Fraps. Instructions for use. How to set up and shoot games using Fraps? How to use fraps

Hello again everyone! Today I will touch on a very important topic for any let-player and reviewer, namely, how to use Fraps. We will start the article with installing the program and end with a look at its main functions. I hope that after reading this article you will not have any additional questions, but if you still have any, then ask them in the comments. I will try to answer them.

Before I show you how to use Fraps, you will need to download it. There are plenty of places where this can be done, and you can find them by entering the desired query into the search engine. Well, at most, I can provide you with a link to the official website, where you can download a 30-day trial version or buy the program, if you suddenly want to: download Fraps.

How to use Fraps. Program installation

After downloading the program installer, run it by double-clicking. A window with a license agreement will appear in front of you, where you can read the terms of use of the program:

We agree to the terms by clicking the button " I agree", and go to the next window:

Here you need to select the folder where the program will be installed. By default, Fraps is set to " C:/Fraps", but it's best to change the installation path to, say, " C:/Program Files", that is, in the folder where all the computer programs are located.

After selecting the folder to install Fraps, click the " Next" to go to the next step:

Here you can change the program name that will be displayed in the Windows main menu. Leave everything as it is and click " Install" to begin installation.

After installing the program, click the " Close" to exit the installer:

That's it, the installation of Fraps is complete and now you can move on to the main topic of the article, that is, how to use Fraps, and consider its main functions and settings.

Menu General

The first menu you will see after launching Fraps will be the " General", where basic information about the program and several useful functions are located, which we will now consider:

This contains information about who the program is registered to and the e-mail of this user. If you have downloaded the trial version of the program, this window will display the message " unregistered", which you can remove by purchasing the full version of the program.
Information about the program version.
Information about the "build" of the program.
There are five points here. Let's look at them (from top to bottom):
- Start Fraps minimized. By activating this function, upon startup, the program will automatically minimize to tray.
- Fraps window always on top. By checking this box, the program will always be located above all windows.
- Run Fraps when Windows starts. As the name suggests, by selecting this item, Fraps will launch when Windows starts.
- Monitor Aero desktop. A very useful feature that allows you to record video from your desktop. I wrote an article on this topic: “How to shoot video from your desktop.”
- Minimize to system tray only. And the last item, by selecting which, the program, when minimized, will not be minimized to the taskbar, but to the system tray.

So, we have looked at the first, main tab of the program, and now let's move on to the next one, that is, in " FPS".

FPS menu

Second menu, " FPS", is responsible for displaying the frame counter and the so-called " Benchmarks". It contains the following functions:

Here you can specify the folder where the benchmarks will be saved.
Selecting a quick button to start testing.
Benchmark settings, which include:
- FPS. Allows you to record detailed information about the number of frames per second in separate files.
- Frametimes. Writes detailed information about the exact time of each frame to separate files.
- MinMaxAvg. Records detailed information about the minimum, maximum, and average number of frames per second in separate files.
By checking this box, benchmark recording will be automatically paused after a certain time, which you can specify in the corresponding text line.
This specifies a button to change the position of the frame counter on the screen.
The position of the counter on the screen is indicated here. If you select " Hide overlay", then the frame counter will be hidden.
And the seventh point, when activated, the frame counter will not be updated constantly, but every second.

A few words about what benchmarks are. Benchmarks- these are special files that record information about the number of FPS, the time of each frame, and so on. With their help, you can test the performance of your computer by finding out, for example, what maximum or minimum number of frames it can produce when recording.

Here is an example of a file with general information on benchmarks:

It shows (from left to right): the testing date, the total number of frames, time, as well as the average, minimum and maximum number of FPS when recording. As you can see, using benchmarks you can easily check how productive your computer is when recording.

Let's move on to the next menu, called " Movies".

Movies menu

On the menu " Movies" there are basic video and sound settings. Let's look at all its points:

Selecting a folder for video recording. Always specify a folder on a hard drive that has sufficient free space.
Here you can change the shortcut button for recording video.
Here are the basic video settings. Let's start with the first column:
- 60 fps. By selecting this option, the video will be recorded at 60 frames per second.
- 50 fps. By selecting this option, the video will be recorded at 50 frames per second.
- 30 fps. By selecting this option, the video will be recorded at 30 frames per second.
- Here, in the text line of the fourth paragraph, you can manually specify the number of frames per second for the recorded videos.

Let's move on to the second column:

Full Size. By activating this item, videos will be recorded in full size.
Half Size. By activating this item, videos will be recorded at half size.

