Guide 03 Capture Card Buying

Documentation snapshot: November 5, 2026. Community-reported guidance; GPU drivers, capture card firmware and Veyra versions may have changed. See Home for current links.

Veyra User Guide — 03 — Capture Card Buying Guide

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Veyra User Guide-03-

Capture Card Essentials and Buying Guide

Compiled from nearly a month of discussion across Veyra community groups 1-4 (2026-09 ~ 2026-10)

Applies to: choosing and using a capture card for gaming / streaming / recording with Veyra

1. First, understand the "spec" tricks on capture cards

1. Passthrough specs ≠ capture specs (the biggest trap)

• Many cheap cards advertise "4K60", but that refers to their "passthrough / pass-through" capability; the actual capture may only be 4K30 or 1080P60

• The author's own words: "You have to be sure about the specs you're buying. Passthrough specs are useless to us — look at the capture side"

• Examples: a certain "4K60" card can only capture 1080P60 out of the box; a certain "4K30" card can only capture 1080

1. The three format tiers for capturing 4K60 (the higher, the more expensive):

• NV12 4K60: USB 3.2 Gen2 (10Gbps) is enough

• YUY2 4K60 / RGB24 4K60: basically requires PCIe, or 20G / Thunderbolt

• P010 (HDR 10bit) 4K60: basically requires PCIe (on USB only a handful, like the Magewell 4K Pro)

1. 4K30 HDR / 4K60 SDR is the dividing line for USB cards:

• The typical USB card ceiling: 4K60 SDR (NV12) or 4K30 HDR

• "The only ones that can do 4K60 HDR are those few PCIe models" (GC573, Elgato 4K60 Pro MK2, Elgato 4K Pro)

1. Bit depth trap: some cards do HDR at 8bit (the GC573 and ASUS 4KPRO are confirmed cases); if you want real HDR image quality, go 10bit (G2, mk2, 4K Pro)

2. Capture formats explained (the ranking that keeps coming up in the group)

[Image quality / color] RGB24 (lossless) > YUY2 > NV12 > MJPEG (compressed, throws detail away) [Latency (low → high)] NV12 ≈ YUY2 < RGB24 < MJPEG [Bandwidth (high → low)] RGB24 > YUY2 > NV12 > MJPEG

• Recommendation: use NV12 whenever you can; use P010 for HDR; "there's no need to chase YUY2 — the color difference is tiny and the bandwidth is higher"

• "After 1.3.0… go nv12 if you can" "whatever you do, don't pick mjpeg — the image is blurry and the latency is high"

• Akeru's original explanation: "P010: usually the best picture, 10-bit 4:2:0, finer gradations and smoother transitions. YUY2: 8-bit 4:2:2, more color detail than NV12, especially good for text and edges. NV12: 8-bit 4:2:0, the least color detail of the three, but the best compatibility."

• P010 is the HDR carrier: "only p010 and p016 have hdr" (the author)

3. Latency baselines (a roundup of in-group measurements, for reference when buying)

[By type]

• Regular USB cards: 4K60 NV12 around 35-45ms; 2K60 NV12 around 10-16ms

• Capturing at 30 frames: around 90-100ms (double that of 60fps! "capturing at 30 is around 90ms, capturing at 60 is around 40ms")

• 4K30 HDR capture: around 90ms (HDR capture latency is noticeably higher; not recommended for gaming)

• PCIe direct: bare capture in the 20ms range; strict same-screen testing can get as low as 5ms (573)

• Magewell 4K Pro (USB flagship): the channel owner says 5-10ms; one user retested at 55ms (highly disputed — the test method matters a lot) [By model (group tests)]

• AVerMedia GC573: a Bilibili test measured 4K60 at 16ms; Aitor's same-screen test averaged 5ms

• Elgato 4K60 Pro MK2: 4K60HDR 32ms (measured by Hi)

• AVerMedia GC553G2: NV12 4K60 33ms; HDR 4K30 66-100ms

• ASUS 4KPRO: bare capture 33-35ms

• Kuhaomi G50 / same solution as the 553G2: 4K60 NV12 around 35-40ms (latest test from the channel owner's official channel)

