My tests (stream to Intel NUC)

[DenSilent]

Update 22.10.2014: a lot has changed in steam client. Results are not actual.

Host PC:
cpu: Intel Core i7-4770K
ram: 32 GB DDR3
gpu: GeForce 660Ti (yeah, I know. Still waiting for nextgen miracle). Driver - 332.21
audio: Auzentech HomeTheater HD (unique, but pain in the ♥♥♥)
lan: Gigabit Ethernet, Intel l217-v
System on Intel SSD but Steam folder on WD HDD
OS: Windows 8.1 Pro
Audio setup - 5.1; hdmi output to external receiver.
Screen resolution: native 1920x1200 but during the test i use 1920x1080. When I use native res (16:10) I have black borders on client (16:9) and unwelcome resolution resample.
There are 3 screens connected to host pc. Monitor (main screen, games render here), TV and the same TV again (one direct connection for desktop and games and second for movies - this two TV inputs have different settings). Games display only on main screen (pc monitor).


Client PC:
Intel NUC D54250WYK
cpu: Intel Core i5-4250U
ram: 8 GB DDR3
gpu: HD Graphics 5000 (this is not the Intel Iris, but better than 4600)
Everything on msata SSD
lan: Gigabit Ethernet, Intel l217-v
OS: Windows 8.1 Pro
Audio setup - 2.0 hdmi output to TV, then optical TV -> external receiver (HDMI ARC suck in my setup and I can’t connect my NUC to receiver, because I want to use "DVI mode" + "game mode" on TV input for NUC and totally don’t want to use this modes for other sources).
Screen resolution: native 1920x1080. 55" TV (Samsung SmartTV, 2012 year model, NUC connected to separated HDMI-in port, port setting set to dvi(pc) mode and TV set to game mode)

Network setup:
Both host and client connected to Gigabit Ethernet with Intel l217-v adapters. There are two devices between host and guest (and 30m UTP cat6 cable) - gigabit switch (Dlink DGS-1100-08) and gigabit router (Asus RT-N66). So: client<->switch<->router<->host

All tests run with 1920x1080@60 and have zero packet loss and zero frame loss unless otherwise stated. Host streaming settings - unlimited network, 60fps cap, 1080p. I play not for long - only a few minutes. Just to check, how it works. I use keyboard and mouse, sometimes XBox 360 wireless gamepad for Windows.

Overall notes:

• Host CPU usage (Core i7-4770K haswell) is 20-21% in static scenes and up to 30% in motion-heavy scenes. That’s a lot and affects modern games performance. Please, make a hardware encoding. Good thing that all cores have equal utilization.
  
• Ping - 0.5-1ms
  
• When I turn on extended statistics in raises latency (+6-10ms). When it turned off, both graph lines are very close.
  
• I see no difference in input latency when use wired mouse or wireless Xbox controller
  
• Steam Home Streaming is like a remote desktop software. You are able to control on client and on host at the same time. One can play other can watch and vice versa or both can play. You can make something with that (or not).
  
• Estimated lan speed (in client stats) - random number
  
• on-the-fly game resolution change works
  
• Compression artifacts are visible.
  
• OpenGL streaming is broken.

I'll post results in next posts.
My native language is Russian, so I’m sorry for mistakes.

[DenSilent]

CS:Source
Playable - yes
Video bitrate ~14k
Lan "speed" ~120mbit/s
Latency ~52ms
Input latency - 0.7ms
Game latency ~7.9ms
Display latency ~43ms (~35ms without stats display)
Notes: I played with 7 bots on dust2. This game have problems on my host pc (bot animation, overall smoothness) but when it runs ok on host it is ok on client.

Audiosurf
Playable - yes (window mode)
Video bitrate ~14k
Lan "speed" ~350mbit/s
Latency ~32ms
Input latency - 0.6ms
Game latency ~14.5ms
Display latency ~17ms
Notes: I played it in windows mode so resolution was much lower than 1080p. If I use "full screen" button I lost control over game (but still can see it). Looks like visible cursor and real position do not match. Graph in extended stats was broken too - lines and real values do not match

Bastion
Playable - yes
Video bitrate ~14k
Lan "speed" ~120mbit/s
Latency ~42ms
Input latency - 0.6ms
Game latency ~6.4ms
Display latency ~32ms
Notes: No problem. Play with K/M and xbox controller.

