Hardware You Need

FusionCue is software. You bring the hardware: a Windows PC, an overhead camera, an overhead projector, and even light over the table. Everything else on this page is optional.

The Get Started page picks exact models for your room. It asks two questions — your table size and the height from the table top to the ceiling — and shows the camera and projectors that fit, with current prices and buy links. This page explains the why behind those picks, so you can judge gear that is not on the list, shop used, or reuse what you already own.

The whole rig: camera over the centre, projector beside the table, light around it, and a PC station anywhere within cable reach.

Measure first — two numbers decide almost everything: your table size and the clearance from the table top (the cloth) to the ceiling. A standard 8 ft ceiling leaves about 65 in above the cloth. Enter both on Get Started before you buy anything.

The short list

Item	Needed?	What to look for	Typical cost
Windows PC	Required	Six-core CPU, 16 GB RAM, graphics at the floor, two display outputs	$400–$1,400
Projector	Required	Short throw (about 0.5), 3,000+ lumens, HDMI	$150 used – $1,250 new
Camera	Required	Sharp 1080p or better, lockable focus and exposure	$95 used – $200 new
Mounts and long cables	Required	Ceiling mount, camera arm, active USB and HDMI	$50–$150
Even table lighting	Required	Perimeter LED frame, nothing hanging over the cloth	Varies, or DIY
Monitor or TV, keyboard	Required for a mini PC	Any HDMI screen, wireless keyboard	Often already owned
Wireless microphone	Optional	USB-C receiver	$50–$250
Wireless headphones	Optional	Bluetooth	Any
Smart plug for the light	Optional	TP-Link Kasa or Tapo	About $10
Phone or tablet	Optional	Any modern browser	Already owned

Prices are from the Get Started page, last checked September 13, 2026.

Windows PC

FusionCue runs entirely on your PC. The PC reads the camera, finds every ball, scores the shot, and draws the projection — all locally, with no cloud processing in the loop. That makes the PC the part most worth getting right.

The GMKtec M7 Ultra — the FusionCue-verified mini PC — is small enough to mount behind a TV.

The ideal setup has a GPU

Our recommendation is a PC with a real GPU. FusionCue's vision engine runs on DirectX 12 graphics from Intel, AMD or NVIDIA, but only chips at the graphics floor track balls fast enough. A GPU is what gives you headroom:

• Ball tracking stays fast while other things are happening. Recording a session, streaming with Go Live and casting an online opponent all compete for the same graphics hardware.
• Projected effects stay smooth. On an NVIDIA card with 6 GB or more, FusionCue downloads an optional GPU graphics pack (about 2 GB) that renders cue-ball trails and landing zones on the GPU, so they do not stutter while you record. It installs by itself; see Settings → Runtime.
• It ages better. Detection models and effects grow over time. A GPU is the cheapest way to stay ahead of them.

"A GPU" here means either a dedicated graphics card (the RTX 3050 and RTX 4060 desktops on Get Started) or a strong integrated GPU of the Radeon 680M / 780M class (the mini PCs on Get Started — the Radeon 680M GMKtec M7 Ultra is the FusionCue-verified reference machine). The basic graphics chip in an office PC or a thin laptop does not count.

The graphics floor

Ball tracking runs on the PC's graphics chip, and its speed decides how the table feels.

• At the floor: Radeon 680M / 780M-class integrated graphics, Intel Arc, or a dedicated GPU (GTX 1650, RTX 3050 or RX 6400 or better).
• Below the floor: Intel UHD and HD Graphics, Intel Iris Xe, and older Ryzen "Vega" graphics (Ryzen 3000-5000 U-series; Windows often lists these as plain "Radeon Graphics").

On integrated graphics (the Radeon and Intel chips above), ball tracking tops out at 20 fps and leaves the chip room to draw the desktop, so the mouse and keyboard stay responsive during a game.

Below the floor, ball tracking runs at about 4 fps. That means lag, missed balls and false scratches. FusionCue still installs and you can calibrate, but it will not play well.

Not sure what your PC has? Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc, open Performance, choose each GPU entry, and read the name at the top right. Or use Will my existing PC work? on Get Started. A plain "Radeon Graphics" label can mean older Vega graphics (a Ryzen 3000-5000 chip) or 680M-class graphics (for example a Ryzen 7 7735HS), so check the CPU name too.

Below the floor? On a desktop, add a graphics card. GTX 1650, RTX 3050 6 GB and RX 6400 are affordable starting points; check the case size, power-supply wattage and connectors, and any low-profile requirement before you buy. A laptop or a sealed mini PC cannot take a card. If the laptop has Thunderbolt 3 or 4, an external GPU box may be an option (we have not tested one); otherwise a mini PC from Get Started is the simplest fix.

