Low CPU game recording

Updated 5 November 2026

For low CPU game recording, let the graphics card do the encoding, keep resolution and frame rate in proportion to what your game delivers, and switch off features you do not use. Encoding is the biggest job a recorder does, and on the processor it competes with the game. Moved to the graphics card, most of that work leaves the CPU.

Where the CPU goes when you record

A game recorder copies frames from the game, encodes them into video and keeps them in memory or writes them to disk. It may also capture audio and handle hotkeys. Of all of that, encoding is the part that can eat a large share of the processor, and only when it is done in software.

Games that already lean hard on the processor, such as high frame rate shooters and large strategy games, feel extra CPU work first. On those, the encoder choice matters more than anything else in this guide.

Use a hardware encoder

Graphics cards include a hardware video encoder that runs separately from the processor. NVIDIA calls theirs NVENC, AMD calls theirs AMF and Intel calls theirs Quick Sync. A recorder that uses it hands off the heaviest job, and the CPU is left mostly for the game.

Clippy encodes on the graphics card with whichever of the three your PC has. It only falls back to software encoding when none is available, and that fallback is the one case where you should expect noticeably more CPU use.

Keep the settings in proportion

Even with a hardware encoder, more pixels and more frames mean more data to move and manage. Recording at the resolution you need, rather than the highest one available, keeps every stage lighter.

Frame rate is the easiest win. If your game delivers fewer frames than your recording setting, the recorder spends effort on repeated frames that add nothing to the clip. Clippy shows the frame rate the game is really delivering in Settings while recording. Set the recording frame rate (30, 60, 120 or 144 fps) at or below it.

Turn off what you do not use

Every optional feature is a little more work. In Clippy several are off unless you turn them on:

The input overlay, which records the keys, buttons and sticks you press, is off by default.
Streamer mode, which watches your mic and Twitch chat for moments, is off by default.
Webcam recording is only worth having on if you use your camera in clips.

How to check what your recorder uses

Task Manager shows CPU use per process. Because Clippy's recorder runs as a separate process from the game and from the Clippy window, you can see its share on its own.

Start your game and let recording begin.
Open Task Manager with Ctrl+Shift+Esc and sort the Processes tab by CPU.
Play for a few minutes and watch the recorder's share next to the game's.
Change one setting at a time, such as frame rate or resolution, and compare.

Low CPU recording with Clippy

Clippy starts recording by itself when a game starts, records the game's window through Windows Graphics Capture, and does not inject anything into the game process. With a hardware encoder, a frame rate matched to your game and the extras you do not need left off, that is about as light as recording gets.

You can download Clippy for free on Windows 10 and 11, or read how to record without an FPS drop for the graphics card side of the same question.

Questions

Which encoder uses the least CPU for game recording?

A hardware encoder on the graphics card: NVENC on NVIDIA, AMF on AMD or Quick Sync on Intel. Software encoding runs on the processor and costs far more CPU.

Why is my recorder using so much CPU?

Most often it is encoding in software, or recording at settings well above what the game delivers. Check which encoder it uses and lower frame rate or resolution.

Can I record games on a low-end PC?

Usually, if the PC has a graphics card or integrated graphics with a hardware encoder. Keep resolution and frame rate modest and test the result in your own game.

Does a longer replay buffer use more CPU?

The buffer is held in memory, so its length mostly affects RAM rather than the processor. Clippy's Settings shows how much memory your chosen length takes.