Short answer: the best clipping software for a low end PC is the one that does three things without fuss. It encodes on your GPU instead of the CPU (NVIDIA NVENC, AMD or Intel Quick Sync), it lets you record at 720p or 30fps when your hardware is tight, and it stays out of the way while you play.
Medal, Outplayed, the NVIDIA app, OBS Studio and DOR are the usual picks, and the table right below compares them on the points that matter for a budget rig.
The rest of this guide explains why hardware encoding is what keeps clipping software from impacting performance, and how to set any recorder up so your framerate holds.
In this article we first define what lightweight recording means, point out the conditions that actually govern load, then compare commonly used recorders from a resource-load standpoint. Finally, we lay out, step by step, settings that protect framerate even on low-spec PCs and a recommended tool that has those conditions as defaults.
Best clipping software for a low end PC: Medal, Outplayed, NVIDIA app, OBS and DOR compared
| App | How it records and what to check | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Medal | Free clipping and sharing app. On the free plan, downloaded clips carry a watermark and uploads are capped at 1080p and 20 minutes; Premium lifts those limits. | Players who mainly want to post clips and share them fast |
| Outplayed | Runs on the Overwolf client, which installs alongside it. Auto captures big plays in supported games. Free with ads; a subscription removes them. | Players who already use Overwolf apps |
| NVIDIA app | GeForce cards only. Encodes with NVENC and saves the last few minutes on a hotkey with Instant Replay. | GeForce owners who like saving clips by hotkey |
| OBS Studio | Free and open source. You set the encoder, resolution and replay buffer yourself; choosing a hardware encoder is the key step on weaker PCs. | Tinkerers and anyone who also streams |
| DOR | Free Windows app. Records the whole match automatically when a supported game starts and uses NVENC on supported NVIDIA cards. Free 720p or 1080p at 30 or 60fps (default 1080p 30fps). | Players who want to leave it on and pick moments after the match |
Looking for a Medal alternative for a low end PC? Judge every option on the same three questions: does it hand encoding to the GPU, can it drop to 720p or 30fps when your hardware is tight, and how little does it ask of you mid game?
DOR fits players who want minimal setup: it records the full match on its own when a supported game launches, and in seven games (League of Legends, VALORANT, PUBG, FC Online, Fortnite, CS2 and Overwatch) it also saves highlights as automatic clips.
For step by step settings on a weak machine, see our low end PC game recording guide. For deeper head to head comparisons, read the Medal alternative comparison and the Outplayed alternative comparison.
What exactly is lightweight recording?
What people commonly call a 'lightweight recorder' blends two ideas. One is something with a small install size that's no burden to launch; the other is something that doesn't cut into the game framerate while recording. For gamers, the second one is what truly matters.
Whether the install file is tens of MB or hundreds, the point is that the game doesn't stutter. So in this article, 'lightweight' means 'turning on recording barely drops the in-game framerate.'
How much the framerate drops varies greatly even on the same PC depending on the program and settings. A well-made recorder uses anywhere from single digits to a teens percentage of CPU for 1080p recording, while a misconfigured one chews up nearly half the CPU just to record the same screen.
On a dual-core-class laptop, this difference becomes the difference between 'smooth play' and 'a slideshow.'
The first condition that governs load: hardware encoding
Recording captures the screen and then compresses (encodes) that video to save it as a file. This encoding accounts for most of the load. How lightweight it is depends on where the encoding happens.
- Software encoding (x264): compresses on the CPU. Quality and compression are excellent, but it heavily occupies CPU cores, so running the game on the same CPU drops the framerate. Unless it's a high-spec PC, it's a big burden for game recording.
- Hardware encoding (NVIDIA NVENC): a dedicated encoding chip inside the GPU handles the compression. Since it's separate circuitry from the GPU computation used for game rendering, it records with almost no drop in game performance. It's effectively the standard for lightweight game recording.
- Hardware encoding (AMD, Intel QuickSync): AMD graphics cards' encoder and Intel integrated graphics' QuickSync ease the CPU burden on the same principle. Even without an Nvidia card, lightweight recording is possible.
In short, the first fork for lightweight recording is 'did you move encoding from the CPU to the GPU?' Most recent graphics cards (for Nvidia, GeForce GTX 600 series and later) have a built-in hardware encoder, so just switching the encoder to NVENC in settings makes the same program much lighter.
The second condition: low-load background capture
Just as important as encoding is how the screen is captured. If the capture method is heavy, the framerate wobbles even with a light encoder. Another important thing is 'the burden of leaving it always on.' Highlight moments come without warning, so many gamers leave recording on throughout the game, and if capture is heavy here, the entire play session takes a hit.
Background capture is a method that doesn't layer heavy processing on top of the game screen but quietly receives and saves frames from behind.
Well-implemented background capture pulls the frames the game draws through an efficient path and hands them to the encoder, so the load is small enough that you can barely feel it's even on. A lightweight recorder should have 'hardware encoding + low-load background capture' meshing together.
