• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Recording with my build

Joined
May 20, 2012
Messages
132 (0.03/day)
Hello. So I have a few questions I'd like to ask.

Here is my computer's innards:
i5 3570k ivy bridge 3.4ghrz quad core (non overclocked)
8 gb ram
Sapphire Radeon 6870 1GB HD vid card
650 watt PSU
500GB harddrive
asrock z77 motherboard
1440x900 res monitor

So I wanted to do some game play/commentary/webcam recording. With the webcam footage at a small corner.
Software I use:
Fraps/msi afterburner
Sony Vegas
Avidemux or Virtual Dub

First question is: Does anyone know what I can do to record gameplay/commentary/webcam that is not choppy or laggy?

With high settings on a game like Guild Wars 2, I get about 60fps with everything at high. I can record game play at 30FPS fine with fraps or msi burner (full screen and with audio). I can record webcam footage at 1080p with maybe only a 5-10fps drop .

However, when I try to record with fraps and webcam at the same time, problems arise. When recording with webcam at 1080p (However, I do recognize since I am just going to just put it in a corner, 1080p is pointless). There is some lag and graphics is studdery. Player/Enemy/Monster/some structure models does not render or render very slow. Sound lags behind. I cannot switch maps because the game stops working when loading.

Then I tried recording with webcam at 720p. Loading in-between maps, albeit a little bit slower than usual. Pretty bad in crowded areas.

Then I tried recording with 480p. About the same as 720p.

Second question is: Someone suggested that I should get a capture card (which costs 100-200USD). Do I need it for recording or is it more of a streaming thing. Is my PSU enough to accommodate it or do I need a higher wattage.

Third question is: I am not terribly sure what is the best optimized setting/setup to record and upload onto youtube. I tried many settings.

Fourth question is: Right now, depending on the game (Guild wars 2 = 4GB per 1minute and 25 seconds, Half Life 2 games = 4GB per 3minutes), file sizes are huge. Anyway to compress without losing the already crappy and laggy quality? Takes like 2-3 hours to upload a video.

Fifth question is: Sometimes youtube upload my videos only up to 480p and not 720p or 1080p for some reason. Like when I upload some half life 2 gameplay.

Sixth queston is: Should I record voice and/or game sounds with audacity? would that result in a smaller overall storage? Although, Sony Vegas suck at matching audio with video.

*since there is some software/recording related problems, i might repost some of the questions in a more relevant section of the forum*
 
Last edited:

Morgoth

Fueled by Sapphire
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
4,226 (0.69/day)
Location
Netherlands
System Name Wopr "War Operation Plan Response"
Processor 5900x ryzen 9 12 cores 24 threads
Motherboard aorus x570 pro
Cooling air (GPU Liquid graphene) rad outside case mounted 120mm 68mm thick
Memory kingston 32gb ddr4 3200mhz ecc 2x16gb
Video Card(s) sapphire RX 6950 xt Nitro+ 16gb
Storage 300gb hdd OS backup. Crucial 500gb ssd OS. 6tb raid 1 hdd. 1.8tb pci-e nytro warp drive LSI
Display(s) AOC display 1080p
Case SilverStone SST-CS380 V2
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsair 850MX watt
Mouse corsair gaming mouse
Keyboard Microsoft brand
Software Windows 10 pro 64bit, Luxion Keyshot 7, fusion 360, steam
Benchmark Scores timespy 19 104
what you real want is a harddisk with a fast read and write speed
 

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder
Joined
Nov 22, 2005
Messages
28,472 (4.25/day)
Location
Indiana, USA
Processor Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory 32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super
Storage 500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
Display(s) Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28"
Case Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s) Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software Windows 10 Pro x64
Yeah, get a second HDD, use the second drive for recording to. Your single hard drive isn't able to keep up with writing the two video recordings along with loading game data.
 
Joined
May 20, 2012
Messages
132 (0.03/day)
Never tried to install or use a 2nd harddrive. Sounds scary to do.

Do I need a capture card and/or a higher wattage PSU and 2nd harddrive? Seems like a huge investment just to do novice recording lol. That is like 300USD (350 including the webcam i just bought).

Should I get a 120 gb SSD or a 1 TB HDD? My current HD has only 170gb room without any recordings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6tGUNlIoUg
Here is some testing with cam and gameplay recording of half life 2 mod garrys mod. gameplay is rendered as 720p and webcam was 480p.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmaP9a9C4HI
Here is testing with cam and gameplay recording of guild wars 2 with high setting. gameplay is rendered as 1080p (stretched to fill the black bars on the side). web cam was recording at 720p. at 3:10 is an example of very slow rendering. i might try recording at 480p to see.
 
Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Messages
1,445 (0.34/day)
Location
Israel
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
Motherboard B550 Aorus PRO V2
Cooling Corsair H115i RGB Platinum
Memory Gskill Trident Z Neo 3600 2x16GB
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 3070 Trio X
Storage WD Blue SN550 1TB NVME/Supertalent Teranova 2x1TB
Display(s) Acer XV340CK
Case Corsair 4000D Airflow
Power Supply Corsair HX850i
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Logitech G513 Tactile
Software Windows 10 Pro
Get a 1TB HDD, every thing else is fine.
 
Joined
May 20, 2012
Messages
132 (0.03/day)
if/when i buy a 2nd harddrive, i might need help and assistance in installing it xD..

and no one mentioned anything about capture card. do i need for recording?
 

Morgoth

Fueled by Sapphire
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
4,226 (0.69/day)
Location
Netherlands
System Name Wopr "War Operation Plan Response"
Processor 5900x ryzen 9 12 cores 24 threads
Motherboard aorus x570 pro
Cooling air (GPU Liquid graphene) rad outside case mounted 120mm 68mm thick
Memory kingston 32gb ddr4 3200mhz ecc 2x16gb
Video Card(s) sapphire RX 6950 xt Nitro+ 16gb
Storage 300gb hdd OS backup. Crucial 500gb ssd OS. 6tb raid 1 hdd. 1.8tb pci-e nytro warp drive LSI
Display(s) AOC display 1080p
Case SilverStone SST-CS380 V2
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsair 850MX watt
Mouse corsair gaming mouse
Keyboard Microsoft brand
Software Windows 10 pro 64bit, Luxion Keyshot 7, fusion 360, steam
Benchmark Scores timespy 19 104
harddisk is just plug and play unles you run windows 98
 
Joined
Apr 19, 2012
Messages
12,062 (2.77/day)
Location
Gypsyland, UK
System Name HP Omen 17
Processor i7 7700HQ
Memory 16GB 2400Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s) GTX 1060
Storage Samsung SM961 256GB + HGST 1TB
Display(s) 1080p IPS G-SYNC 75Hz
Audio Device(s) Bang & Olufsen
Power Supply 230W
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD+
Software Win 10 Pro
As said above. Recording to HDD's is slow when they are already in use by something else. I just got myself a couple of drives big enough to hold 5 RAW fraps videos (they can get quite large in size if you havent noticed already), and everything should run fine. It's all over the Fraps forums to make sure Fraps is not recording to the drive where games/software/OS is located. Always use a seperate drive.
It is literally throw the drive in to a spare slot in your case., plug in the sata to the mobo and sata power and you're away, no issues.
 
Joined
Oct 17, 2012
Messages
9,781 (2.34/day)
Location
Massachusetts
System Name Americas cure is the death of Social Justice & Political Correctness
Processor i7-11700K
Motherboard Asrock Z590 Extreme wifi 6E
Cooling Noctua NH-U12A
Memory 32GB Corsair RGB fancy boi 5000
Video Card(s) RTX 3090 Reference
Storage Samsung 970 Evo 1Tb + Samsung 970 Evo 500Gb
Display(s) Dell - 27" LED QHD G-SYNC x2
Case Fractal Design Meshify-C
Audio Device(s) on board
Power Supply Seasonic Focus+ Gold 1000 Watt
Mouse Logitech G502 spectrum
Keyboard AZIO MGK-1 RGB (Kaith Blue)
Software Win 10 Professional 64 bit
Benchmark Scores the MLGeesiest
use either dxtory , or for free afterburner has very little impact.Second HDD is a MUST. You only REALLY need to record @ 30 FPS, but Do what you will.In a pinch if You aren't able to hook up a second, internal drive, a portable will do nicely.,I do a LITTLE game recording , I'd recommend, a better GPU, if it's in Your mean's. A 6950 , or even better, a 7870 would Be great for what You listed Your needs are.But for now , minimizing Your GPU strain, and CPU strain would be optimal, and changing recording Software will be your cheapest Move. FRAPS is a fantastic program, however, it is notoriously detrimental to Your performance.Best of Luck.

You MAY find something usefull in this video here.

How to record PC Games! No LAG! Anyone can do it! ...
 
Last edited:
Joined
May 20, 2012
Messages
132 (0.03/day)
Thanks for the help guys. Recording is going fine. Guild Wars 2 takes about 20seconds to load inbetween maps.

I started recording Metro 2033.