Requirements

	Minimum	Recommended
Windows	10 or 11, 64-bit	11, 64-bit
CPU	Six-core Core i5 or Ryzen 5 class	Same class or better
Graphics	At the floor: Radeon 680M / 780M-class, Intel Arc, or a dedicated GPU (GTX 1650 / RTX 3050 / RX 6400 or better), with DirectX 12. Intel UHD, Iris Xe and older Ryzen Vega do not meet it	Radeon 680M / 780M, or a dedicated RTX GPU
Memory	16 GB	32 GB in two sticks (dual-channel) with built-in graphics; 16 GB with a dedicated GPU
Storage	SSD with 10 GB free	1 TB NVMe SSD (recordings add up)
Displays	Two display outputs	HDMI plus HDMI or DisplayPort
USB	Two free ports	A blue USB 3.0 port for the camera, plus two more

Two display outputs are not optional. One drives your monitor or TV (the FusionCue app), the other drives the projector (the table). A PC with a single HDMI port and nothing else cannot run the rig.

Mini PC, desktop or laptop?

• Mini PC — the default. Silent, tiny, mounts behind a TV or on a shelf, and the Radeon 680M / 780M models are fully capable. It ships without a screen or keyboard, so add a monitor or TV and a wireless keyboard.
• Desktop tower — the most headroom for the money, because it carries a dedicated RTX card. Choose this if you plan to record and stream a lot.
• Laptop — works only if its graphics meet the floor and it has an HDMI (or USB-C video) output for the projector; its own screen is the main display. Most thin-and-light laptops with Intel UHD or Iris Xe graphics are below the floor, and a laptop cannot take a graphics card. If yours has Thunderbolt 3 or 4, an external GPU box may be an option (we have not tested one). The laptop's built-in webcam shows up in the camera list too; choose the overhead camera, not that one.

See the six current picks, with new and used prices, under PCs on Get Started.

Projector

The projector hangs from the ceiling beside the table, outside one long side rail, pointing straight down. It paints drill layouts, ball-placement markers, cue-ball paths, landing zones and game graphics onto the cloth.

The ViewSonic PS502W is the projector on FusionCue's own tables: 4,000 lumens and a fixed 0.52 short throw.

Throw ratio decides whether it fits

A ceiling-mounted projector has very little distance to work with — often just 4 to 5 ft from lens to cloth. Throw ratio is distance divided by image width, so a lower number paints a bigger picture from the same height:

• About 0.5 (short throw) — covers an 8 ft table from roughly 50 in above the cloth. This is what you want.
• 0.7–0.8 — needs a noticeably higher ceiling (the BenQ TH671ST below).
• 1.2 and up (a normal home-theater or office projector) — paints an image barely 4 ft wide from a normal ceiling. It will not cover the table. This is the most common buying mistake.

The image has to cover the whole cloth with a little spare past the rails. Calibration trims the picture to the table; it cannot stretch a picture that is too small.

Minimum clearance by table size

Inches from the table top to the ceiling that each pick needs, from the same fit check that powers Get Started. Your room needs to clear both your camera column and your projector column.

Table	MX Brio camera	H110 camera	ViewSonic PS502W	Optoma GT2000HDR / GT1080HDRx / UHD35STx	BenQ TH671ST
6 ft	46 in	37 in	41 in	40 in	52 in
7 ft (bar)	53 in	41 in	47 in	46 in	60 in
8 ft (home)	59 in	44 in	52 in	50 in	67 in
8 ft+ (pro 8)	61 in	45 in	54 in	52 in	70 in
9 ft (tournament)	65 in	48 in	59 in	56 in	76 in
10 ft (snooker)	73 in	51 in	65 in	63 in	84 in

A standard 8 ft ceiling gives about 65 in. That clears an 8 ft table with every short-throw pick and the MX Brio, and it is right at the MX Brio's limit over a 9 ft table — which is exactly the case the wide-angle camera exists for.

Check before you buy — a recommendation can still be wrong for your room. Put your ceiling height and table size into the 3D room configurator, place the projector, and confirm full-table coverage before ordering.

Brightness, resolution and light source

• Brightness — about 2,500 ANSI lumens is the floor in controlled light; 3,000+ is recommended, because the projector has to compete with the table light. If a projector is too bright for ball detection, FusionCue can dim it: Settings → Hardware → Projected overlay brightness.
• Resolution — the verified PS502W is WXGA (1280×800), and it works well. A 1080p projector is noticeably clearer: the picture is stretched across an entire table, so extra pixels show up as crisper text, thinner lines and cleaner ball markers. 4K is sharper again. Resolution changes how the table looks, not how FusionCue tracks or scores, so buy the sharpest short-throw projector your budget allows.
• Laser or LED light sources need no lamp replacements and start instantly. Lamp models are cheaper, especially used.
• Input — HDMI.
• Geometry controls — zoom or digital corner adjustment is a nice safety margin, but FusionCue's own calibration does the precise fitting, and it can rotate or un-mirror the picture in software if your mount flips it.