And the last two bottom points:

Loop buffer length 30 seconds. This item allows you to record a video not from pressing the record key, but a little earlier, depending on the specified time. That is, let’s say you suddenly wanted to record some epic moment in the game, but did not have time to press the record button in time, literally for a few seconds. In this case, if you activate this item, the epic moment will be safely recorded on video, and you can breathe easy. I hope you understand what I mean.
Split movie every 4 Gigabytes. Split videos every 4 gigabytes into separate files.

Here are the Fraps sound settings. Let's look at them (from left to right):
- Record Win7 sound. Allow audio recording from your computer.
- Stereo. Activate two-channel audio recording mode (left and right).
- Multichannel. Activate multi-channel audio recording mode (depending on all connected audio devices on the computer).
- Record external input. Enable microphone recording and select a recording device.
- Only capture while pushing. Record sound from the microphone only when you hold down a certain key, which you can specify here.
And the last three points:
- Hide mouse cursor in video. Hide the cursor when recording video.
- Lock framerate while recording. Limits FPS in games and applications, due to which it will not be able to rise higher than specified in the video settings.
- Force lossless RGB capture (may be slower). The video will be recorded in full color, in RGB mode, which will improve its quality. If you have a weak computer, I do not recommend that you enable this item.

Let me remind you that we looked at the third menu, called " Movies", where the basic video and audio settings are located. Now let's move on to the last menu, namely - " Screenshots".

Menu Screenshots

In this last menu" Screenshots", You can change the settings that relate to taking screenshots from games, programs and the desktop:

Changing the folder where screenshots will be stored.
Here you can change the quick button for taking screenshots.
Here you can choose one of four formats for screenshots: BMP, JPG, PNG and TGA.
And the last item with screenshot settings:
- Include frame rate overlay on screenshots. Display frames per second counter on screenshots.
- Repeat screen capture every 10 seconds (until hotkey pressed again). Start a cycle in which, every so many (as you specify) seconds, a screenshot will be taken. The cycle will continue until the screenshot shortcut key is pressed again.

That seems to be all. We have looked at all the main functions that Fraps has, and now you know how to use Fraps. Now, to start recording video, just press the hotkey that you specified in the program settings.

We looked at ways to increase FPS (frames per second) for smoother motion in dynamic scenes in computer games. This article will be a kind of prehistory for the first one, since below we will consider a way to actually find out this very FPS indicator in the game. And to calculate the frame rate, we will resort to using a small free program for Windows - Fraps.

1. About Fraps

The main purpose of the Fraps program is to test the performance of video cards in a 3D environment - computer games and 3D programs. In particular, the program can calculate FPS. Among its other features is recording screenshots and screencasts of games. Friends, these program functions are discussed in detail in another article on the site.”

The Fraps program, in addition to the paid full-featured version, has a free version with somewhat limited functionality. Specifically, for calculating FPS in a game, the free version of the program is more than enough. In the official edition, Fraps comes only with an English-language interface. The Internet is full of unofficial Russified assemblies of the free edition of Fraps, but not all of them work with Windows 8.1 and 10 systems, and it’s not safe to download software from unverified sources. To start calculating the frame rate in a game using the Fraps program, you don’t even need a basic level of knowledge of the English language, because we will look at all the necessary settings and steps below. And first, of course, let’s download the program from its official website using the link

http://www.fraps.com/download.php

Fraps installation is standard. Let's launch the program.

2. Program behavior settings

Before running the test for calculating FPS, let's look at the behavior settings of the Fraps program in its first tab "General":

The first one from the top is “ Start Fraps minimized"- this is an option to minimize the program window to the system tray immediately upon startup;
Second from the top - "Fraps window always on top"- option to display the program window on top of windows of other Windows applications.
Third from top - "Run Fraps when Windows starts"- program autorun along with Windows.

In our case, we use only the option in the lower left corner of the Fraps window - "Minimize to system tray only", which will hide the program in the system tray.

3. Testing to see how many FPS are in the game

Everything related to testing the video card, in particular, calculating FPS in the game, is configured in the second tab of the Fraps program "99 FPS".

How to run a test to find out how much FPS is in the game? In the column "Benchmark Settings" put a tick on the position "FPS". Above and to the right, in the column "Overlay Hotkey" We will see the preset hotkey F12 to switch the angle of display of the testing indicator on the monitor screen. If necessary, this key can be changed to another and used during testing if the FPS counter obscures, for example, game statistics. The same key is also used to turn off the FPS counter when the final movement angle is reached.

