Video capture software obviously adds some workload onto the system.
But losing ~30% of your fps suggests that you need better hardware or that you need cleaner software. Games like Skyrim lean so heavily on the GPU that an overloaded CPU clearly indicates you need an upgrade if you want to sustain good video capture fps.
A few quick comparisons on my main system -
Witcher 3 (Ultra everything G-Sync 2560x1440) consistently ranges from 46-51 fps running ShadowPlay, 49-54 fps not running ShadowPlay, 49-54 fps not running ShadowPlay but using
this video capture card.
Crysis 3 (Very High everything 4xMSAA G-Sync 2560x1440) scores 63.1-83.5 fraps running ShadowPlay, 64.2-83.9 fraps not running ShadowPlay, and 60.0 fps not running ShadowPlay but using the video capture card (which I've learned has some sort of NVidia driver issue with this particular game that imposes a flat 60 fps upper limit)
Unigine Heaven 4 (Ultra/Extreme/8xAA G-Sync 2560x1440) averages 91.4 fps and ranges 38.7-171.2 fps running ShadowPlay, 93.8 fps and 39.0-175.7 fps not running ShadowPlay (same results with and without video capture card). (Although I've locked my monitor to max 120Hz so it obviously won't display more than 120fps, lol, not really sure how Unigine measures these scores.)
"All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated and well supported in logic and argument than others." - Douglas Adams
[/Korth]
