Upgrading CPU - Need Help

[Scorch48202]

Hey all.

I was wondering, will upgrading my CPU help my computer handle recording gameplay smoothly?

I currently have an I5-2300 CPU 2.8GHz and was thinking about upgrading to an I5-3570 CPU 3.4GHz Quad Core.

I have a GTX 660 Ti, my PC can run games fine at a stable 50-60fps on max settings. I can record with FRAPS at 30fps half-size. With MSI - 85%, 1080, 60fps. I just get some random stutters and sometimes my framerate dips for no reason. I would really like to record smoothly with no interruptions.

So, will upgrading my CPU do anything at all?

I'm going to sleep for now, I'll check back when I wake up.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sunius]

To give you a useful answer, I'll need information of your whole system specs: hard drive models included.

 

[Scorch48202]

To give you a useful answer, I'll need information of your whole system specs: hard drive models included.

CPU - I5-2300 2.8GHz Quad Core

Motherboard - Gateway (DX4860)

RAM - 8147mb

Hard Drive - 931gb (WDC WD10EADX-22TDHB0)

GFX Card - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti

Sound Card - NVIDIA HD Audio

OS - Windows 7

Hopefully I did that right.

 

[Sunius]

I personally think that the lag comes from the slow hard drive.

Though, I'd say you should record at 30 fps: it gets converted to that format either way when you upload the footage to youtube.

 

[Ramzzz2936]

if ur getting a new cpu get a k version

 

[lostgamer_03]

if ur getting a new cpu get a k version

Well if he wants the k-version then he also needs a new CPU cooler and a new MOBO. So that is a no go.

 

[Scorch48202]

I personally think that the lag comes from the slow hard drive.

Though, I'd say you should record at 30 fps: it gets converted to that format either way when you upload the footage to youtube.

Yeah, I was just doing some tests with MSI Afterburner. I tried saving it in Sony Vegas and all I did was switch my settings I already had from 30 fps to 60 fps, and it took about 2 hours and 43 minutes to save a 15 minute video at 60 fps. Didn't know it'd make that much of a time difference, it usually is about 20-30 minutes for a render that size.

I'm gonna try recording at 30 fps and see how it goes, I'll let you guys know.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Scorch48202]

It gets choppy recording at 30 fps, and the playback is a bit worse.

60 fps seems to record better and has a smoother playback, weird.

BF3 and Guild Wars 2 record pretty good, just random stutters. While Mass Effect 3 and Tribes Ascend get random framerate dips, only while recording. Is there anything I can do about that? Would upgrading my GFX Card or CPU help eliminate random stutters/framerate dips while recording?

 

[simon12]

Check if CPU or GPU usage is hitting 100% when you get the lag.

 

[Scorch48202]

Check if CPU or GPU usage is hitting 100% when you get the lag.

My CPU is hitting 100% with just having the game open. Is that not right?

As for GPU, I have no idea how to check that.

 

[Sunius]

100% with just the game open? Do you have anything running in the background? What is using up the CPU?

 

[simon12]

I think GPUz will do the gpu but its years since I tried it so im not sure. 100% CPU usage looks like the problem. Check the processes tab in task manager to see whats using it the most.

 

[Scorch48202]

Checked my GPU usage with MSI Afterburner, averaging 95% when playing.

I tried a few games to see what they were using up.

Mirror's Edge - 480,000

Guild Wars 2 - 980,000

Future Soldier - 620,000

Battlefield 3 - 980,000

My CPU is averaging 85% now, didn't change anything.

As well as my CPU is at 4% when having Chrome, Steam, Origin, Anti-Virus, and MSI Afterburner open. Is that percentage bad?

Did a few tests and I found something that works, it's just in certain areas I get frame drops. I'm assuming SLI'ing another 660 would improve being able to record while playing?

I was looking around and canceled out the CPU, HDD 7200 RPM. Only thing left I'd say is the GFX Card. I don't really know what else could cause frame drops only while recording.

Here's my HD test

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfnCGzZ4Z2Y

It's good for now but I would really just like an answer. The only thing I have left is GPU.

I'm going to get an Elgato next week. I've been meaning to upgrade from my HD PVR and since the Elgato can record console and PC, I don't think I'll upgrade my current PC.

I still would like to know what is being used up when I start recording.

Thanks for the help!

EDIT-

Well, I feel like an idiot now. Afterburner gives you tips/info if you leave the cursor alone for a bit and it turns out MJPG Compression relies on CPU multicore/multithreads/speed.

"MJPG Compression format gives you the best compression ratio but requires a rather fast Multicore CPU to encode high resolution video without losing frames."

Thanks for the help though, I appreciate it!

 

[Sunius]

Did you try recording in uncompressed mode?

 

[HEXiT]

recording from fraps can be a hit and miss affair especialy if you only have 1 hdd. the game is being read and writen to at the same time your trying to record the gamplay. end result is if your hdd doesnt have a good size cache and even some that do. it will cause stutter and lag regardless of the quality or core count on the cpu.
its always better to record to a secondary drive and often just doing this will stop in game stutter.
also recording with out an fps cap can also cause issues. often fraps will loose sync with the game causing stutters and screen tearing. try to record with vsync on and either at 30 or 60 fps (120 if you have a 3d monitor and your gfx can give you a rock solid fps count)

 

[Scorch48202]

recording from fraps can be a hit and miss affair especialy if you only have 1 hdd. the game is being read and writen to at the same time your trying to record the gamplay. end result is if your hdd doesnt have a good size cache and even some that do. it will cause stutter and lag regardless of the quality or core count on the cpu.
its always better to record to a secondary drive and often just doing this will stop in game stutter.
also recording with out an fps cap can also cause issues. often fraps will loose sync with the game causing stutters and screen tearing. try to record with vsync on and either at 30 or 60 fps (120 if you have a 3d monitor and your gfx can give you a rock solid fps count)

So a secondary Internal HDD? I just use an External HDD that only has about 120 gb left to use on it.

I stopped using Fraps after I found good settings for MSI. I can record at 1080 with 60 fps. I just get random stutters and complete frame drops. If I switch to 1080 30 fps it is incredibly choppy while playing and also in the playback. Otherwise, while not recording I have a stable 55-60 fps.

Sinius, yes I have tried recording in uncompressed. My frames dropped to about 10-15, so it was a bit unplayable.

 

[Sunius]

What if you try to record at 30 fps but not lock the framerate?