I'm so torn cause I want a capture card so I can speedrun SMO but I don't know what to buy. Help is appreciated

There’s a thread with recommended capture devices.

https://www.speedrun.com/streaming_recording_equipment/thread/1mkl1

For a budget option, you could also look into the “el cheapo” that has been mentioned positively by a few people.

https://www.speedrun.com/streaming_recording_equipment/thread/bm5er

Plenty of people run SMO without a capture card, though. You could start out just by pointing a camera at the TV screen.