How to Fix OBS Dropping Frames in 2022 – 10 Quick FIX

Frame drop, generally known as frame per second (fps) can ruin your streaming and gaming experience. In this guide, I will take you through the complete solution to fix OBS dropping frames on Windows PC.

You may face a drop in frames while recording, streaming, or probably for no reason.

The solution will be for both OBS Studio and Streamlabs OBS. 

Why does OBS keep dropping frames?

There are a couple of reasons behind the frame drop in OBS but the major cause is the Internet connection and OBS settings.

But how would you know that there is an OBS drop?

You may know if your viewers let you know about the stuttering stream or you can also check from OBS stream status.

I have been using OBS for the last 4 years and since then I got through with many reasons the top 5 major reasons are as follows.

• Unstable Internet Connection
• Video Resolution
• Bitrate
• Windows Firewall or Antivirus
• Twitch Server or Encoder

There are a few more small settings that may become the reasons for dropping frames in OBS. Let’s see how you can fix this quickly. Apply the methods for both Streamlabs and OBS studio.

How to Fix OBS Dropping Frames

I am sharing 10 methods here for which I am very sure that it will resolve twitch stream stuttering on OBS with a huge fps drop.

Every time any of my users have trouble I recommend all solutions to get them and I always hear back from them “ Thank you”.

FIX 1:- Update OBS & Run as an Administrator

To fix all the stuttering problems and encoding overload on 64-bit CPU make sure you are running the latest version of OBS with the 64-bit version.

So check for the newest version and make sure you update Streamlabs or OBS studio whichever you use.

Also if you’re running an Nvidia GPU and you want to stream with the encoder on it, then run OBS as an admin.

Right-click on it and choose “Run as administrator” click yes and open it. So this will fix all the streaming encoding overload that you probably have.

FIX 2 – Enable “Deactivate when not showing” for all OBS Sources

Sometimes you may have a lot of different sources for different purposes and you must be aware that everything runs in the background.

You really need to make sure that you’re just running the one that you want to show.

I saw a lot of streamers that don’t understand why the obs was taking like 45% of their CPU even when they were not using all the sources.

• Launch OBS and double click on the source like Video capture device and check the box of “Deactivate when not showing”.

  

   

• Do the same for all the sources and once done click on Apply and then on OK.

Now what will happen when you are not using any sources, it won’t run in the background takes CPU space, and make stream laggy and fps drop.

FIX 3 – Change OBS Process Priority

Here you need to allow OBS to take more processing power for the best results. This setting is available for both SLOB and OBS.

Follow below simple steps to change the process priority of OBS.

• Launch Streamlabs or OBS studio and then click on Settings.
• From the settings box, click on the Advanced option from the left-hand menu.

  

• Now at the top under general, you will find Process priority which by default is set to Normal. Just click on the box and change it to Above normal.

Once done click on Apply and then on Ok. This will now increase the performance and help to fix the frame drop.

FIX 4:- Change Video Base Resolution

I have seen many beginner streamers making mistakes where they take the high video resolution to stream at high quality even if they have a 720 resolution monitor.

So let’s say if you have a 1080p monitor I would recommend choosing the video base resolution to 1280p X 720p.

What I mean keeping low video resolution really helps in fixing OBS dropping frames.

• Open OBS and click on then Settings.
• From the settings left-hand menu, click on Video, and the very first option you will find will be for Base (canvas) Resolution. Try choosing 1280p X 720p.

  

• Do the same for Output (Scaled) Resolution, set at 1280p X 720p.

Once done click on Apply and then on Ok. Hopefully, this will fix the lag and fps drop issues in OBS or Streamlabs.

FIX 5 – Proper Bitrate

Now, this is one of the most important points and you need to understand this very properly.

Many people set bitrate value high to get high stream quality, but if OBS fails to manage that bitrate value there will be stuttering and frame drop in the stream. 

So you need to set bitrate in OBS according to your internet speed, stability, and ping.

Visit the speedtest website, check what internet speed and ping you are getting. and then accordingly set your OBS bitrate.

• Open OBS and click on Settings at the right-hand corner.
• From the left-hand menu option, click on Output and here you will find the Bitrate box.

  

• Click on the bitrate and try reducing the value if you have increased somewhere to 6000.

Once done click on Apply and then on OK. Check if this fixes the  OBS frame dropping issue or not.

