Which encoder works best with an RX 5600?
Which encoder works best with an RX 5600?
Hello! For high motion games at 1080p60 with your current setup, you should consider using the x264 encoder for recording. This will help maintain stable frame rates without noticeable choppiness. Rate control is essential here to balance quality and performance.
I wasn't recommending using ShadowPlay, but I mentioned AMD also offers an encoder that leverages the GPU hardware directly through its software, something you can't achieve with a third-party tool like ShadowPlay. OBS accommodates this approach if you select the appropriate encoder (AMF/VCE), though I've seen recent reports indicating AMD's support for it is less robust compared to Nvidia's NVENC. You might still want to give it a try if you haven't already.
With my Nvidia setup I always use ShadowPlay, now just incorporated into GeForce Experience. Reason being it uses the H.264 architecture in the GPU to record, or cache then record. Both are far more performance efficient than recording via other methods, but the cached is pretty much zero lag, since you don't record while playing. The 20 min of cache limitation is rarely a problem for me, but I've even done videos much longer than that just by hitting Esc to pause the game, hitting the key to save the cached file, then waiting for it to write. If you don't let it write first, the next cached segment will look choppy after saved to file. If you minimize the game and go to the folder where the file is writing, you can actually see when it's done writing, as the video thumbnail will change appearance to verify that. All that's left other than that is some clever editing to make it look seamless. The only caveat is this type of capture doesn't not work for MP.
AMD for some time has offered a capture tool very similar to ShadowPlay.
I don't need to rely on ShadowPlay since I'm using OBS for sessions that exceed an hour and occasionally go beyond.
I wasn't recommending using ShadowPlay, but I mentioned that AMD also offers an encoder that leverages the GPU hardware directly, which can only be accessed through AMD software without a third-party solution like ShadowPlay. OBS accommodates this approach if you select the appropriate encoder (such as AMF/VCE), although some recent reports suggest AMD's support is not as robust as Nvidia's NVENC. You might still want to try it if you haven't considered it before.
I tried AMD's initial version of their built-in capture tool Re-Live, but it had many issues at the time. It seems to have improved significantly since then, and some users even prefer it over ShadowPlay. This depends on whether you're streaming your content. Most recommend using OBS for streaming, but you need to pay attention to settings like output resolution and bitrate—especially the latter, which demands a reliable upload speed to achieve quality standards of 5000 or 6000.
The key point is that if you aim for optimal capture performance with an AMD GPU, the most recent version of Re-Live, paired with the latest beta GPU driver, is worth trying. You might encounter some of the same glitches shown in videos, particularly if your GPU is relatively new, but as demonstrated, these issues are often overcome. I remember when Re-Live first launched, its sidebar was frequently problematic, so it's best avoided.
The poor software support was a major factor that pushed me away from AMD toward Nvidia several years ago. Of course, there are occasional driver or GeForce Experience issues with Nvidia as well, but they occur far less often and are typically resolved more quickly. In the worst cases, you can revert to a driver or two or use a temporary workaround. With Adrenaline and Re-Live, however, you often have to wait for them to address the issue, which can take quite some time—some projects even took 7 MONTHS to get fixed for the GPU driver problems in the 5000 series. While AMD consistently delivers strong value for its hardware, you'll likely end up getting what you pay for.