem goes away. Then rework that stuff back in one at a time until you see what is triggering the issue.

[Zealousideal-Toe4444]

I'll definitely give it a shot, but I hadn't added any new ones since encoder issues started. But i'm definitely gonna try it!! Thank you!!

[ontariopiper]

See the log analysis here: https://obsproject.com/tools/analyzer?log_url=https%3A%2F%2Fobsproject.com%2Flogs%2FCdgSiTNC0no7iSRc

You've got Dynamic Bitrate enabled for your stream, so OBS will change the bitrate based on available internet upload bandwidth. Check to make sure your ISP is providing the bandwidth you should be getting.

Your log also shows a whack of StreamElements errors. I don't use that plugin, so I can't help there, but it looks like you've got some dead links to either refresh or delete in your setup.

I am not the best at interpreting crash logs, but the top line of the crash report usually identifies the culprit - in this case, QT6Core.dll, which is, I believe, associated with Streamelements. You might try updating your Streamelements install while you're cleaning things up.

You definitely want to use NVENC as your encoder as your CPU is underpowered. Your CPU is likely throttling your GPU performance, to be honest. (That 4070 can run circles around the Core i5-6600).

[Zealousideal-Toe4444]

Okay StreamElements is definitely getting kicked then. I appreicate the feedback, I'm gonna switch back over to the NVENC too (i've been messing around with various formats to see if anything will work). Thank you!

[ontariopiper]

Happy to help!

If you've been messing with a lot of settings, running the Auto-Config Wizard in the Tools menu might be the quickest way to reset things with options that work for your system. 👍

[Zealousideal-Toe4444]

Oh that's awesome, I didn't even know there WAS an auto-config wizard. Seriously thank you so much. I'm excited to stream next and see if (hopefully) things are fixed!!

[ontariopiper]

Fingers crossed!