Searching for a good pc gameplay recorder

[iPwntUrMum]

Hey all. I'm looking for a good program that can record gameplay, similar to xfire's video function. I have xfire, but I don't like the quality of those recordings. I'm looking to record like full cod games, etc for youtube commentaries. Any suggestions? Free would be nice, not necessary though.

Thanks
iPuM

[Capt. Fozdike]

I use FRAPS. It's probably the best out there.

[iPwntUrMum]

I don't want to shell out $37 unless I have to. I googled Free FRAPS and got CamStudio, ill try it out

[mrcrusty]

I don't want to shell out $37 unless I have to. I googled Free FRAPS and got CamStudio, ill try it out

Free Fraps is bad for video recording since it only allows 30 seconds at a time, it's fine for simple screenshotting work.

There is a less scrupulous way of obtaining Fraps, but I'm sure you're aware of that and it's against rules to talk about it.

You could also try out Game Cam or WeGame.

[iPwntUrMum]

I looked at WeGame, but since I already use Xfire it seemed a little redundant.

[Capt. Fozdike]

I didn't pay for my FRAPS... if ya get mah drift.

But I don't really know of many video recorders. I only really know of FRAPS and Gamecam. And both of those you pay for.

[mrcrusty]

I didn't pay for my FRAPS... if ya get mah drift.

Oh, so you had a friend buy it for you as a gift?

[iPwntUrMum]

I'll check out fraps. Thanks.

[Capt. Fozdike]

Yeah that's it. A good friend.

[iPwntUrMum]

Hush it up you two, you'll get yourselves in trouble.

Does fraps limit the seen fps? Like, when recording using xfire, if its set to record at 25 fps then it caps the output to 25fps meaning I see lag while i'm recording

[Capt. Fozdike]

Nah the full one doesn't.

[iPwntUrMum]

Just does the normal hit on performance? i was lagging pretty bad with it running

[mrcrusty]

No, as a rule, all video recorders cap fps.

With fraps though, you can set the fps it caps on. The default is 30, but frankly in a Total War game, constant 30 fps recording will look butter smooth.

If you want to set it to something like 60, or 45 though, you can.

[Capt. Fozdike]

It does lower the FPS a bit but it's not too bad on my PC. It goes on ETW with only a few less FPS so I don't notice it.

[iPwntUrMum]

okay, I'll try it. I'm trying to record bfbc2 footage without the filesize being huge, so I have to kinda balance filesize versus lag

[Capt. Fozdike]

Ah, you need low filesize? FRAPS records in RAW AVI. Huge files.

[iPwntUrMum]

well, its not that big of a deal honestly.

[Nanny de Bodemloze]

FRAPS. Even the shareware version, in 30 second clips, is fine...I've never used anything but the shareware version for my vids.

Be prepared for a big fps hit when you record...dedicate a core or two just to FRAPS, and record to a drive that is separate from your OS and your game, to decrease that hit.

[iPwntUrMum]

i have no idea how to dedicate cores or anything, and I only have 1 hard drive. i have noticed quite a bit of lag, playing bad company 2, because already my cpu is almost maxed playing it (not a good cpu)

[Capt. Fozdike]

Oh jeez, you have an E5200? Your comp will die playing BFBC2 with FRAPS.