A capture card takes the video and audio from a console or a gaming PC over HDMI and sends it to a computer you use to record or stream. This guide explains how to read capture card specifications, using manufacturer pages read in November 2026, and compares five models from Elgato and AVerMedia as examples of how the numbers differ. It does not rank them. For the full gear picture, see our streaming setup guide. The images on this page are illustrations, not product photos and not Gimaxo tests.

An earlier version of this page called several models “the best” and made claims about latency, encoding and cloud capture. We removed those: they had no source we could check, and the models were not identified precisely enough to compare.

How a capture card is connected

The usual chain is the game device into the card’s HDMI input, then the card’s HDMI output (the passthrough) to your monitor, and a second link from the card to the computer that records. AVerMedia’s and Elgato’s pages describe cards that work this way. The second link is either a USB-C port on an external card or a PCIe slot on an internal one. The PC then does the recording, so its processor, graphics card and the card’s connection all matter.

Passthrough and capture are different numbers

The most important thing to check is that the card lists two separate sets of figures. Passthrough is what the card sends on to your screen. Capture, or record, is what it sends to the computer. They are often not the same. For example:

• Elgato’s legacy HD60 S+ takes input up to 2160p60 (4K) HDR10 but captures up to 2160p30 and 1080p60.
• AVerMedia’s Live Gamer Ultra (GC553) lists a passthrough of up to 2160p60 HDR, but a capture of up to 2160p30, 1440p60 and 1080p120, with 1080p60 in HDR.
• Elgato’s 4K Pro is described as “8K60 Passthrough, 4K60 Capture”.

Variable refresh rate (VRR) and HDR add further conditions. AVerMedia lists a separate, lower VRR passthrough and VRR record maximum for the GC553, and Elgato’s tables note that “HDR cannot be captured at all resolution and frame rate combinations”. Read the footnotes next to any HDR or 4K figure.

Five models, as the makers describe them

Model	Connection	Passthrough (maker’s figure)	Capture (maker’s figure)	Notes
Elgato Game Capture 4K Pro	PCIe 2.0 x4 (internal)	up to 8K60, HDMI 2.1	4K60, HDR	Windows only; Windows 10 64-bit, CPU 8th-gen Core i5 or Ryzen 5 3600 or better, GTX 10xx or better
Elgato Game Capture 4K X	USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (external), HDMI 2.1	up to 4K at 60, 120 and 144	4K at 30 (listed with HDR), 60, 120 and 144 (listed without HDR) in the comparison table; the spec sheet says “recording & passthrough resolution up to 4K144”	Elgato says Gen 1 USB works “with reduced capture resolution”; its marketing text mentions native 4K144 monitors with an asterisk we could not resolve; HDR capture currently Windows only; Windows, Mac, iPad
Elgato Game Capture HD60 S+	USB 3.0 Type-C, HDMI 2.0	input up to 2160p60 HDR10	2160p30, 1080p60	Elgato lists it as legacy (end-of-life)
AVerMedia Live Gamer 4K (GC573)	PCIe Gen 2 x4 (internal), HDMI 2.0	2160p60 HDR, 1440p144, 1080p240	2160p60 HDR (asterisked), 1440p144, 1080p240	Windows 10 x64 or later; HDCP-protected signals not supported
AVerMedia Live Gamer Ultra (GC553)	USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C (external), HDMI 2.0	2160p60 HDR, 1440p144, 1080p240	2160p30, 1440p60, 1080p120, 1080p60 HDR	Windows 10 x64 or later; HDCP-protected signals not supported

Sources: Elgato product pages for the 4K Pro and 4K X, Elgato’s help article on the HD60 S+ specifications, and AVerMedia’s product pages for the GC573 and GC553. These are manufacturer statements, not our measurements. AVerMedia also lists a newer HDMI 2.1 model, the Live Gamer Ultra 2.1 (GC553G2), which we did not compare. Elgato labels the HD60 S+ a legacy (end-of-life) product in its help center, so check availability and support before you rely on one.

Internal and external cards

Internal cards use a PCIe slot, so they need a desktop PC with a free slot of the right size: the 4K Pro and the GC573 both list PCIe Gen 2 x4. AVerMedia notes that some PCIe x4 Gen 2 slots “may share bandwidth with graphics card”, so check your motherboard manual. External cards use a USB-C port, so they can move between computers, but the USB port matters. Elgato says the 4K X wants a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port. We found no source for a general statement that one type has lower latency than the other, so this page does not make one.

Your computer matters too

Both makers list system requirements. For 4K60 HDR or 1080p240, AVerMedia’s GC573 page asks for an Intel Core i5-6xxx or AMD Ryzen 3 or better, an NVIDIA GTX 1060 or AMD RX 5700 or better, and 8 GB of dual-channel RAM. For 1080p60 the requirements are much lower. Elgato lists a GTX 10xx or better for the 4K Pro and the 4K X. A card that supports a mode does not guarantee your computer can record it.

HDCP and a black screen

AVerMedia says its cards do not support viewing, recording or streaming of HDCP-protected signals, and its support pages mention an HDCP message in the preview. A black preview can therefore have this cause. Check your console’s settings and the maker’s support page for your device.

Setting up in OBS

OBS’s quick-start guide says a Video Capture Source captures a webcam or a capture card. Add the card as that source, then choose its resolution and frame rate in the source’s properties.

Illustration of the connection chain with a generic capture card, not a photo of a specific model and not a Gimaxo test.

The guide’s own advice

• Write down your game device’s output and your target stream. Compare them with the two columns, passthrough and capture, not with the headline number. The HD60 S+ and the GC553 show why: both accept 4K60 but capture 4K at 30.
• Check the connection before the card. A PCIe slot, a USB-C port and a USB generation each limit what the card can do. Elgato states this for the 4K X.
• Read the footnotes on HDR and VRR. Both makers attach conditions to them.
• Check the date of the model. Some pages we read were for older products, and one maker marks the HD60 S+ as legacy.

What we could not verify

We found no official source for the following, so this page does not state them: which card is “best”, that internal cards give the lowest latency, whether hardware or software encoding gives better quality, that YUV 4:2:0 is a good setting, prices today, 4K120 or HDR capture in other models, and cloud capture. We also did not test any card. Check the maker’s current page before you buy.

Sources

Named here as plain text. Pages read in November 2026.

• Elgato, product pages: Game Capture 4K Pro and Game Capture 4K X
• Elgato Help Center, “Elgato Game Capture HD60 S+ - Technical Specifications” (legacy product notice)
• AVerMedia, product pages: Live Gamer 4K (GC573), Live Gamer ULTRA (GC553), Live Gamer ULTRA 2.1 (GC553G2)
• OBS Project, Knowledge Base: Quick Start Guide