By PURPLELEC | 21 December 2023 | 0 Comments
Best Game Capture Card List Choices
If you want to record or playback your gameplay in the best possible quality, you need the best capture card. We've rounded up the best capture gear from Elgato, EVGA, AverMedia, and more. We also have external and PCIe capture cards below, so there's something for you.
Elgato HD60 S
Elgato's HD60 S has been our capture card of choice for years, but it has a new challenger: the HD60 X. It has the same advanced features as our old favorite, but with a few key extras that push it into the best capture card you can buy.
For the basics, it supports capturing gameplay up to 4K at 30 frames per second (fps), or up to 1440p at 60 fps. In its 1080p60 mode, you can also capture 10-bit HDR. Compared to the HD60 S+, the HD60 X supports 1440p capture, making it ideal for PC and Xbox Series X games.
The biggest difference, however, is the pass-through. You can go through HDR with your full resolution and frame rate, up to 4K60. The HD60 X also supports variable refresh rate (VRR). Both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 now support VRR, and the HD60 X lets you take advantage of it for tear-free gameplay while gaming.
The HD60 Even better, it's small and lightweight, so you don't need to worry about a bulky capture card next to your console.
ASUS Tuf Gaming CU4K30
If you are looking for an external capture card for Xbox Series X, the ASUS Tuf Gaming CU4K30 is a good choice. As the name suggests, you can record or stream gameplay at up to 4K resolution at 30 fps. The card also supports 2K 60 fps capture, as well as 1080p 120 fps capture.
Passthrough also lets you enjoy your games at full resolution and frame rate. You can pass through a 4K signal at up to 60 fps, or up to 240 fps in 1080p mode. Asus also supports HDR via pass-through.
To keep all your cables tidy, the front of the card includes a headphone and controller port so you can easily plug everything in without having to run wires to your console or PC. The capture card also connects to your streaming computer via a USB-C cable and works right out of the box. You don't need to download drivers to start using the card.
While the appearance of a capture device usually doesn't matter, the CU4K30 looks great. It's a compact aluminum capture card with a discreet Asus Tuf logo on the top. It also has some RGB backlighting that can conveniently tell you the different statuses of the card, such as if the HDMI signal has been interrupted or if the firmware is being updated.
AverMedia Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus
The portability of the Nintendo Switch makes it a great choice for traveling gamers, and with the right carrying case, you can even take the system dock with you. If you want to record your gameplay on the go but don't want to bring a PC, the AverMedia Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus is the best capture card for Nintendo Switch. While it's a great game capture card for Nintendo's hybrid console, it also works with PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, and Xbox One.
Elgato 4K60 Pro Mk.2
The Elgato 4K60 Pro Mk.2 is the built-in capture card to end all capture cards, and it comes with a price tag to match. As the only built-in card on our list, the 4K60 Pro benefits from greater bandwidth thanks to its PCIe x4 interface, outperforming USB 3.0 in every case and making USB 2.0 look like a relic.
Of course, the standout feature of the 4K60 Pro Mk.2 is that it can record 2160p at 60 fps. It also supports 1080p60 as well as HDR10 so you can record gameplay in the best HDR.
This is a capture card for PC gamers, though. While inserting a PCIe card into your computer isn't difficult, simply opening the side panel may be overkill. If you fall into that camp but still want the best quality, our next pick is perfect for you.
Thankfully, the Elgato 4K60 Pro is worth a try. It includes the same great features as the HD60 S, including flashback recording, and pass-through up to 1080p240 or 1440p144.
With the Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus, you can record gameplay using its built-in H.264 encoder without needing to connect to a PC. It captures 1080p at 60 fps, which is the upper limit of the Nintendo Switch's limited capabilities.
A major drawback of the AverMedia Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus is that its proprietary software only works on Windows.
AverMedia Live Gamer Mini
The AverMedia Live Gamer Mini is the streaming player you really need, and at $100, it's also a bargain. It supports 1080p recording and streaming at 60 fps, and the card features zero-lag passthrough, allowing you to monitor gameplay in real time. In some ways, the Live Gamer Mini even beats capture cards twice its price.
This is mainly due to its H.264 hardware encoder. Like the increasingly rare Elgato HD 60, the Live Gamer Mini takes the encoding workload off the CPU when streaming or recording. Since the card handles encoding, you can even use a StreamEngine to capture a backup record of your stream. StreamEngine is a lightweight application included with Live Gamer Mini that allows you to capture your gameplay before it goes into your broadcast software of choice.
Like the Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus above, this capture card comes with AverMedia’s RECentral software. With scene transitions, chroma key support, and a mixer, RECentral has everything you need to stream to YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, and more. If you prefer different broadcast software, Live Gamer Mini also supports XSplit, OBS, and OBS Studio.
AverMedia Live Gamer Mini also comes with chroma key support and a mixer, but it lacks the real-time editing and performance optimization features found in the full Windows version.
AverMedia Live Gamer Duo
All of the capture cards above have only one input and one output, so you can only stream or record one source at a time. The AverMedia Live Gamer Duo, on the other hand, allows you to record two sources simultaneously. Even better, you can record or stream a full 1080p signal at 60 fps from both sources.
So if you're not satisfied with your webcam, you can connect a DSLR to the second input port to add some sparkle to your streaming. However, you will need to connect your camera to the second input. The first input on the card supports HDR, so you can capture HDR gameplay on PS4 Pro and Xbox One X.
The card costs about $250 and is a PCIe card, so you'll need a free spot on your computer. Compared to a similarly priced card - namely the Elgato 4K60 Pro - the Live Gamer Duo doesn't support 4K recording or streaming. However, it does support 4K pass-through at 60 fps, so you can still enjoy the full graphical fidelity of whatever game you're playing. If you prefer frame rate over resolution, you can also stream via 1080p at up to 240Hz or 1440p at up to 144Hz.
For software, AverMedia Live Gamer Duo includes AverMedia's RECentral software, although it also supports nearly every other broadcast software available. The card also comes with RGB lighting on the sides, allowing you to light up your card in any color you want.
EVGA XR1 Lite Edition
EVGA's original XR1 was a good but not great capture card. It's a little too expensive, but the XR1 Lite solves that problem. It's only $100 and supports full 1080p resolution at 60 fps, whether streaming or recording. Even better, it includes 4K60 pass-through so you can play Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 games at full resolution and frame rates.
Plus, it’s OBS certified, so you just plug in the capture card and get started.
AverMedia Live Gamer Bolt
Thunderbolt is a surprisingly underutilized connection in the world of capture cards, but AverMedia's Live Gamer Bolt aims to change that. It's an external Thunderbolt 3 capture card, and this connection makes a world of difference in the level of quality the card can support.
Over the network, it can record 4K at up to 60 fps using HDR, as well as 1440p at up to 144 fps and 1080p at up to 240 fps. These resolutions and frame rates are typically only achievable with PCIe capture cards.
You'll need a decent PC to record at this quality, though. AverMedia recommends an Intel Core i7-7700HQ, and at least an Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti.
Thankfully, you don't need a pass-through monitor. The card supports passthrough up to 4K 60 fps, but you can use the included software for real-time monitoring. AverMedia quotes less than 50 milliseconds of latency, so you shouldn't have any issues playing games.
Basic knowledge of HDMI interface
elgato game live recording capture card HD60 Pro 1080p60 streaming and recording
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