How can I record gameplay without a dip in framerate?

I use Fraps when recording my gameplays but it chops off like 5-9 FPS and makes the recorded video laggy. Is there any tool I can use to record gameplay without a resulting loss of much FPS?

Added Bounty.


You won't be able to do that with a software solution - at least not for any graphically intensive applications. If the application is rate-limited to 60 fps, but could as well run at 200 fps if allowed to, recording won't make a difference, of course ...

There are hardware recorders available, including those for HDMI. There are even internal hardware recorder cards available (like the Hauppage Colossus). I'd suggest looking around on sites like Tom's Hardware or the Audio/Video Stream Recording Forums for reviews and detailed help.


You could use a video camera pointed at your screen. It will cause 0 FPS drop, however the quality will be terrible.

Alternatively, check out Blackmagic Design Intensity Pro but be aware it is limited in resolution to 1920x1080.

I was originally thinking you could use VNC to clone the display to a separate computer that was running FRAPS where you could record it, but I don't think VNC can get the hardware accelerated images, and also doubt your network is up to transferring that quantity of data smoothly.