• Michensen T800 / Kuhaomi 27P: 2K60 NV12 measured 10-15ms (latest from the channel owner's official channel: 27P 10-12ms, T800 12-15ms; earlier tests were around 16ms)

• Elgato 4K X: around 35ms (YouTube review); "you can't feel the latency even without low-latency mode"

• The hundred-yuan ms2130s cards: 1080P60 YUY2 around 40-50ms (the Acasis yuy2 at 40ms is the lowest)

• Software side (Veyra processing): one layer of NR adds about 20~30ms; frame interpolation alone +5-10ms [Conclusion] "At this point capture cards from 500-1500 all have enough latency — basically no real difference; the biggest differences are the picture format and stability"

4. Interfaces and bandwidth

[USB]

• USB 3.0 (5Gbps): 4K60 only via MJPEG; it cannot run 4K60 NV12

• USB 3.2 Gen2 (10Gbps): 4K60 NV12 works (the G2 / ASUS 4KPRO / G50 must be plugged into this kind of port)

• USB 20G (Type-C / Thunderbolt 3): unlocks more (the Magewell 4K Pro needs a 20G C port)

• Port color mnemonic: "white is 2.0, blue is 3.0, orange is 3.2"; prefer plugging straight into Type-C, and any adapter must be 10G

• Check your motherboard before buying a card: "If you're buying ASUS, first check whether your motherboard supports USB 3.2 Gen 2; if it doesn't, you can't use 4k 60hz nv12 format" [PCIe]

• Requires a PCIe x4 slot (x1 won't do); use a CPU-direct slot if you can; if the GPU blocks it you need a different slot, a riser, or a different case

• Risers: the official word on the 573 is "risers are not supported"; Aitor tested a 20cm riser with no impact; "avoid risers if you can — they drop speed"

• Watch the motherboard's lane allocation: the second slot pcie3.0x1 only gets 15 frames; MSI AMD boards have a 53-frame issue (see the motherboard compatibility section) [Thunderbolt / others]

• "4k60 rgb24… USB just can't do it, you have to plug directly into the motherboard (PCIe)"

• Thunderbolt 3 20G works (a Chuangshi Zhixing 9201 measured 67ms and was returned — the latency wasn't good enough)

• "I hope someone makes a USB4 capture card, then we could have 4K60 HDR"

5. Motherboard compatibility (important — the most common place to get burned)

[MSI motherboards (mostly AMD platforms)]

• Multiple cases of "GC573 RGB 4K60 only hits 53 frames / input frame rate not enough, 33 frames"

• Cause: "the PCIe slot lane allocation and max payload size problems caused by MSI motherboard defaults"

• Fix 1: disable WiFi in the BIOS ("pick bt only for the second option, i.e. keep Bluetooth only; leave the lan one alone") → 256/128 becomes 256/256

• Fix 2: in the BIOS, try switching the PCIe option to Gen2/Gen3

• Fix 3: change slots (a CPU-direct slot); or move to an Intel/ASUS platform (users with Intel/ASUS boards in the main group have no such issue)

• A user's summary: "Paper specs are strong, but MSI boards + AMD have a lot of traps; at this point I really can't recommend it… from now on I'll just stick with ASUS motherboards"

• MSI boards get mocked as "buy MSI, enjoy a lifetime of warranty rejections" (channels other than JD self-operated are not recommended) [Elgato + AMD platform compatibility — updated from community testing]

• Elgato 4K Pro: confirmed working on AMD. A community member tested a Ryzen 7 9800X3D + MSI MPG X670E CARBON WIFI with the Elgato 4K Pro at 3840×2160 60fps HDR P010/RGB24 in Veyra; NR and DLSS frame interpolation ran as well. Full test details.

• Elgato 4K60 Pro MK.2: community-tested working on AMD. Group reports confirm that AMD is usable with the MK.2, although an exact MK.2-specific CPU/board/BIOS configuration is not present in these archived notes. MK.2 guide.

• Elgato 4K X (USB): group members also report success on Ryzen 9 9950X3D/X870E and Ryzen 7 9800X3D systems. 4K X guide.

• Do not equate one PCIe detection failure, seller warning, or model-specific issue with a universal AMD incompatibility. For a PCIe card, check motherboard slot layout, lane sharing, BIOS, and card firmware; check the return policy before buying.

