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Have you ever been impressed by the splendid and exhilarating FPS game scenes made by game anchors or YouTubers? The commentaries, captions, and talking heads are harmoniously integrated. Believe it or not, you can make game clips just like they do if you are equipped with the best game screen recorders mentioned on this page.
This post writes to relieve you from the dilemma of choosing an optimum game recording software. In this passage, different kinds of game recorders are included. Some recorders let you create videos with high FPS and clarity, some products avail you to record with no latencies, some tools even let you edit your clips. Let's just dive in.
[List 2021] Best 10 Game Screen Recorders PC
This thorough list appended below has exhibited the 10 best screen recorders for gamers. Each product has been analyzed profoundly. It is no exaggeration to say that you can find the right one on this page according to the information like basic functions, unique features, flaws, and advantages.
Bandicam
Bandicam is one of the best game screen recorders that gamers have ever seen. Its unparalleled ability to offer users 480 FPS turns out to be its trump card. What gamers find even more useful is its HDMI recording mode – with this mode, they can easily record their game consoles like Switch, PS4, Xbox One, etc. Within several clicks and high-quality clips could be produced with this recorder.
If you are not skilled at game recording but craving for creating high-quality clips on Windows, Bandicam will be the right one for you.
Pros:
- Provide gamers up to 480 FPS
- Special HDMI mode for capturing PS4, Xbox One, and Switch
- Produce no choppy gameplay clips
Cons:
- Do not have a Mac version for Mac OS devices
- Need to buy a license to add no watermark to your footage
Medal.TV
For gamers, Medal.TV maybe not as influential as Plays.TV. The latter one used to earn itself great popularity by building up a vigorous gaming community. But Plays.TV is not operating now and as an alternative of it Medal.TV inherits every merit that Plays.TV used to possess – the features like benchmarking timepoint and stitching game clips are still thought highly of by gamers.
Moreover, as one of the best game screen recorders, Medal.TV is also embedded with the important feature to replay or capture the last 30 seconds of gameplay. To leverage this function, players only need to press F8 in the game and Medal.TV will automatically recognize what game you are playing currently and store the clips in your folders.
If you cannot decide which game recorder was made for you, give Medal.TV a try and it will not be a letdown to you.
Pros:
- Record full-session gameplay videos
- Replay last 30 seconds in-game clips (the length is up to 120 seconds)
- Support users to record in Full HD resolution
- Deep Discord integration
- Offer free cloud storage
Cons:
- Produce large-file game clips
- Not available for Linux OS
- Could be recognized as malware by anti-virus software
Flashback Express
Except for the ordinary game recording features, what impressed me most about this game screen recorder when I first see it is its powerful video editor. The professional editing interface and rich editing tool kit are just satisfying. However, the other side of the coin is that gamers may need a tutorial or a thorough review to get the hang of this editor.
If you want your game clips full of effects and highlights, this recorder will provide you plenty of means to achieve this goal.
Pros:
- Manage audio sources from your PC – system sound and microphone sound
- Edit every frame of your gameplay clips
- Add plenty of annotative tools to highlight your gaming videos
- Export your game recordings as MP4 and more format to choose
Cons:
- Need an upgrade to the Pro version to use the internal editor
- Require users to register
- The main interface seems outdated
- Use more GPU than other game recorders
iTop Screen Recorder
iTop Screen Recorder is a safe game recorder. Being designed with a clean and intuitive user interface, this recorder traces back to the brand iTop – the reputable tech company possessing Driver Booster and Advanced System Care. This recorder for recording gameplay is easy yet powerful, even the most inexperienced gamers can manage to produce smooth game clips with iTop Screen Recorder.
Besides, this software records all kinds of popular game consoles. It delivers impressive performance in recording gameplay on PS4, recording gameplay on Nintendo Switch, and even recording VR games.
The last thing worth mentioning is that no annoying latencies or stuttering will occur during recording, iTop Screen Recorder promises to impose little influence on your GPU. If you plan to record smooth gaming videos for YouTube or other platforms, here is a brief iTop Screen Recorder reviews that may be helpful to you:
Pros:
- Deliver stable performance and smooth recording
- Allow users to record with a webcam
- Allow users to record with their voices
- Do not have limitations on video length
- Be available for Windows 10/8/7
Cons:
- Do not have any annotation tools
- Add a watermark to your footage in the free version
Fraps
The best part of this game recorder, as far as I am concerned, is its multiple features related to FPS. It allows users to lock the framerate while recording or use the lossless RGB capture mode. Speak of other features gamers may find useful, Fraps arranges an FPS indicator in your in-game interface for better control of your game conditions. And the benchmarking function is also available in Fraps - hitting F11 in your games and you can instantly take advantage of it.
