Upgrade to facilitate higher-quality streaming

Hey all,

Going to start streaming soon, and after some brief testing (on CS:GO DM) my current rig seems to be able run a stream at 3,000 bit rate, 1080p scaled down to 720p, on CS:GO at low settings. During the brief testing there was only minor framerate snagging, which was essentially unnoticeable when I played the footage back. But, in the future, at some point next year, I'd like to upgrade so that there is none, and I can stream at a bit of a higher quality/not have to worry about game settings so much.

If you were to pick parts now to upgrade my PC to be able to do this, what would they be, and how much would it currently set me back? I have no idea how much I'd need to spend, but just assume I'm not a super rich dude who can spend infinite $$$$$. Good price:quality:application as stated above, please!

RAM: Corsair XMS3 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz CAS 9 Dual Channel
CPU: Intel CPU i5 4670K Socket 1150 Quad Core Haswell
MB: Asus Z87-A Intel Z87 Socket 1150
GFX CARD: XFX Double Dissapation Radeon HD 7970
PSU: Corsair 600M

I have a spare R9 290X (factory new) that apparently I can Crossfire w my current card (may need a better PSU for that). Not sure if that would help. I've heard an i7 would be good? That's what I'm thinking is likely: a new MB and an i7/AMD (no idea if AMD processors are good atm). I don't know. Help is appreciated!

I built this PC on the recommendations of this forum, and for over a year it has served me very well. Looking forward to your feedback.

If you're having streaming issues, I'd bark up another tree. Perhaps just upgrade the CPU to i7 3770k (pricey for the upgrade though...) and install the 290x. You can't crossfire a 7970 and a 290x, not even the same architecture dude. A 280x will crossfire with it, as its the same card (minus some tweaks).

If you have a "spare 290x", install that and see where you go. Your rig should be able to stream CS:GO just fine as it is though, I'd think something else was awry myself.

edit: Personally, I'd install the 290x, purchase a good cooler, and overclock. Should help immensely. CSGO is VERY MUCH a dual threaded game. Shouldn't be taxing a quad core at all.

bob4933 said:

If you're having streaming issues, I'd bark up another tree. Perhaps just upgrade the CPU to i7 3770k (pricey for the upgrade though...) and install the 290x. You can't crossfire a 7970 and a 290x, not even the same architecture dude. A 280x will crossfire with it, as its the same card (minus some tweaks).

If you have a "spare 290x", install that and see where you go. Your rig should be able to stream CS:GO just fine as it is though, I'd think something else was awry myself.

edit: Personally, I'd install the 290x, purchase a good cooler, and overclock. Should help immensely. CSGO is VERY MUCH a dual threaded game. Shouldn't be taxing a quad core at all.

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How's he going to use a 3770K when he's got a Z87 board?

Theocnoob said:

How's he going to use a 3770K when he's got a Z87 board?

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What the crap... I swore that said 3570k..... Even I know a haswell chip wont fit on an ivy socket... It even freaking states "haswell". time for bed! haha

*bangs head*

edit:
Good lord Im crossing threads...

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/753538-Little-help-please

Another important factor is your network upload speed. It doesn't matter if you've got a top of the line rig if you're upload is capped at 756k or something.

Why not upgrade to a platform that incorporates a streaming chip on the board? I know the MSI X99 Gaming 9 does. Perhaps it has some in the Z97 range? That way it takes the load off your CPU for this task.

pcgamer4life said:

Another important factor is your network upload speed. It doesn't matter if you've got a top of the line rig if you're upload is capped at 756k or something.

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Ditto! Mantrousse, what kind of numbers do you get if you run Speedtest.net?

EarthDog said:

Why not upgrade to a platform that incorporates a streaming chip on the board? I know the MSI X99 Gaming 9 does. Perhaps it has some in the Z97 range? That way it takes the load off your CPU for this task.

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Not to be a naysayer but I know a few people on twitch streaming with 4460s with no problem streaming 720p on maxed graphics settings (bf4, dota2, diablo 3 multi boxed)

Uhh huh. Well aware it's not needed, just throwing out there as an option.

First thing we need to know is this persons Internet dl/ul speeds and whether he's getting what was advertised (speedtest.net)

EarthDog said:

Uhh huh. Well aware it's not needed, just throwing out there as an option.

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edit for clarification:

for sure, but his rig not working is implying somethings "wrong" with his setup to me. Low upload speeds would likely be more of a culprit here, and no amount of hardware will fix that.

It wasn't implying anything.

EarthDog said:

It wasn't implying anything.

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Not your post lol. The OP. If he's having problems with that set up, somethings not right, and capture card isn't going to be the answer. edit: yeah I can see that how that would be confusing, sorry.

Hey all. My internet is 48 down/12 up!

I've fiddled with obs a bit, and CS:GO settings, and the framerate doesn't snag at all now. But, I'm still very curious as to what upgrades could help my PC (in the future) to do 1080p on pretty much any games at high settings?

Thanks for the help!

Mantrousse said:

Hey all. My internet is 48 down/12 up!

I've fiddled with obs a bit, and CS:GO settings, and the framerate doesn't snag at all now. But, I'm still very curious as to what upgrades could help my PC (in the future) to do 1080p on pretty much any games at high settings?

Thanks for the help!

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as earthdog mentioned previously, a capture card will help immensely.

That said, what EXACTLY are you running when you "stream". CS:GO isn't exactly a "highly demanding" game. Your rig should murder that and have plenty of juice left over.

When you say 'what exactly', do you mean ALL processes on my computer? The general stuff I run when I'm streaming: OBS (w overlay and cam, 720p, 3000 kb/s bitrate), Steam, CS:GO, then a couple other random things like AVG, etc.

Does that help? I get the impression you think my PC should be able to stream the game at 1080p, maxed out, no worries! Which is def not the case without some framerate jitters.

I know a few people personally running old i5's and stream BF4 or multi boxed diablo 3 1080p fine. They are running lesser GPUs too, so I don't really understand why cs:go would have an issue on your rig.

Potential mal ware issue? Do me a favor, when you stream next, run performance manager and see where your cpu and ram % are.

bob4933 said:

I know a few people personally running old i5's and stream BF4 or multi boxed diablo 3 1080p fine. They are running lesser GPUs too, so I don't really understand why cs:go would have an issue on your rig.

Potential mal ware issue? Do me a favor, when you stream next, run performance manager and see where your cpu and ram % are.

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Hey, hope these Gyazo's help! Task Manager performance stuff, and OBS settings.

Task Manager
Processes http://gyazo.com/7e5bfa995308120b728618697a928952
Performance http://gyazo.com/3902da16059a0d5d664f57b6055cbfad

OBS
General http://gyazo.com/69c041bb6851324e56c16631ed6b659a
Encoding http://gyazo.com/95de0e447f4ec9ba683b90013845cef3
Broadcast http://gyazo.com/e48ce491c66407b46bf7cbe6d8558d2d
Video http://gyazo.com/84a13b238b96473db1e04f1ef3ca9675
Advanced http://gyazo.com/155f09656d139d033f8bcb8ec53b3c23

I knew it, something else is going on. You're not even using half of your i5's power, and 40% of your ram. So clearly something is wrong between the upload and the site.

bob4933 said:

I knew it, something else is going on. You're not even using half of your i5's power, and 40% of your ram. So clearly something is wrong between the upload and the site.

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Thx for the response. What do you mean by "upload and the site"? The issue is with getting decreased performance, and thus having to decrease game/stream settings on my PC as I play whilst streaming.