That's it - we can start testing. We do not close the Fraps program and launch the game. In full-screen game mode, you will see an FPS counter in the upper right corner.

4. Testing the FPS indicator and saving the results

In the “99 FPS” program tab we will find another default hotkey - F11 - in the “Benchmarking Hotkey” column. If necessary, it can also be changed to an alternative key. This is the key for saving test results. If you press it during the game, after exiting the game client, the minimum and maximum FPS will be written to the log file.

This log file, along with a csv file, which will contain a more expanded list of FPS indicators during testing, can be found in the folder along the path specified in the column "Folder to save benchmarks in". The path for saving test results changes to another when you click the blue “Change” button.

We can not exit the game client, but simply minimize it with the Win key to view the results of the express test for calculating FPS. To do this, activate the “Stop benchmark after” option and set the number of seconds for which testing will be carried out and the results will be saved to a log file.

Next, as in the previous paragraph of the article, without closing the Fraps program, launch the game. After exiting the game or upon completion of the specified seconds for express testing, we can go for its results along the specified save path. By the way, the program provides quick access to the folder for saving test results - this is the button "View" in the “99 FPS” tab.

5. Other testing settings

In the “99 FPS” program tab there are some other settings that were not used in our case. One of the options that is located in the lower right corner of the program window is "Only update overlay once a second"- this activates the FPS counter update every second, and not every 25 frames, as is configured in the Fraps program by default.

The other two options in the “Benchmark Settings” column are options for testing microlatencies (“Frametimes”) and maximum, minimum, average FPS (“MinMaxAvg”).

These parameters can be seen in the csv file in the folder along the path where the test results are saved.

6. What should be the optimal FPS?

There is no specific set FPS benchmark figure, as different games may have different image quality at the same FPS rate. There is an opinion that the indicator 30 FPS sufficient for an average computer game in terms of system requirements. But for new games, designed to work with productive hardware, stuffed with effects and gameplay dynamics, this figure may not be enough. Gamers with impressive experience love to chase a high score - so that there is at least 50 FPS.

In any case, when choosing a video card for a PC build kit or looking for a powerful laptop with a discrete video card, it would be a good idea to look at tests of these video cards in computer games on the Internet. The higher the FPS value above 30 such video cards produce, the better.

How to use Fraps?

Fraps is a computer program that is designed to record video from a monitor screen. It can take screenshots, record real-time video files, image videos, and work with all kinds of games. The program is multifunctional and easy to configure. Let's talk about how to use the Fraps program.

Setting startup options

First of all, download the Fraps program from the official website: fraps.com.
Once downloaded, install and launch Fraps on your computer.
In the “General” tab, select the required operating mode. Fraps will run minimized if you enable the “Start FRAPS minimized” feature. If you want the program to automatically load with the Windows operating system, set the “Run Fraps when Windows starts” option. Thanks to the “Monitor Aero desktop (DWM)” function, Fraps will work on the Windows desktop (take screenshots, record videos). You can learn more about how to record video from a monitor screen using the Fraps program from our article -. If you want the program window to always be on top of all other windows, select the “FRAPS windows always on top” function. To minimize Fraps to the system tray, set the “Minimize to system tray only” option.

How to use Fraps

In the “FPS” tab, you can assign various hotkeys to launch the Fraps program, as well as fine-tune all the data that is necessary to display on screenshots.
In the “Screen Capture Hotkey” section, set the desired hot buttons. The settings will be automatically saved.
The “Only update overlay once a second” option means updating the frame counter once per second. Selecting this function will significantly reduce the load on video recording.
To set a timer to automatically end video recording, select the “Stop benchmark automatically after [date]” option.
In the “Movies” tab, you can set the path to the folders where the video will be saved, and also select the necessary video modes. First of all, specify the location on your PC where you want to save the video, and set up hot keys for quickly recording a video.
Before you start filming, carefully check whether you have enough free space on your system drive. This is necessary to record video without interruption. For example, if the recording lasts three or four minutes, then at least two gigabytes of RAM will be required.
The Screenshots tab is the very last one. Here you can specify the location where the screenshots will be stored, and also select the required file format. For example: PNG, BMP, TGA and JPG.

Sound settings

The most important option when shooting a video is recording sound. It is necessary to configure all settings immediately to avoid problems in the future. Let's look at how to configure sound if the Realtek sound driver is installed:

go to the “Start” menu -> “Control Panel” -> “Sounds and Audio Devices” - “Audio” -> “Sound Recording” -> “Volume”;
raise the slider to the top scale;
in the context menu, select the command “Options” -> “Properties”;
check the box next to "Stereo Mix" and go to the Fraps program;
To have the sound source determined from Windows, select the “Use Windows input” option.

