Wish to use CPU encoder for recording.

[Fatalis]

Hi, I stream on Twitch and record videos for Youtube and want to optimise my settings for the best recording quality (I don't really care about the size of the file that much I have lots of storage). I mostly would record in 1080 (downscaled from my 4k monitor) but may occasionally record in 4k to allow "zooming in" on gameplay footage whilst still maintaining 1080p in the final product. As I implied, I play all my games in 4k max settings unless they get less than around 90fps then I tone down settings or resolution.
System is:
2080ti (light overclocking)
R9 3900x (Percision boost overdrive)
32Gb of 3200MHz RAM
Plenty of cooling so high usage isn't a bother.

Every post seems to simply point users towards Nvenc encoder which works nicely however as I play in 4k, my GPU is usually pinned at 100% and my CPU having 12c24t while games usually use around 2c4t, I wish to use the software encoder to take advantage of the unused CPU but I cannot for the LIFE of me find settings that result in a clean-looking 1080p60 video.
Any reccomendations would be lovely.

 

[R1CH]

NVENC is a separate part of the GPU, with lookahead and psychovisual tuning disabled, encoding with NVENC adds no GPU overhead. It also produces better quality than x264 which is why it's recommended so often.

 

[Fatalis]

NVENC is a separate part of the GPU, with lookahead and psychovisual tuning disabled, encoding with NVENC adds no GPU overhead. It also produces better quality than x264 which is why it's recommended so often.

Thanks for the reply. I'll probably look to use the NVENC encoder then (even though I use lookahead and psychovisual since that's what most recommendations say) but I still would like to know what settings could produce good video on the x264 encoder since I'd like to take advantage of the 12 cores I have.

 

[BluePeer]

for the record part i think its a option to set on the x264 for you to use the advance. (stream nvenc)
for the record with x264 use CRF its a Quality based so it alltime look same only the bitrate go up/down related to the requirements for the quality
the CRF Value (default 23) means Lower value more quality (higher bitrate) and Higher Number Lower Quality (less bitrate)
you can do it with nvenc to but then there is no need of psycho and lookahead. that features makes only sense if big quality in less bitrate required. the nvenc equivalent of CRF is CQP the High/low value is same like CRF but the value= quality is little different so need to find a good value for the same quality again (not use x264 often but if i remember right a CRF 23 is like CQP 24)

if a mix or bottom nvenc is a choice for you , you need to find out self
remember to not go to low with the numbers , related to the video you encode the bitrate can spike heavy up (more movement more bitrate usage) if there go over your Harddrive write speed you loose parts or the hole record from that time on

 

[FerretBomb]

PVT and Lookahead are minor visual quality improvements, but can cause MAJOR problems when encoding, including encoding lag and skipped frames. I turn both off and recommend that people turn them off to avoid even the potential problems, as they do crop up so often.

 

[BluePeer]

PVT and Lookahead are minor visual quality improvements, but can cause MAJOR problems when encoding, including encoding lag and skipped frames. I turn both off and recommend that people turn them off to avoid even the potential problems, as they do crop up so often.

Thats true that features use Cuda cores (GPU ressources) to calculate, so if your GPU usage is regular above 80% it can result in issues
but that have nothing todo with the features itself , thats a basic problem of Operate at Hardware Limits by run games Unlimited or basic to small for the workload