Streaming sc2 on G73jh

Soooo I'm a semi-pro gamer who wants to stream starcraft 2 but whenever I do I feel a bit of lag, which is not ok at all. What I'm wondering is if it's my laptop or my internet? I don't want to waste money on faster internet if its my computer...Theoretically a g73jh should be able to stream sc2 on low settings with ~30 fps at all times right? thanks in advance

 

If you're "feeling" lag, then I'd assume it's the laptop. If you have an external monitor, watch the Windows Task Manager's Performance Tab while you play. If the processor is taking a beating, then you could look into upgrading the CPU (or find more settings to turn down... either in the game or whatever program you use to stream). If your memory usage is high, then more RAM is an easy fix.

Some network considerations would be:
1) Go wired. If you can't, then make sure your wireless router is set to a channel without much interference from nearby signals. Also, make sure any of your other computers aren't doing any wireless activities while you play. If you have a G router, you might have better luck with N.

2) Try the latency script in my signature. It should help your latency even if it does nothing for the streaming-induced lag.

3) If you haven't already, try running some tests on Speedtest.net, Pingtest.net, and Speakeasy.net/speedtest.

But, like I said above, I'm thinking that the lag is due to your laptop being stressed by gaming and streaming at the same time.

 

thanks man! I installed that latency thingy like you said. The specs for my laptop are pretty decent I think - i7, hd 5870, 8 gigs of ram and I'm playing on low quality in game as well. When I'm not streaming I get like 200ish fps all game long (late game maybe 100-150) but I'll run some tests to confirm.

 

Don't play or stream while using dual monitors. It slows down the game A LOT. My G73 slows to 5 fps when I try to cast aoe spells on full low settings (when the green round targeting thingy is on screen I mean) and I'm using dual monitor. Without dual monitor, game runs smooth even on ultra. I recommend you either play on an external monitor or in the laptop's monitor, don't use both at the same time.

I gave up streaming SC on my G73jh, but I'm pretty sure my issues were with my internet - 1mb upload is sad.

 

Ya thats the thing I'm using only my lappies native monitor so I don't understand how it could be the computer... Decessus you played sc2 on ultra and it was smooth? Maybe my laptop is a dud

 

What program do you use to stream? Do you know if it has any recommended settings - what are your current settings?

I could see a trade-off between high compression (which would decrease your upstream bandwidth utilization) and an increase in CPU usage (as your laptop spends more cycles compressing the video).

Also, about halfway down this post: Ustream tutorial - HD Video, Game sound, and Mic are some tips you might find useful (if you haven't already seen them).

EDIT - I really like this tip:
"The profile I'm currently using for H.264 is 'Main' Keyframe ' 10 seconds', '3.1'. Lower keyframes appeared to result in frequent game freezes. I was also able to further increase smoothness by setting processor affinity in SC2 to CPU 0 and FME to CPUs 1, 2 and 3. I would imagine this would assist those with older quadcores. I5/I7 rigs will most likely not need that."

Between the keyframe info and the processor affinity info, this tip touches on some good stuff.

 

so this is from 3d mark 06
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-720QM Processor ,ASUSTeK Computer Inc. G73Jh score: 11436 3DMarks

(the score is 11436 if the link doesn't work for some reason) I overclocked the gpu slightly (800, 1100) but its still saying my score is low compared to other systems...2000 points lower. I wonder why?

 

That score is appropriate for your system at 1280x1024 with a 720QM. Many of the higher scores you see are with 1280x768. My score with 1280x1024 is the score in my sig (15.5k), but my score at 1280x768 is 16,900.

How are your temperatures for CPU and video card? Check with HWInfo while running 3dmark06 and post a screenshot.

 

Thats not that low to be honest although it is 1000 points under what I had with the 720QM/5870M. A couple of things how is your cooling when running a stress test? it could be a heat related problem if you are running on stock paste. Run HWINFO in the background with the sensors up when you fire up the benchmark and see if your GPU temps are going over 100oC.

Also make sure your Power4Gear is set to performance and the CPU utilisation is also rammed upto 100% as the CPU scores makes a big difference in 3DMark06.

StarCraft 2 should run fine but Ultra was messy with my 720QM and a ZORG swarm it just didn't like it, with my 920XM its fantastic but sadly im bored of the game now. Doh!

Post back your results.

 

Well, even with my 920XM, SC2 will drop below 30 fps at Ultra settings. Fantastic to me is how I start the game with 140-170 fps (depending on map) and never drop below 60. That's with a mixture of Ultra for most things except Medium on shaders.

 

It idles at ~60 and ya it does hit 99 during the test. From what I've read taking it apart and fixing the thermal paste would be a huge endeavor...especially cuz I've never done something like that before. Would it actually be worth it in this case?
EDIT: GPU temp 2 hovers at 65

 

Those temps are real high. You should repaste asap. If it reaches 99 with 3dmark already its most probably throttling with sc2. Youre lucky it doesnt hit 108 and shuts down on you.

 

Before considering a repaste go get yourself some compressed air and clean the vents out with short sharp bursts or forced air this will dislodge any dust stuck in the radiators in each fan vent at the back. As you are facing the screen right is GPU left is CPU.

I checked mine after 9 months originally and it was clogged full of dust meaning this prevents the hot air being removed causing the temp problem.

After you have done this if it is still in the high 90's consider a repaste not before.

 

Hmm.... not looking good lol. By the way I'm kind of confused about the most up to date drivers and stuff. This seems to be the 10.8 version I keep reading about but idk if something newer has been released: http://downloads.guru3d.com/ATI-Catalyst-10.8-Win-7-|-Vista--%2864-bit%29-download-2609.html

I think I have the most up to date bios (213) but as far as vbios goes I'm lost. Is this the most up to date one? (93vbios) 93vBIOSa.rar

thx guys I know i've been asking alot of questions >

Actually my bios is 012.017.000.004.035992. shouldn't it be something like 012.020?

 

Yes update your Vbios to .93 and update your display drivers to 11.10 these are the latest you are using very old drivers.

I still recommend cleaning the vents though it sounds as though your cooling is suffering due to dust in the radiators.

 

Definitely use compressed air. I needed to clean my vents after just 3 months of operation. But, I also repasted

 

Hmmmm.... well my max temp while playing sc2 for 3 hours was 80. I play on low at 1920 x 1080 (native). Weird huh? Kind of off topic but I was trying to update my vbios and whenever I select my usb in bios it says it can't find a booting disc or whatever. Can the usb ONLY have the files for the v93 flash (I have other files on it too)?