In summary:
- PCWorld’s Will Smith tested internal PCIe and external USB capture cards from brands like Elgato and AverMedia to determine optimal choices for game video recording.
- PCIe cards offer superior bandwidth for high-resolution recording above 4K, while USB cards provide better Linux compatibility and necessary portability for laptop users.
- Modern capture cards deliver excellent low-latency performance regardless of type, making the internal versus external choice less critical for most users today.
So you want to stream or capture game video, preferably on a powerful laptop or desktop. What you need, my friend, is a capture card. But after figuring that out, you have another question to answer: Internal or external? PCIE or USB? Will Smith is here to answer it with his latest round of testing on PCWorld’s YouTube channel.
And at the risk of spoiling the video: Will says it doesn’t really matter anymore. Unless you’re recording at super massive resolution/framerate well above 4K, or you’re recording on a Linux system. In the former case, the extra bandwidth of a PCIE-connected card can be a major boon (assuming you have a system that can actually handle that recording). And in the latter, the more standardized USB interface is better, because some companies (ahem Elgato ahem) don’t have a great track record of supporting Linux. Naturally if you’re recording on a laptop, you need the external card.
The surprising thing is how good all of these cards from Elgato and AverMedia have become. When he’s streaming to Twitch, Will watches footage of his console in the OBS preview window — the kind of thing that used to be unimaginable for most games. But Will says he can handle console play on fast-paced, twitchy games like Bloodbourne and Ghost of Tsushima. There isn’t even much of a price difference at the higher end of the recording card market.
For more hands-on testing of PC gear, be sure to subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube. And incidentally, if you’re looking to game or stream on Linux, you might want to head over to our sister channel The Full Nerd Network and check out Dual Boot Diaries.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 15-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.