[Southbridge / wireless network card]

• "If you plug the capture card into a southbridge PCIe slot it gets dragged down by the wireless network card and only runs at 128bit; disable the wireless card and it runs at 256bit, and then it can do 60 frames" (heilmittel2034's own test)

• How to check: look at "max and current link width" in hwinfo; normal should be 256/256

6. Cooling, power and installation

• PCIe cards have poor backplate cooling: adding a 4cm fan is recommended, "it throttles when it gets too hot"; some people take the shell off and plug in the bare board (no impact)

• Cheap USB cards get hot and hang ("are those few-yuan capture cards really that hot?" → they hang)

• Capture cards generate heat even at idle ("it's active as soon as it's plugged in; unplug it and it's fine")

• Power: USB cards generally run off USB power alone (the 27P has no power port); PCIe cards draw from the slot

• Installation details: "put a sheet of plastic under the screwdriver when tightening screws, don't scratch it"; if the GPU blocks the slot, switch to an ATX motherboard or use a GPU riser

7. Buying advice (by budget / need, from in-group recommendations)

[Under 500 yuan]

• ASUS TUF BOX-4KPRO: same solution as the G2, NV12 4K60, but 8bit HDR with banding, discontinued with no firmware updates; the clearance has ended and the price has gone up (the 500-800 clearance price is history) — dropped from this tier's recommendations, so compare the current price against cards still on sale such as the Kuhaomi G50 before deciding

• Lvjuneng 4K model (240-500): no HDR, 4K60 is compressed, but "the latency is solid" "even lower latency than the g2" (comparison review)

• ms2130s / 2131s reference-design cards (80-150): 1080P60 YUY2, 40-50ms, "enough for an entry-level experience" [Budget 700-900 yuan]

• Kuhaomi G50 (750 on Xianyu / 1200 at the official store): same solution and chip as the 553G2, 4K60 NV12 around 35-40ms, supports HDR 4K30 and VRR, comes with cooling

• UGREEN UG701 (used 400-700): make sure you buy the version that "supports 8K passthrough" (better 4K encoding format); the 4K passthrough version has poor encoding [Budget 1000-1600 yuan]

• AVerMedia GC553G2 (1000-1600): the USB benchmark, 10bit color with no banding, Dolby 5.1, 4K30HDR / 4K60NV12; must be plugged into a 10G port

• Elgato 4K X (1600-1750 Amazon / JD Global): the USB low-latency ceiling at around 35ms, supports VRR, and Veyra community members have reported successful AMD-platform setups

• Kuhaomi 27P / Michensen T800: suited to users with 2K displays

• AVerMedia GC573 (used 1100-1400): PCIe direct, ceiling-level latency for 4K60HDR (5-20ms), but it has the most problems (see doc 04) — always confirm motherboard + platform before buying [Budget 2000 yuan and up]

• Elgato 4K60 Pro MK2 (used 950-1600): PCIe, 4K60HDR 32ms, 10bit, "the king of value"

• Elgato 4K Pro (1300-2600): PCIe flagship, 10bit HDR + VRR + HDMI2.1 passthrough; watch out for motherboard compatibility and the return policy

• Magewell 4K Pro (used 2000-3500): the USB ceiling, 4K60 HDR, most disputed latency (5-55ms), requires a 20G C port; a "film / medical capture card" [Not recommended]

• No-name cards under 100 yuan: high latency, heavy color shift, no VRR support, "toys"

• MJPEG-only cards: blurry image, high latency

• UGREEN CM700 / CM701 (user feedback: "washed-out image and huge latency" "died after only a few uses")

• HAGiBiS (user review: "trash" "the colors are just a mess")

• Old cards from before 2020 (unless your budget is extremely tight)

8. Console / scenario quick reference

• PS5 4K60 HDR maxed out: GC573 / Elgato 4K60 Pro MK2 / Elgato 4K Pro / Magewell (the only USB option)

• PS5 best value: GC553G2 / Kuhaomi G50 (the ASUS 4KPRO has gone up in price and is off the value list)

• Switch2 (2K60): Kuhaomi 27P / Michensen T800 are enough; "the gc551g2 is just right for the ns2"

