The times have changed since begging my mum to buy me an AverMedia capture card because it was the only one that would work without a dedicated PC. PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and PCs (assuming you have Windows) all have built-in DVRs, and they're all rather good. This has meant that, for a casual creator or just someone who wants to show off clips, they're almost entirely unnecessary.

To keep up with this changing market, there are now tons of unique capture card options. Just being able to record was fine a decade ago, but now the likes of Elgato and AverMedia are offering a value proposition to potential buyers: one that can beat your built-in DVR.

In the likes of the Live Gamer Duo, this means the ability to stream multiple inputs at once. For the AverMedia Elite Go GC313Pro, its selling point is the fact that it can be used to record handheld gaming PCs (and can also charge them while doing so). Even those without a central gimmick will give you stronger console capture, or simply ease some of the burden that a built-in capture software may pose to your gaming rig's performance.

But none of this means you need one. The Xbox Game Bar function can record easily and quickly at 1080p, and can even be used retroactively to record a clip you hit twenty seconds ago. Then, if you want 4K, your GPU drivers, or free software, such as OBS Studio, can do that. It can be taxing on your system to record, then stream in 4K, so some streamers opt for a secondary PC for streaming. In that case, there's a great justification for a capture card on PC. However, if you aren't quite that dedicated and have a decently strong rig, built-in software will do just fine.

The biggest sell to the average person who wants to make videos right now is that capture cards are great at handling consoles. The fact that the majority of capture cards interact with PCs means you can stream from a PS5 to a PC, run it through an overlay in software like OBS, and have actual, genuine interactivity and production value in your stream.

So, the Elgato 4K S offers a taste of the likes of the Elgato 4K X, with its 4K capture and intuitive software at a cheaper price bracket, and it does it well. The 4K X comes with a higher fps passthrough and recording, and offers HDMI 2.1 rather than HDMI 2, but it's also almost $100 more.

The Elgato 4K S is very easy to set up. In the box, it comes with a braided USB Type-C and a braided HDMI cable. In terms of I/O, the 4K S has an HDMI output, input, and a USB Type-C to record data to your rig, then a 3.5 mm jack. Simply plug your console or PC into the box, with the other end going into your recording/streaming rig, and you're ready to go. Elgato's own software can display your game or record footage, but you can also send it straight to third-party apps, such as OBS Studio.

The 4K S is a very light device, at just 90 g. It's so light, in fact, that I angled my HDMI cable so the weight of it didn't prop the box up at a funny angle. Other than that, setting it up is an intuitive process, and one that takes no more than a couple of minutes to hook up to a console.

I ran into the limits of console DVR recently, when trying to get footage of Donkey Kong Banananza on Nintendo Switch 2. Recording just 30 seconds at a time means that, should you want a minute or two of gameplay, you need to tactically splice clips together and hope it looks smooth. A perfect case for a capture device, then.

The first time I plugged the Elgato into the Nintendo Switch 2, however, the color looked overshot and saturated. In a rather classic move, unplugging it and plugging it back in again fixed my issue, and I haven't had it again since. The Elgato 4K S not only solved my problem with the Switch 2's built-in capture functionality but made it look better too.

Comparing textures, the Elgato records at a higher max resolution (4K vs 1080p), and it certainly shows in the captured footage. The difference isn't quite as large as I was expecting, though, and this is partly down to the fact that the Nintendo Switch 2 has very good (if fairly limited) recording functionality.

If you would like to stream from your Nintendo Switch 2, a capture card is absolutely necessary, as the Switch 2 doesn't have that functionality. The same can not be said of the other two major consoles.

Grab a headset and a controller, and have a strong enough internet connection, and you're ready to stream on a PS5 or Xbox Series X. You can simulcast to Twitch and YouTube at the same time without restreaming from a different platform, but it's certainly good enough should you be tied to one platform.

You technically can record 4K on PlayStation, but the console doesn't play too nicely with it. It forces clips to be recorded in WebM, and you have to manually record and change it to 4K in settings, which means you can't retroactively record in 4K.

To view those 4K clips on PS5, you have to close any apps or games that are open. Things are a bit simpler with the Elgato, and comparing both sets of footage with Nvidia's ICAT (Image Comparison Analysis Tool), they look nearly identical to me. The Elgato comes off a bit brighter, and PS5 feels a tad deeper, but to most, these will look essentially the same.

So, you can record 4K on PS5 without a capture card with some effort. If, however, you want to stream, add a webcam, and transition from scene to scene, you will still want a capture card for that. No matter which device I have it plugged into, the Elgato 4K S performs very well in passthrough mode. Though the max capture is 4K resolution at 60 fps, 1080p can get all the way up to 240 fps in passthrough mode (down to 120 in capture). Placing my PC monitor right next to my TV and comparing the two, both perform with nearly no latency, and I still manage to be as okay as I usually am at Fortnite.

The passthrough is so good I've found myself opening up the Elgato app and playing some console games on my PC, just because I don't fancy turning on the big 50-inch TV I use for console gaming. I've played hours worth of Killing Floor 3, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with no problems at all, and I see myself continuing to do so in those moments when my partner wants to use the main TV for something else.

Elgato's software is intuitive and easy to use, if a little barebones. You plug in your device, open up the app, and now you have the ability to record and take screenshots of whatever you are playing. You can adjust resolution on the fly, which is pretty handy should you have storage concerns (same), and this links out easily to the Elgato forums if you run into any problems.

Coming in at $160, this is a competitive price for a 4K capture card, and at MSRP, I would almost never go for the Elgato Game Capture Neo for $40 less. That extra cost is worth it to me for 4K over 1080p capture, and a higher fps passthrough (with the latter limited to 60 fps).

In and of itself, this little capture card rocks. It's small, easy to set up, relatively pain-free and offers good quality recording. It also offers near-instantaneous passthrough. However, it's more expensive than the AverMedia Live Gamer Ultra S GC553Pro, while not offering 5.1 audio. Given the passthrough is so great on this, the more immersive offerings of 5.1 sound would certainly be welcome, especially when you get it from the GC553Pro for cheaper.

At MSRP, the only reason I could think to put the Elgato over the GC553Pro is for its software or the position of its outputs. I prefer having the USB-C and HDMI ports all on one side, like the Elgato, but I don't think I could possibly argue that's worth $10 more.

With both capture cards seeing discounts in the sales, I think it will be a toss-up for best capture card, but as things stand, it sits just inches behind its rival. This is arguably the best Elgato mid-range capture card you can buy right now, but that's still not enough to put it in first place against the stiff competition.

Capturing gaming content has never been easier or more affordable than it is today. You can walk into an electronics store, pick up basically any capture card off the shelf, and walk away with a functioning solution. Better yet, do some research and get a great solution for an affordable price. AverMedia is one of the bigger players in the capture card space who are always angling towards more bang for buck, and the Live Gamer Ultra S (or GC553Pro) might be some of the best bucks I’ve… banged?

Straight out of the box, the GC553Pro is a unit with cyber chic in mind. It's a relatively small and slim rectangle box, with ports and vents seemingly everywhere. So much so, you can see through to the PCB inside, which appears to take up only a small fraction of the actual unit. When purchasing you can choose between a black or white model. It's not a tonne of options but it's more than most, and the simple colourways should match most gamer's kits quite nicely.

Regardless of colour, the faceplate features angled cut outs giving glimpses to a vibrant red underlay with the AverMedia logo proudly displayed and an easy to read LED indicator. Then you have the HDMI 2.0 ports input and output on one side of the box, while the USB Type-C port sits on the other. It's a simple setup, but these three ports are what make the GC553Pro a proper piece of kit, which is really good value for $150 USD.

Having HDMI 2.0 ports for both input and passthrough means this card can take full advantage of the technology. Many capture cards will have you lose out on things like 4K at 60 fps or rob you of your HDR experience, but the GC553Pro lets you have it all for both recordings and passthrough. It also supports VRR so you don't wind up with tears in your gaming experience. It's one of the few capture cards I've used recently that I haven't noticed any difference between how a game looks plugged in through it to my TV vs directly via its own cable.

Having games still look good when you're playing them is a huge benefit here. I'm a bit sick of having to miss out on the best fidelity experience just because I want to be recording it instead. This card lets you have your cake, eat it too, and record the whole thing in brilliant 4k 60 fps. Well. If you use the software.

Plugging in the card directly to your computer via the USB-C port will get you some basic recording functions, though they'll be at lower settings by default. If you want to get the best quality recordings, or use features like the ultrawide resolutions while maintaining quality, you're going to need the Streaming Centre Software to dial all those things in. It's not the most intuitive software, and you likely want to run this through OBS as well, but it still works fairly easily. Just not as plug and play as it feels it could be.

I turned everything up to full specs and spent a few hours running around the world of Avowed on my Xbox Series X. It's easy for me to lose track of time when playing a meaty RPG, so I had the GC553Pro running non stop for around six hours, happily recording while I hunted down the dreamscurge. The next day I did the same while Webslinging through New York on my PS5 and, once again, the card was happy to provide me passthrough and video recordings for the entire time. My PC got tired of it all long before the capture card did.

But that is definitely a factor with this capture card, you're going to need something good enough to run it. Not only do you need to have USB ports on your computer that are capable of receiving the high quality signal, but you also need to be able to store and read all that media.

My laptop which I often use to stream gave it a fair go and did fine on the lower quality recordings, but simply didn't have the ports needed for better and would have run out of storage really quickly if it had somehow managed. This capture unit doesn't do any of the heavy lifting for you aside from allowing those signals to pass through easily, so your PC needs to be up to the task. So long as your rig can run it this is a really handy capture device, beyond just high quality game footage.

A friend of mine has been trying to use Elgato's CamLink to provide passthrough for high quality camera footage for his stream. Looking at it we thought the GC553Pro should be up to the task, so gave it a crack. It took some work within the AverMedia app, and we had to set it up as a virtual camera, but by the end of it we had high quality camera recording far better than CamLink had ever managed to provide. Then, we left it running for several hours with no complaints—something the Elgato couldn’t reliably perform.

The AverMedia GC553Pro is a keen augment for your PC, allowing you to record high quality video while still playing in high quality pass through with relatively little fuss. It doesn't mind if it's from a console, a phone, or a camera—as long as it can use HDMI, it seems this thing can do it. If you want lower quality, then it'll work with almost no fuss, but I think you'd be hard pressed to find a card that can record and passthrough at this level for a better price.

