Question / Help x264 preset quality - Faster vs Fast

[Guilherme Hoffmann]

I searched but couldn't find a good answer.

Let's say I'm recording a 1080p60, 12,000 Kbps gameplay with x264.
At this bitrate, will there be any significant difference in quality and detail between the Faster and the Fast preset?

My CPU runs Fast with almost 90% load in high motion scenes, whereas Faster tops 60%.

I'm at a good and stable overclock, but I could push it a little harder to get a better headroom for Fast preset.
But is the difference in quality worth the effort?

 

[Zidakuh]

Honestly speaking, for recordings, not streaming, using NVENC, QuickSync or AMD VCE is plenty fine. But don't use CBR for recordings, it just wastes space. CRF is a better option there.

 

[Guilherme Hoffmann]

Honestly speaking, for recordings, not streaming, using NVENC, QuickSync or AMD VCE is plenty fine. But don't use CBR for recordings, it just wastes space. CRF is a better option there.

Oh yes I would definitely use NVENC for local recording. I just mentioned local recording to have a raw comparison, not influenced by a streaming platform.

 

[Zidakuh]

At the bitrate of 12.000 kbps, the difference between "faster" and "fast" is something you'd likely never notice. PSNR and SSIM values would be the only real way of telling a difference, or by zooming in 100 times or so.

 

[Guilherme Hoffmann]

Good to know, it really bothered me not being able to keep using Fast, but to be honest I do have a hard time telling the difference.
It's funny that all this preset discussion will be gone in the near future, as more people will be able to watch higher bitrate streams.

 

[Zidakuh]

Yeah, true. That or something like AV-1 or H.265 takes on for real.