Page 3 - Performance Tests
Our test configuration is as follows:
CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Elite
Motherboard: ASUS ProArt Z690-Creator WiFi
RAM: Lexar THOR OC DDR5-6000 2x16GB
Graphics: EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING
Chassis: Thermaltake Core P3 TG Pro Snow
Storage: XPG Atom 30 1TB
Power: FSP Hydro PTM Pro 1200W
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
The purpose of capture cards can be broken down into two main levels. At a base level, it provides a way for people to record their gameplay for documenting and later sharing. It also enables people to stream their gaming to share their experiences publicly. In the past, both PC and console gamers used a second PC to do this, which is why capture cards were a necessity. Today, computer games can be played and captured on the same system, but this creates an additional load on the single PC. Modern hardware with multiple cores has helped in this regard, but a capture card can still be useful. As such, we will be evaluating the AVerMedia Live Streamer Ultra HD GC571 for its ability to capture both console and PC inputs.
Installing the AVerMedia Live Streamer Ultra HD GC571 is a matter of mounting it into one of the PCI Express slots on my motherboard. Our GC571 had everything up to date, including the firmware, and the manufacturer's utilities immediately recognized the hardware. All of the gameplay was recorded from my Nintendo Switch and my other PC plugged into the input of the capture card with an EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING. I primarily used AVerMedia's RECentral software to record gameplay, but I also ensured OBS functioned properly too.
First looking at the Nintendo Switch footage, the AVerMedia Live Streamer Ultra HD GC571 can record up to 120 frames per second at 1080p resolution. Unfortunately, the Switch only outputs up to 60fps, so it does not really stretch the capabilities of this capture card. As well, YouTube maxes out at a frame rate of 60fps too. Even so, everything looks quite good generally. Better yet, I played all of this through AVerMedia's RECentral software and I barely noticed any lag. While I do not have the necessary equipment to measure input latency through the capture card, I did not notice much. In games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the game looked as decent as it could, given the limitations of the Switch hardware. The open-world game was captured well. Other games like Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the sequel Tears of the Kingdom also were captured to their full glory. Any artifacts you might see are more to do with YouTube's compression algorithm.
Moving up in resolution, I captured the test benchmark from F1 23 of the Canada circuit in dry condition on High settings. At 1440p, the AVerMedia Live Streamer Ultra HD GC571 caps out at 60fps. Once again, there were no anomalies with capturing and recording F1 23. While playing F1 23 with this card, I did notice a very slight delay between the inputs of my steering wheel and what was displayed on screen, but it was nothing to be too concerned about. The GC571 captured the game play with excellent quality, and I was quite impressed. If you bump the resolution further up, the GC571 limits at 30fps for 4K resolution recording.
One other thing I checked the AVerMedia Live Streamer Ultra HD GC571 for was its pass-through capabilities. With the output HDMI port, you can connect to another display here and output the input directly rather than running through a software solution to relay the input image. Personally, I noticed zero delay with the input and the response on the screen. Other independent reviewers have indicated this delay is quite low and should generally be unnoticeable for most users. The Live Streamer Ultra HD GC571 can pass-through up to 4K resolution at 60 frames per second.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