Now you know how to use Fraps. The program is best used when you need to create a video presentation, prepare a video lesson, or record the game process.

Quite easy to use, Fraps can create game video files, screenshots, and show you FPS in real time. It will certainly come in handy if you decide to show your friends what is happening in the game. A distinctive feature of the utility is its relatively low RAM consumption, which has a beneficial effect on game performance. You can easily recognize numerous Fraps users by the yellow numbers in the corner of their videos, since it is the one that shows FPS in this form. Join Fraps users around the world and evaluate the merits of this screen video capture program in this article.

How to download and install Fraps

You can download the program both on the official website and on third-party resources. The main thing is to check the file for viruses before opening it.

Go to http://www.softportal.com and click on the “Download” button to save the installer.

Once the download is complete, double-click on the file. The installation program is quite simple and old, so it will not cause any difficulties.
That's all. In just five seconds, Fraps will be installed on your computer, and you will be ready to set it up and play an exciting game.

How to set up Fraps

When you launch the program, you will see only four tabs:

“General” – general settings.
“FPS” – setting the display of your FPS.
“Movies” – video parameters.
“Screenshots” – screenshots of your screen.

Start with the “General” tab.
There are only five points available to you here, of which you need to tick as desired:

The first line “Start Fraps minimized” to reduce the size of the program window.
“Fraps window always on top” – places the program above all windows.
and “Run Fraps when Windows starts” so that the program starts when the system is turned on.

Now go to the next tab with FPS. Here you can configure the display of the number of FPS on the screen and saving tests if you need it.
The top line indicates the save path.
The left part is dedicated to benchmarks: their hotkey and content options. You can change the key to any other one, but it is better to indicate all three points in the content.
On the right side, you can also select a hotkey for displaying FPS, as well as the angle of location on the screen. There is no need to change anything else.

In the video section you need to specify the following parameters:

The folder where all video files are saved.
Number of frames per second. It is better to specify 24-25 frames so as not to load the computer.
Record sound or not. This is purely your decision, but videos with sound will be very voluminous.
Some recording options: hide the cursor on the video or not, record FPS changes or not, apply RGB, which will improve the quality, but will greatly load the computer.

Screenshots also have their own settings:

Save folder.
Format for saving screenshots. It is better to choose BMP or JPG as they take up less space.
Image options: whether to show FPS in pictures and set up automatic capture of screenshots every few seconds.

How to Take Photos and Videos in Fraps

You just need to remember the combinations you specified in the settings.

Minimize Fraps and open any game. Immediately you will see the FPS in the corner you selected.
To take a screenshot, you need to press the hotkey. And to start the video, you press your hotkey and end the video with it.
All files are saved in the directories you specify.

Fraps is a program for creating and recording video from the computer screen on which game action is taking place.

Benefits of the program:

Small program size.

Ability to work from the tray.

Record streaming video.

Create instant screenshots of various sizes and formats.

Monitoring fps online.

Disadvantages of the program:

Large sizes of recorded videos.

Video extension settings are incomplete.

How to use Fraps

The visualization of the program is simple and understandable to users. The application window contains only 4 functional tabs. With their help, all video and screen settings are made.

In the first tab "Main" The user has the ability to select the program launch mode:

Run Fraps minimized.

On top of all windows.

Place Fraps and run it when the computer starts.

Integration into the system panel.

You must choose a mode based on your needs.

In the second tab “FPS” performance adjustable:

Frame refresh rate.

Frame time – minimum and maximum values.

Work log.

- “ ” to launch a performance test from the keyboard and change the overlay position.

Third tab "Video" represents the basic video recording settings:

Specifying the path to save the video to the user's computer.

Assigning a hotkey to start screen recording.

In the “Video Settings” item, you can set the appropriate values for the frame size and recording speed.

In the “Sound Settings” item, select the sound source – from external sources or from Windows (stereo, multi-channel).

Additional settings, where you need to check the boxes for the presence of a cursor in the recording.

The user can also set a limit for the maximum video size. Check the “Split movie every 4 GB” checkbox. Video recording will not be interrupted, but the final result will be recorded sequentially in 4 GB files.

In the fourth tab “Screenshots” screenshot parameters are set:

- “Hot key” for taking a picture.

Screen capture frequency.

An image format that suits the user's needs. A significant drawback of the program is the recording time limitation when using the trial version. The user is given only 30 seconds to record.