Recording gameplays

FroZen_789

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Dec 3, 2012
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hello everyone,
I'd like to start my own youtube channel and do some commentaries there. So I need to record the gameplays (using dxtory or fraps). I tried it out but it lagged, because my PC is bottlenecked by the green series (western digital) hard drive that I use as my primary HDD (OS + programms and games). I can only record in 360p and people would'nt watch it. I also need an SSD for it's reliability and speed.

This is my current PC :
i7 2600k 4.6ghz
16gb RAM 1600mhz
GTX 680 OC
Zalman Z11 Case (5 fans)
GS800 800W power supply
Green WD 1tb 7200rpm HDD
Asrock z77 pro3

(monitor, mouse, keyboard are not important now)

The samsung 830 128gb (80€) is very good for it's price so I'd buy that SSD. Then I would put my OS and my heavy programms and games on my ssd too. Then I would buy a 250gb HDD (65€), a WD velociraptor (the fastest HDD on the market) which has 10k rpm. So I'd play my games from the SSD and record everything and put it temporarely on the velociraptor HDD. After I finished recording, I'd put the recorded videos on the green drive.
My question is: If i do everything like I said, could I record in 1080p 29.97fps(youtube fps)?
 

ish416

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Jul 5, 2012
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I've recorded games on my system and noticed very little slow down (2-5 fps) while recording to a WD 2TB 7200 RPM drive using Fraps. I also have ran Fraps to a Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB and had the same amount of slowdown as I did with the WD drive. Your system should be significantly faster than mine (AMD 965 X4 @ 4.31Ghz, 8GB DDR2, AMD 7770). So I don't believe the drive is your problem.
 

jemm

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I have my own Youtube channel for quite a while now, where I upload my recorded games https://www.youtube.com/user/MetaverseMachinima/videos?flow=grid&view=1

I started upload my vids at 1080p (16:9) using Fraps, which were recorded into a 1 TB WD green series. So I really don´t know why you can only record in 360p.

Recently I took a Samsung 830 128 GB SSD, and I am using it now to record my games. I run the games from the SSD, and also record the vids into it. There is an improvement of course, but my 1 TB WD green series wasn´t that bad doing the same job.

I´d recommend you to get the Samsung 830 128gb for 80€ -- it is not just about boot time -- it will improve the general performance of your PC, to include recording games.

You really don´t need to get a WD velociraptor, if your intention is to record your games. Just get the SSD and record your games into it.

There should have an issue that prevents you from recording your games at 1080p, but it isn´t your HDD.



 
HDDs are not good at multi-tasking. Simply add a 2nd HDD so that you have 1 drive to run programs and OS from, and another to simply record to. It really should not be that hard of a workload for even the slowest of drives to record 1080p these days.
 

ddpruitt

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Jun 4, 2012
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You shouldn't need to get a 10k drive just to record gameplays. You can get a standard drive and have gameplays saved there while runnning the game off of a different drive. I'd say get a large (200+ GB) SSD, run your games and os from there, and use your current HDD as mass storage.

I would advise getting a larger SSD than what you think you need. You run out space real fast, and as many may point out, running an SSD near capacity diminishes performance.
 

FroZen_789

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Dec 3, 2012
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but my green series drive is not for performance so I don't know...
What about a 256gb SSD and a 500gb black drive?
Which one do you suggest?
 

jemm

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You green series drive might not be for performance, but still you´re able to record with Fraps at 1080p.

Get yourself a SSD and install the OS and the games you like on it for real performance gain.

The Samsung 830 128gb for 80€ is a good deal -- I have one myself, and I use my WD Green for storage, and some other programs.

Now, if your budget allows you for around £120 you can get a Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe (DX version) 240 GB, a Crucial m4 256 GB for around £150, or a OCZ Vertex 4 for around £160.





 

FroZen_789

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Dec 3, 2012
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and what about the samsung 830 256gb? everyone says it is awesome...
If I can record in 1080p on my current HDD, I won't buy an other one.. If it does lag, I'll buy a black HDD
 

jemm

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I installed W7, Adobe Master Collection CS6, Microsoft Office, PhotoScape, Second Life Viewer, F1 2012, Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, AVG 2013, Fraps, Google Earth, FL Studio 10, CPUID CPU-Z, CPUID HWMonitor, CCleaner, and many other programs -- I just use half of it!
 

jemm

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I´d suggest you OCZ Vertex 4 256 GB, or Mushkin Atlas 240 GB.

Samsung 840 Pro is very good, but a bit expensive.

Anyway get one with MLC Memory technology.
 
Agreed Intel 300 series has some issues.

If you want a reliable drive then go with Samsung, Crucial, or an Intel drive that is not of the 300 series. But you pay for reliability.

If you just want speed, and are not storing important information on the drive, and down time from a possible failure is OK then look into OCZ or Mushkin.

I have generally avoided everything else.

For purchasing your drives, look at NCIX.com . I picked up my 2nd Agility 3 240GB drive there over the summer for $120 without rebate. Agility drives are not the fastest, nor the most reliable drives on the market, but they are fast and reliable enough for doing what you are looking at doing. I would never use one in a professional environment though.