Capture cards have gone from being obscure streamer specific hardware to something anyone can pick up and use. Gone are the days of spending $400 on a unit that will likely just decide it doesn't really want to capture content anymore. Instead we have readily available affordable units, barely bigger than a wallet, that not only work for capturing, sometimes they do other stuff as well! That's the case with AVerMedia's Elite Go GC313 Pro, a capture card stuffed into a charging brick.

At first glance this Elite Go looks more like a travel adapter than a capture card. This average sized power block has flip out prongs to plug into wall power on one side, and a series of ports including two USB Type-C and one Type-A on the other. It's not until you notice that HDMI port nestled in between the others that it becomes apparent this could be something more. I actually appreciate this touch of stealth, as it's almost a relief to have one less piece of tech I might have to explain to travel authorities.

The ports allow for a full capture setup complete with HDMI passthrough, though it's only 1.4. The top USB Type-C port sits just below some charm holes (yes!!! bring these back to everything) and is used for whichever device you want to capture. Underneath this you can find a USB Type-A port for accessories, followed by the HDMI for passthrough, and then finally a second Type-C port that outputs to your PC for capturing. It's an easy clean setup, and the arrangement allows for elbow cables to fit easily.

When plugged into power it acts as a charger, outputting up to 100 W from the Type-C ports and 5 W from the Type A. It will charge devices while capturing, and thanks to the high power output can easily handle keeping the battery topped up as long as you're playing. I plugged my launch day Switch—which is known for giving me battery problems—in when it was low, and began recording some The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. When I was done my Switch had actually charged.

I did the same with my iPad Pro, once again using the included sturdy braided USB Type C to C, to capture and stream some drawing and ended up with an iPad on full charge. Not having to worry about battery life on these devices was a great relief and makes it easier just to grab something on a whim and stream, rather than have to wait until it's got enough charge to survive being plugged into a normal card. Plus it has overload protection which I doubt whatever power adapter I've fished out of the box this time can also attest.

The HDMI port only being 1.4 means you're limited to the protocol only outputting up to 4K at 30 fps to your bigger screen. For something like my Switch, this isn't a big issue as you're only outputting 1080p and the passthrough looks the same as what I get out of my Switch dock, only in my case it seems this capture card charges it better. It makes AVerMedia's Elite Go a great solution as a portable Switch to screen interface, even if you're not Nintending to capture your antics.

On the capture side I'm once again relieved that capture cards are now plug and play. I used this on a few different computers to test and each one was able to immediately import the video source into PC capture with OBS without any extra software or even fiddling. There wasn't any noticeable lag or difference between the device, the passthrough image, or the capture during my tests either. The Elite Go won't have the super high quality capture of cards made for high res video capture but for a travelling streaming device it's more than capable.

The USB Type-A port on the block even works for your peripherals, which is incredibly handy. My laptop only has one USB port on it and that's being used to receive the capture information, so getting it back via the box made it that little bit easier to use an extra device. And when I'm not using it to capture it's a handy charging block that means I can leave one more thing at home. I've spent around the $130 USD price tag on travel bricks that haven't been this good at delivering power, let alone doing the capture stuff too.

I took it with me for a recent weekend getaway to the beach and was able to use it for all my charging needs. Unfortunately, I'm Australian and have to also use a travel adapter for the power pins, as it only comes with US pins and EU and UK adapters, but even with this I felt like it cut down on my usual travel plethora of electronic baggage.

Coming from a time when capture cards could barely do the single thing they were designed to, seeing one that does it with ease, plus charges all my devices, is delightful. It takes out some of the key stressors to streaming, especially while travelling. Between carrying a lot of kit, having your devices run out of battery on you, and not having enough ports on a laptop this little guy has you covered. And you're more likely to actually have it with you when you need it thanks to the versatility. At $130/£130 you can grab a cheaper card that will capture content just as well, but it won't be as useful a travel companion. For streamers on the go or just for anyone looking to have a nifty new travel brick the Elite Go is a really nifty unit.

The Neo series is Elgato's latest lineup of streaming gear, aimed at delivering simple solutions on a slimmer budget and with an environmentally friendly bend. Elgato has been behind several of our top picks for capture cards over the years, and I think the Neo might be the next in line

First thing to note about the Game Capture Neo is the device is made using recycled plastic, and packed in totally recyclable cardboard. The new Game Capture Neo is also white, which might be the first white capture card I've ever seen, to match the rest of the Neo range, such as the Facecam Neo, Key Light Neo, and Wave Neo.

Thanks to the eco-friendly initiative, all you'll find inside the Game Capture Neo's box is a fairly standard USB Type-C to USB Type-A cable, which is clearly marked as 5 GB/s, along with the Game Capture Neo itself. The cable plugs into the USB Type-C port nestled between the HDMI input and output ports on the back of the capture unit, with the Type-A plug heading to your streaming or recording PC. These are all recessed under a lip at the back of the unit which helps to keep things looking clean, while the unit's rubber feet keep it secure, even on a busy gaming desk.

Despite the Neo needing at least one to be any good, there aren't any HDMI cables to be seen in this package. Given I have an overflowing drawer full, this was a relief. I'd rather Elgato keep on that green initiative and save me the cost of another cable I sincerely don't need. To take full advantage of the 4K HDR passthrough you'll just want to make sure the cables you grab are capable of transmitting it, so having at least one of them be a 2.1 for passthrough is a great idea.

One of the proposed hallmarks of the Neo series is that these devices should work straight out of the box with no proprietary software, and this little capture card absolutely nails this. I made sure to kick all the Elgato software from my laptop before plugging it in and still had OBS pick it up immediately. This worked no matter what device I had the Game Capture Neo gathering footage from, as long as it could output to HDMI. This included a few different phones via a USB Type-C to HDMI cable. Adding passthrough was just as easy as plugging in another HDMI cable and didn't disrupt my session. 

I have even left OBS recording while essentially hot swapping devices and had it work seamlessly with only a brief no signal message in between. The downtime was less than a standard scene transition, making it feel like an easy choice for integration into a variety streamer's lineup.

After these vanilla tests, I installed the Elgato 4K Capture Utility software. You can use this to dial in things colour settings and resolutions, which is handy to have, but the Neo was already doing a swell job of this on its own. The software will also let you record video, even retroactively if you've got flashback recording enabled. This works well with the Stream Deck too, especially as you can set different timings for those flashbacks making it as easy as a button press while you're still gaming.

Recordings also look true to resolution and frame rate chosen, both in playback and filesize, and the sound quality is also quite good. I made a fair few long recordings to test how this went over time and the quality didn't drop once, even when my laptop was working at fairly full capacity. All the while, Elgato's Game Capture Neo sat there with its LED unblinking, getting the job done. 

I could play some games straight in the capture window, be it OBS or Elgato's own, and for the most part get by quite well. There was some latency but not enough to notice as long as the game wasn't too twitchy or reaction based. I could quite happily explore Hyrule in Tears of the Kingdom without any trouble. My go-to game for testing speedy reactions is Hades on a higher heat, and here the latency was a much bigger issue. There was just no way I was ever making it to dad to give him the beatdown this way.

Thankfully the passthrough on this little white box is true to the promised 4K at 60 fps lag-free experience. Immediately I was back in the game, able to play with no perceivable latency as I made my way up through the levels of the underworld. It also does a good job of delivering those real blacks of HDR in passthrough for games and screens that support it. Missing out on HDR in recordings is pretty common but this way you can still enjoy it for yourself while you play. It means you didn't waste all that money on a fancy monitor afterall!

Elgato's Game Capture Neo isn't aiming to be the most powerful card on the market. Foregoing things like 120 fps passthrough, VRR, and recording or higher resolutions in the interest of saving on cost and performance. These are compromises, for sure, but they're really smart ones. Most people looking for streaming or recording content would gladly save the money and processing power, over paying for those higher specs. Not to mention the simple setup the Neo offers.

If you're a hardcore FPS streamer who needs those faster frame rates or a content creator wanting to make high resolution videos, this isn't the card for you. Anyone looking for an entry level option, or just a competent affordable card that's reliable and a breeze to get working in all sorts of situations, should definitely be paying attention, however. 

The Game Capture Neo is the least expensive Elgato card on the market, and it's a breath of fresh air to see that it works so well and delivers wonderful results. It's clear Elgato has put its history of capture card success into this device, rather than just throwing some awful cheap option into the market. There's a huge Elgato logo on top of the unit which feels a bit gratuitous, but the more I use the card, I feel convinced it's acting as a stamp of approval. 

The most affordable option from the kings of capture is still very much a good pick.

My time with the Avermedia X'tra Go GC515 has been a tale of sorts, despite its seeming simplicity. Due entirely to my own ineptitude I struggled to get it working for a while, but boy am I glad that I did, because this thing is now probably my favourite recent piece of PC gaming tech.

The GC515 is marketed as a device that performs two roles for your handheld gaming PC, these being (A) docking for charging and proudly displaying your handheld, just like a Nintendo Switch dock; and (B) recording gameplay. However, it also has a third role that, this being that it acts as a USB and audio hub. For this versatility, however, you do pay a premium, as this thing's going for $200 /£200.

It's the combination of these three things that really makes the GC515 stand out from the rest of the handheld dock crowd. That, plus how simple it makes recording and streaming gameplay. It essentially acts as a single device that can quickly and easily make your handheld gaming PC much more versatile, whether that means recording gameplay with a simple button-press, playing games on TV, streaming, or using convenient peripherals.

The dock is now a staple in my living room, sitting proudly beside the my partner's Switch dock, and my Lenovo Legion Go now rests atop it by default. To have such a quick and easy way to turn my handheld gaming PC into a lounge console has genuinely transformed my gaming experience for the better and made it more exciting.

Let's take each of the dock's main functions in turn because not everyone will care equally about all of them, and not all are equally impressive.

First, its docking functionality. This is, in my opinion, the weakest aspect of the GC515, which is a strange thing to say about, y'know, a dock. Upon unboxing it, my initial thought was probably the same as I'd have with any other dock that's compatible several handhelds: "Is that it?" This is because in virtue of being compatible with multiple devices, its connecting mechanism can't be tailored to any of them. 

With a Nintendo Switch dock, the console and dock are designed to be guided together seamlessly, which does kind of feel like magic when you try it. With the GC515, however, all you get is an angled USB-C cable that slides into a crevice at the bottom of the dock and can be slid around willy-nilly. 

