AMD Radeon Vs NVIDIA RTX for Freesync or Gamestream

djackal79 on 29/10/2022 - 13:26

Hi all,

I can't decide on the video card I should go with when I build by PC.

I'm looking at something in the $600-800 price point like the 3070ti or 6800XT (or possibly next gen equiv if worth the extra $$ when they land).

One thing that I just realised is that I own a NVIDIA Shield connected to my 1080p projector downstairs (along with a proper 5.1.4 B&W Atmos setup). I also have a 4k (60hz) Dell AMD Freesync compatible monitor upstairs.
My question is whether Nvidia Gamestream/Moonlight works well and buying a RTX card would offer a more tangible benefit than Freesync through an AMD card?

Cheers
djackal

Computing AMD Computer Component Nvidia Video Card

Comments

  • Abaddon on 29/10/2022 - 13:44
    +1

    Your Freesync monitor should work just as well from the RTX card. I'd go that way for better streaming. $700‐800 should get you a good used 3080.

  • NotAnAudiophile on 29/10/2022 - 14:28

    agreed definitely go used - I just sold my 3080 for around the 800-900 mark.

  • FireRunner on 29/10/2022 - 17:29
    +1

    Most freesync monitors are compatible with NVIDIA G-Sync.

  • Graduate on 29/10/2022 - 18:28
    +4

    I use the Sunshine+Moonlight software occultation every day for remote desktop (within the home) use and fairly seamless transition to fullscreen gaming through Steam, all utilising NVIDIA's GameStream protocol. Real solution and not complete crap if you luck out and nothing in your set-up introduces micro-stuttering; for it can be a fickle one…

    MY SYSTEM

    HOST SIDE
    Intel 10900KF ('F' so no iGPU & vid encoders)
    NVIDIA RTX 2070

    USER SIDE (PC also - 2 taskbars, 1 screen, a treat!)
    Intel J3710 (iGPU has AVC/x264 decode)
    (Soon to be this HP PC for HEVC decode.)

    GameStream protocol software umbrella:

    SERVER

    NVIDIA GeForce Experience (NV GFE) (official)

    The terrible: It's unnecessary bloatware! Multiple always resident processes, and [injects dll] hooks into every other process! (Might have something to do with DRM. Hint: It is possible to watch 'flix streaming in Chrome on the host via GameStream connection.) New versions are said to bring compatibility breaking changes; not all edge cases either.

    The terrific: NVIDIA's GPU encoder has proprietary access to its onboard display buffer for lowest possible latency at the frame encode / packetising stage.

    Sunshine (unofficial; open source alternative)

    The terrible: For recent releases I've had to devise a script to launch it as SYSTEM (to interface with, for instance, UAC prompt), and I recommend giving its process realtime priority while you're at it. At present, VNC (TightVNC) is better for word processing applications - it's a known change to window polling trigger or detection of window graphical updates (idk why it's this way for Windows GUI and another for matching games' fps, the latter which is responsive to keyboard input, and is crucially fluid). That problem will surely get solved or the ineffective code reverted in a future update - implying that text input time to be reflected on screen was purportedly much better once.

    The terrific: You're set OOTB for Desktop use. Very lite software, runs in a console, verbose logging, et cetera. Webpage configuration via LAN or localhost IP address - https://127.0.0.1:47990/

    CLIENT

    NVIDIA Shield TV native (official)

    (I don't own a Shield.)

    Moonlight (unofficial; open source alternative)

    Available for every platform. Enough said.

    SERVER + CLIENT software combinations:

    NV GFE + NV Shield TV native = (Never tested it myself.)

    Sunshine + NV Shield TV native = (N/A ? Incompatible ? I don't know…)

    NV GFE + Moonlight app = I used NV's GFE for a while…

    Sunshine + Moonlight = I switched away from NV GFE for rays of Sunshine, and never looked back. I wanted less bloat on my system, more consistency / predictability, and greater control of software running on my machine. 16ms~ latency, I can't tell much difference.

    The sorry commonality is micro-stutter…:
    There's a myriad of causal reasons for it.

    Test for stuttering with https://testufo.com/

    First cause of micro-stutter I found was result of your (server & client) screens' (plural) refresh rates aren't matching exactly… Yes, really…
    You can go to the trouble of solving this using https://www.monitortests.com/forum/Thread-Custom-Resolution-…

    I don't know how freesync / gsync / variable refresh rate / and even vsync on/off, really affects things. It's quite esoteric and a nuisance to get it right butter smooth.

    Then there's the matter of your network hardware & software configurations, and I'm not venturing there today. It'll have to suffice to say, wired ethernet is recommended, or 5GHz WiFi - I'm technically using both, 20ft CAT8 (overkill) to the excellent USB-powered GL.iNet GL-AR750S-Ext (Slate) travel router as whole home router.

    In conclusion, it's your choice, but hope this wall o' text has helped someone become more informed some…

    • tebbybabes on 30/10/2022 - 12:45

      Just wanted to say thanks for this very detailed wall of text.

  • tebbybabes on 30/10/2022 - 12:44
    +1

    As someone who regularly streams to an OG steam link box and a laptop via GFE and Moonlight, I'd stick with Nvidia for now. In fact, that was one of the main reasons I stuck with them for my last purchase. I was reading and found that while there are alternatives, for my use case, the Nvidia card and software was just the least headache inducing.

    And yep, Nvidia GPUs will do Freesync just fine.

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