Instant replay buffer vs full match recording: what actually differs
A replay buffer (NVIDIA Instant Replay, the OBS replay buffer and similar) keeps encoding in the background, holds only the last stretch temporarily, and writes it to a file when you press the hotkey.
That means the encoding load is about the same as recording the full match; the difference is in disk writes and storage. A buffer keeps only the moments you saved, while full match recording uses more space but lets you go back and pick any moment later.
If your goal is a steady framerate on a low end PC, look at hardware encoding and resolution or fps first, not the save method.
Resource-load comparison of major recorders
Here's a rundown of commonly used recorders from a load standpoint. Absolute numbers vary by PC spec and settings, so it's most accurate to read them as 'tendencies' of load.
- OBS Studio: free and open source. Used with software (x264), CPU usage is high, but switching the encoder to NVENC greatly lowers the load. It has the most settings flexibility but takes a lot of initial setup effort.
- Bandicam: specialized for game recording. It hooks directly into the graphics API to capture and supports NVENC, so turning on hardware encoding keeps the load relatively low. The free version has a watermark and a time limit.
- Xbox Game Bar: built into Windows 10 and 11 by default. As part of the OS, there's no extra install and the baseline load is low, but it's simple in features and sometimes fails to capture certain games.
- NVIDIA app (formerly GeForce Experience): for GeForce users. Being NVENC-based, the load is low, and instant-save features like Instant Replay are a strength. You do need an Nvidia graphics card, though.
- DOR: checks your graphics card and picks the encoder itself, recording with NVENC hardware encoding on supported NVIDIA cards such as the RTX series. It detects a supported game and records the whole match, and in seven games (League of Legends, VALORANT, PUBG, FC Online, Fortnite, CS2 and Overwatch) it saves highlights as automatic clips. It's free, with no watermark on the recordings and automatic clips it saves to your PC.
To summarize the table in one line: for any program, 'is hardware encoding on' governs 80% of how lightweight it is.
OBS is light too when run with NVENC, and tools built around hardware encoding from the start, like Bandicam and the NVIDIA app, have low load even without special setup, as does DOR on supported NVIDIA graphics cards such as the RTX series. Add recording that starts and stops on its own, and there's one less setting to worry about.
Settings that protect framerate on low-spec PCs
Before switching programs, just tweaking settings can greatly reduce the load. The lower your spec, the more you should check in the order below.
- Encoder to hardware: first, and with the biggest effect. Switch from software (x264) to NVENC or a hardware encoder.
- Resolution and framerate only as much as needed: 1440p 144fps recording is heavy. 1080p 60fps is enough for most uploads and has far lower load.
- Bitrate not excessive: it's tied directly to quality, but raising it blindly increases disk writing and load. Start at a reasonable value for 1080p and raise it only when needed.
- Leave room on your drive: full match recording and a replay buffer cost about the same encoding load. Keep free space on the drive that holds your recordings, and turn on automatic cleanup of old videos if your app has it.
Just matching these four makes most of the 'my game stutters when I turn on recording' problem disappear. The first item in particular, switching to hardware encoding, has more effect than the other three combined.
Why DOR is tuned for lightweight recording
DOR is designed to keep its impact on game framerate small, using background capture plus NVENC hardware encoding on supported NVIDIA graphics cards such as the RTX series.
Background capture, one of the two conditions noted earlier, is the default from the start, and DOR checks your graphics card and picks the encoder itself, so there's nothing to hunt down in settings. The encoding work goes to a dedicated GPU chip.
Real results vary by PC, so compare your framerate with and without recording once, as the tip at the end suggests.
On top of that, DOR detects a supported game when it starts and records the whole match in the background, and the recordings collect in the app. Moments like an ace in Valorant, a pentakill in League of Legends or a knockdown in PUBG are cut out as automatic highlight clips.
Automatic clips are made in seven games (League of Legends, VALORANT, PUBG, FC Online, Fortnite, CS2 and Overwatch); in other supported games the full match is already recorded, so you trim the moment you want and save it.
Free recording quality is 720p or 1080p at 30 or 60fps (default 1080p 30fps), and on a tight PC you can drop to 720p 30fps. It's free, and the recordings and automatic clips it saves on your PC have no watermark.
The same principle applies no matter what game you play
The principle of lightweight recording doesn't discriminate by game.
Whether it's a furious firefight in Valorant, a vehicle dash with the screen spinning fast in PUBG, or a late game with a big teamfight in League of Legends, as long as hardware encoding and background capture back you up, the framerate hit from recording is small.
Just check the auto-clip examples and recommended settings on the page for the game you play most, then get started.
To recap, the criteria for choosing a lightweight game recorder are simple. Does it use hardware encoding, does it stay out of the game's way with background capture, and does it efficiently save only the moments you need? Pick a tool that has these three as defaults, and even on a PC that isn't high-spec you can protect your framerate while gathering every best scene.
