Free software recording

Bandicam

Is a free software that lets you record screen, it is similar to Fraps.  I use this software to record in game screen shots of games like starship troopers.  The un registered version has a watermark of bandicam and can record only 10 minutes of playtime but all in all it is a great program.

Developer's description
The Bandicam program makes it possible to record a certain area on a PC screen, or on a program that uses the DirectX/OpenGL graphic technologies.
Bandicam will help you carry out a video record with high compression ratio, while keeping the video quality closer to the original work, and provides performance far superior to other programs that provide similar functions.


Download
Download Bandicam

Main site
Bandiacam

Fraps

Another good free recording software I choose bandicam over Fraps only because Fraps lags my system while Bandicam does not. 

Developer's description
Fraps is a universal Windows application that can be used with games using DirectX or OpenGL graphic technology.  In its current form Fraps performs many tasks and can best be described as:
Benchmarking Software - Show how many Frames Per Second (FPS) you are getting in a corner of your screen.  Perform custom benchmarks and measure the frame rate between any two points.  Save the statistics out to disk and use them for your own reviews and applications.
Screen Capture Software - Take a screenshot with the press of a key!  There's no need to paste into a paint program every time you want a new shot.  Your screen captures are automatically named and timestamped.
Realtime Video Capture Software - Have you ever wanted to record video while playing your favourite game?  Come join the Machinima revolution!  Throw away the VCR, forget about using a DV cam, game recording has never been this easy!  Fraps can capture audio and video up to 7680x4800 with custom frame rates from 1 to 120 frames per second!

Download
Download Fraps

Main site
Fraps main site