Question / Help Didn't know where to post but, capture card or server?

G

GNARSTACHE

New Member
I now have a second PC for Streaming


Two questions:


Which is least taxing on the Gaming rig?

Which is better quality for recording AND streaming?



I will be doing gaming and photoshop. I want to record 1080p60fps and I will probably stream like 720p60fps



I hear good things about capture cards and I hear good things about the server route.


If this should be moved please do so.

I also wanna know the two best capture cards.
I know solaris is great. I guess I wouldn't mind spending the $300 but yeah. Cheaper is always nice.
 
Capture card is the way to go for zero impact on the gaming machine. Also results in better quality, as the video isn't pre-compressed (as with the nginx method). Can also allow capping games that otherwise have issues with the hook methods. Down side is that ANYTHING that comes onto your monitor being duped to the cap card will show up on stream.
The up side to the nginx server route is that it's cheaper, and it allows you to run headless Linux on the encoding machine to minimize OS overhead even further. Also simplifies your audio setup significantly.

Guessing by 'Solaris' you mean the Micomsoft SC-512N1-L/DVI?
There's a cheaper version of the same card being sold by SabrePC as the Yuan SC512 for $200 USD. It's literally the same card (down to the silkscreening), just without the passthrough daughterboard (which you don't really need) or the DVI->HDMI adapter (which cost around $7). Best cap card on the market, for livestreamers.

You can also look into the Datapath Vision cards, but they're significantly more expensive. The more affordable ones start around $700, and don't record embedded HDMI audio (as the SC512 does) which can kind of make your audio setup a pain. Well, more of a pain.

Both will do RGB24 and 32 capture, so there's no sampling/compression loss as with the starter-grade cards (anything Avermedia, Elgato).

Personally, I'd go the cap card route if you have the $200 for a Yuan SC512. More flexible and better quality.
 
Thanks for the helpful insight. I do have the money for a capture card just wanted to make sure it was the best route. So, if I have a second computer I don't need the pass through? I guess I'll try to find that card even tho its not available anywhere around the US -.-

Thanks, sir! If you recommend anything else besides it let me know! <3
 
Here's the SabrePC link: http://www.sabrepc.com/yuan-sc512-n1-l-dvi-single-channel-dvi-capture-card.html

They appear to be out of stock at the moment, but just had some a few days ago. Probably will get a restock soon.

You can either use an HDMI splitter to send the signal to both the card and your monitor, or clone the video output from your monitor in the GPU if you have a spare monitor output on it (most support 2-3, but it's dependent on the card how many you can use, even if you have multiple physical connectors; my 6870 for example has 4 outputs, but can only use 3 of them at a time).
 
Yeah my 980 has enough to send one spare one out to the other PC.
I'll just keep an eye out for that website to have one !
Thanks again
 
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