There's no way around this, of course, if you want your dock to be compatible with the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, MSI Claw, Nintendo Switch, and even smartphones and tablets. This loose USB-C solution is probably as good as we can get.

This problem is especially egregious with the Legion Go, as you can see in the picture below. The dock's designed for devices with relatively central bottom-side USB-C ports, which doesn't gel well with the Legion Go's left-side port (not to mention its larger size). 

The Asus ROG Ally X also doesn't fit into the dock at all because it's too chunky, which is something to bear in mind if you've got ROG's new and improved model. Something also to bear in mind is that the dock doesn't come with a power brick, and it requires a 65 W one to work properly. However, handheld PCs themselves should come with such a power brick, so it's not such a big deal.

As far as I'm concerned, the X'tra Go GC515's docking functionality boils down to essentially just a stand plus a standalone cable. This is a fact that would be devastating for the GC515 if docking was the only functionality on offer. But it's not.

The GC515 also acts as a hub with display-out and a capture card allowing for easy game recording and streaming capabilities. And when I say easy, I do mean easy. Slot in a speedy SD card and you're ready to go. Simply push the rather large and satisfyingly clonky button to start recording to the SD card. You'll know you've started thanks to the LED light on the front flashing red. Then push the button again to stop, the LED returning to a solid blue. 

And when you want to access the recording, just flip a switch on the back of the dock and your handheld will read the SD card like a normal drive.

The capture card inside the GC515 seems to record from the HDMI display-out signal stream. In other words, it records what's displayed on your TV or external monitor when you connect it to one. If you're not connected to an external display then the dock essentially creates an invisible one for you and mirrors the handheld display ("duplicate these displays" in Windows Settings).

This fact caused a little trouble for me, but this was entirely the fault of my Legion Go. You see, it's a known issue with the Go that, when duplicating the handheld's display to an external monitor, it displays everything sideways, pinching the resolution and cramming it all into a sideways-portrait image. This meant that when I was recording just the Go, with no external display actually connected and therefore with the handheld's screen duplicated, everything recorded in that crammed-together sideways-portrait format. Not good.

Thankfully—worry not, Lenovo Legion Go owners—there's a fix officially recommended by Lenovo which worked for me, involving fiddling with some Windows display settings. After doing this, it didn't record sideways-portrait any more. 

It did, however, record upside-down. But thankfully this is easy enough to fix in any software (even Windows Media Player): just give it a double rotate. 

Speaking of software, the Avermedia Streaming Centre is where you'll do all your configuring and updating of the X'tra Go GC515—an interesting choice, but surprisingly painless, I found. This is where you can update the dock's firmware, set its recording resolution and frame rate, output quality, and so on. Once you've configured settings in the Streaming Centre, they should remain as you set them even when the software's not running.

Quality-wise, things are perfect. The dock's capture card allows 4K recording at 30 fps, 1440p at 60 fps, or 1080p recording at up to 120 fps. You can record with H.265 or H.264 encoding in "normal", "good", or "optimal" quality and everything's saved as a fragmented MP4. Personally, I found 1080p, 60 fps, H.264 and "optimal" to provide the best balance of performance, quality, and file size for most use cases. Though of course you can fiddle with all these settings until your heart's content.

The only bug-bear for me is regarding audio capture. The GC515 captures audio either from the external display (if you're connected to one) or the 3.5mm headphone port, but not your handheld's native speakers. As such, 3.5mm headphones or speakers are the way to go if you're not outputting to an external display with audio.

All of this works seamlessly for streaming, which is a big use case for this device. If you want to stream your handheld gameplay, you could do it via OBS on your handheld, provided you have a Windows handheld and not a Steam Deck. But that's kind of messy, to do all that on your tiny handheld while alt-tabbing and so on.

Above: Screenshot of Rocket League captured by the Avermedia X'tra Go GC515.

Or, you could try to set up an intermediary capture card between your handheld and another PC, which would work but isn't simple to do. This is essentially what the GC515 does, but it makes it easy. Simply connect the dock to your streaming PC or laptop and you're good to go—the streaming PC should pick the recorded handheld up as a video source.

Avermedia's Streaming Centre has Twitch streaming functionality, but the GC515 works just fine connecting to OBS on your streaming PC. You just have to add a "Video Capture Device" source and you should find the GC515 there as a video input. One thing, though: You'll probably want your own USB-C to USB-A cable, because the one Avermedia includes for connecting to a streaming PC is comically short—I'm talking about 6 inches in length from tip to toe.

For those looking to record or stream from their handheld, then, I really don't think there's a better and more convenient option than the X'tra Go GC515.

The dock's hub functionality is superb, offering not only charging and docking functionality but display-out and two USB ports, HDMI-out, and a 3.5 mm jack. What this has meant for me is that I can now easily run games on my TV and connect a third-party controller and keyboard, too. This allows for convenient couch gaming and super easy keyboard input when required (which, let's face it, is often required on a handheld gaming PC running Windows).

However—and this is a very big "however"—$200 is a lot of money if you're only after this hub functionality and not its capture capabilities. Too much, in my opinion. Which means we're back to a target market of just those who will want to record or stream their gameplay. And there's nothing wrong with that. That's how the GC515's designed marketed, after all: as not just a handheld dock but also an easy recording and streaming device.

That it packages the extra hub functionality alongside this is a bonus that makes handheld gaming even more versatile and convenient. And for those who, like me, don't usually stream or record, you might just find this thing gives you the urge to do so. I know it's given me the streaming itch.

Capturing one's own gameplay has always been one of the biggest barriers when it comes to streaming and making content. It used to take a fair amount of money, equipment, and know-how to even have a fairly low quality recording set-up, and which likely only worked for one of your gaming devices. I remember paying hundreds of dollars for a solution that I still had to fight with to get working every time I turned it on. 

It's nice to see how far we've come exemplified with Avermedia's portable little capture card, the Live Gamer Mini (GC311).

As far as capture cards go, the Live Gamer Mini is somewhat lower spec than others on the market, but it has a profile and price point to match. It's not the card you buy if you want the highest resolution possible for game recording or passthrough, as it's limited to a max 1080p at 60 fps for both. But when you consider those are still the settings used by the vast majority of streamers and content creators, it's a card that's still likely worth a lookin' for many purposes. 

Only having 1080p 60 fps passthrough does mean you have to suck it up and play using visuals that might not be up to your usual standard. While I didn't detect any latency, I've been living the 4K, HDR, 120 fps life for a while now, so it did feel like a significant step down for some games. In the case of a twitchy first person shooter it could really affect your ability. 

Avermedia's Live Gamer Mini isn't designed for that. Instead it's a highly portable and versatile device, a Jack of all as opposed to a master of one.

The box is only slightly larger than a credit card, and weighs only 75 grams—about the same as the lighter gaming mice available at the moment. It's also only about a finger deep, which outlines the fairly simple system with only three ports required for use: HDMI in, for whatever device is hosting what you want to capture; HDMI out, so you can have your passthrough on a screen; and Micro USB, heading to the computer to handle the capture and potential streaming. Somehow this thing can work just fine on USB 2.0, though the provided USB cable is a nice long braided Micro to A, which gives you heaps of space to to work with.

This set up allows it to work with all kinds of modern devices fairly seamlessly. I've tried it with Switch, PS5, Xbox One X, and PC outputting for capture to several different PCs of varying levels of beef, and it almost feels weird to say it has worked well with every single one. Sometimes there has been the odd setting to configure, like turning HDCP off on my PlayStation, or finding the competing pre-installed program that's trying to steal my source, but that would be standard no matter the capture device.

With the idea of a portable capture card in mind, I made sure to test it in different situations. On my laptop I made sure to only have OBS installed without any of Avermedia's own software—how I might use it if I brought this card to a streamer friend's house and planned on using their hardware—and it instantly recognised the input from the device plugged into the card on the first try. I'm not sure if I just have too much tech trauma around capture cards in my past but this actually made me tear up a little.

This card also has the option of using Avermedia's Stream Engine to essentially force the card to process video recording and keep your CPU free. It's not difficult to install and use, but it's also not easy and obvious. Once you've got it working, you can use it in programs like OBS by choosing the Stream Engine source. I tried it when my laptop was throttling due to being unplugged and I went from recording choppy video to something much smoother with no perceivable change to my CPU usage. 

Because the passthrough and the capture are both at the same visual fidelity it made it fairly easy to pick up on delay on the recording side of things, which was interesting to compare. With my Switch plugged in for example, it was fairly negligible. I could play Hades reasonably well just looking at the OBS window while I used it to stream to Twitch, which is fairly impressive. However, when I tried to play SpiderHeck on my PC the delay was much more visible. There's no way I could handle the 2D fast paced combat without using the passthrough monitor, and thankfully I've had no issues there using both PC monitors and TVs as tests.

The hardest part about recommending this card is that the NZXT Signal HD60 exists, and is our current pick for the best budget capture card. It offers much better passthrough, with support for 4K. On the flipside you don't get that Stream Engine for video recording, or the rest of the Avermedia Software.

The ease of use and versatility of the Live Gamer Mini is genuinely impressive, especially considering its size and price. I wouldn't recommend this card to someone who wanted it for their main PC to capture hours of high level Valorant play but that's just not who this card is for. Instead, this is a great choice for a variety streamer looking for a very portable card that should work with most modern devices at a modest price. Or perhaps a new content creator who wants to be able to try a bunch of ideas without breaking the bank.

Picture a scene where you have a great gaming laptop and you want to stream footage of your awesome gaming skills, to show off to your friends. You've got also Discord open on your phone, to offer friendly tips and insults to your teammates. So you'll need a charger for both devices, plus a capture card for the video, right? Not with the new Avermedia Elite Go GC313Pro—multi-device charger, USB hub, and 1080p capture card all in one.

Okay, so that all sounds like it's a setup for a cheesy infomercial, but that's exactly the kind of scenario that Avermedia has in mind for its new GC313Pro. The base part of it is a 100W GaN charger, which is good enough for lots of entry-level gaming laptops, but it also sports a USB 3.0 Type-A port, to allow it to act as a docking station for other devices.

Not satisfied with that, Avermedia stuffed an HDMI port (supporting up to 4K at 60 Hz) inside, letting you connect your laptop to a TV, for example, while charging it from the same unit. How there was room for this, I'm really not sure, but then there's the main event—1080p, 60 Hz video capture, via a USB Type-C port.