• Xbox: same as PS5; there's no software for Xbox streaming mode yet (only PS5)

• Laptop users: USB cards only (you can't fit a PCIe card); watch your laptop's C-port bandwidth and cooling

• 2K display users: the 2K60-tier cards (T800 / 27P) are the best value; there's no need to go 4K

• Streamers: prioritize passthrough and multi-channel needs (the AVerMedia line has 5.1); "two displays — the PC runs the stream, and you connect directly to your own display to see what you're doing"

• Driver-free / plug-and-play: ASUS 4KPRO (driver-free); the GC573 needs the AVerMedia driver (Assist Central Pro)

9. Market and channels (at the time of writing)

• Market trend: capture card prices rose across the board from late September to early October (the ASUS 4KPRO went from 499 to 800+ and is still climbing, and the clearance window has closed; prices across the AVerMedia line went up; expectations for GTA6 are driving demand) — "capture cards really hold their value"

• Channel experience: Xianyu (the main used market, "many are sold by people who couldn't make streaming pay"); Pinduoduo (beware of bait-and-switch); JD self-operated (good after-sales); Amazon Global (Elgato is 600 cheaper but has no China warranty); the Douyin official channel "the official channel"

• Used buying advice: look for "ones with the box, accessories and receipt — easier to resell"; AVerMedia "honors warranty by serial number only"

10. General usage tips (from in-group experience posts)

1. How to use passthrough: connect the OUT port to a monitor (direct, low latency, VRR available); watch the capture feed on the computer. "The capture resolution follows the resolution of the monitor connected to the passthrough port" (zL) — only when the passthrough goes to a 4K display is the capture 4K

2. Using passthrough and capture at the same time consumes HDMI bandwidth, so you may need to adjust the output format

3. Turn off HDCP: the console must have it off (if it's on, the frame rate is locked / black screen); occasionally "toggling HDCP" fixes a lack of sound

4. Test image quality and latency with cross-checks in OBS / PotPlayer (to tell whether the problem is the card or the software)

5. After buying a card, test it on its own first: capture in Obs to see the real frame rate and format ceiling, then go into Veyra

6. Cables: use the original or a good-quality HDMI2.0-or-better cable; the one that comes with the PS5 is not 2.1 (you need to swap it for 4K120); look for 10G / 40Gbps markings on data cables; "swapping to the data cable from a portable SSD fixed it" (a real case)

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11. This update: 2026-11 market and new models (with dates)

Three new facts to remember first

• "The T911 even does YUY60" "even the 553G2 is only opened up to yuy50" "the limit for a capture card is 10g" (the author 10-20).
• "The 573 has to go into a case PCIe slot; latency is lower and you gain 4K60 HDR, but it's luck of the draw — you may hit compatibility issues" (YK 10-10).
• "The ASUS 4K Pro really can't do HDR; I bought the wrong thing before" (Remote_Sky 10-08); on 10-13 the author's verdict was "ASUS is trash" and "the T911 doesn't have it either (no banding)".

New / completed models

Model	Key specs	Latency	Street price	In one line
Michensen T911	NV12 4K60 / YUY2 4K60(55-57fps) / P010 4K30	30-35ms	850 (the 2026 sale)	Same chip as the 553G2, more aggressive specs, no 5.1
Michensen T911 Pro/Ultra	Same as above	30-35ms	900-1000	No spec difference; pick by price (the author 10-11)
Michensen T900	NV12 4K30 / 2K60 HDR	14ms (2K60)	500-700	4K only at 30 frames
Kuhaomi 26P	2K60 only	10-15ms	400-500	No 4K support; the author 10-20: "for the 26p, just look at the 27p"
AVerMedia GC575	4K60 NV12 / HDR only at 30	Low (PCIe)	1000-1500	A flagship that cut 4K60HDR; not recommended
AVerMedia GC571	2K60	Excellent	660 (used)	"The 2K60 ceiling"
AVerMedia GC551G2	2K60 / 1080P120	Not optimized	400-600	Just right for the NS2; support says the latency isn't optimized
AVerMedia GC551 (old model)	2K60 NV12	Around 20ms	100-300 (used)	Tested by the author on 10-12; great value
AVerMedia GC553 / 553Pro	4K30 / 2K50	On the high side	300-600	Old card, not recommended for new purchases
AVerMedia GC535	1080P60	—	200-300	Only goes up to 1080P
UGREEN UG701	4K60 MJPEG	On the high side	400-700	4K is MJPEG only (the author 10-20)
Acasis VC-007PRO	2K60, with a small fan	Around 20ms	250 (used)	Same 9337G as the T800 / T900 / 26P (Janus 10-15)

