Best Capture Cards for Streaming and Recording: 5 Picks

A capture card takes the HDMI signal from a console, or from a second PC, and turns it into video your streaming software can use. You plug the console into the card, the card into your PC over USB, and your TV or monitor into the card’s passthrough output, so you play with no delay while OBS records or streams a copy.

The most important thing to get right is the gap between passthrough (what you can play at) and capture (what gets recorded). This guide compares five USB capture cards and explains which suits a console stream, a high refresh rate setup or a tight budget.

As an Amazon Associate, Gamesness earns from qualifying purchases. We have not bench-tested these capture cards ourselves. The picks are based on the manufacturers’ published specifications, and each link goes to the Amazon listing we checked for that model.

Capture cards compared

Specifications are from Elgato’s and AVerMedia’s product and support pages. Figures can be lower in some software, and the fastest modes on the 10Gbps cards need a 10Gbps USB port.

The picks

Elgato 4K S: best overall

The 4K S records up to 4K60 over a standard 5Gbps USB-C 3.0 connection, and passes through up to 4K60 or 1440p144 with HDR and variable refresh rate. That covers what a PS5 or Xbox Series X outputs in almost every game, at a lower price than Elgato’s HDMI 2.1 card. HDR capture is limited to 1080p60, which is what most streams use anyway.

It also has a 3.5mm analog audio input for bringing in a separate audio source.

Elgato Game Capture Neo: best budget pick

If you stream at 1080p, which is still what most Twitch and YouTube streams go out at, the Neo records 1080p60 and passes through up to 4K60 with HDR to your TV. It’s small and connects over USB-C. Elgato notes it has no variable refresh rate passthrough and doesn’t support ultrawide resolutions.

AVerMedia Live Gamer Mini (GC311): cheapest and simplest

The Live Gamer Mini records and passes through at 1080p60 over USB 2.0, with hardware H.264 encoding. It’s a good fit for a Nintendo Switch, which outputs 1080p, or for a first streaming setup. The trade-off is that your TV is also limited to 1080p60 while it’s plugged in, so it isn’t suited to playing PS5 or Xbox games at 4K or 120Hz.

Elgato 4K X: best for high refresh rate play

The 4K X has HDMI 2.1 in and out, passing through up to 4K144 or 1440p240 and capturing up to 4K144 in SDR. Pick it if you play at 4K120 on a PS5 or Xbox Series X with a 120Hz TV, or capture a gaming PC in a two-PC setup at high frame rates. HDR capture tops out at 4K30, and Elgato says that on a 5Gbps USB port, uncompressed capture drops to 4K30.

AVerMedia Live Gamer Ultra 2.1 (GC553G2): HDMI 2.1 alternative

AVerMedia’s HDMI 2.1 card passes through up to 4K144, 1440p240 and 1080p360 with HDR and VRR, and its current datasheet lists capture up to 4K144 on Windows with AVerMedia’s RECentral software (4K60 on macOS). It also has 4-pole 3.5mm jacks for headset and party chat audio, which makes it easier to capture console voice chat.

How to choose a capture card

Match passthrough to how you play

Passthrough decides what your TV or monitor shows while you play. If you play PS5 or Xbox at 4K120, or a PC at 1440p240, you need a card that passes that through, which means HDMI 2.1 (the 4K X or Live Gamer Ultra 2.1). If you play at 4K60, as most console games run, an HDMI 2.0 card like the 4K S is enough.

Match capture to how you stream

Capture decides what OBS gets. Most live streams go out at 1080p or lower, so 1080p60 capture is plenty for streaming. Higher capture resolutions matter more for recording YouTube videos in 4K.

Check your USB port

• 5Gbps (USB 3.0 / 3.2 Gen 1): fine for the 4K S and Neo.
• 10Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 2): needed for the full capture modes on the 4K X and Live Gamer Ultra 2.1. Check your motherboard or laptop specs; the port is often labelled “10Gbps” or “SS10”.
• USB 2.0: only enough for 1080p cards like the Live Gamer Mini.

Plug the card straight into a port on the PC, not into a hub or a monitor’s USB ports.

Turn off HDCP on PS5

The PS5 protects its HDMI signal with HDCP by default, and capture cards show a black screen with a protected signal. Turn it off in Settings > System > HDMI. Video streaming apps on consoles stay protected, so they won’t capture either way.

Setting up a capture card

1. Connect the console’s HDMI cable to the card’s HDMI In port.
2. Connect your TV or monitor to the card’s HDMI Out (passthrough) port.
3. Connect the card to your PC with the included USB cable.
4. In OBS, add a Video Capture Device source and select the card. Add an Audio Input Capture or turn on audio monitoring for the card if you don’t hear game sound.
5. Set the resolution and frame rate in the source’s properties to match what you want to capture.

For the rest of the setup (microphone, webcam, lighting and OBS settings), see our beginner streaming setup guide, and for the camera itself, our best webcams for streaming.