Thanks to a $40 Black Friday discount, AverMedia's best value 4K capture card makes everything else look overpriced in comparison

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AverMedia Live Gamer Ultra S GC553Pro: was $139.99 now $99.99 at Amazon

It's not the most stylish of capture cards (yes, I know it's technically not a card), but who cares when it's this good, and this affordable? Unless you absolutely need to record 4K footage at more than 60 fps, you honestly don't need anything else.

Key specs: Up to 4K60 HDR VRR capture | 4K60 pass-through

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For analysing game performance and testing/reviewing hardware, I use a 4K capture card (capture block? capture unit?), specifically Elgato's 4K X. It's an expensive piece of kit, currently $200 at Amazon, but it lets me capture 4K streams at up to 144 fps, as well as supporting 4K144 pass-through.

However, that's well above most users' needs, even if you're heavily into streaming on Twitch or YouTube. That's where the Elgator 4K S comes in, as used by our James, which is $135 at Amazon. It's basically the same device but limited to 60 fps at 4K. But why pay that amount when you can bag the AverMedia GC553Pro for just $100 at Amazon?

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Packing the same specs as the Elgato 4K S, the wordily-named AverMedia Live Gamer Ultra S GC553Pro is our top recommendation for the best capture card on the market right now. Just like the 4K S, it supports up to 4K60 pass-through, as well as 4K60 capture.

Those numbers do change a bit when using HDR (high dynamic range) or VRR (variable refresh rate), but that's true of capture cards that are twice the price. The GC553Pro maxes out at 1440p60 with VRR and 1440p30 with HDR, but that's more than good enough for everyday streaming.

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James and I like our capture cards for their pass-through abilities, and we both often run an external device (e.g. console, PC) through our main PCs, because it's simpler and more convenient to do it this way, rather than mess about hooking said devices up to a display.

So if you've fancied getting into streaming or want to be able to record footage off a console, or just like the idea of having two devices spliced into one display, the AverMedia GC553Pro is not only very capable but it's also very affordable, thanks to Black Friday.

👉Check out all of Amazon's capture card deals👈

Best capture cards 2025

1. Best overall: AverMedia Live Gamer Ultra S GC553Pro

2. Best budget: Elgato Game Capture Neo

3. Best two source: AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo

4. Best 4K: AVerMedia Live Gamer Ultra 2.1

5. Best standalone: Elgato 4K60 S+

6. Best for handheld gaming PCs: AVerMedia Elite Go GC313Pro

👉Check out our full capture card guide👈