Best Way To Record Games in Windows 10, Lag-Free Method With Low FPS Impact
Often when I want to record a video game in Windows 10, I come across various issues, specially if the game I'm trying to record is resource hungry. The biggest issue being laggy recording, where the game runs fine (almost) but the footage recorded is just not usable. So how do we get around that and get a usable footage with decent fps (frames per second)? is this even possible? Let's talk about it, and I'll also tell you my personal favourite method of recording games in Windows 10.
Common issues while recording games
The most common problems I've personally faced are: Laggy Gameplay (Lower In-Game fps), Smooth Gameplay; Laggy Recording and bad quality recording.
Gameplay Lag
Laggy gameplay happens when your computer isn't powerful enough to record and encode the gameplay, while you're playing it. This means you can either lower the settings, like resoultion, or use a ligher encoder. This will help free up some of the resources that can now be used by the recorder.
Footage Lag
Often times, the gameplay is smooth, but the footage you recorded is laggy. I'm not particularly sure why this happens, but I'm guessing it has to do with the encoder settings as well as lower resources. To solve this, I recommend using a better encoder, or again, lowering down your in-game graphics quality.
Poor Quality
Lastly, poor quality footage. This happens due to bad encoder (or settings), which can simply be solved by using a better encoder, or adjusting the bitrate in recording software. Additionally, you can increase your in-game and recording resolution, resulting in sharper footage.
The ideal way to record smooth gameplay
This is the question I've asked myself a lot in the past. Upon research, I found out that most of the professional streamers use what's called a Capture Card. There are different kinds of capture cards, with different capabilities. As usual, better performing ones cost more. In short, a capture card is a hardware recorder, rather than software recorder (eg: Bandicam). What this does is it uses its own resources for processing the footage being recorder, which leaves your personal resources free. As a result, the game you're playing runs smoothly, and you get better footage as well.
But we're not here to talk about hardware recorders, as most of us prefer to use software recorders due to different reasons. So let's talk about that.
My personal favorite method
After trying many things, and messing around with different settings and encoders, I've come to the conclusion that GeForce Experience (also known as Nvidia ShadowPlay), works flawlessly. So Here's how I use it:
My Settings
I have set the resolution setting to "in-game", bitrate to 150mbps (which is the max I can use here), and turned off Instant Replay (Important).
To change these settings, simple open up GeForce Experience Recorder App (I use ALT+Z), and make sure Instant Replay is turned off.
Next, go to Settings, and click on Video Capture.
There you'll find the recording settings. Change them as you like, and click Back.
That's all. Your settings are changed and you should now be able to record gameplay without any lag in the gameplay or the footage. However, if you still feel that the footage or gameplay is not smooth, or lagging significantly due to recording, then maybe it's time to upgrade your PC. You could temporarily try and reduce graphics settings in-game to reduce load on your PC.
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