A video encoding device comprises a memory configured to store video data and at least one processor configured to: select one of a full rate-distortion (RD) checking scheme or a fast RD checking scheme, determine an RD cost associated with encoding a block of the video data based on the selected full RD checking scheme or fast RD checking scheme, determine a partitioning scheme for the block based on the determined RD cost, and encode the block using the determined partitioning scheme based on the determined RD cost.