Best game recording software for the PC?

dmoney1980

Platinum Member
Jan 17, 2008
2,471
38
91
I tried FRAPS but the files are HUGE plus you can only record up to 30 sec at a time. What would you guys recommend?
 

GullyFoyle

Diamond Member
Dec 13, 2000
4,362
11
81
Look in to MSI Afterburner. Its free.
Or Dxtory. It's not free, but it has a demo version.
 

moonbogg

Lifer
Jan 8, 2011
10,635
3,095
136
Paid version of Fraps isnt very good. I thought having 6 cores helped, but I was wrong. it lags hard when recording for some stupid reason.
 

Googer

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
12,571
4
81
Techsmith Snagit (highly recommend)
Techsmith Camtasia (more advanced)
Overwolf
 

PrincessFrosty

Platinum Member
Feb 13, 2008
2,301
68
91
www.frostyhacks.blogspot.com
Files recorded by all recording software will be huge because compression in real time is just too costly CPU wise, the full version of FRAPS can record for any length.

Didn't know Afterburner could screencap though, that's nice to know :)
 

dmoney1980

Platinum Member
Jan 17, 2008
2,471
38
91
thanks for the info guys! I didnt realize AB had thta functionality (I had it installed on my PC). So I tried it last night - played a few rounds of bf3 while recording. Worked well for the most part, one of the recordings was unplayable for some reason, but other than that it worked!
 

reallyscrued

Platinum Member
Jul 28, 2004
2,617
5
81
Googer, meet Google.

Bad setup.

He probably had no idea it was developed by MSI and just googled 'afterburner'.

You should have used the terms 'afterburner recording' in which case the program is the first hit.

But thanks for the info; I didn't know afterburner had this functionality.

Is there any software that doesn't compress in real time? I'd like to keep my framerate during gameplay and I can always re-encode the video later.
 

fabiencolombo

Member
Jun 14, 2012
82
0
0
I Like mirillis Action! personnaly. Less heavy fps wise during the recording than fraps.
And it's the only one (with playclaw3) that allows me to recorde my mame footage with the HLSL filter activated.
 

JamesV

Platinum Member
Jul 9, 2011
2,002
2
76
Paid version of Fraps isnt very good. I thought having 6 cores helped, but I was wrong. it lags hard when recording for some stupid reason.

Not true.

I can record BF3, Diablo 3, Witcher 2, etc - all at 1920x1080 full frame recording with sound and without any lag whatsoever. It works so flawlessly in fact, that I sometimes forget I am recording, and find 200+GB worth of recordings.

2600k/8GB/580

I tried Afterburner, and didn't like it... FRAPS has always worked great for me, and for a 'forever license' (never have to buy a new version) @ $29... good bargain imo.
 

chimaxi83

Diamond Member
May 18, 2003
5,649
61
101
You guys that are having no problems, are you recording to a drive that your OS is not on? I have zero issues as well, OS on 128GB SSD and recording to a 1TB Caviar Black.
 

Childs

Lifer
Jul 9, 2000
11,450
7
81
Most of the lag when recording is related to I/O. You need a fast, dedicated storage system to keep up. Or drop the resolution and/or frame rate. For example, I have Fraps 720p60 clips where the data rate ranges from 260Mbps to 370Mbps. Fraps 1080p60 ranges from 550Mbps to 722Mbps. At 1080p60 that means you will be writing up to 90MB/s. I had to stripe two disks together to keep up. If I were to record now, I would buy an SSD just for capture.

Using Dxtory lets you use alternate codecs that dont use such a high data rate, and it lets you arbitrary pick your resolution. The last time I used Fraps, you could only do full and half size. So if you are playing at 1080p, you have to go full or 960x540, which isnt HD. Or play your game at 720p, which wont match your native resolution and look crappy. It will record good though. Depends on what you plan on doing with your footage.