Recording with my build

[alucard13mmfmj]

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*

[Morgoth]

what you real want is a harddisk with a fast read and write speed

[newtekie1]

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.

[alucard13mmfmj]

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.

[Jack1n]

Get a 1TB HDD, every thing else is fine.

[alucard13mmfmj]

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]

harddisk is just plug and play unles you run windows 98

[RCoon]

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.

[alucard13mmfmj]

Okey. But boy, it'll be a tight fit in my antec 300 tower.

[jboydgolfer]

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! ...

[MT Alex]

You should also check out this thread:
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=173216

[alucard13mmfmj]

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 . 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.

[terrastrife]

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.

[Novulux]

Originally Posted by alucard13mmfmj

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 . 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.

[alucard13mmfmj]

Originally Posted by Novulux

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.

lol why do people have like 800+... 1000w PSU?

also some more videos.

http://youtu.be/U8y864UN-qI

http://youtu.be/Z6mIywWYZoM

http://youtu.be/97Eq2fEbECk

Like and Subscribe. Do it for Wah Wah, if not my failure and awkwardness ^^

[Novulux]

Originally Posted by alucard13mmfmj

lol why do people have like 800+... 1000w PSU?

Dual+ GPUs usually.