Why does my stream look like poop?

[SillyOldSquid]

Hi all,
I've recently decided to start streaming due to my long term unemployment, the problem is my stream looks like shit ( IMO ).

I'm using OBS and I cant seem to figure out the appropriate settings for my situation,
I'm planning on streaming mainly CS:GO and some other games but during my test streams the image quality is below what I would consider a good quality.

The stream runs smooth its not choppy or laggy, it just seems to be pixelated and low res.

This is the internet speed im working with (more than enough for streaming)
http://www.speedtest.net/result/4167152481.png

PC specs, (just upgraded)

MOBO: Asus Maximus VII Formula
CPU: Intel i7-4790k
GPU: Asus Strix GTX 980
RAM: 16gb corsair vengeance LP , 4x4gb
STORAGE: WD Black 1tb / WD green 2tb / SSD: Corsair force 3 120gb / samsung evo 840 240gb
PSU: Corsair AX860i

I also seem to be getting massive FPS drops in game when streaming, I understand maybe cutting the normal FPS in half but its getting to the point where I wouldn't be able to play the game effectively.

I appreciate any help you guys could give me.

 

[Pr3d4t0r]

change bitrate to be around 80% bandwidth after your games so if you have 20mbits up, csgo uses lets say 2(probably less) set bitrate to around 15mbits or around 2000KB/s which is about average for 1080p stream (btw 20 up isnt that much, its borderline enough for 1080p 60fps).

been a while since I configured OBS but its in the video setting somewhere.

 

[AverageNinja]

Can you give me some screenshots of your settings?
What resolution are you streaming and what bitrate are you using? If it's 1080p, make sure your bitrate is at around 3000 (recommended by Twitch). Make sure you have 'CBR' (means Constant Bitrate) checked.

Do you use resolution downscaling?

 

[barnsley]

First off, streaming in 1080p and gaming at the same time is incredibly intensive (cpu usage can be near 100% for highish end cpus), especially if you're aiming for 1080p/60fps. The best way to stream shooters such as CS:GO is either to use another PC to stream it (which is pretty unnecessary unless you're a popular streamer) while playing on your PC. You'd need to spend tops of about £400 for a PC just for streaming/capture (an 8320 based rig is best bang/buck for streaming via OBS).

As Average said, we'll need to see your settings on OBS.

 

[SillyOldSquid]

Here are some screenshots as requested :

@Barnsley
could you elaborate on the streaming pc comment, I have a decent amount of hardware sitting around doing nothing so building another pc is an option, what would you recommend are the bare minimum spec requirement for a secondary streaming pc ?

 

[barnsley]

@Barnsley
could you elaborate on the streaming pc comment, I have a decent amount of hardware sitting around doing nothing so building another pc is an option, what would you recommend are the bare minimum spec requirement for a secondary streaming pc ?

Basically streaming with another PC means the performance on your gaming PC isn't affected. Here is a guide on various ways of setting it up.

What parts do you have sitting around? Ideally you'd want something like a 6/8 core AM3+ AMD cpu or a i7 9xx cpu. With streaming, the more cores you have the better it'll be (thats a basic summing up).

 

[SillyOldSquid]

Ideally you'd want something like a 6/8 core AM3+ AMD cpu or a i7 9xx cpu. With streaming, the more cores you have the better it'll be (thats a basic summing up).

Would an i7 - 3770K LGA1155 be enough do you think ?

 

[barnsley]

Would an i7 - 3770K LGA1155 be enough do you think ?

Yeah thats more than enough to Stream and record at the same time (if you wanted to).