Of course, if your laptop doesn't support DisplayPort Over USB-C, then you probably won't be able to capture anything at all, and you'll have to rely on something like OBS Studio. That works very well but it does take up some of your laptop's performance to capture, convert, and then stream the video signal.

Alternatively, you could use a standard capture system, but then that misses the whole point of the new Elite Go unit.

All of the GC313Pro's features mean it will get a little clustered with cables around the unit if you plan on using its charger, capture, and HDMI functions all at the same time. But still, if you travel a lot and still want to do a fair bit of game streaming, this could be the ideal solution for you.

If the streaming side of things isn't something you need, then Avermedia also has the Core Go GC313, which is practically the same as the GC313Pro, just minus the 1080p capture system. You still get the 100W charging functionality, along with the 4K HDMI output and USB hub, but the second USB Type-C port is now for additional device charging.

Both devices are part of Avermedia's Premium Go series, which now also includes a docking station with video capture, for handheld gaming devices. No clear word yet as to prices for all of these and when you'll be able to buy one, but I should imagine the GC313Pro won't be the cheapest GaN charger on the market.

Capture cards aren't cheap, especially if you want to record or stream footage at a high resolution and framerate. Even the best capture cards can cost you upwards of $200. So, if you don't have that sort of cash lying about, why not try making your own for just a tiny fraction of that? That's what one DIYer did. 

YuzikiHD built the "YuzukiLOHCC Pro," an HDMI to USB 3.2 video capture board (spotted by Hackaday) that uses the affordable MS2130 HDMI to USB HD video and audio acquisition chip on a USB 3.2 Device controller. Following their instructions might be tricky, as buying one of the chips seems like a project in itself right now, but it's a cool project nonetheless.

The YuzukiLOHCC Pro has two HDMI ports for input and output and a USB Type-C port to connect to your computer. If you have ever used an Elgato Game Capture HD 60 S, it's a similar design. Like that card, it can stream and record footage from a gaming console, computer, or camera in 1080p at 60 frames per second. It just won't cost you $150. 

According to the project's GitHub page, this chip can support HDMI up to 4K at 30Hz. It supports a bunch of other resolutions as well. (Sorry, no 1440p). 

There's a video of the YuzukiLOHCC PRO in action on Twitter, passing Splatoon 3 gameplay from a Nintendo Switch to a PC. The first thing you'll notice about the footage is that there's pretty low latency, which isn't surprising since it's using USB 3.2. If you were using USB 2.0, you'd see a noticeable delay from the source to your output of at least a few seconds. 

The DIY device works on any operating system; Windows, Mac, or Linux. More importantly, it works with third-party video-capturing software like OBS Studio or FFmpeg. Not bad for something that will end up costing less than a pizza. 

How much less? Just $10. The only problem is that tracking down an MS2130 chip to build your own might be an issue if you live outside of China. You can try finding one on Taobao (which requires a free account to search) or try your luck at a local electronics store like this Twitter user.  Your third option would be contacting the manufacturer directly to special order the chip, but you're probably not planning to build these in bulk. It's possible the chips will become more readily available in the future.

The best capture cards not only fuel your content creation but also make it a lot easier to do so. Nowadays, capture cards come in all shapes and sizes. Best of all, they no longer require you to pry open your PC and hope you have an extra card slot next to your GPU to install it. External capture cards are much more portable, so much easier to use, and in some cases, cheaper than their internal counterparts since they connect to your PC via USB 3.0 Type-A or Type C.

The best capture card is currently the AverMedia Live Gamer Ultra S GC553Pro. Its got variable refresh rate (VRR) and HDR support, and captures brilliant 4K 60 FPS footage for an extremely reasonable price. The best budget capture card is the Elgato Game Capture Neo, a fuss-free little unit with no bells or whistles, just good performance.

We recommend most people focus on a 1080p target resolution at a 60 fps frame rate. There are good 4K capture cards out there, but they're often expensive, and those file storage needs are harsh. Plus, the bandwidth requirements often mean that 4K is not worth the hassle for most streamers. Below are our top picks for capture cards, no matter what your needs.

The quick list

Best capture card

The best capture card is AVerMedia's Live Gamer Ultra S GC553Pro. AVerMedia's capture card boasts serious bang for your buck, serving up HDMI 2.0 for both its input and output port. Offering VRR support for non-teary gameplay recording, this card makes no compromises when it comes to accurately capturing your gameplay footage for streaming or videos. Well, almost—but put a pin in that for now.

Allowing for recordings and passthrough of up to 4K 60 FPS footage, the Live Gamer Ultra S GC553Pro easily dethroned our previous top pick, the comparatively limited Elgato Game Capture HD60 X. But the AverMedia capture card just keeps on giving: Want a great capture card for comfortably under $200? Here it is! Still want to enjoy high fidelity gameplay while you're recording? Done. Want accurately captured HDR too? You've got it. Well…if you use the app.

Thanks for holding on to that pin for me—you see, much of what there is to live about the GC553Pro is locked behind its app. Fresh out the box, you can still plug it into your PC via the USB-C port and get some basic capture on the lower settings, but if you want the all singing, all dancing 4K 60 FPS experience, you've got to download the Streaming Centre Software. Which is…fine, but you'll probably want to then run that through OBS, and that many layers of software hardly makes for a very plug and play experience.

Furthermore, the GC553Pro doesn't do any heavy-lifting itself beyond ensuring video signals pass through it without getting chewed up along the way. Your PC is still going to need enough ports, processing power, and storage space to give this capture card's magic a soft place to land.

But once you've wrangled the software and you've ensured your connected hardware is up to the task, you won't hear any complaints from the GC553Pro—it runs like a dream in 4K and 60 FPS for just as long as you like.

Read our full AverMedia Live Gamer Ultra S GC553Pro review.

Best budget capture card

The Elgato Game Capture Neo is a mighty tool for busy content creators. If you want simple, straightforward 1080p capture with minimal fuss, this is the best budget capture card right now.

Nestled inside a neatly recycled cardboard box, the white of the Game Capture Neo's casing stands out among a sea of black capture cards. It's a pretty simple thing: there are two HDMI ports on the rear, a USB Type-C port, an LED indicator, and the Elgato logo on top. That's your lot.

Its simplicity goes further than a plain chassis, however. To capture on the Game Capture Neo, just plug it into your device with one HDMI, and then with another HDMI connected to your display. Then hook the USB-C cable to your PC of choice. From there, it's as simple as opening OBS and selecting the Game Capture Neo as your capture device.

There's no need for the Elgato Capture Utility software, if you don't want it around, though it offers some extra options such as the ability to shift colours and resolutions, and record independently of any other third-party software.

The quality of the output is great, and even the sound quality is rather good. Though it's worth noting this is a strictly 1080p, 60 fps capture device. Nothing more.

You can still play your games in a higher resolution, though it won't capture them in more detail. The passthrough is also limited to 60 fps, which means sacrificing any extra frames in exchange for recording your gameplay, which some might not like. If you've paid for a high-refresh gaming monitor, you want to use it. At least there was no noticeable latency to note.

The affordable price tag assigned to the Game Capture Neo makes it a smart pick, however. Like much of Elgato's Neo range, it does the basics very well and nothing more. Sometimes, that's all you need.

Read our full Elgato Game Capture Neo review.

Best two source capture card

AVerMedia's capture cards seem to do a great job at innovating on the capture card market—and the AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo doesn't buck the trend. Due to its unique ability to fit into a PCIe slot and record two sources, it is the best two-source capture card.

Previously we’ve seen the Thunderbolt-only Live Gamer Bolt, and the 4K HDR streaming lineup, in the Live Gamer Ultra and Live Gamer 4K. However, one of the newer entries to the market is the Live Gamer Duo, an internal card that fits into a PCIe slot on your motherboard and can handle two HDMI inputs at once—a very useful tool for streamers and content creators, and in combination with the ease of use here, makes this the best dual source capture card by far.

The software setup is also fairly effortless. After downloading the drivers as well as the AVerMedia RECentral 4 software, all my PC needed was a restart and everything was working as expected. I’ve wrestled with capture cards not always picking up sources before but was very happy to lower my guard.

That’s what impresses me about the Live Gamer Duo the most. It does everything it advertises with relatively low effort. The full HD recording and high-enough-frame rate streaming just work and are immediately recognisable by third-party software.

Video processing, such as downscaling or frame rate conversion, is all done on the card itself, and I believe it. My PC is unbothered while the card is operating, though it still takes the usual hit from my streaming software. Meanwhile, the 4K passthrough has remained unhindered entirely by the process, though it would be nice to have passthrough options for both inputs rather than solely HDMI1.

Of course, it’s not without sacrifice. If you want to be able to record in 4K or higher than 60 fps this quite simply isn’t the device, and the AVerMedia Live Ultra 2.1 is probably where you want to be aiming. What you do get with AVerMedia's Live Gamer Duo, however, is a single one-time set-up unit that’s largely plug-and-play. It has especially made streaming easier by having a setup that simply works, and one which I can mostly leave in place.

For anyone looking to include multiple sources for minimal hassle, AVerMedia’s Live Gamer Duo is a really smart choice that lives up to all its promises.

Read our full AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo review.

Best 4K 144 fps capture card

HDMI 2.1 might have been a long time coming in the world of capture cards, but it's here in the form of the AVerMedia Live Gamer Ultra 2.1. Not only that but it can record 4K footage at 60 fps while passing through 144 fps to your monitor with relative ease.

Well, calling it a capture card is maybe a bit of a misnomer. Technically it's an external box that connects to your PC with a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C cable, although you can record using a Type-A port with a different cable if you drop your frame rate expectations to 4K 30 fps.

Once you're all hooked up via HDMI cables, you'll be pleased to find that thanks to that HDMI 2.1 passthrough, you're able to record 4K footage while still receiving up to a 2160p signal at 144 Hz to your output monitor, with HDR and VRR support too. That's a neat party trick and one that means that this capture card has very few drawbacks compared to others on the market.

It's also mercifully easy to set up with easy-to-use software and speedy firmware updates (a recent one improved the capture rate from 60 fps in our review sample to 144 fps), while OBS studio has no problem detecting it as a primary capture device. There are a few things to bear in mind, however. Every link in the chain in terms of cables and devices needs to be HDMI 2.1 compliant, and you'll also need to disable HDCP.

