Steam Link streaming causes low frame rates
I pre-ordered the Steam link/Steam controller through the steam website and just got it on Friday, but I'm having some issues.
Problem:
I'm loving the Steam controller but my problem lies with the Steam link. I've been trying to stream Gone Home, Binding of Issac: Rebirth, Star Wars Battlefront II, and Skull Girls but all of them will not stream over 30 fps. Gone home doesn't even go past 25 fps. Though Bioshock Infinite, Half life 2, and Tomb Raider (2013) can run above 30 usually 40s to 60s.
I was using the "Display Performance Information" option while streaming and took a screenshot while playing Star Wars Battlefront II. I've attached a picture of the output:
I thought it might be the two ethernet switches that I have in between my main computer and the steam link but I connected both to a gigabit ethernet switch, used only CAT6 cables and got the same results.
Information about my setup:
- Every switch that is in my house is a gigabit ethernet switch.
- I have an Apple Time Capsule wireless AC/Gigabit ethernet router.
- My computers motherboard has a gigabit ethernet jack as well.
- I am running Windows 10 Pro, GTX 780ti OC, AMD FX-6100 Six-Core 3.30 GHz, 16GB RAM.
More information:
- I have Hardware Encoding ON, on my main computer, and have Decoding ON, when using the steam link. Having both off gives the same results, and having one on but not the other gives the same results.
- Having changed the settings to Fast, Beautiful, or Balanced does not changed any results.
Is there any settings I have to change on my computer, or anything that I'm lacking? How do I get an output of higher than at least 40 FPS?
This also happens on Laptop, so it is not Steam Link.
Best Answer
From the image you posted your system is actually doing software encoding which is very cpu intensive and I suspect is your problem.
Since you have a 780ti install Geforce experience if you haven't already and turn on shadowplay and turn that to manual if you don't actually plan on using it. This should in theory force your graphics card to do the hardware encoding and should fix it.
You'll know it's working if you see instead of "2 threads" in the encoding printout you see NVFBC.
Pictures about "Steam Link streaming causes low frame rates"
Why is my FPS so low when streaming?
Why Does Streaming Affect FPS? Streaming effects FPS because your computer is encoding your stream before sending it to Twitch. This uses resources on your CPU or GPU depending on your settings. If you don't have enough power your PC will bottleneck, resulting in your dropping frames.Why is Steam Link so laggy?
An unstable network connection is the main reason for Steam Link audio lag. To avoid this situation, we recommend you connect to a wired network using an Ethernet cable, which can help you get good performance for game streaming. Note: Make sure that you connect to a faster and newer router.Does Steam Link affect performance?
Your wireless connection may be weaker compared to a wired one, but its strength will depend on two factors: your general setup, and the games you play. Nonetheless, the duration of your Steam Link input lag should decrease.How do I optimize Steam Link for streaming?
More answers regarding steam Link streaming causes low frame rates
Answer 2
I found a temporary solution for this problem; and hopefully anyone who has this problem on Windows.
I don't have a lot of experience with encoding, but I found that the D3D9 encoder doesn't really work too well, so if you put your games in windowed mode then it'll switch to Desktop DWM RGB and output at 60 fps.
I've tested Rocket League, Gone home, and Star wars Battlefront II and they all work well!
Answer 3
It seems your CPU might be bottlenecking your performance, as streaming any game to another device is a very hard task and you are using quite an old CPU. I would recommend upgrading to a Ryzen 5 2600 if you can.
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Images: Engin Akyurt, Vlada Karpovich, Photography Maghradze PH, Tara Winstead