1) Record with Fraps, Audacity, Logitech webcam software
2) Open Fraps, mp3 audtio, webcam footage in Sony Vegas
3) Edit
4) Render as .mp4 Internet HD 720p (900mb for 14minutes)
5) Opened it in avidemux.
6) Compressed with x264 for video. Rate factor 25.

The final size is about 600mb or so.

I now come across another problem... When I render with sony vegas or when I compress with avidemux, my CPU usage is 100% and the temperature is 80C, sometimes 82C. It would appears I have to buy a better CPU heatsink/fan. I am using stock heatsink/fan. I think it is lame that intel sends you a heatsink/fan that can barely handle the CPU temperature at full load.

And it seems like a slippery slope doing this.
Started out buying a webcam.
Then I got a harddrive + Sata cable.

Now I need a CPU cooler.

Then I'd want to upgrade my 1440x900 monitor to something that can run 1080p. Then I'd probably have to upgrade my video card (radeon 6780). Then I'd probably want to upgrade my PSU from 650w. Probably need a new microphone because mine picks up my "Ps" and "Ss" and popping sounds.

But yeah. I think CPU cooler would be my next upgrade. Some internet friends suggested a Noctua cooler like Noctua nh-d14 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018. That thing looks big and intimidating lol.

edit*

awesome =p my 2nd harddrive has only 50gb left. space sure runs out fast after 35 video's worth of raw recordings.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Dec 6, 2012
Messages
173 (0.04/day)
Processor 4GHz intel i7 950
Motherboard GA X58-USB3 F5
Cooling Noctua C12P
Memory 48GB G.Skill RipjawsZ
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 480 873/1746/1848
Storage Intel 520 Series
Display(s) HP 2210m
Case Antec 300
Power Supply Antec True Power New 750
Software Windows 8 Pro
You should probably look at Twitch or Ustream premium services for producing.
Also a HDMI capture card, this will offload the CPU and GPU during gameplay.
 
Joined
Dec 18, 2011
Messages
149 (0.03/day)
Processor Intel i7-3770k
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V LX
Cooling GeminII S524
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance LP 1600MHz
Video Card(s) R9 290 with NZXT G10
Storage OCZ Vertex 4 120Gb, 1.5 TB Seagate Barracuda, 3TB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s) 27" Achieva Shimian
Case NZXT Switch 810
Power Supply OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W
Thanks for the help guys. Recording is going fine. Guild Wars 2 takes about 20seconds to load inbetween maps.

I started recording Metro 2033.

1) Record with Fraps, Audacity, Logitech webcam software
2) Open Fraps, mp3 audtio, webcam footage in Sony Vegas
3) Edit
4) Render as .mp4 Internet HD 720p (900mb for 14minutes)
5) Opened it in avidemux.
6) Compressed with x264 for video. Rate factor 25.

The final size is about 600mb or so.

I now come across another problem... When I render with sony vegas or when I compress with avidemux, my CPU usage is 100% and the temperature is 80C, sometimes 82C. It would appears I have to buy a better CPU heatsink/fan. I am using stock heatsink/fan. I think it is lame that intel sends you a heatsink/fan that can barely handle the CPU temperature at full load.

And it seems like a slippery slope doing this.
Started out buying a webcam.
Then I got a harddrive + Sata cable.

Now I need a CPU cooler.

Then I'd want to upgrade my 1440x900 monitor to something that can run 1080p. Then I'd probably have to upgrade my video card (radeon 6780). Then I'd probably want to upgrade my PSU from 650w. Probably need a new microphone because mine picks up my "Ps" and "Ss" and popping sounds.

But yeah. I think CPU cooler would be my next upgrade. Some internet friends suggested a Noctua cooler like Noctua nh-d14 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018. That thing looks big and intimidating lol.

edit*

awesome =p my 2nd harddrive has only 50gb left. space sure runs out fast after 35 video's worth of raw recordings.

650w is way more than enough if it's truly a reliable 650w. I believe Guild Wars 2 is fine at 1080p with that card, but you may have some trouble running max in newer non MMO games.
I would also recommend Dxtory if possible as you can use codecs that provide smaller files with quality loss that would have been occurred on youtube regardless.
 
Joined
May 20, 2012
Messages
132 (0.03/day)
Joined
Dec 18, 2011
Messages
149 (0.03/day)
Processor Intel i7-3770k
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V LX
Cooling GeminII S524
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance LP 1600MHz
Video Card(s) R9 290 with NZXT G10
Storage OCZ Vertex 4 120Gb, 1.5 TB Seagate Barracuda, 3TB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s) 27" Achieva Shimian
Case NZXT Switch 810
Power Supply OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W
Top