Medal clips lag because your system doesn't have enough resources to record and process video at the same time your game is running

Medal is a video capture tool that records gameplay in the background. When you clip a moment, Medal has to encode that video file, compress it, and prepare it for upload — all while your game is still demanding CPU, GPU, and memory. If your computer is already near its limits running the game, Medal's recording process competes for those same resources, causing frame drops, stuttering, or delays when you try to save a clip.

The lag you experience depends on what your hardware is doing. A gaming PC with a dedicated graphics card and plenty of RAM may barely notice Medal running. A laptop or older desktop with integrated graphics will feel it immediately. The problem gets worse if you're streaming, running Discord, or have Chrome open with ten tabs.

Key Takeaways

  • Medal records video in real time, so it needs spare CPU and GPU power — if your game is already using 90% of either, Medal will cause lag.
  • Lowering your game's graphics settings frees up resources for Medal to use without slowing down your frame rate.
  • Medal's bitrate setting controls how much processing power encoding takes — reducing it from 8 Mbps to 4 Mbps can cut lag in half.
  • Closing background programs like Chrome, Discord, and streaming software removes competition for the same CPU cores Medal needs.
  • If lag persists after these changes, disabling Medal's background recording and using manual clips only will eliminate the constant drain.

Check your CPU and GPU usage while Medal is recording

Open Windows Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) or Mac Activity Monitor and look at the Performance tab. Start your game, let Medal record for 30 seconds, then check the numbers. If your CPU is above 85% or your GPU is above 90%, you don't have enough headroom for Medal to work without causing lag.

Medal itself typically uses 5 to 15% of your CPU depending on your bitrate setting and resolution. If your game alone is already at 80%, Medal pushes you over the edge. The fix is either to reduce what your game demands or to reduce what Medal demands — or both.

Lower your game's graphics settings first

Reducing resolution, frame rate cap, or graphics quality in your game's settings is the fastest way to free up GPU power. Drop from 1440p to 1080p, or from Ultra to High. Even a 10% reduction in GPU load gives Medal room to work without stuttering your game.

This is more effective than closing background programs because Medal's lag comes from the same GPU your game is using. A faster GPU is the only real solution, but you can get by with a slower one if you ask less of it. Test by playing for two minutes after each change — if the lag is gone, you've found the threshold.

Reduce Medal's bitrate and resolution settings

Open Medal's settings and find the recording quality options. Bitrate is the amount of data Medal writes per second — 8 Mbps (megabits per second) is high quality but demands more CPU. Dropping to 4 Mbps or even 2 Mbps cuts encoding work in half and often makes no visible difference in a 1080p clip you're sharing on Discord.

You can also lower the recording resolution to 1080p if Medal is set to record at 1440p or 4K. A 1080p clip is smaller to encode and takes less CPU time. These changes won't affect what you see in your game — only what gets saved when you clip.

Close programs that compete for CPU cores

Chrome, Discord, OBS, Streamlabs, and Spotify all run in the background and use CPU. Medal also uses CPU to encode video. If you're running all of them at once, you're splitting your processor across too many tasks. Close what you don't need right now — especially Chrome if you have many tabs open.

Discord is a common culprit because it runs voice chat, screen sharing, and overlay rendering at the same time. If you're in a call while gaming with Medal on, you're using CPU for the game, the call, and the video encoding. Mute Discord or close it entirely while you play, then open it again after you're done.

Disable background recording and use manual clips only

Medal's default mode is to record constantly in the background, keeping the last 15 minutes of gameplay in a buffer. This constant recording uses CPU even when you're not clipping anything. If you only care about saving a few moments per session, turn off background recording in Medal's settings and switch to manual recording instead.

Manual recording means you press a hotkey to start and stop recording when you want to clip something. This uses the same amount of CPU while active, but it's only running when you tell it to. For most players, this cuts overall CPU load by 30 to 50% because Medal isn't working during downtime or boring stretches.

Check if Medal's overlay is causing lag

Medal displays a small overlay in the corner of your game showing recording status and hotkey reminders. Some games don't play well with overlays — they can cause stuttering even if Medal's encoding isn't the problem. Try disabling Medal's in-game overlay in the settings and see if lag improves.

If disabling the overlay fixes it, the problem wasn't Medal's recording — it was a conflict between Medal's overlay and your game's graphics engine. You can still use Medal to record; you just won't see the status indicator on screen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Medal lag less than OBS or Streamlabs?

Medal is designed to be lighter than OBS because it offloads some encoding to Medal's servers after you upload. OBS does all encoding on your PC in real time. For background recording, Medal usually causes less lag, but the difference depends on your bitrate settings and hardware. Both will lag if your system is already maxed out.

Why does Medal lag on my laptop but not my desktop?

Laptops have slower CPUs and GPUs than desktops, and they thermal-throttle (slow down) when they get hot. Medal's encoding generates heat, which makes the laptop slow down further. Desktops have better cooling and more powerful components, so they handle the extra load. If your laptop lags, lower bitrate and resolution more aggressively than you would on a desktop.

Can I use a capture card instead of Medal to avoid lag?

A capture card records video from your HDMI output using separate hardware, so it doesn't use your PC's CPU or GPU at all. This eliminates lag completely. The trade-off is cost — capture cards range from $150 to $400 — and you need a second device to view the captured video. For most players, adjusting Medal's settings is cheaper and simpler.

Will upgrading my RAM help with Medal lag?

RAM helps if your system is swapping to disk (using your hard drive as fake memory), which you can see in Task Manager. If RAM usage is below 80%, adding more won't reduce Medal lag. The bottleneck is almost always CPU or GPU, not RAM. Check your CPU and GPU usage first before buying more RAM.

Does Medal lag less if I record to an SSD instead of a hard drive?

An SSD is faster, but Medal's lag comes from encoding video, not from writing it to disk. A slow hard drive might cause stuttering if it can't keep up with the data Medal is writing, but this is rare. If you're experiencing lag, the problem is CPU or GPU load, not storage speed. An SSD helps, but it won't solve the core issue.