You get a USB Type-C, HDMI and some 3.5 mm cables in the box, which is nice and handy for first-timers, and the AVerMedia app is pretty efficient at setting up independent volume levels for mics and headphone audio levels, both of which can be output via the two 3.5 mm jacks on the front of the unit.

Speaking of the box itself, it's got a huge RGB light bar. This isn't just for decoration, as it displays a rainbow pattern when all is well, and flashes codes at you when something in the chain's gone awry, which should make it obvious if you're streaming and experiencing any errors.

Overall though, the AVerMedia Live Gamer Ultra is a well-specced, easy to use and nicely lightweight bit of kit. It is, however expensive. Still, if it's 4K at frame rates you're after, here's where you want to be.

Read our full AVerMedia Live Gamer Ultra 2.1 review.

Best standalone capture card

The Elgato Game Capture 4K60 S+ is the best standalone capture card, for content creators who want to upgrade their channels in a big way. For starters, it can capture 4K HDR gameplay directly to your PC or SD card. Yep, this is Elgato's first capture card to use standalone recording via an SD card, which is a massive plus for console games and a long-awaited feature from veteran Elgato users. 4K isn't new in this list, but it's the S+'s extra portability is what you should care about.

The super useful thing about the stand-alone recording is that the 4K60 S+ will optimize itself in real-time. You don't have to worry about adjusting any settings before recording, so the recording process itself becomes relatively painless.

Anyone who has tried to capture footage at a trade show or preview event can tell you how much of a nightmare it can be to do on the fly. But with the new Elgato 4K60S+ you simply plug in the device to a power source (via USB Type-C), your HDMI in/out, pop in a 256 GB SD card (it supports either V30 or UHS-3 SD cards), then hit the record button and you're ready to rock.

The footage came out great and it was easy to pull clips from the SD card via card reader. To be honest, I've had more issues managing the video files using the Elgato 4K Capture Utility software. This software is the only place to make changes to the capture card and adjust picture settings.

The real problem is that the software just isn't as robust as the HD Capture Software for Elgato's other cards. Since the 4K60 S+ doesn't work with HD Capture Software, you're forced to use the 4K Capture Utility, which offers no video editing, just raw capturing and commentary track support. If you want to do anything significant with these clips, you're going to have to invest in some third-party editing software.

To truly use this capture card to its full potential, you need a 4K-ready console, a 4K monitor with HDR support (not cheap), and a PC beefy enough to edit 4K HDR footage (really not cheap). Let’s not even get into the amount of bandwidth required to upload 4K video, let alone stream it.

The Elgato 4K60 S+ is the capture card of the future... that we aren’t quite ready for yet. It provides some of the best-looking screenshots and videos around, assuming you have the hardware that can handle your high-quality media. Still, the capture market is yet to catch up to the fidelity the 4K60 S+ can deliver.

Read our full Elgato 4K60 S+ review.

Best for handheld gaming PCs

AVerMedia is one of the kings of the game recording device world, being in the market with consistent and high-quality gear for a long time. The AVerMedia Elite Go GC313Pro capture dock is the standout capture card to use for the best handheld gaming PCs thanks to its ease of use, great size, and ability to double up as a charger.

A bit of an oddity in the capture card market, the Go GC313Pro is effectively a wall outlet with one USB 2.0 Type-C port, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C ports, and a HDMI port. This means you can plug it in to charge your device and hook up the HDMI to a secondary device to record gameplay. It can also function as a standard dock thanks to a 4K 30 fps passthrough.

One of the biggest downsides of this capture device is the fact it can only record at a max of 1080 at 60 fps. For getting handheld clips, this is enough for a good video or stream but there are other more clunky options available that get better quality. The AVerMedia X'tra Go CG515 is a dock that can record up to 4K at 30 fps but it's almost double the price and much more cumbersome to use.

Not only is the GC313Pro the best device right now for someone looking to record their gaming and handheld (or gaming console), but it's also the best choice for someone who likes to travel a lot. You can throw out extra charging bricks from your suitcase as, in a pinch, you can just use it to charge your gear without needing to record anything.

The Elite Go GC313Pro's strongest points make it a rather niche device but a great one in the right kind of setup. This is all helped by a super solid price point. If you are on a budget, find yourself travelling a lot, and would like to charge your device easily while you record, AVerMedia has you covered.

Read our full AVerMedia Elite Go GC313Pro review.

Also tested

FAQ

Update: Elgato recently got back to me with an updated beta firmware for the HD60 X that it said would fix a passthrough issue I was running into with my monitor. I can now confirm that the issue has in fact been fixed and passthrough now works as intended with the updated firmware, even at 4K with VRR enabled.

Original review: Elgato's latest capture card, the HD60 X, aims to make streaming and recording a little more amenable to gamers with a modern, half-decent gaming monitor. With the option of 4K passthrough, there's a little more this device can offer gamers with high pixel count screens. Though it's also pretty handy if you use G-Sync of FreeSync technologies, which also receive timely support on the new HD60 X.

As with any capture card the speeds and feeds can be a lot to chew through. So let's break it down to basics for this $200/£190 option. With the HD60 X you're essentially looking at three key capture resolutions: 4K at 30fps, 1440p at 60fps, and 1080p at 60fps. Then for your passthrough resolution it's possible to run up 4K at 60fps or 1440p at 120fps, and there's support for Variable Refresh Rate technologies (VRR), such as G-Sync and FreeSync, and HDR (only on Windows).

So in theory you can make good use of a 4K-capable gaming PC with the HD60 X, though there are a few limitations to be aware of.

Capture is privy to chroma subsampling, which is a method of compression intended to aid in keeping within available bandwidth. If you're not familiar already, it's a way of compressing colour information in a signal, ideally with minimal impact to the overall picture. Depending on the frame, your mileage may vary. Uncompressed data, that's without chroma subsampling, is listed as 4:4:4—so if you're running the complete, uncompressed signal then you'll receive all the information as intended. 

To save bandwidth on the HD60 X, it offers 4:2:0 by default. Corsair tells me 4:2:2 is available via non-default codecs and will work at 1080p at 60fps or 1440p at 30fps, but don't expect that out of the box.

It does look decent with chroma subsampling, too. And the thing to remember here is that, if you intend to use your content, say, online—which most will—then video compression is going to eat up a lot of the quality anyways. 

The passthrough functionality of the HD60 X is, however, fully capable of running at 4:4:4, or in other words, uncompressed. So while your recording may lose some of that information, you don't have to suffer through a low picture quality while you're recording. That's the theory, anyways: I ran into an issue with my monitor, the Gigabyte M28U, that prevented it from running at 4K and 60fps once the HD60 X was installed.

I found my 4K screen was running at 1080p at 60fps over the Elgato HD60 X instead. After a great deal of fiddling with the device, my monitor, and switching cables (and even PCs), I reached out to Elgato (or rather its owners Corsair) for help and a short while later it was discovered to be a firmware issue. It seems it may have something to do with Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) and a 1080p downscaler that is used when a monitor is not seen to be 4K ready by the device. This appears to be an issue closely related to my model of monitor, though I wanted to outline the issue in case others with the same equipment experienced it too. I've not seen others reporting this issue with other model of monitor as of yet.

Corsair recommends changing the Pixel Format (in my case, within the Radeon graphics drivers) to YCbCr 4:2:2 (i.e. with some subsampling) for the time being, which has fixed the issue. However, it also tells me it is working on a proper fix "asap".

Another issue I ran into was when I was trying to capture at 4K at 30fps. Elgato tells me that its 4K/30fps capture mode is primarily for webcams, which might explain why it's not quite so well suited to actually pulling a high-res recording off your PC. There's a pretty in-depth look at input resolution and capture resolution here, and it's not altogether as simple as I'd hoped. It definitely isn't altogether that simple in practice.

So the HD60 X is much more a 1080p capture card than a 4K one. Though at least purely as a 1080p capture card, it's easy to use. The 1080p capture it produces is always crisp, the VRR support is a plus, and there's no lag in the passthrough to speak of. You can also both stream and record with a single device, using both OBS and Elgato's 4K Capture Utility in tandem, with its Stream Link feature. All things that take some of the hassle out of game capture while streaming. 

However, as a purely 1080p card, it doesn't feel a massive improvement over the HD60 S+ or similar units today.

Above: 1080p60 gameplay from Destiny 2 captured on the Elgato HD60 X. 

As a 4K capture card, there are significantly more capable options available, too—those that are more adept at 4K, for a premium price. Elgato's own 4K capture cards, the 4K60 Pro and 4K60 S+, can sometimes be found for less cash, and Avermedia offers some cards with equally high-end capabilities for quite a bit less.

Though only a few of these 4K cards are standalone units, most being PCIe add-in when you get down to near the price of the HD60 X. Some of the flexibility is removed when you ditch the external connection from your capture card: Not only will you have to make space inside your PC, but you're removing the ability to run your stream or recording off a laptop close-by. You also lose the option to easily travel around with your capture card, though let's be honest I can't imagine that's of massive importance for many.

Ultimately, a PCIe add-in capture card tends to get you more bang for your buck at 4K, and comes with heaps of benefits in other ways to make up for its lack of portability. So the flexibility of how you wish to set up your streaming setup is something to weigh up before hitting purchase on an external unit like this HD60 X.

If you're hot on the idea of an external capture card, Elgato is delivering a few extras on top of the HD60 S+ package for roughly the same price at MSRP with the HD60 X—perhaps a little more cash in practice as the HD60 S+ is often found going for cheaper today. Still, that means it's probably not much of an immediate upgrade for users of the HD60 S+.

At least it's an easier recommendation for gamers either buying a capture card for the first time or those using a much older device. If you're choosing between the HD60 X or HD60 S+, and they're roughly the same price, then go for the former. However, I will say that a big enough discount on the HD60 S+ could still be enticing.

As a user of the original Elgato Game Capture HD and then the HD60 S, I'll admit the HD60X doesn't feel like a revelatory new product. I'm yet to find any external capture card that makes capturing gameplay as much of a doddle as I'd like to think it to be. That said, there are some things I probably couldn't go without now that I have used the HD60 X. Adroit 1080p at 60fps recording, yes, though more so the low latency passthrough, VRR, and HDR support. All of which makes it so I don't have to sacrifice my own gaming experience to record it for others.

Corsair owned brand Elgato is one of the biggest names in niche streaming gear. At the moment Elgato is probably best known for weirdly specific streamer gear like this green screen mousepad, and acoustic foam panels. But Elgato also makes tonnes of gear that has wider appeal, like the Elgato Facecam Webcam, amazing streaming mics, and great capture cards.