FIX 6 – Encoder

The Encoder is another important setting in OBS and I have personally noticed that settings encoder value to default makes CPU usage too high and that results in fps drop.

If you have the Nvidia Nvenc, just use it as it will help you a lot and will keep the CPU to low usage because it’s using a dedicated encoder on your video card.

OBS Studio

• Open OBS and then click on Settings located at the right-hand corner.
• From the left-hand menu click on Output and then in the Streaming tab look for Encoder.
• By default, the encoder would be set to x264, click on the drop-down and choose if it displays Nvidia or RTX one that would be probably according to your GPU.

Streamlabs OBS

• Open OBS and then click on Settings located at the left-hand corner.
• From the left-hand menu click on Output and then in the Streaming Section look for Encoder.
• Below the encoder you will find the “Enable Advanced Encoder settings” box, just check the box and from the Encoder preset box choose Superfast or Ultrafast.

FIX 7 – Chose the closest Server

Both OBS and Streamlabs OBS have an option of a server to which they connect to broadcast your Twitch or Youtube stream.

Mostly this server is set to Automatically but many people suggested that changing the server location of OBS fixed dropping frames issues.

Its recommended that you should choose a server that is geographically closest to your physical location.

• Open your OBS app and then click on Settings.
• From the left-hand menu, click on Stream and then click on Server drop-down.

  

• Choose the server that is closest to your physical location and then click on Apply.

Once done check back if this brought any changes or not, if not you can try a few more servers nearest to your location.

FIX 8 – Fix your Internet

Poor Internet or unstable internet connection won’t let do proper gaming and streaming as well.

There are a couple of things that you need to do and assure.

• Better use LAN connection instead of WiFi.
• Check your Internet connection speed from the speed test website and in case of bad speed, first, try restarting the router and device but still doesn’t work then contact your ISP provider.
• Even let your ISP know that you stream during these hours as I have seen many staff from ISP are smart enough and give you better service.

Every point matters and you need to keep all these things in your mind to avoid OBS dropping frames in streaming and recording as well.

FIX 9 – Check Firewall and Antivirus Connections

As I am sharing every possible reason that can fix Streamlabs OBS dropping frames.

Few users suggested that their OBS was dropping frames just because a few ports like RTMP (Real-time messaging protocol) were blocked from their firewall or Antivirus. 

First, try disabling your antivirus and firewall temporarily to assure that the problem was from here only.

• On Windows PC, type firewall in the search box and from the suggestion choose “Windows Defender Firewall”.
• Now from the left-hand menu, click on Turn Windows Defender Firewall on or off and then turn off Windows Firewall.
• Type Virus is the search box again and from the suggestion choose Virus and Threat protection.
• Under Virus & Threat, protection settings click on Manage Settings and then turn off Real-time protection.

Once done you can try restarting your PC if possible or check if the lag and fps drop issue has been fixed or not. If fixed then you need to unblock those ports and files getting blocked by firewall or antivirus and then enable your security again.

FIX 10 – Update Network Driver and Close Background Applications

Outdated network driver again can cause unstable or poor internet connection which further leads to frame drop.

I have seen people asking why is my OBS dropped frames even with a good internet connection?

Just because they never check their drivers or speed. 

• On Windows 10 or 11, right-click on the Windows icon and choose Device Manager.
• Look for the Network adaptor and double tap on it to expand all the drivers.
• Update Wifi and LAN adapters by making a right-click on it and choosing Update drivers.

Next, make sure that you close all other unwanted apps running in the background.

More apps running takes more space of CPU and even bandwidth.

So better make sure that you close all apps that you don’t need while streaming and close them all from the task manager.

CONCLUSION

The major cause behind sharing all possible ways to fix OBS dropping frames issues is that you must keep these reasons in your mind and use it in the future.

Hopefully, your issues have been resolved now, and please let other people know which methods worked for you in the comment box.

In case you still have a problem, brief your problem in the comment box as well.

Shahbaz Ahmad

Dear Readers my name is Shahbaz
I am a blogger and a gamer. I have around 8 years of experience working as a Tech Geek.
So I know how technical things work and I am very much active on Discord, Twitch, and in Gaming. I help people on Twitch and Discord by solving their problems related to twitch streaming and twitch tutorials.
Feel free to connect me on my Social accounts or contact me through the contact form.