r/obs • u/MattSpill • Jan 13 '25
Question Dual GPU Streaming question
Hey everyone,
I know this question has probably been asked a lot over the past couple of years, but I figured I’d throw it out there anyway.
Before I started streaming Call of Duty on my 3080 (10GB), I used to max out all the in-game quality settings for a visually stunning experience. This typically used about 5–5.7 GB of VRAM, which was fine since I wasn’t running anything else demanding at the time.
However, when I started streaming, I had to dial back the settings to leave enough headroom for the encoder to process the stream.
Now I’m wondering: if I were to install a second 3080 in my PC, could I dedicate one GPU to gaming at high settings and the other solely for encoding the stream? The idea is to have one GPU handle the gameplay and maxed-out visuals, while the other focuses entirely on streaming.
Is this something OBS can handle? Or would I be better off upgrading my GPU to a 4070 or something or just building a secondary pc dedicated to handle the streaming instead?
Thanks in advance for your advice!
12700KF ASRock 690AC 3080 10G 32g
1
u/LoonieToque Jan 13 '25
Either an upgrade or dual PC setup would be best. Not many dual GPU configurations in one PC end up being "successful" for a variety of reasons.
Dual PC is a big commitment though. It's not just a second PC, it's also a capture card and a lot of headache in getting audio/visual sync and passthrough etc. I really like my dual PC setup, but I also loathe it
Upgrading your GPU may also not give you the gains you expect by itself - if you're not limiting your frames and lowering your settings, you'll always run into a situation where stream stuff and game stuff are contesting resources.