Bit.trip runner
Playable - yes*
Notes: Has a major problem - when start the game host (and stream) became muted. Can't unmute on client. Has to go to the host and turn sound back on.

Cave Story
Playable - no
Video bitrate ~2k
Lan "speed" ~35mbit/s
Latency ~49ms
Input latency - 0.4ms
Game latency ~9ms
Display latency ~38ms
Notes: Game starts ok. But when I load a level - "opengl driver lost connection to display" on host pc.

Will post more later

[DenSilent]

Looks like maximum possible video bitrate is 14000kbit/s (on default settings) and estimated lan speed is useless. I will not check this parameters.

Dear Eshter
Playable - yes
Latency ~38ms
Input latency - 0.5ms
Game latency ~6.5ms
Display latency ~32ms
Notes:Mouse cursor disappears after changing video settings. After restart streaming everything was ok. Gamepad ok.

Dungeon Defenders
Playable - yes
Latency ~43ms
Input latency - 0.3ms
Game latency ~9ms
Display latency ~32ms
Notes: Everything is ok.

Dungeons of Dredmor
Playable - no
Latency ~0ms (yes, it displays 0. Bug)
Input latency - 0ms
Game latency ~0ms
Display latency ~67ms
Notes: Big problem with framerate. 15-20 fps, fullscreen or window.

FEZ
Playable - no
Notes: OpenGL bug. Like other, starts ok but few seconds later - "opengl driver lost connection to display" on host pc. Gamepad ok.

Frozen synapse
Playable - no
Latency ~36ms
Input latency - 0.4ms
Game latency ~7ms
Display latency ~28ms
Notes: OpenGL bug. Runs longer than FEZ but the end is the same. "opengl driver lost connection to display" on host pc.

Limbo
Playable - yes
Latency ~60ms
Input latency - 0.6ms
Game latency ~16ms
Display latency ~42ms
Notes: Everything is ok. Gamepad ok.

Super Meat Boy
Playable - yes*
Latency ~44ms
Input latency - 0.6ms
Game latency ~9ms
Display latency ~35ms
Notes: Everything is ok. Gamepad ok. Game runs at 53-58 fps. After several minutes game became very laggy (on the host too), impossible to play.

Trine
Playable - yes
Latency ~34ms
Input latency - 0.6ms
Game latency ~6ms
Display latency ~29ms
Notes: Have to lower graphic settings to keep 60 fps. Looks like game runs with v-sync on (I turned it off in game settings, no effect). Gamepad ok.

Ace combat
Playable - yes
Latency ~60ms
Input latency - 0.6ms
Game latency ~18ms
Display latency ~42ms
Notes: Gamepad ok.

Age of Empires 3
Playable - no
Notes: Game ask for elevation at start. So you have to answer UAC window on host pc. After that you can see game on client but can't control it.

Alan Wake
Playable - yes
Latency ~30ms
Input latency - 0.4ms
Game latency ~7ms
Display latency ~28ms
Notes: Gamepad ok.

Alice: Madness Returns
Playable - yes
Latency ~59ms
Input latency - 0.4ms
Game latency ~17ms
Display latency ~46ms
Notes: Gamepad ok.

Aliens vs. Predator, DX11
Playable - no*
Latency ~73ms
Input latency - 0.6ms
Game latency ~19ms
Display latency ~50ms
Notes: Have to lower graphic settings to keep 60 fps. Very dark image. Brightness settings do not have any effect.

[DenSilent]

Alpha Protocol
Playable - yes
Latency ~51ms
Input latency - 0.5ms
Game latency ~12ms
Display latency ~44ms
Notes: Everything OK.

Beyond Good & Evil
Playable - no
Latency ~90ms
Input latency - 1ms
Game latency ~45ms (jumps up to 500ms)
Display latency ~45ms
Notes: I can see the game but controls are awful. There is huge latency between pressing button and game response. Sometimes there is no response at all.

BioShock Infinite
Playable - yes
Latency ~65ms
Input latency - 0.4ms
Game latency ~17ms
Display latency ~47ms
Notes: Everything OK.

Blades of Time
Playable - yes
Latency ~52ms
Input latency - 0.5ms
Game latency ~12ms
Display latency ~40ms
Notes: Everything OK.