As a famous brand, Fraps is deeply rooted in gamers' minds. We can find its existence on various game communities like Twitch or Mixer, and it is frequently recommended at Reddit or Quora for fresh hands’ choices too.
The question is that Fraps is still using its classic yet outdated interface, which may be a big problem for those who seek cutting-edge designs.
Pros:
- Free and easy
- Benchmarking capabilities
- 37 bucks for a lifetime is pretty worth the price
- FPS counter and other FPS options
Cons:
- Need to pay to record a full session game video
- Need to upgrade to use the replay (capture last seconds) function
- Occasional FPS drop could take place
Xbox Game Bar
Xbox Game Bar is a Windows 10 built-in game screen recorder. This free, simple, 100 percent green, and easy to come by software is actually a pretty good choice for freshmen considering that no advanced settings to pay attention to, no extra operations are required during recording. You don't need to be an expert in FPS, resolution, or Bitrate, just open your games and wait for them to be identified by Game Bar so you can start recording.
Nevertheless, as a free game recorder, it is rational for Game Bar to deliver less competent performance compared with paid programs. But Game Bar seems to have gone too far in this respect – users reflect the Game Bar's problems ranging from recording not working, mic not working, and other recording limits. If you could put up with these problems, Game Bar is still the best screen recorder for gamers.
Pros:
- This recorder is free of charge
- Add no watermark to your footage
- Allow users to produce up to 4 hours' length video
- Operate in the background silently
Cons:
- Frequent FPS drop
- Record audio in low quality
- Cannot record web, document, streaming videos, etc.
- Lack basic features of ordinary screen recorders
OBS Studio
OBS is short for Open Broadcaster Software. This most reliable open-source game recording software distinguishes itself by its free price and advanced operations. Users who first try OBS would need a learning curve before they finally master it.
With OBS, you can design your own recording modes by adding different 'sources' (webcam, microphone, filters, screenshot, picture-in-picture mode, etc.) to your panel - tedious yet flexible. And BTW, the application also allows you to add text and logo to the live videos with ease.
In a nutshell, as one of the best game screen recorders, this recorder will repay you if you are willing to spend time digging in it.
Pros:
- Free of charge
- Allow users to record with 60 FPS, 1080P
- Suit for low-end PC
- Support Mac, Windows, and Linux
- The broadcast feature is available, support Twitch, YouTube, and other platforms
Cons:
- Complicated operations
- No out-of-box recording modes
- No annotation tools and video editors
FBX Game Recorder
FBX recorder is another dedicated game screen recorder that promises users to record with no lag. This recorder could be a little bit different from its competitors in that it has no recording button on its main interface, every operation requires the participation of hotkeys. Press Ctrl + F12 to start recording, press again to stop recording. Press F8 to pause the recording and press again to resume.
To use FBX, you do not need a high-end PC, just make sure your PC is Windows 7 or above, leave more than 4 GB RAM for it and a minimum system requirement is perfectly met.
Last but not least, if you want to decorate your videos, FBX suits you. It allows you to annotate your gaming videos with stickers, captions. You can make Slomo videos with a pro version FBX if you care to.
Pros:
- Offer Instant replay mode
- Possess Powerful Editor and bountiful editing sources
- Provide users Many customizable options
- Record with no lag
- Offer smooth live streaming function
Cons:
- Provide no out-of-box recording mode
- Add a watermark to your footage if you do not buy its license
- Record games only
Nvidia GeForce Experience
It's no exaggeration to say that Graphics-Card-derivative recorders deliver the best performance in recording all kinds of games (capture card excluded). Nvidia Geforce Experience is one of the best game screen recorders in a real sense. Geforce Experience (also known for Nvidia Share/Nvidia Shadow Play) was piggybacked by the notorious Nvidia Graphics Card.
This game recorder is blessed with an excellent ability called hardware acceleration, and with the help of it, mainstream games like cyberpunk 2077, Battle Field series, Apex Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, league of legends are all supported well.
Game clips made by this game recording software are crystal clear, smooth, and joyful. But this big castle could be built in the air if users do not adopt the Nvidia Graphics card in the first place.
