Capture Card: USB 3.0 or PCIe?

ROBOCRIPPLE · September 14, 2018

I plan on building a streaming PC using some of my old gaming PC hardware that I'm currently not using:

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor

Motherboard: msi 760GMA-P34 (FX) Micro-ATX AM3+ Motherboard

Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 2400

Video Card: msi GEFORCE GTX 960

Problem is choosing a capture card for it. I heard that PCIe capture cards are more stable than USB capture cards. If I go for PCIe, such as the Elgato HD60 Pro, I'd have to get a different video card, one that takes up only one PCI slot, because on my motherboard, the PCIe x1 connector is just one slot below the PCIe x16, and my GTX 960 takes up two slots, covering the PCIe x1. The ZOTAC GT 1030 card would work just fine for the streaming PC alongside a PCIe capture card, because it uses up only one PCI slot and consumes less energy than my GTX 960. If I go USB 3.0, such as the Elgato HD60 S, I wouldn't need to use a different video card, plus it would be cheaper for me. If I wanted to stream in 4K, then of course I'd get a high-end PCIe capture card like the Elgato 4K60 Pro along with a better CPU and motherboard, preferably one with at least two PCIe x16 connectors.

I'd also want to run Ubuntu in the streaming PC, rather than Windows, so I'd have to get a capture card that is compatible with GNU/Linux as well as Windows and Mac OS. The Y&H Ezcap261-CA and axGear are the cheapest capture cards that are advertised to work with Linux. Then there are the TNP UH60 and AVermedia BU110, which are more expensive but lack an HDMI output which means I would have to use an HDMI splitter from the source device such as my gaming PC and console. All of them are USB 3.0 capture cards. I don't know if there are any PCIe capture cards that are both at similar price points and compatible with GNU/Linux.

Which capture card/setup would you recommend? Could I use Linux for streaming, or should I stick to Windows 10 for that?