BloodRayne 2
Playable - no
Latency ~52ms
Input latency - 0.5ms
Game latency ~12ms
Display latency ~40ms
Notes: I use 1600x1200. Game starts, i can see the intro. Then stream freezes, but game continues to run. I can control it from client but see only static picture

Borderlands 2
Playable - yes
Latency ~57ms
Input latency - 1ms
Game latency ~13ms
Display latency ~43ms
Notes: OK

Brütal Legend
Playable - yes
Latency ~62ms
Input latency - 0.3ms
Game latency ~22ms
Display latency ~40ms
Notes: OK

So, I noticed one new thing. Many games run at 30fps, when I stream them (with v-sync turned off). They can run at more than 60 fps when I run them on host only. This is because I left Steam settings on client to default.

[Ueberlappen]

Thanks for the tests. I also bought a NUC i5 and a 1000T switch today. Hopefully I can start testing at the end of the week

[Baub]

thanks for the detailed test results

[nox]

Thanks mate, I was looking for some of these results. Much appreciated. :-)

[Shodan]

Wow impressively detailed tests there! I actually am looking to buy the i3-4010u version, which has HD4400 iso HD5000. Do you think performance will be much lower?

On tested.com they tested with i3 3217u and had good results.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxGT6rVkKSo#t=0

[DenSilent]

HD 4400 has lower performance than HD5000 in games. But there is no difference in HD video decoding. There will be no difference between i3 and i5 NUCs for Steam In-Home Streaming.

[DenSilent]

Comanch 4
Playable - yes*
Latency ~24ms
Input latency - 0.5ms
Game latency ~10ms
Display latency ~15ms
Notes: Game runs at 1280x1024@30 fps. Noticable sound lag.

Broken Sword 3
Playable - yes
Latency ~35ms
Input latency - 0.8ms
Game latency ~10ms
Display latency ~24ms
Notes: Game runs at ~55 fps. Not very smooth, but this is the only problem.

Brothers a tale of two sons
Playable - yes
Latency ~43ms
Input latency - 0.6ms
Game latency ~13.5ms
Display latency ~30ms
Notes: Game runs at 30fps. Everything OK.

Bulletshtorm
Playable - yes
Latency ~40ms
Input latency - 0.6ms
Game latency ~12.5ms
Display latency ~24ms
Notes: Everything OK.

Call of Juarez (2006)
Playable - yes
Latency ~46ms
Input latency - 0.6ms
Game latency ~20ms
Display latency ~27ms
Notes: Everything OK. Example of compression artifacts (when moving):
http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/9833/21925624.0/0_f23a9_54850887_orig


Castlevania lords of shadow
Playable - yes
Latency ~45ms
Input latency - 0.4ms
Game latency ~12ms
Display latency ~32ms
Notes: Everything OK.

[DixieFatline]

Great tests. Thanks. I wonder if upgrading from megabit to gigabit LAN has any noticable difference?

[DenSilent]

Looks like maximum possible bitrate is 14mbit/s. At least for now. I don't think upgrading from Fast Ethernet to Gigabit Ethernet has any noticable difference for Steam In-Home Streaming with such low bitrate.

But gigabit LAN has huge advantage when we talk about big data transfers. I have NAS, so Gigabit Ethernet "must have" for me.

Update - 14mbit/s is default max bitrate. Steam can use more with "unlimited" setting

[Bloodred]

DenSilent, I see you mentioned the streaming settings on the host, you know those are for receiving streams, not hosting them, right?

What you are describing (14Mbps, some games running at 30FPS) really sounds like you left your settings on default/auto on your client (the NUC).

[DenSilent]

you know those are for receiving streams, not hosting them, right?

No, I was sure this settings for host pc, because it generates the stream, not just receives it :) But you are right, NUC Steam settings are default. This explains 30fps and low bitrate.

I'll edit my posts.

[Armagedon]

You are wrong, all the settings at the moment are client side, the client negotiate the stream method with the host.

Tested here.

[JoeyDee]

Any chance you can re-test a few now that Steam has had so many updates? The reason why I ask is that I have no way of testing streaming over gigabit Ethernet, but I get similar performance to your original posts over my 5Ghz wifi to my Surface Pro 1.

Also, hardware encoding/decoding is now fully enabled, so I'm hoping your display and game latency is a lot less now...