CPU usage for QSV recording

Discussion in 'MSI AfterBurner Application Development Forum' started by Tobiman, Dec 6, 2016.

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  1. Tobiman

    Tobiman Guest

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    Hi, I have a 4670k that I use with MSI AB to record gameplay because I feel AB has the best Intel quicksync implementation I've used so far. The problem is that when I'm recording CPU heavy titles with usage in the 50-70% range normally, the cpu usage jumps to 90-100% when I start recording. My temps are still well below 70 celsius but I still get the occasional slowdown for a second or two in an online race, at random. This can lead to me crashing into other players online and has cost me quite a few races from time to time.

    I tried AMD VCE which is actually worry free and decent. No lock-ups at all. Though, it can't record at 1440p @ 60 and even 1080p recordings dip below 60fps.

    Now, I was wondering if upgrading to an i7-4790k would help with CPU usage and provide a smoother experience given it has HT, or would a skylake chip be better due to the newer HD530 and faster cache bandwidth?

    Obviously, I'd rather go the 4790k route but if the 6700k is noticeably better, it's something I could work towards getting.
     
  2. gedo

    gedo Master Guru

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    Are you sure hardware encoding is actually enabled? The performance sounds more like software emulation to me.

    1. Open MSI Afterburner Properties (the cog).
    2. Go to Video capture tab.
    3. Make sure QuickSync is selected in Video format.
    4. Open the plugin settings from the "..." beside the Video format. A new window opens.
    5. Click "Configure".
    6. Under "Hardware acceleration mode", make sure something other than "disabled" is selected. (Usually Direct3D11.)

    I get hardly any performance impact (QuickSync, 1920x1200, 60 fps, Best quality, 18 Mbit/s) on my Intel Core i5-4690K on BF1, which currently taxes all cores close to 100%.
     
    Last edited: Dec 6, 2016
  3. Tobiman

    Tobiman Guest

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    Oops, it seems I can't post a pic yet to show my settings. However, I have it setup at the moment with QSV H264. as the external plugin. I set it to capture full frame(2560x1440) at 50mbps with the slider one tick away from best quality.

    I just got an idea and will try to record at a lower bitrate of 35mbps at best quality settings. Let's see if that helps with the random very low fps drop.

    Will update with results.
     
  4. Andy_K

    Andy_K Master Guru

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    increasing the quality while reducing the bitrate won't help.
    the quality is what keeps the video encoding engine busy, the bitrate is just something an old harddrive could get busy.

    btw. the CPU performance isn't hit from video encoding in any way when using intel quicksync, AMD VCE or Nvidia NVENC.
    Quicksync is some dedicated part of hardware incorporated in the CPU die which has no other task to do than encoding or decoding video and won't hit any other task of the CPU being busy with your game.
     

  5. Mere

    Mere Guest

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    Don't use afterburner for recording. It has a ridiculous performance hit when using quicksync for whatever reasons.. I was getting like 10-13+ fps less than without recording (balanced profile.)

    Use OBS instead.
     
  6. Tobiman

    Tobiman Guest

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    I'll test it out. Last time I tried it was laggy. Maybe that was just oBS studio.
     
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