Not long ago, Avermedia teased a capture card that was capable of recording at 4K and 60 frames per second, but Elgato actually launched one at CES. Elgato's external capture rig, called the 4K60 S+, can be pre-ordered for $399.99 from Elgato or Amazon.
The launch of 4K60 S+ is a relief to many gamers who play at 4K and have been dependent on an internal capture card and a PC. Although there are external solutions that are capable of recording at 4K, the framerate so far has been limited to 30fps. What makes the 4K60 S+ different is that not only does this external capture card record at 4K and 60fps, it also does not require a PC to capture gaming footage. Users can easily record 4K/60fps/HDR footage directly to an optional SD card. Elgato has also mentioned that the onboard HVEC encoding on the capture card keeps file sizes manageable with no lag experienced during the pass-through.
Even though the 4K60 S+ works fine without a PC, having it connected to one has several advantages. "When connected to a PC, 4K60 S+ records unlimited footage directly to a hard drive and takes advantage of versatile Elgato software features such as Flashback Recording to easily save gameplay retroactively and Live Commentary to record microphone audio as a separate track," Elgato stated in a press release.
What Elgato means by unlimited footage is that the capture card will continue recording as long you have the storage space on your SSD or HDD. Elgato also mentioned that the 4K60 S+ is compatible with popular broadcasting and streaming software, including OBS.
When using a PC to connect the capture card, Elgato states that you will require a sixth generation Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 7 processor, 8GB of RAM, GTX 10-Series GPU or better, and a USB 3.0 port.
