Nvidia GTX 780 Ti 3GB Graphics Card Review

GeForce ShadowPlay

As we have mentioned previously a unique feature of the Kepler GPU is the built-in H.264 video encoder. Currently there are two ways of encoding video from within a game – at a software level or at a hardware level. There are numerous software implementations that allow you to record in-game footage. Fraps would be a good general example of this, while Raptr for AMD GPUs would be another. In terms of hardware level capture there are numerous implementations such as AVerMedia’s RECentral Live Gamer HD Capture card or Hauppage’s HD PVR 2 Gaming Edition Plus capture device. However, these hardware and software solutions share one flaw that Nvidia’s GeForce ShadowPlay doesn’t suffer from – they cost a lot. You’re talking about £130/$160 and upwards for each of the two aforementioned hardware video capture solutions and $37 for a full Fraps license or $59 a year to use something like X-Split. Only the AMD endorsed Raptr is free but it only supports 45 games and does not support local recording. On the other hand Nvidia’s GeForce ShadowPlay is integrated onto the die of all Kepler based GPUs from the GTX 650 and upwards and best of all it is free, along with the GeForce ShadowPlay software which is built into Nvidia’s free GeForce Experience software.

The above table summarises some of Nvidia’s main rivals and as you can see the GeForce ShadowPlay feature does certainly have its advantages relative to the competition – we think it is going to be a really big and important feature for PC Gamers. Some of the specifics of the GeForce ShadowPlay feature are listed below:

• Powered by Kepler’s dedicated hardware H.264 video encoder
• Records up to the last 20 minutes of gameplay in Shadow Mode (10 minutes in Win 7)
• Records unlimited length video in Manual Mode (Up to 3.8GB in Win 7)
• Outputs 1080p at up to 50 Mbps
• Results in minimal performance impact (less than 10%)
• GeForce GTX 650 or higher desktop GPU required (notebook GPUs are not supported at this time)

Nvidia’s GeForce ShadowPlay is easily activated from within the GeForce Experience software.

Once activated you simply have to flick the virtual switch on the left to get going.

Upon activation you are met with a wealth of options. Firstly, you can choose Shadow mode, this enables you to capture up to 20 minutes of gameplay footage while running in fullscreen mode. You can choose to record less than 20 minutes but that is the maximum, upon pressing a hotkey you can save that footage to a predefined file location. While the limit is 20 minutes you can get around this limit by using a different mode. In manual mode you must trigger the start and stop of the recording entirely yourself. Since there is no defined limit you can create an unlimited length video providing your predefined storage location has the space to store it.

While GeForce ShadowPlay is an incredibly interesting and value-added feature we do not have time to fully explore it in this GTX 780 Ti review, but we will be cooperating with Nvidia to bring you a more in-depth look at the GeForce ShadowPlay software in future. Until then we recommend you check out Nvidia’s website for more details about GeForce ShadowPlay.