The latest price and latency figures (per the Feishu sheet)

• 2K60 tier: 27P 10-12ms, T800 12-15ms, T900 14ms;
• 4K30 tier: T911 60ms, G50 50ms, 553G2 60-80ms, 753 50ms, ASUS 4KPRO 35ms;
• 4K60 tier: T911 30-35ms, G50 35ms, 553G2 33ms±, ASUS 35ms, MK2 32ms, 4K Pro <30ms, Magewell ultra-low.

Pitfalls

• "Clicked 8K once and it blew up on the spot" (月光疾风 10-12; owen the same) — 8K only suits single-layer NR at the 5090 level.
• A 5070Ti can't push 4K60 high-quality interpolation to 120, and usage isn't high either; the author: "Normal — that's how VFG is" (LJY / the author 10-07).
• 10G USB cards in the same tier (T911 / G50 / 553G2) actually have similar latency (the author 10-13); what differs is the format and the price.

Chapter 03 supplement: new buying and pricing Q&A (10-06 to 11-05)

Filtered from the records of 7 community groups, 2026-10-06 to 11-05; 5037 relevant messages in total.

Key points this round

• T911 around 850 on the 2026 sale: same chip as the 553G2, 4K YUY2 60 (the 553G2 only reaches 50), actually runs at 55-57fps on a 10G port, no 5.1 (the author 10-20 / 10-30).
• 553G2: 4K60 NV12 is fine, 4K HDR only at 30, YUY only at 50 (the author 10-07); 1100-1385.
• 27P: 2K60 latency 10-12ms, but "it can't capture HDR, only passthrough has it" (the author 10-10); 748 in the official channel.
• G50: 4K60 NV12 / 4K30 HDR, 4K YUY2 only at 50; "about the same" as the T911 (the author 10-30).
• 573: lower PCIe latency, plus 4K60 HDR, but compatibility issues are "luck of the draw" (YK 10-10).
• ASUS 4KPRO: 8bit banding; the author's verdict was "ASUS is trash" and "the T911 doesn't have it either (no banding)" (the author 10-13); now discontinued.
• 2K60 tier: 27P 10-12ms, T800 12-15ms, T900 14ms (group tests / 杜晓 10-13).
• 4K30 tier latency: T911 60ms, G50 50ms, 553G2 60-80ms (Feishu sheet / Shuuichi 10-08).
• 10G USB cards in the same tier have similar latency (the author 10-13); what differs is the format and the price.
• 8K upscaling blows up VRAM, and it isn't a one-off (月光疾风 / owen 10-12).

Group members' own words (with dates)

"AVerMedia can capture 5.1, the latency is most likely the same, and both support 4k30hdr"

— Focus (10-06)

"I plan to drop to 2k60 capture and then use veyra to upscale it[旺柴]; ps5 games aren't native 4k anyway so the result shouldn't be much worse, and I get lower latency out of it"

— Focus (10-06)

"I found that upscaling adds quite a bit of latency — 2k upscaled to 4k is about 15ms of latency"

— Minions (10-06)

"So how much total end-to-end latency would capturing gta6 at 30 frames and then interpolating add?"

— 无敌Siuuu.... (10-06)

"pcie's advantage is that the board can be bigger and cooling pressure is lower, bandwidth is higher, and if it's a CPU-direct pcie lane the transmission latency can be lower"

— Snicer 9070xt (10-06)

"Because I see on this table that 4k60 has lower latency than 4k30"

— 。。。 (10-06)

"[Video Channel] Elgato 4K Pro PCIe internal video capture card 8K4K HDR passthrough low-latency game streaming recording card PS5XboxSwitch universal"

— Illidan (10-06)

"If you're afraid of high latency, run another monitor off the capture card's passthrough port and operate by eye"

— Snicer 9070xt (10-06)

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