Question / Help X264 or Nvenc?
- Thread starter Djb10111!
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Fenrir
Forum Admin
For recording only, you will probably have a better time using a hardware-based encoder like NVENC.
Use the recording quality presets under Settings > Output when in Simple output mode. In the recording section, change the Recording Quality to Indistinguishable Quality, and then select your encoder.
Use the recording quality presets under Settings > Output when in Simple output mode. In the recording section, change the Recording Quality to Indistinguishable Quality, and then select your encoder.
BK-Morpheus
Active Member
GPU accelerated encoders like NVENC, AMFA (or whatever the AMD variant is called) and Quicksync have these pros/cons:
+ fast
+ very little performance loss
- inefficient (quality per bitrate is bad)
CPU based x264 encoding has these pros/cons:
+ efficient (good quality per bitrate @very fast preset and slower settings)
- high CPU load
Pascal Cards seem to deliver a better NVENC encoding efficiency that older cards, but x264 is still king, when it comes to low bitrates (<10.000kbit/s).
For local recordings, where you are not restricted to a low and constant bitrate, I would use Nvenc with constant rate factor aka CBR set at 19.
For streaming use x264 very fast. Games like Destiny 2 can only use up to 4 real cores, so with your CPU there are some cores left for streaming without reducing game performance. You can try x264 preset "fast" or even "medium" as long as you don't stream with 1080p 60fps (which would be the worst setting for streaming anyway).
+ fast
+ very little performance loss
- inefficient (quality per bitrate is bad)
CPU based x264 encoding has these pros/cons:
+ efficient (good quality per bitrate @very fast preset and slower settings)
- high CPU load
Pascal Cards seem to deliver a better NVENC encoding efficiency that older cards, but x264 is still king, when it comes to low bitrates (<10.000kbit/s).
For local recordings, where you are not restricted to a low and constant bitrate, I would use Nvenc with constant rate factor aka CBR set at 19.
For streaming use x264 very fast. Games like Destiny 2 can only use up to 4 real cores, so with your CPU there are some cores left for streaming without reducing game performance. You can try x264 preset "fast" or even "medium" as long as you don't stream with 1080p 60fps (which would be the worst setting for streaming anyway).
Suslik V
Active Member
Visual comparison of the codecs in this thread: Comparison of x264, NVENC, Quicksync, VCE
(from the thread, my own opinion, - at low bitrates NVENC_Pascal wins)
(from the thread, my own opinion, - at low bitrates NVENC_Pascal wins)
BK-Morpheus
Active Member
The ranking in that thread is correct...in high motion situations, x264 very fast or faster still wins.
Did my own test recordings as well and I come to the same conclusion.
NVENC on pascal cards is not bad, compared to NVENC on older Nvidia cards or Quicksync/VCE.
Did my own test recordings as well and I come to the same conclusion.
NVENC on pascal cards is not bad, compared to NVENC on older Nvidia cards or Quicksync/VCE.