Pros:
- Support recording with in-game resolution (synchronized resolution)
- Offer an FPS counter for users
- Graphics Card' hardware acceleration feature
- Provide users with Broadcast feature
Cons:
- Nvidia Graphics Cards must be installed on your PC
- No annotation tools
- Occasionally not opening/ not working
- Produce large files - A 10 minutes clip could occupy up to 3.8GB of PC storage
Az Screen Recorder
AZ screen recorder is a recording application that helps users record gameplay on Android devices. This recorder is regarded as one of the best game screen recorders on smartphones due to its rarely seen merits compared with its competitors – it possesses literally every useful feature of a desktop gaming recorder but charges the least. Within several clicks, users can use features like annotations tools, facecam recording, internal audio recording (for Android 10 and above), making GIFs out of recording footages.
Pros:
- Offer users with an internal editor
- Offer users annotation tools
- Allow users to Live Stream their games with facecam
- No root is needed
Cons:
- Have high requirements on devices OS
- Audio problems may occur from time to time
Crucial Parameters of the Best Game Screen Recorders
In this part, we are about to show you some essential factors that may influence the quality of your game clips. The better learning of these parameters, the more adept you will become in creating game clips.
- FPS
FPS indicates frames per second. If 12 frames were processed in one second, then that is a 12 FPS. As a matter of fact, a human's eyeball is capable of processing 12 frames per second. Any FPS lower this criterion will look stuttering, and the higher your FPS is promised, the smoother the sceneries will become.
- Resolution
Resolution shows the scale of pixels in an image. Two fundamental elements make up resolution – width and height. The bigger the width and height, the more pixels an image contains. Gamers pursue extreme in-game experience, and that depends very much on resolution – the higher this parameter gets, the more picturesque your games will be.
- GPU
Short for Graphics Processing Unit, GPU serves to render 3D and 2D graphics. The faster your graphics/video card (GPU) processes information, the higher FPS you can obtain.
- Bitrate
Bitrate, as the name implies, describes the rate at which bits are transferred from one location to another. Bitrate can also describe the quality of an audio or video file.
In a nutshell, you should always bear in mind that if you want to record game videos, you should choose game recorders that provide us high FPS, Bitrate, support high resolution. And do remember to abandon those recorders that occupy your GPU severely.
Use the Best Game Screen Recorder to Record Clips and Upload Them to YouTube?
Step 1. Download and install iTop Screen Recorder.
Step 2. Select Full-Screen recording mode and hit the Recording Settings button.
Step 3. Configure the options – set video size at 'Original', set the FPS at 60, set the quality of videos as 'Original'. You are also allowed to include a webcam and microphone sound in your video.
Step 4. Hit the red button 'REC' to start recording. And in the floating bar, hit another red button to stop recording.
Step 5. After you finish recording, you can go to 'My Creations' to review and edit your raw footage. iTop will help you trim your gaming videos.
Step 6. Right-click the video and navigate to 'Upload' and select YouTube.
The Best Game Screen Recorder FAQ
1. Does Medal.TV slow FPS?
This phenomenon does exist, and Medal.tv seems not good for low-end pc. Medal.tv responds to this question that the choppy clips and FPS drop during recording are caused by several possible reasons, with one most prominent factor - the lack of storage space. Activities during recording could be competing for resources and the FPS drop is understandable. To solve this problem, a Graphic Card-based recorder (Nvidia or AMD built-in recorder) is ideal. iTop Screen Recorder is suitable for low-end PC too, for its hardware acceleration function.
2. What are the game recorders that YouTubers use?
As a reference, YouTubers prefer professional and functional recorders to record games. Bandicam offers them the smoothest gameplay clips and OBS avails them to broadcast to Twitch or Mixer.
3. How to record games with no latencies?
- If you are suffering from stuttering, latencies, and FPS loss, the most straightforward way is to upgrade your hardware, Graphics card. Adding an SSD card is also practical.
- If your hardware is all right, then you should choose a lightweight game recorder –recorders that come with your Graphics Card like Nvidia or AMD are acknowledged as the best game recording software when game capture cards are not considered.
Verdict
After finishing reading this best game screen recorder list, I hope an ideal game recorder has already revealed itself to you. Among these paid and free game recorders, we strongly recommend you to use iTop Screen Recorder for the best experience in-game recording. If you don’t enough budget, there are also some codes & coupons for you. Try it right now!
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