Capture cards are devices that allow you to plug a source into your PC to capture the footage. They're most commonly used for streaming and recording console footage, but can have other uses too. For the longest time, Elgato was one of the only reliable brands out there in the capture card market, and it's just dropped the newest one to the line up. 

The HD60 X is the new external capture card that follows on from the popular, and our most recommended HD60 S+ line. This upgraded version boasts high quality live streaming in 1080p 60 FPS to services like Twitch or YouTube. While doing this it can also record the footage in HDR10 to your computer's hard drive. This gives you the best quality Twitch streams while still recording that sweet HDR footage for more visually intense video projects.

When playing the games, you should be able to enjoy full 4K through the new passthrough technology. It also supports Variable Refresh Rate passthrough and high frame rates on compatible displays. This promises a low latency experience while playing games through the unit on your PC. This can be one of the hardest things about using a capture card without having extra kit, so it's a promising look for the new device.

The HD60 X also comes with 4k Capture Utility software. This lets users aggregate all the sounds and recordings they want from their PC, including things like game chat, discord, background music, and potentially even closed off cutscenes and capture them in 1080p60 HDR10 or 4K30 quality complete with 48kHz audio. The HD60 X can also output its feed to streaming software like OBS, which is pretty necessary for most streamers today.

The ports look tidy all held at the back, and all in all this looks like a great upgrade for folks using external capture cards. It's available to buy now in most places for $199.99 USD, which is the same price the previous HD60 S+ is currently going for making it feel like a fair upgrade price wise as well. Though if you're looking for something a bit more fancy, the Elgato 4K60 S+ is still one of the fanciest cards around that doesn't even need a PC to work.

Razer has announced two new products directed at content creators to make streaming and recording yourself a bit easier and cheaper. The Razer Kiyo X and Ripsaw X are quick, low-effort devices that could step up your streaming game without costing a small fortune, and they're direct competition for the big name in game streaming gear.

The Ripsaw X is basically Razer's version of Elgato's Cam Link 4K. It's a plug-and-play capture card that outputs 4K at 30 fps through HDMI 2.0 and USB 3.0 connections. The beauty of these particular capture cards is that they are perfect for turning DSLRs or, frankly, any high-def camera like a GoPro (as long as it outputs to HDMI) into low latency, high-definition webcams. Of course, if you're happy with how your webcam looks and just need a decent capture card, the original Ripsaw is one of the best capture cards out there with 4K passthrough, which is nice for streamers who want to play games in 4K while having your stream output to 1080p without much tweaking. 

The Kiyo X is a lower-cost webcam capable of streaming and recording at 720p, at either 30 or 60 fps. Its round cookie shape design takes cues from its fancier cousin, the Kiyo Pro, the best webcam for low-light environments, but comes in at less than half of the cost. It might be a good option if higher-end cameras are out of your price range. 

The Razer Kiyo X retails for $80, and the Ripsaw X is going for $140. Both products are available now. Razer also announced that their Virtual Ring Light Software (which turns your PC monitor into a face-brightening light source) will be available sometime in October. It's a good idea if your face always ends up dark and grainy on livestreams. 

Razer getting into the entry-level streaming category is a smart move as more and more folks want to try their hand at streaming but can't get past the cost associated with particular gear. And they seem like they'll be giving Elgato some competition, which hopefully means better prices and better tech for everyone.

In the world of streaming webcams, 1080p 60fps are pretty much a dime a dozen, so it can be tricky to know what to spend your money on. We've seen unique options like the Logitech Stream Cam ($179.99) that features a software set tailored specifically for content creators at a premium cost. The Razer Kiyo Pro ($199.99) is another versatile webcam despite some issues. But the AverMedia PW315 looks to find a middle ground by providing 1080p 60fps footage for only $120.  

The PW315 also finds itself in an interesting position among AverMedia's catalog of webcams. While it's not the cheapest 1080p webcam they offer, it is the only one that will record at 60fps.

The compact cylindrical shape doesn't take up much space above your monitor and rotates 360 degrees if you need some versatility in your shot. There's even a physical privacy slider that'll keep Big Brother from seeing what you're up to in your off-hours. 

The AverMedia PW315 default settings work well in low light and overexposed settings, particularly my work area in my apartment that's blasted by sunlight during the day. As much as I love the natural light, it doesn't make for the most flattering video. The PW315 does a better job than the Razer Kiyo (default settings) at handling too much light. One workaround is having some lights available; for webcam reviews, I use an Elgato Ring Light during calls and recording that greatly offsets my poor condo lighting.

Below we also see how the PW315 handles a low-to-nonexistent lighting environment like my dad's home office studio, where the only source of light is a tall desk lamp acting as a faux key light. As awful as that lighting is, it is probably closer to how most peoples' working from home setups look, where people don't have access to professional lighting. In low-light scenarios, the Razer Kiyo Pro is tough to beat, but the PW315 does an admirable job for a lot less. 

The overall picture quality, on the other hand, was a little disappointing. Even though I was a fan of how the webcam handled the lighting in all my test shots, the picture itself was surprisingly more grainy than I expected, especially from a $120 webcam. Now, if you're doing a stream or something where the shot is a picture-in-picture, it's less evident—it's only when you use the webcam as the main scene that you'll truly see it. So not ideal if your content requires a lot of close-ups, like a vlog-style recording or make-up tutorial where the main draw is your face. 

On the software side, CamEngine handles most of the PW315 functions. I'd recommend getting in there and messing with the gain and backlight settings to improve the picture quality, as it can be quite impactful. There's even a way to add face smoothing and dopey Snapchat-esque character filters to your videos. It even incorporates all the greenscreen functions of RTX broadcast in one place that's easy to use. I don't really foresee most folks messing with the filters after the novelty of looking like a grumpy cat knockoff or a vampire wears off, but it's still fun, and the RTX stuff is generally beneficial. 

The PW315 continues the trend of webcams having pretty mediocre microphones that work fine in a pinch, but I wouldn't recommend using it for your day-to-day unless you truly have to. It's too tinny and picks up anything capable of producing a sound, like my PC and air conditioner. 

If you're looking for a solid (and affordable) 60fps performing webcam that can also does 1080p, the AverMedia PW315 might do the trick if you are willing to put up some grainy footage. If you're dead set on having the best picture quality, though, spend the extra money on something like the Razer Kiyo Pro or Logitech Stream Cam. Or use the savings and get yourself a nice set of lights.

AVerMedia might not be a household name yet when it comes to capture cards and streaming devices, but that doesn’t mean the company isn’t turning heads. Its capture cards in particular always seem to come with an interesting innovation—and the AVerMedia Live Gamer Duo doesn't buck the trend.

Previously we’ve seen the Thunderbolt-only Live Gamer Bolt, and the 4K HDR streaming lineup, in the Live Gamer Ultra and Live Gamer 4K. However, one of the newer entries to the market is the Live Gamer Duo, an internal card that fits into a PCIe slot on your motherboard and can handle two HDMI inputs at once—a very useful tool for streamers and content creators.

The Live Gamer Duo retails for $250 USD but it’s important to remember that it’s more akin to buying two capture cards than one. AVerMedia sent us one to review, and while it doesn’t do 4K HDR streaming like some of its bigger brothers, it does everything advertised—and more importantly it does it well.

Set up is very easy for anyone even slightly familiar with opening their PC. Most people will have unused PCIe slots in their motherboard but it’s still important to check before making the purchase. The Live Gamer Duo slotted in easily and sits discreetly under my graphics card with all ports lining up at the back of my PC. It’s small compared to everything else in my case with a footprint of 140 x 125 x 22mm. I don’t even notice it while looking inside, though by default it glows with colour-shifting RGB lights, thankfully these can be turned off.

The software setup was also fairly effortless. After downloading the drivers as well as the AVerMedia RECentral 4 software, all my PC needed was a restart and everything was working as expected. I’ve wrestled with capture cards not always picking up sources before but was very happy to lower my guard. 

Even since the initial install I’ve only experienced problems when having two different programs trying to use the card at once. When the RECentral 4 software is running, while something like Xsplit or OBS are also getting signals from the card, the audio will feedback on itself in your recording or stream. It doesn’t seem to matter whether I’ve got PC audio turned on or any other settings. So you’re limited to only using one software at any time, which is actually very fair. 

I probably wouldn’t even have come across the issue if I wasn’t using the RECentral 4 software as a screen to play games on rather than using passthrough. This is actually a testament to the latency because it was good enough that I didn’t really notice.

RECentral 4 software can have problems when left open but not in use for long periods of time. The audio and visual information become distorted but are immediately fine again when restarting the program. It’s never happened while the software has been in active use or during streaming so has never felt like a problem that inhibited performance. 

And while the software isn’t bad, it’s fairly limited and isn’t really anything special. Most users will probably prefer to stick with something they're used to, such as OBS or Xsplit, which worked seamlessly with the card. 

That’s what impresses me about the Live Gamer Duo the most. It does everything it advertises with relatively low effort. The full HD recording and high-enough-frame rate streaming just works and is immediately recognisable by third party software. 

Video processing, such as downscaling or frame rate conversion, is all done on the card itself, and I believe it. My PC is unbothered while the card is operating, though it still takes the usual hit from my streaming software. Meanwhile, the 4K passthrough has remained unhindered entirely by the process, though it would be nice to have passthrough options for both inputs rather than solely HDMI1.

I even plugged my old DSLR camera into the Live Gamer Duo via a HDMI mini to standard cable and that works brilliantly too. The image passed through is exactly what my camera sees without any other software or fiddling about. This means streamers and content creators wanting to use a better quality camera while streaming games through a capture card may only need the one device that plugs directly into a single PCIe slot. It really does feel like a device that streamlines the whole process.

Of course, it’s not without sacrifice. If you want to be able to record in 4K or higher than 60 fps this quite simply isn’t the device. What you get with AVerMedia’s Live Gamer Duo is a single one-time set-up unit that’s largely plug and play. It has especially made streaming easier by having a setup that simply works, and one which I can mostly leave in place. For anyone looking to include multiple sources for minimal hassle, AVerMedia’s Live Gamer Duo is a really smart choice that lives up to all its promises.

Update: It's official—AVerMedia today launched the Live Gamer Duo, an internal PCIe capture card with two HDMI inputs, priced at $250. In a follow-up tweet, AVerMedia said its initial stock sold out just two hours after launch. Impressive, seemingly, though we don't know how many units were made available.