Camera

The camera mounts directly over the centre of the table, pointing straight down. It is the only sensor FusionCue has, so its job is simple and strict: see the entire cloth, all four rails and all six pockets, sharply and steadily.

The Logitech MX Brio is the camera every FusionCue rig has been tuned on.

What makes a camera work

• Coverage — table detection locks onto the six pockets and the cushion tops, which sit outside the playing surface. A camera that frames only the cloth fails even though "the table" is in view. You need the rails plus a margin.
• Ball size in pixels — a ball should be 20 or more pixels across in the picture (12 is the hard floor). An extreme ultra-wide lens sees the table from anywhere but makes every ball too small. Get Started shows the px-per-ball figure for your room.
• Locked exposure, focus and white balance — a camera that keeps re-focusing or re-exposing mid-drill makes tracking jitter. FusionCue can lock focus for you (Settings → Hardware → Camera focus).
• No "smart" features — turn off auto framing, subject tracking and background effects. They move the picture.
• 1080p at 30 fps minimum. 60 fps is smoother and the MX Brio delivers it at 1080p.
• USB webcam or HDMI capture. USB is simplest. A camera with HDMI out through a capture card also works.

Which camera

	Logitech MX Brio	SVPRO / ELP 4K with the H110 lens
Status	FusionCue verified	FusionCue verified
Best for	Standard ceilings (about 8 ft and up)	Low ceilings (7 to 8 ft)
Field of view	90° diagonal (82° horizontal) at its widest	110°, corrected in FusionCue
Frame rate	4K at 30 fps · 1080p at 60 fps	1080p at 60 fps
Connection	USB-C	USB 3.0 and HDMI
Mount thread	1/4"-20 socket	Its own yoke bracket
Price	About $200 new · $95–$130 used	About $150 new · $60–$90 used

About the H110 camera — tested on a FusionCue table: over an 8 ft table it frames every pocket from 40 in above the cloth. Its focus is manual: once it is mounted, loosen the small screw beside the lens, turn the lens until the balls look sharp in FusionCue's camera preview, and tighten the screw again. When you order it, select the H110 lens option — its other lens options are not this recommendation.

Avoid bargain webcams (soft optics, no manual controls) and any camera whose widest view still crops a rail.

Lighting

Lighting is hardware too, and it is the piece people most often get wrong.

A perimeter light frames the table's outline, so nothing hangs between the camera and the cloth.

Why a traditional pool table light will not work

A conventional pool light hangs over the middle of the table — exactly where the camera has to look and where the projector has to throw. Its shade, bar and cables block part of the cloth, the hot spot under it washes out the balls beneath it, and the corners fall into shadow. Ball tracking needs the whole table visible and lit the same everywhere.

What to use instead

A perimeter light: a continuous LED frame around the table's footprint. Nothing hangs over the cloth, the player and cue never throw a hard shadow on the balls, and brightness is even from corner to corner.

• Perimeter Billiard Lights makes frames sized for 7, 8 and 9 ft tables.
• DIY works just as well: LED strip in an aluminium channel, hung around the table's outline at the same height on every side.
• Keep every fixture outside the camera's view and the projector's beam.
• Avoid direct sunlight that moves across the table through the day, and single bare bulbs that cast one hard shadow.

Let FusionCue control the light

Optional, about $10: put the table light on a TP-Link Kasa or Tapo smart plug and FusionCue switches it off for shot-result animations, opponent casts and Entertainment, then back on when play resumes. It works over your local network with no hub. Setup is in Smart Light.

FusionCue also drives DMX fixtures and Philips Hue for light shows. That is entertainment lighting, separate from lighting the table for play.

Monitor or TV

You need one ordinary screen for the FusionCue app itself — the drill library, settings, scores and replays. Any HDMI monitor or TV works. Keep it permanently connected: it is where Windows setup and maintenance happen, and the projector stays the second display.

A wall-mounted TV near the table is the nicest version. In an internet match your opponent's table is cast onto your cloth and their video shows on this screen, so bigger is better.

Keyboard and mouse

A mini PC ships without them. A wireless keyboard with a built-in touchpad is the tidy choice for a game room; any 2.4 GHz USB-receiver or Bluetooth set works. You will mostly use it for setup — during play the phone or tablet remote and voice commands do the work.

