If you run a Radeon graphics card, you already own a capable gameplay recorder — no extra software required. Radeon ReLive, built into the AMD Adrenalin driver, captures video and clips your best moments with very little performance cost, thanks to the GPU’s dedicated encoder. It is AMD’s answer to other built-in capture tools, and once configured it lets you record full sessions or instantly save the last few minutes after something great happens.
Enabling ReLive
Open the AMD Adrenalin software, go to the recording or ReLive section, and toggle it on. From there you set your capture resolution, frame rate, and bitrate, plus hotkeys for starting a recording, taking a screenshot, and saving an instant replay. Because encoding runs on the GPU’s dedicated hardware, the hit to your frame rate is usually just a few percent.
Choose recording quality
Match your recording resolution and frame rate to your goals. For sharing clips, 1080p at 60 fps with a bitrate around 30 to 50 Mbps looks clean without producing enormous files. For archival or editing footage, push higher. Remember that higher bitrate means bigger files, so balance quality against your available storage.
| Purpose | Resolution / FPS | Bitrate |
|---|---|---|
| Quick social clips | 1080p60 | 30–40 Mbps |
| Editing source | 1440p60 | 50–80 Mbps |
| High-motion capture | 1080p120 | 60+ Mbps |
Set up instant replay
Instant Replay is ReLive’s best feature. It continuously buffers the last several minutes in the background, so when something amazing happens you press a hotkey and only that moment saves — no need to record the whole session. Set the buffer length to a comfortable window, often 3 to 5 minutes, and pick a hotkey you can hit reflexively.
Recording audio correctly
ReLive can capture game audio and your microphone on separate tracks or mixed together. Separate tracks are far better if you plan to edit, because you can adjust game volume and voice independently later. Set your microphone input in the ReLive audio settings and do a short test recording to confirm both game sound and voice come through at good levels.
Managing performance and files
Recording to a fast drive keeps up with high bitrates and avoids dropped frames, so save captures to an SSD rather than a slow hard drive if you record at high quality. Keep an eye on the performance overlay while recording a demanding game; if you see a bigger frame-rate drop than expected, lower the bitrate or resolution slightly.
Frequently asked questions
Does ReLive lower my frame rate?
Only slightly. Because it uses the GPU’s dedicated video encoder rather than the main rendering resources, the cost is typically low single-digit percentages. In very GPU-bound games you might notice a small dip, but for most titles the impact is minor and well worth the convenience.
Can I record without capturing the whole session?
Yes, that is exactly what Instant Replay is for. It keeps a rolling buffer of the last few minutes and saves only what you choose when you press the hotkey. This lets you capture highlights without filling your drive with hours of footage you do not need.
Editing and sharing your captures
Recording is only the first step; a little editing turns raw footage into something worth watching. Because ReLive can save game audio and voice on separate tracks, you can balance them in a free editor, trim dead time, and add a title without re-recording. For quick social clips, most platforms prefer short, punchy segments, so Instant Replay’s few-minute buffer is ideal — grab the highlight, trim it to the crucial ten or fifteen seconds, and export. Keep an eye on file format and frame rate so your clip matches the target platform and does not get re-compressed into mush. Organizing captures into folders by game as you go saves a frustrating hunt later. If you stream as well, ReLive can run alongside your broadcast to archive local high-quality footage while the stream uses a lower bitrate. With hardware encoding keeping the cost low, there is little reason not to capture your best moments as they happen.
Where are my ReLive recordings saved?
By default ReLive writes clips and full recordings to a folder in your Videos directory, but you can change the destination in the recording settings. Point it at a fast SSD with plenty of free space if you capture at high bitrate, since long sessions can consume many gigabytes quickly. Organizing the output into per-game subfolders as you record makes finding a specific highlight far easier later.
Bottom line
Radeon ReLive turns your Adrenalin driver into a full gameplay recorder for free. Enable it, set a sensible resolution and bitrate, configure Instant Replay with a reflexive hotkey, and record audio on separate tracks for easy editing. With hardware encoding keeping the performance cost low, there is no reason a Radeon owner needs separate capture software for everyday clips.