"The Live Gamer Duo (LGD) is a dual HDMI capture card that enables you to passthrough and play in 4K HDR while simultaneously recording your video from two separate feeds in uncompressed Full HD. It’s not limited to 4K HDR as you can also pass-through high refresh rates of up to 240Hz in Full HD."

AVerMedia is selling the Live Gamer Duo directly on its website, and says it is working with Amazon to get it listed there "ASAP" as well.

This is an intriguing entry in the capture card space, but how does it fare? Stay tuned—we're shooting to have a review posted by the end of the week, or next week by the latest.

Original story:

AVerMedia is getting ready to announce another internal PCIe capture card, and it is strongly suggested (though not outright confirmed) it will sport two inputs instead of one.

The company posted a short teaser clip on Twitter that offers shadowy glimpses of the card installed in a PC. However, AVerMedia is careful to avoid showing the port selection—I've gone through it frame-by-frame and there is nary one to be found that depicts the ports.

Here's the teaser anyway:

In response to someone asking, "Affordable double HDMI in?", AVerMedia liked the tweet and responded, "You'll see, soon!" 

AVerMedia also responded to a tweet pointing out how the company managed to "cheekily hide the ports."

"Oh, you noticed?!" AVerMedia said.

The last bit of evidence is found by following a link in the teaser to sign up for updates on the new card: "It's time to/two level up. Haven't we said before that two is better than one?"

There's little else this could be, other than a capture card with two inputs. They will mostly likely both be HDMI inputs, though it is conceivable one could be HDMI and the other a DisplayPort input. I'm betting on the former.

What's the point of having two inputs? There are a couple of scenarios. One is to feed a game stream into one of the ports and a webcam stream through the other. You could also leverage a dual input capture card for multiple gaming systems, like a PC and console.

AVerMedia's timing is likely strategic, with Sony and Microsoft getting ready to release next-gen consoles (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, respectively). For gamers who play and stream on both PC and console, it would be convenient to plug them into their own inputs, rather than switching back and forth.

In any event, all we know for sure is that this will be a PCIe card, and that it is coming "soon."

After being teased just ahead of CES earlier this year, AVerMedia today launched its Live Gamer Bolt capture card. It's essentially an external version of its internal Live Gamer 4K capture card, with the same capabilities in a portable form factor.

That sounds enticing, until you scroll through the specifications and see that it requires a Thunderbolt 3 port. Not all modern PCs have one. You could always buy a Thunderbolt 3 add-in card, but if you're going to occupy a PCIe slot anyway, the internal Live Gamer 4K is a cheaper option.

Therein lies the other catch—the Live Gamer Bolt costs $449.99, plus the cost of a Thunderbolt 3 card, if that's something you need. In contrast, the internal Live Gamer 4K runs $229.99 on Best Buy, while Elgato's 4K60 Pro (one of the best capture cards for PC gaming) costs $329 on Amazon.

Cost and compatibility aside, the Bolt is an interesting product. It's the only external capture card to support recording both 4K HDR at 60fps and 1080p at a blazing-fast 240fps. It can also capture 1440p gaming at 144fps.

AVerMedia also claims an ultra-low latency pass-through with this external capture card.

"The Bolt holds fast to AVerMedia’s worldwide acclaimed ultra-low latency with a preview latency of less than 50ms. Due to Intel's powerful and robust Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, the Bolt can deliver uncompressed video capture without compromise," AVerMedia says.

In a addition to a Thunderbolt 3 port, the Bolt requires some substantial system specs: for a laptop, a Core i7 7700HQ or higher processor, a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU, and 8GB of RAM. For a desktop, at least a Core i5 6000 series CPU, a GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT graphics card, and 8GB of RAM. Windows 10 is also required.

We have not tested the Bolt ourselves, but if you need 4K capture in a more portable format than a PCIe card, it's available to purchase now.

It’s fall, which means there are tons of video games coming out, and that if you’re planning to stream them, you might also be thinking about picking up one of the best capture cards for PC. A capture card is one of the first, least risky investments you can make to step up your Twitch and/or YouTube game: It lets you record or stream consoles through your PC, bypassing restrictions imposed by those tools, and allowing you to customize your frame-up in OBS or XSplit. If you’re already pretty serious, it also allows you to set up dual-PC streaming, which helps your broadcasts run smooth.

The best capture card for you, specifically, will depend on what kind of content you plan to make. Are you streaming or recording footage to edit later? Some recorders are better for one or the other. Video resolution, particularly for streaming, varies from card-to-card. We recommend most people look for 720-1080p—there are also good 4K capture cards, but they’re expensive and most people aren’t streaming a ton of 4K video. Most capture cards also come with some kind of software: While most streamers use some form of OBS or XSplit, video work is nothing if not unpredictable so it doesn’t hurt to have a good software as a backup.

In general, our selections cover a few different scenarios, but we leaned toward recommending as many good all-around options as possible. You never know what kind of content you’re going to want to make in the future, so these cards will hopefully prepare you for anything.

This is the perfect card for anyone wanting to get their gameplay online with as little hassle as possible. Elgato are experts in their field, and the HD60 S proves it; reasonably priced and simple to use, it’s probably the best place to start if you’re new to streaming. Crisp 1080p recordings at 60fps are a feather in its cap, while USB 3.0 connectivity is a happy bonus. Built-in software to get you up and running seal the deal. In fact, the only downside would be the card’s fairly limited editing suite—it’s not much good for anything beyond trimming video. However, it does have ‘Flashback Recording’ to help you retroactively capture even if you forgot to hit ‘record’.

Straightforward and reassuringly unsubtle, the Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus packs smooth 60fps and 1080p recording, 4K pass-through so you can still play in ultra HD (even if it’s not captured in 4K), USB 3.0, Mac compatibility, and dirty great flashing lights to tell you if you’re capturing or have left HDCP on. Besides an attractive form-factor with black casing, red trim, and neon-blue strip lighting, it packs intuitive software for live editing and the ability to record straight onto a Micro SD card if you’d prefer to keep your HDD clear of space-absorbing video. This is a capture card with flexibility, particularly if you record on the go. It works straight out of the box too—always a plus.

If you want to take your recordings to the next level, Elgato’s internal HD60 Pro card is a good shout. Indeed, their website claims that this card features “an advanced, onboard H.264 encoder that enables you to record unlimited footage in superb 1080p [60fps] quality, at a bitrate up to 60Mbps.” Not too shabby. Although it only streams in 720p, it still manages a solid 60fps. Petite, classy form-factor are in the HD60 Pro’s favor as well.

Admittedly, the one downside to the Razer Ripsaw HD is that it's not the Elgato HD60 Pro. It doesn't have its own proprietary software, so you're forced to use OBS or subscribe to XSplit. On the other hand, many people prefer those wares to Elgato's own, and most of us use those third party applications on our own volition. And because it doesn't have its own software, the Ripsaw HD also supports built-in, easy to use audio mixing with the help of its hardwired, "hassle free" mic and headphone jacks. For the price, it also has the best picture quality. 

Although it's still limited to 1080p streaming and capture, the Ripsaw HD lets you experience your favorite games—while streaming or capturing—at 4K 60fps. This ought to appeal to PC gamers who want to share their gameplay online, but don't want to miss out on the top-notch visual fidelity ushered in by their expensive and powerful graphics cards. 

For pro-users who will settle at nothing but the best, Elgato’s 4K60 Pro is your jam. It builds on the HD60 Pro’s ultra-low latency with 4K 60fps capture, 1080p 60fps streaming, and all the benefits of Elgato software. Even though it needs a high-end PC to get off the ground, this is an excellent piece of kit for those who are set on capturing gameplay at the highest resolution and frame rate possible. 

We’d recommend an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20-series and at least an 8th gen Intel Core i7 CPU (or better) to avoid any latency. Although it’s wise to make sure you’ve got enough space on your HDD for all those videos as well, the 4K60 Pro has an encoder to reduce file size and save you much-needed memory real-estate. Oh, and one more thing: the best way to play while using this card is with a lag-free HDMI passthrough that shoots the feed to a 4K screen or second monitor.

Elgato appears to have beaten AverMedia to market with an external capture device capable of recording 4K resolution gaming at 60 frames per second, along with HDR support. AverMedia teased just such a device ahead of CES, but Elgato has gone and launched one. Well, sort of.

Announced at CES, Elgato's new 4K60 S+ is available to order for $399.99 direct from Elgato or on Amazon, but it really amounts to a preorder. Amazon is quoting a ship time of 1-2 months, and Elgato's checkout page indicates it will go out in 3-4 weeks. In other words, Elgato has left the door ajar for AverMedia to step in and ship a similar capture solution first.

Either way, the 4K60 S+ is coming. Up to this point, recording 4K gameplay at 60 fps required an internal capture card, and of a course a PC to go along with it. There are external solutions capable of recording 4K gameplay, but as far as I'm aware, they all top out at 30 fps.

The 4K60 S+ is also unique in that it does not require a PC. Users can record 4K HDR content at 60 fps directly to an optional SD card. Elgato says onboard HEVC encoding keeps the file sizes manageable, while the pass-through offers zero lag.

While a PC is not required, it can still be used and offers certain advantages.

"When connected to a PC, 4K60 S+ records unlimited footage directly to a hard drive and takes advantage of versatile Elgato software features such as Flashback Recording to easily save gameplay retroactively and Live Commentary to record microphone audio as a separate track," Elgato says.

By "unlimited footage," Elgato is really saying it will continue recording so long as you still have storage space on your HDD or SSD. Still, there is the potential to record a lot more gameplay compared to a lower capacity SD card. Elgato also says the 4K60 S+ is compatible with popular broadcasting software, including OBS Studio.

When using a PC, Elgato says you will need a 6th generation Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 7 processor, 8GB of RAM, GeForce GTX 10-series GPU or better, and a USB 3.0 port.

The annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas kicks off next month, and that means a whole bunch of product announcements are right around the corner. Presumably, one of them will be a new external capture device with support for recording 4K HDR streams at 60 frames per second.

AverMedia teased the pending announcement on Twitter. The company didn't specifically say that the unveiling will take place at CES, only that it's slated for 2020. However, we'd be surprised if the annual event came and went without a formal announcement.

In the meantime, we have this Twitter post to whet our appetite:

AverMedia is one of the bigger players in the streaming hardware space, with its Live Gamer Portable 2 Plus being one of the best capture cards for PC gaming. It has a 4K pass-through, but limits recordings to 1080p at 60fps.