Microphone

Optional. A microphone does three things in FusionCue:

• Voice commands — "Hey Cue, show me how to run this out", "Hey Cue, turn projection off" and the rest, hands-free at the table. See Basic Functionality.
• Your voice in internet matches.
• Your voice on recordings and Go Live streams.

The camera's built-in mic is enough for basic commands. A wireless clip-on (lavalier) mic is far better for recordings, coaching and streaming, because it stays the same distance from your mouth while you walk around the table. Any wireless lav whose receiver plugs into the PC over USB-C works:

One transmitter and one receiver — all a single player needs.

Kit	Why
DJI Mic Mini (1 TX + 1 RX)	The sweet spot for one player
DJI Mic 2 (2 TX + 1 RX)	Two transmitters, noise cancelling for a lively room
Hollyland Lark M2	The budget pick, button-sized transmitters

Pick the input under Settings → Hardware → Microphone.

Headphones and speakers

Sound effects and your opponent's voice play through Windows' default audio output, so TV or monitor speakers are enough to start.

Wireless headphones (Bluetooth) are optional and worth it for internet matches and lessons: you hear your opponent clearly over the room, and their voice does not come out of your speakers and back into your microphone.

Phone or tablet remote

Optional and free: pair a phone or tablet by QR code and use it as a full controller — launch and control drills, show cue-ball paths, record clips, chat. It runs in the browser, so there is nothing to install. See Phone & Tablet Remote.

Mounts and cables

Do not treat these as an afterthought — a camera that sags or a cable that drops out is the most common cause of "it worked yesterday".

Item	What to buy	Notes
Projector mount	ONKRON K3A (11–15 in drop) or suptek PR05LW (31–49 in drop)	Match the drop to your mount height
Camera mount	VAUBORTTI arm or UYODM articulating arms	Both fit the MX Brio's 1/4"-20 socket directly
Camera cable	Active USB 3.0 extension, 25–100 ft	Needed beyond about 10 ft; a passive extension will drop frames
Projector cable	Active optical HDMI, 15–150 ft	It is directional: "Source" end at the PC

All of these are linked under Hardware accessories on Get Started. How to install them is in Hardware Installation.

Buying used

Most of a FusionCue rig is ordinary consumer hardware with a deep used market, and buying used can cut the total by half. Every product card on Get Started has a Shop eBay link and shows a current used price range next to the new price.

Item	New	Typical used
ViewSonic PS502W projector	$575	$150–$500
Optoma GT1080HDRx projector	From $1,095	$675–$800
BenQ TH671ST projector	$949	$450–$750
Logitech MX Brio camera	$200	$95–$130
GMKtec M7 Ultra mini PC	$600	$400–$500
ZYNEEX S5 desktop (RTX 3050)	$810	$450–$600

Checked September 13, 2026.

Used projectors

Projectors are the best used buy — schools and offices replace them constantly.

• Search by throw ratio, not by brand. Any short-throw model around 0.5 with HDMI and 3,000+ lumens is a candidate. Older short-throw classroom projectors are often excellent value. Run the exact model through the 3D room configurator before you bid.
• Ask for lamp hours. A lamp near the end of its rated life is a hidden cost; price in a replacement. Laser and LED models avoid the question.
• Check the picture: no dead pixels, no dust blobs, no yellowed or blotchy areas, and even focus corner to corner.
• Make sure the remote is included. Many menu options, including input selection and ceiling-mount settings, are remote-only.
• Confirm the mounting holes are intact; they take the full weight overhead.

Used PCs

• Hold the same line as new: six-core Core i5 / Ryzen 5 class, 16 GB RAM (32 GB with built-in graphics), SSD, graphics at the floor, two display outputs.
• A used gaming desktop with a dedicated GPU is usually the best value per dollar — more graphics headroom than a new mini PC for less money.
• Confirm Windows 10 or 11 is activated, and that the GPU is actually in the listing photos.
• Most office PCs have Intel UHD graphics, which is below the floor. Buy one only as a tower or small-form-factor unit with room for a graphics card (GTX 1650, RTX 3050 or RX 6400 class), and check the case size and power supply first. Tiny and micro units have no slot for a card, so skip them.

Used cameras

• The MX Brio sells used for about half its new price. Confirm the listing is the MX Brio specifically, that the lens is unscratched, and that the USB-C cable is included.

What not to buy used

Cables and mounts. They are cheap new, an active cable's electronics do not age well, and a mount holds weight over people's heads. Buy them new and stay under every rated load.

Still unsure?

Ask before you spend. Send your room dimensions, table size and the gear you are considering — setup help is free.

• Discord — discord.gg/jpj26WZYRj, the fastest route.
• Phone — +1 330 550 5143.
• In the app — Setup help knows your PC and walks you through the rest once the hardware arrives.

Next: Hardware Installation.