NZXT has dived into the capture card genre with two new external devices. The 4K30 and HD60 offer a variety of visual options with a focus on not losing quality when actually playing the game. The 4K30 manages to keep HDR as a passthrough while playing in 60hz, while streams and recording can also achieve a passthrough at 1440p up to 144hz and 1080p up to 240hz. Not that there's a console out there that can do 240hz, but these capture cards do allow a 2 PC setup. These are compatible with current and previous generation consoles along with the Nintendo Switch. While the device is priced competitively, there are design decisions here specifically with the 4K30 that feel like the device was held back to maintain that competitive price.

The Signal HD60 sets out to accomplish exactly what's needed for a solid stream and decent recording. If 1080p is what you game at and you don't have a powerful PC, the HD60 sits above the competition. Games can be played up to 4K at 60hz with no lag or visual loss while the external device does the background work. Video can be captured and setup via OBS Studio and Streamlabs, but any other related software should be able to easily recognize the device. Both Signals required a USB 3.2 port on the PC of choice that also supplies power to the units. When you look at similar setups from both Razer and Elgato, the NZXT offers similar performance for a cheaper price of $139.99. This is an excellent entry level capture device with minimal difficulty in setting up. Integration and quality with streaming to Twitch is seamless with the HD60 and if focused on more entry level 1080p monitors on the market.

With the introduction of not only the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, but also newer graphics cards, HDMI 2.1 has been implemented to allow greater bandwidth that improves visual quality options. These are designed as 4K consoles with a focus of running games at 60 FPS and the occasional 120 FPS options. The 4K30 is able to record games at 4K and 30hz, which may go well for replays and story-based games. The 4K30 does allow for passthrough at 4K at 60hz, 1440p at 144hz, and 1080p at 240hz. HDR passthrough also exists at 4K, so it has a leg up on the competition as the Razer Ripsaw doesn't allow HDR. The 4K60 seems to just have bells and whistles included without changing the actual internal hardware on the device.

The 4K30 needs HDMI 2.1 to maximize what the current generation consoles can do. Most YouTube videos run at 60 FPS, if not higher. This can make capturing footage for a video on current generation consoles less inviting. The ability to record and stream at 1440p and 1080p are there, and I attempted to do 1080p at 120hz. Having to go into OBS Studio to make a ton of small changes can be rather frustrating, but this is more on the software. Refresh rates have to match up in continuing positions, and I was able to get 120hz going for a minute. I'm not sure if this is due to the device or OBS itself, but recording Tiny Tina's Wonderlands or Resident Evil 2 at 1080p and 120hz would start off fine, but the recording would degrade FPS there more the game went on. This may have to do with the internal reconstruction on the games and maybe the Signal can't pick back up where it left off? When viewing the video and not recording in OBS, it came across at 120 hz. This was also using the NVIDIA encoder on a RTX 3080.

The Signal 4K30 also isn't a fan of VRR as this would amount to the screen blacking out occasionally. The video quality is solid and while the passthrough worked as advertised, even having the bitrate at 20K, the video quality isn't on par especially in dark areas. If you are more focused on getting the best quality, that will cost a bit more money. I can see the 4K30 working out well for streaming from a camera for actual real life recording, but ultimately the 4K 30 FPS decision is baffling, but this may be exactly what an individual is looking for. This will require more PC power and more upload bandwidth for streaming as well.

What works for the Signal 4K30 is the simplicity of the actual unit and the ability to do higher-quality assets than the traditional HD60. In testing this on the PlayStation 5, if you plan to stream, then the separate Chat Cable for $9.99 is highly recommended. I had to mess with this for a while as I had trouble being able to use the mic directly plugged into the PC. The PS5 will take over audio capabilities if you plug in just a headset to the console, but the audio would not come across as it was diverted away from the HDMI that was plugged into the TV. If you leave the headset off, then you're stuck with TV speakers just in the background and not on the actual stream. This is basically a split aux cable that has one end into the controller, and the other two split between the PC and headset. This is only a concern if real-time streaming.

As for the pricing of the Signal 4K30, it comes in at $179.99, which is a bit above the competition. The price is fair in comparison for the upgrade options that are here for quality. This is still technically on the entry level side because if you're trying to get that 4K 60hz or higher, that is a card that you will pay a pretty penny for. The Signal is a small flat device that features a black matte top and four purple legs underneath. Two HDMI ports along with a USB 3.2 port are on the back. Where the Razer Ripsaw offered the aux ports directly on its device, the Signal is lacking this which would have alleviated the issues with the audio stated above.

Closing Comments:

The two NZXT Signal capture cards tell two different stories with the highlight being the HD60. With no-lag passthrough and the ability to stream at 1080p and 60 FPS, it's straightforward for a cheaper price than the competition. This is an excellent beginner card that's easy to setup and use. The 4K60 is more of a story of what could have been. It seems like based on the stats, it was designed before the current generation consoles released and would maximize games like God of War on PS4 or Gears of War on Xbox One. It's dated in its design and if NZXT wanted to keep it minimally priced with a few more options, it accomplished that. Users would have paid more as long as it was kept under Elgato's internal capture card for the option of simply having HDMI 2.1 to maximize what the current generation consoles can do. The point is with both Signal capture cards, there's one that priced below the competition that has positives and another that offers more options while keeping the price down.