Performance Optimization

Segra is designed to have minimal performance impact on your games, but optimal settings depend on your hardware. This guide will help you get the best recording quality while maintaining smooth gameplay.

Understanding Performance Impact

Performance Factors

The main factors affecting performance are:

1. Encoder Type (CPU vs GPU) - Biggest impact
2. Recording Resolution - Moderate impact
3. Frame Rate - Moderate impact
4. Bitrate and Rate Control - Minor impact
5. Audio Sources - Minimal impact

Choosing the Right Encoder

Your encoder choice is the most important performance decision.

Resolution and Frame Rate

Recording Resolution

Segra automatically scales your game capture to the configured recording resolution:

Recommendations:

• 1080p: Ideal for most users, good quality, small file sizes
• 1440p: Sweet spot for modern gaming monitors
• 4K: Only if you have powerful hardware and storage

Frame Rate

Segra exposes preset frame rates of 24, 30, 60, 120, and 144 FPS. The two most common choices are:

Recommendation: Use 60 FPS with hardware encoding. Only drop to 30 FPS if experiencing performance issues.

Bitrate and Quality Settings

Understanding Rate Control

Segra supports multiple rate control methods:

Min Bitrate: 70 Mbps
Max Bitrate: 100 Mbps

Bitrate: 80 Mbps

CRF: 18-23 (lower = better)

CQP Level: 18-23

Bitrate Recommendations by Resolution

Audio Optimization

Audio Source Configuration

Best Practices:

1. Use only needed sources: Don't add unused microphones/devices
2. Force Mono for microphones: Reduces file size with no quality loss (click the Mono toggle next to each input device in Settings → Audio)
3. Disable unused tracks: Don't enable separate audio tracks unless you need them for editing

Audio Output Modes

Choose the right mode for your workflow:

Separate Audio Tracks

When to use:

• Advanced video editing workflows
• Need independent volume control in post-production
• Recording podcasts or collaborative content

When to skip:

• Simple clipping and sharing
• Storage space is limited
• Don't edit recordings

Capture Method Selection

Segra picks the capture backend automatically — there's no user-facing switch. The three sources it uses in order are:

• Game Capture (OBS graphics hook) — used whenever the hook attaches. Lowest overhead.
• Window Capture via Windows Graphics Capture (WGC) — used as the first fallback, targeted at the game window. Works with variable refresh rate and multi-monitor setups. Can't capture exclusive fullscreen or minimized windows.
• Display Capture via DXGI Desktop Duplication — used when the window fallback can't deliver frames (exclusive fullscreen, minimized) and for manual recordings.

If you're seeing black screens or high overhead during fallback capture, check whether the game is running in exclusive fullscreen (which forces Display Capture); switching to borderless windowed lets Window Capture take over and typically lowers CPU/GPU cost.

Replay Buffer Optimization

Memory Management

Replay buffer keeps recent footage in memory before writing to disk:

Settings to adjust:

1. Buffer Duration (Settings → Video → Replay Buffer Duration)

   • Default: 30 seconds
   • Longer = more memory usage
   • Recommendation: 30-60 seconds

2. Max File Size (Settings → Video → Replay Buffer Max Size)

   • Default: 1000 MB (1 GB)
   • Prevents buffer from growing too large
   • Increase if you have RAM to spare

Hybrid Mode Considerations

Performance impact of Hybrid mode:

• 2x encoder usage
• 2x write operations to disk
• Higher memory usage

Recommendations:

• Only use with hardware encoders (NVENC/AMF/QSV)
• Ensure SSD for content folder (reduces disk bottleneck)
• Monitor system performance during recording

System-Specific Optimizations

High-End Systems (RTX 3080+, Ryzen 7+)

Recommended Settings:

Encoder: NVENC/AMF
Resolution: 1440p or 4K
Frame Rate: 60 FPS
Rate Control: VBR (100-150 Mbps)
Recording Mode: Hybrid
Audio Tracks: Separate tracks enabled

Mid-Range Systems (RTX 3060, Ryzen 5)

Recommended Settings:

Encoder: NVENC/AMF/QSV
Resolution: 1080p
Frame Rate: 60 FPS
Rate Control: VBR (70-100 Mbps)
Recording Mode: Hybrid or Session
Audio Tracks: Single track

Budget Systems (GTX 1660, Intel i5)

Recommended Settings:

Encoder: NVENC/QSV (avoid x264)
Resolution: 1080p
Frame Rate: 60 FPS (or 30 FPS if struggling)
Rate Control: VBR (50-70 Mbps)
Recording Mode: Buffer only
Audio Tracks: Single track

Laptops

Laptop-Specific Tips:

• Use laptop cooling pad
• Set power plan to "High Performance" when recording
• Lower bitrate to reduce heat generation
• Ensure dedicated GPU is being used (not integrated graphics)
• Record to external SSD if possible (reduces internal drive heat)

Storage Performance

Drive Types

Content Folder Location

Optimal content folder locations:

1. Best: Dedicated NVMe SSD (separate from OS drive)
2. Good: Secondary SATA SSD
3. Acceptable: Same SSD as OS (may impact system responsiveness)
4. Avoid: Mechanical HDD (may cause dropped frames)

Monitoring Performance

During Recording

Signs of Performance Issues

If you see these issues, reduce recording settings incrementally:

1. Lower bitrate by 20%
2. Reduce resolution one step (4K → 1440p → 1080p)
3. Drop frame rate to 30 FPS
4. Disable separate audio tracks
5. Switch recording mode (Hybrid → Session or Buffer)

Advanced Tips

Process Priority

This is handled automatically in OBSService.cs (search for SetProcessPriority):

GeneralUtils.SetProcessPriority(ProcessPriorityClass.High);

Multi-GPU Systems

If you have multiple GPUs (e.g., laptop with iGPU + dGPU):

1. Ensure Segra runs on dedicated GPU:

   • Windows Settings → System → Display → Graphics
   • Add Segra.exe → High Performance

2. Use matching encoder:

   • NVIDIA dGPU → NVENC
   • Intel iGPU → QSV (only if game isn't GPU-intensive)

4:3 Aspect Ratio Games

This adds minimal performance overhead and prevents black bars in recordings.

Benchmarking Your Settings

Related Resources