Gaming ideal recording with fraps ?

[Splych]

i've used fraps mainly to measure FPS . other than that , when i used to play CoD4, i would use CoD4Player then record it through there and not really have much of a problem when recording with the basic 0.25 playback speed then just multiplying the speed by x4 on Sony Vegas and it would be real time / normal time . i've been curious as to how it would record on other games . i am mainly interested in recording live games rather then having to prepare them . i am thinking of recording any form of RPG / Shooter on PC such as CoD4, MW2 and some MMOs as well .

what i am wondering is what are ideal settings to record with ? i am hoping to record the videos so that when they are published , they come out as 720p thus meaning i have to record at a resolution of 1280x720 . my only issue however is the fact that when i record , i have this massive slow down for some reason and the FPS just drops down . i am not sure if it's because my computer specs aren't that good , or it's just something i need to tweak on fraps. i am running an AMD Phenom II x2 550 and a ATi Radeon HD 5770 . any ideas on how to record ?

 

[Twiffles]

If your computer isn't fast enough, Fraps will slow everything down because it records in uncompressed AVI. It likes to hug your CPU real tight.

To increase speeds with lowering game settings, drop the recording frame rate to 30 or less and set it from full size to half (though that will lose your x720). Also trying to have it record to a separate internal HDD if you have one.

 

[kevan]

Ideally use a Solid State Drive, overclock your cpu if possible.
Half Size recording can be horrible so not much of an option unless
your just showing to friends.

I got
i7 2630QM @2.00GHZ
8GB DDR3 Ram
750GB Internal HDD @5200RPM

And I record Black Ops flawlessy, and BC2 just about flawless on medium settings.

A computer upgrade would help.

 

[Splych]

alright thanks for the advice .
i never considered recording in 1280x720 before , but i recorded MW2 yesterday on high except on a resolution of 1280x720 . it was playable , but i enjoy the larger resolution because of the nicer quality since it doesn't stretch .

this computer is going to be upgraded anyway . i am planning on making another one ; just waiting for the release of Bulldozer to see how well they perform and the Intel Ivy + Sandy Bridge E in hopes of reducing prices.

 

[Satirical]

i've used fraps mainly to measure FPS . other than that , when i used to play CoD4, i would use CoD4Player then record it through there and not really have much of a problem when recording with the basic 0.25 playback speed then just multiplying the speed by x4 on Sony Vegas and it would be real time / normal time . i've been curious as to how it would record on other games . i am mainly interested in recording live games rather then having to prepare them . i am thinking of recording any form of RPG / Shooter on PC such as CoD4, MW2 and some MMOs as well .

what i am wondering is what are ideal settings to record with ? i am hoping to record the videos so that when they are published , they come out as 720p thus meaning i have to record at a resolution of 1280x720 . my only issue however is the fact that when i record , i have this massive slow down for some reason and the FPS just drops down . i am not sure if it's because my computer specs aren't that good , or it's just something i need to tweak on fraps. i am running an AMD Phenom II x2 550 and a ATi Radeon HD 5770 . any ideas on how to record ?

Firstly, your CPU is only dual-core, you should really try to invest in a quad-core system as Fraps pulls a lot of strain on your CPU, also how much RAM do you have? If you have Windows 7 you should really have at least 4GB, for Windows XP you can probably get away with 3GB. Your GPU isn't an issue, how old is your Hard-Drive/How much RPM? Generally you'll want a new one, 7200RPM.

Secondly, you'll want to play FULLSCREEN 1280x720, not windowed. And you'll still see performance lost, Fraps is a seriously resource-hungry application that not many people can handle.

Also record to the same Hard Drive you're launching Fraps and the Game from.

 

[Splych]

i am have 4GB RAM and i my main HDD is a Caviar Black 500GB [unsure about RPM . too lazy to search]. i have the option of upgrading , but this comp is pretty old since i got it a few years ago . it still runs on DDR2 xD . i thought about it , and i know that if i upgrade the CPU , it won't be really worth it since the RAM will be more pricey then DDR3 .

i only have 2 HDD , and the 2nd just has files backed up on it . are there any other programs i can use for recording ? Fraps is a great program but just requires loads of resources :\

also question , since i am already here , how would this computer run on recording games at 1920x1080:
CPU: Phenom II x4 955
RAM: 2x4GB
GPU #1: Radeon HD 6950 1GB
GPU #2: Radeon HD 6950 2GB

would there be much of a difference between the 6950 1GB and 2GB?

 

[kevan]

Meh the GPU usually isnt the issue with Fraps so the above should be okay with 1GB
You could always record in lower res then upscale it

 

[luke_c]

i am have 4GB RAM and i my main HDD is a Caviar Black 500GB [unsure about RPM . too lazy to search]. i have the option of upgrading , but this comp is pretty old since i got it a few years ago . it still runs on DDR2 xD . i thought about it , and i know that if i upgrade the CPU , it won't be really worth it since the RAM will be more pricey then DDR3 .

i only have 2 HDD , and the 2nd just has files backed up on it . are there any other programs i can use for recording ? Fraps is a great program but just requires loads of resources :\

also question , since i am already here , how would this computer run on recording games at 1920x1080:
CPU: Phenom II x4 955
RAM: 2x4GB
GPU #1: Radeon HD 6950 1GB
GPU #2: Radeon HD 6950 2GB

would there be much of a difference between the 6950 1GB and 2GB?

You'll only need the 2GB 6950 if you plan on playing games in say anything over 1920x1080, anything under that and you will be fine with the 1GB model.

 

[Rydian]

I don't think people viewing the video on youtube are going to (or even can) notice such things as a lower texture resolution, so tweak the settings to see which have the bigger gain with the smallest visual loss after lossy compression.