F1 2011 F1 2011 low FPS while recording

F1 2011 The Game (Codemasters)
Hello

I got an issue with recording races. Im running around 70-85 fps, but when i start recording using msi afterburner it drops to 30-40 fps while my mate's (almost the same spec) only drops to 50-60 fps... Where is a problem?

My setup
i5 2500k
8 gb ram ddr3
2 hdd 1 tb each, one only for recording purposes
hd 6970 2 gb
asus p8p67
3x24" lcd running on 5040x1050 eyefinity
G930 headset and g27 wheel.

Please help
 
Whats the speed on your HDs? I ran into similar issues with my last 2 builds with very similar specs to yours. I noticed my first rig AMD Phenom II 1tb HD(only 5600 rpm) 6950 1 gb played at about 70ish frames on high settings and i'd take bit hits when i'd record down to about 40 frames or so. My new rig is an i5 2500k 6950 1TB (7200 rpm) and it hovers around 70-80 frames in game and drops down to bout 60 when recording. From what i understand the faster the HD transfer rate you could actually get a little bit of a graphical gain just from the quicker transfer rate.

Nother thing you could do is maybe limit the Frams you record down to about 20 or so. If you're recording for youtube or something they dont support 60 frame recordings anyway.
 
When I capture @ 60 fps on my (reasonable spec) computer, I get around 30 fps too. I know it can be improved upon by varying the quality of that capture and the type of codec used to compress the data on the fly like MJPEG, but I get the result that I want.

Certainly 30 fps is totally acceptable, as you-tube will re-encode the video to 30 FPS anyway. I use 60 fps and fairly high bitrates for my videos, not only for watching on my PC, but the theory being that the more frames, and the better quality of those frames, will give you-tube much more data to play with, so they can get a really good re-encode (garbage in = garbage out).

So apart from changing codecs, the amount of compression used when capturing with that codec, or trying capturing uncompressed data (if you have a fast enough and big enough drive), you can capture at a lower resolution. Half frame recording for example is one quarter of the data output at full frame, so that's a lot less system stress.

You should also capture to your fastest drive, which in your case should be the 7200 rpm drive rather than the 5900 rpm drive.

Another thing to bare in mind is your virus checker (if you run one). Many virus checkers use 'active protection', which often involves checking ANY file that is opened or copied. The last thing you want to do is virus check large video files as they are being streamed to your hard drive, that would be a bit of a system killer.

So whilst you are capturing, either switch off your virus checker, or at a minimum disable any active protection in the virus checker.

Afterburner has a limited set of settings (but hey, it's free :) ), but if you are trying to capture @ 5040x1050, that's a massive amount of data, even it you went half-frame. So I think your fps being in the 30 - 40 fps range whilst capturing @ 60 fps is pretty good.

The advantage of commercial software, is in the settings, codecs, and resolutions available. Where capturing in your final resolution for you-tube would be an advantage, such as 720p (1280x720)

A few commercial software packages to consider (apart from the free Afterburner), where usually you can download a trial version and see for yourself :-

Fraps
Playclaw v2 (a much improved v3 is in beta)
Action! (Mirallis)
Bandicam
DxTory

Apart from beta testing the new Playclaw 3, I am mostly using Bandicam at the moment.

A few things to think about anyway ........... :)
 
i just noticed that mu ram is not working in dual channel... I tried swap around (its kingston kvr's x 2 4 gb) and its not working apart from slot 1 and 2... pc wont boot if i put in a different combination... Could that cause slow fps while recording?
 
At a guess, I would say not necessarily so, as capturing video is probably more to do with graphics, cpu, and hard drive performance. I don't think that memory running at a reduced speed would be a big application killer.

I assume you bought your memory as a dual channel kit, so it should function ok, but some kits are better than others. I have had kit that don't run too well on my various systems, and usually I just have to 'loosen' the timings a bit, and ensure that they are running at the correct voltage, however it they were really bad, you would have stability problems.

I think Kingston KVR memory is 'value memory', which is not particularly high performance ram, but is a more generic ram for general usage. It is always worth getting decent ram that is approved for your motherboard by the motherboard manufacturer.

A lot of people leave their BIOS in default settings, relying on the BIOS to set memory speed and voltage (using the SPD setting), which is stored on the chip. You would really need your RAM part number, to look up on the Kingston website, to check the specifications of the ram. Free programs such as CPU-Z should be able to tell you this data too.

The memory voltage is important, and needs to be set correctly in the BIOS, a wrong setting here may prevent memory working in dual channel mode, especially if the BIOS has set the voltage to a pretty standard setting like 1.8 volts, when really it should be at 2.1 volts (please never guess this voltage or change it in any way, if you don't know for sure what proper voltage is). However there are so many variables involved with RAM, it's would be way too complicated to do such a thing here. It is worth doing online research on how to tweak your ram to make it stable or work correctly in dual channel.

I can only give you an idea of what I mean when I say 'loosen' the timings. When you find out the specifications of your ram, it may be something like 2.1 volts 5-5-5-15 2T. Usually your BIOS will read this data and setting the ram timings. If your RAM sticks are not working well together, you may have to manually set these times to a more 'relaxed' setting. For example you might try 6-6-6-21 2T, this relaxation will give the ram more time to carry out the operations that it needs to do, and that might be enough to allow the memory sticks to work better together.

You may find that setting your BIOS to Optimised Defaults, or a Safe setting, will loosen those timings and do what you want it to do, but other settings will change (nothing to do with the memory), so you may not want do that. If your BIOS has the option to save the current settings as a profile for later retrieval, then use it, and backup the settings before tweaking, or you could be left with a computer that doesn't boot. If you get stuck you can usually get into the BIOS and set the system defaults again, which will enable the PC to boot.

Tweaking the BIOS is not for everyone, do your research first before tackling anything that you are not sure about.

Sorry I cannot be more helpful, but RAM and RAM timings is a big subject, and everything that I have learned is from reading stuff online, and building all my own systems over the years. Even then, I have only probably just scratched the surface of the subject. :)

Good luck ...
 
With regards to your FPS hit when recording, check that your recording software isnt recording at a set frame rate. For example, with Fraps, if you set it to record at 30FPS, it will cap your gameplay to 30FPS - so maybe try checking there isnt a particular 'cap'.

I see you are already recording to a dediated drive, so thats a good thing as recording to the same drive which has the game installed will always slow things down.

Can you tell us what the actual settings are for your recording? If you are capturing at 100% size, baring in mind you are running eyefinity resolution, that could be whats bottlenecking things. I know (Andrew Bortz) runs triple screen and also records his stuff so maybe he can shed some light, but I think capturing 5040x1050 is a LOT of data at 100% res.

With regards to your RAM, doubtful it will be the cause of frame hit when recording, you would notice a drop in normal gameplay first. I suggest you test each stick in slot 1 in isolation for stability and take it from there. Your mobo depends on whether dual channel runs in 1 and 2, or 1 and 3 - check the manual, but even if you get the combo wrong, it shouldnt fail to boot, it should just be firing on 1 stick. So, I would take a guess, that one of your sticks is dead, and it wont boot when you actually have your RAM in the correct dual channel slots, and it will boot when you have them running in single channel.
 

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