While we have to wait a few weeks for more details, it seems AverMedia is readying what would essentially be an upgraded version of its Live Gamer Ultra, introduced last year. The Live Gamer Ultra also boasts support for recording 4K HDR streams, but tops out at 30 fps in that mode. Or you can opt for higher playable framerates, up to 240 fps at 1080p (recorded at 120 fps, or 60fps HDR).

It will be interesting to see how the entire feature-set of the upcoming external capture card compares, both to AverMedia's existing product stack and what Elgato (owned by Corsair) offers. 

It will require a moderately powerful PC. For reference, AverMedia recommends a desktop with at least a Core i5-6xxx processor and GeForce GTX 1060 GPU for the Live Gamer Ultra, or if plugging into a laptop, a Core i7-7700HQ and GeForce GTX 1050 Ti. And for connecting it to the your desktop or laptop, you need a USB 3.1 Gen1 (5Gbps) cable. That might get bumped up to a Gen2 (10Gbps) on the upcoming card, but we'll have to wait and see.

The best capture card for PC gaming in 4K is Elgato's 4K60 Pro, or at least it was until today. At Gamescom, Elgato announced a newer model, the 4K60 Pro MK.2, which retains the same features as it predecessors while adding HDR10 support. It's also cheaper to boot.

Elgato's asking price is $249.99. Assuming it works the same (but with added functionality), it's a far better value, compared to the $399.99 MSRP of the now-old model. It's also cheaper than AVerMedia's competing Live Gamer 4K, another 4K HDR capture card, which currently sells for $290.99 on Amazon.

"4K HDR10 capture at 60fps lets you play high-fidelity games while simultaneously streaming to Twitch in 1080p at 60fps and recording 4K60 HDR10 footage to your hard drive. Instant Gameview technology lets you monitor your capture feed with ultra-low latency, perfectly syncing your broadcast with your gameplay," Elgato explains.

You might not be interested in capturing HDR content, but if that's the case, you can still play games in HDR while capturing in SDR. That's not possible on the previous model—it lacks an HDR passthrough.

It's also a physically smaller card—Corsair says it's less than half the size of the first-gen 4K60 Pro. That might not matter much with a regular size ATX case, but could come into play if you're cramming one of these inside a compact build.

Other features are pretty much the same, including the ability to capture 1080p gameplay at up to 240Hz. Likewise, users can install more than one of these cards inside a PC to capture video from multiple devices. It's a feature that will apply to a smaller subset of users, but where it applies, the cheaper price tag makes this a more viable option.

The 4K60 Pro MK.2 is available now. 

Razer is expanding its lineup of broadcasting peripherals with the Ripsaw HD, an external multi-platform capture card that records video in Full HD 1080p at 60 frames per second.

That's the same as Elgato's Game Capture HD60 S, which for newcomers is the best capture card for PC gaming. However, Razer's new card has a couple of advantages—a lower price and a 4K 60fps passthrough.

The 4K passthrough means you can play games at 4K, if your hardware is up to snuff, while sharing 1080p gameplay with your audience. That is one of the main selling points.

"With the Ripsaw HD joining our extensive broadcaster range, streamers now have a capture card ready to broadcast the latest games at high resolution and framerates from both their PC or console," says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder and CEO. "Viewers will love the Full HD streams, while broadcasters can enjoy their games as they were intended with the 4K pass-through."

Note that the 4K passthrough only allows you to play at 4K, and not actually record at the resolution. Here's a rundown of the pertinent specs:

• Max capture resolution: Uncompressed 1080p 60fps
• Interface: USB 3.0 only
• Video input: Digital – HDMI 2.0
• Audio input: Digital – HDMI
• Audio mix-in input: 3.5 mm mic-in / 3.5 mm aux-in
• Video output: HDMI 2.0
• Maximum supported passthrough resolutions: 2160p60
• Other supported resolutions: 2160p, 1080p, 1440p, 720p, 480p
• Includes: USB3.0 Type C to Type A cable, HDMI 2.0 Cable, 3.5 mm Audio Cable

The Ripsaw HD also features built-in audio mixing. Users can pipe their microphone audio through the card with "zero latency and no syncing delays," Razer claims. One potential benefit is being able to use a single mic across multiple PCs, rather than fuss with an audio mixer to manage in-game communications and broadcast audio.

We haven't tested this card yet, though on the surface, it looks like a compelling option. It's priced at $159.99 (€169.99) and will be available starting April 11. That's around $10 cheaper than the list price for Elgato's HD60 S, though it's currently on sale for $149 at Amazon. Assuming it works as advertised, though, a $10 difference for some will be well worth having a 4K passthrough and audio features.

Whether you want to stream console games on Twitch, or record footage from another computer, capture cards are the way to go. Most popular options go for $150 or more, but right now you can get AverMedia's 'Live Gamer HD 2' capture card for just $99.99—a reduction of $70 from the previous price.

This model can record 1080p video at 60FPS over HDMI, and no drivers are required for Windows 8.1/10. It's compatible with XSplit, OBS, and other popular streaming/recording software. The only real downside is that it's a PCIe card, not an external USB device, so you'll need an extra card slot on your motherboard.

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Corsair knows the ins and outs of the gaming peripheral market, and Elgato is a major player in the streaming hardware and software sector. What happens when the two outfits join forces? We're about to find out—Corsair today announced it is acquiring Elgato's gaming division.

There isn't much info to be gleaned from the announcement, such as the purchase price and whether or not some of Elgato's engineers will transfer over to Corsair. The only concrete detail is that Elgato's connected home business, Elgato Eve, will continue to be its own separate entity under the name Eve Systems.

We've reached out to Corsair for more information. In the meantime, this looks like a solid buy, at least on the surface. Elgato offers a full range of streaming hardware and accessories, including various internal and external capture cards and a collapsible green screen, that will tie in nicely with Corsair's focus on gaming.

It's because of companies like Elgato that game streaming is not the exclusive domain of professionals and power users with deep pockets. Elgato's HD60 Pro capture card, for example, sells for $178.99 on Amazon. 

We wouldn't be surprised if Corsair started selling its own brand of capture cards at some point in the near future. For now, Corsair has added an "Elgato Gaming" selection to its products tab. Clicking on it takes you to Elgato's external website.

AVerMedia today announced a couple of new capture cards that it claims are the first to enable 4K HDR game streaming, though that's not the only standout feature. One of the cards is an external capture box that is said to play nice with laptops.

That would be the Live Gamer Ultra, which features full 4K HDR passthrough and onboard video processing. It doesn't require any special drivers—just plug it in, install the software, and capture your HDR gameplay. It supports recording 4K HDR streams at 30 frames per second, and 60 frames per second at 1440p and 1080p. If you disable HDR, it can record 1080p gameplay at 120 fps.

AVerMedia also claims users will not have to contend with lag.

"Don’t give up 4K HDR content just to be able to record your gameplay. With 100 percent lag-free, 4Kp60 HDR video pass-through, the LGU allows you to enjoy the mesmerizing 4K HDR gameplay and record at 4Kp30," AVerMedia says.

The Live Gamer Ultra connects to laptops and desktops via USB 3.1 Type-C, and to monitors via HDMI 2.0. It also has an HDMI 2.0 input for connecting PCs and consoles in place of USB 3.1.

AVerMedia also announced the Live Gamer 4K, a PCIe-based capture card with slightly more robust capabilities. It's the company's flagship game streaming card and ups the ante by recording 4K HDR gameplay at up to 60 fps, and regular 1080p at 240 fps. And of course it has RGB lighting, because nearly everything does these days (except the Live Gamer Ultra).

These are both reasonably priced capture cards, considering their capabilities—the external Live Gamer Ultra's MSRP is set at $249.99, and the internal Live Gamer 4K's MSRP is $299.99.

Magewell already offers a capture card that is capable of grabbing 4K resolution footage at 60 frames per second over an HDMI 2.0 input interface. However, its new Pro Capture HDMI 4K Plus LT ups the ante with a loop-through HDMI connection to allow source signals to be sent simultaneously to additional displays or equipment without needing an external HDMI splitter.

"The new loop-through capabilities deliver these benefits for any type of user but will be particularly popular with price-sensitive gamers, who can now record and livestream their 4K gaming sessions at 60 fps from the HDMI output of their game console without requiring a splitter to also connect their monitor," Magewell says.

Those "price-sensitive gamers" will have to be willing to throw down $899 for the privilege. That's an expensive proposition, though not any higher than the non-LT model without loop-through capabilities. So on the bright side, Magewell isn't attaching a premium to the added functionality.

This is a PCIe x4 card. Both video and audio can be sent to multiple software applications at the same time, with independent control of the resolution, frame rate, and video processing settings. It works with Windows, Linux, and Mac.

Magewell's card is a tough sell next to Elgato's recently announced 4K60Pro capture card, a more specialized solution for gamers that is considerably cheaper at $400, which also includes video pass-through.

Capturing 4K gameplay at 60 frames per second just got a little more affordable. That's because Elgato is now taking preorders for its $400 (£360) 4K60 Pro capture card that it announced at Gamescom this past summer.

While not cheap in its own right, it beats paying $900 for a Magewell Pro capture card or $1,000 for Avermedia's 4K Frame Grabber. Elgato's solution is less than half of the price.

Those cards aren't necessarily aimed at gamers, whereas Elgato's 4K Capture is designed to grab gaming footage from PCs, Xbox One X consoles, and PlayStation 4 systems, and any other unencrypted HDMI device.

"4K content is here to stay and demand is booming. Content creators shouldn't be limited by the constraints of their capture hardware," said Julian Fest, General Manager of Elgato Gaming. "Game Capture 4K60 Pro gives creators the tools they need to stay ahead of the curve and give their audiences nothing less than the best."

The new card plugs into a PCIe x4/x8/16 slot and has a maximum bitrate of 140 Mbps. In addition to capturing 4K content at 60 fps, it also supports high framerate passthrough for lower resolutions, including 1080p at up to 240 fps and 1440p at 144 fps.

Elgato's card is compatible with Windows 10. On the hardware side, system requirements call for a 6th generation Intel Core i7 or AMD Ryzen 7 processor, and an Nvidia GeForce 10 series or 'AMD Radeon RX Vega graphics card.

The card is available to preorder now from Amazon, GameStop, and direct from Elgato. It releases on November 21.