Nvidia's GeForce Now cloud gaming service feels like playing on a high-end gaming PC. Posted by. on The promise of cloud gaming holds clear appeal. High-end gaming on any Internet-connected PC, even crappy old laptops that couldn’t dream of running games normally? But the reality has been much more disappointing.
Forebears like OnLive and Gaikai are remembered more for their bugginess and lag than genuine gaming goodness. The small horde of cloud gaming services popping up over the last couple of years likewise struggle with reliability issues. Nvidia’s game streaming could be the real deal. The in late January, and it’s the first cloud gaming service I’ve used that doesn’t require major compromises on a regular basis. Hell, it actively takes a lot of the headaches out of maintaining a gaming rig. If your network can handle it—and even my humble 25Mbps Comcast home Internet connection could—and you can wrap your brain around some weird interface quirks, you’ll be pulling off headshots and executing other precision moves in-game in no time.
Nov 6, 2017 - Nvidia's GeForce Now streaming service has come to Mac, letting you play the latest games on your Apple device.
And better yet, you’ll be doing it at no cost whatsoever for the duration of the beta period. In an era of, the GeForce Now beta may be just the lifeline gamers have been waiting for. Let’s dig into Nvidia’s cloud gaming service.
GeForce Now system requirements Before you can dive in, you’ll need to get in. There’s for the service while it’s in closed beta. Nvidia hasn’t said when GeForce Now will fully launch. Register and wait for a spot to open.
Because GeForce Now behaves similarly to Netflix—the games are run on Nvidia servers and streamed to your PC—the are minimal. You’ll need a Core i3 processor clocked at 3.1GHz or higher (or a comparable AMD chip), 4GB of system memory, and graphics that can run DirectX 9. Many chips released over the past decade check those boxes. The GeForce Now executable is only 54.6MB in size, though the final product consumes a hair over 2GB in total on my system. A Mac client is also available.
Brad Chacos/IDG Your network will probably be the biggest hurdle. GeForce Now requires a 25Mbps connection, and recommends 50Mbps or higher.
Nvidia says you’ll need to use hardwired ethernet or a 5GHz Wi-Fi connection as well—a typical 2.4GHz connection won’t cut it. GeForce Now tests your connection strength and won’t let you run games if your network isn’t up to snuff. The tester also measures your latency to Nvidia’s servers, and what percentage of frames are lost in transit, though the frame loss measurement acted weird in my testing. It said that almost 80 percent of frames were lost on a PC wired directly into my Comcast modem/router combo, even though dropped frames has never been an issue for me.
Fortunately, it still allowed me to use GeForce Now, and games ran smoothly through the service. Most and work out of the box with GeForce Now. I tried a couple of different headsets (one digital, one analog) and a pair of speakers on my desktop; all functioned as expected. Microphones worked like a charm, too. Controller support is a bit more limited, with only the Sony, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 controller ( not Xbox One), and Logitech’s Gamepad /F510/ supported. It didn’t bother me much, because the Xbox 360 controller is still the greatest gamepad ever made.
Brad Chacos GeForce Now is also available for Apple computers. Here’s Witcher 3 running on a MacBook Air at CES 2017. GeForce Now supported games Here’s where things get a little thorny.
The first mental roadblock you’ll need to navigate around is the name itself. GeForce Now has been available for years on. GeForce Now for PCs and Macs sports the same name, but it’s a different beast entirely.
PCWorld’s gets into the nitty-gritty details but basically, GeForce Now for Shield is like Netflix for games. You pay $8 per month and can stream a selection of games as much as you want. GeForce Now for PCs and Macs instead grants you access to a virtual gaming PC on Nvidia servers, where you can install and run games you already own from Steam, Uplay, and Blizzard’s Battle.net. Fortnite and League of Legends can also be played. (Support for Origin and GOG games was mentioned in the original GeForce Now, but they haven’t appeared in the client yet.) The PC service doesn’t let you play any games you haven’t already obtained though supported storefronts, but storage is unlimited via GeForce Now. Install all the games you want. Brad Chacos/IDG The GeForce Now homescreen.
After installing GeForce Now and logging into (or creating) your Nvidia account, you’re dumped into a clean but disorienting interface. The GeForce Now homescreen features a gigantic, scrolling list of games, separated by genre and other classifications. It also includes games you don’t own. Selecting a game boots you into its storefront, where you’re able to install it (or given the option to purchase the game) after logging into your account for that platform. It was much easier for me to find my games by using the search interface in the toolbar. Using the search feature reveals another quirk: A lot of games are missing from the GeForce Now library, even though the service can run any game from Steam.
That’s because only are officially supported, including most of the heavy hitters you’d expect like Dota 2, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike Global Offensive, Witcher 3, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Skyrim, and more. Only supported games appear in searches or the GeForce Now homescreen. Brad Chacos/IDG Searching for supported games is vastly superior to scouring the GeForce Now homescreen. Notice that only one XCOM game is shown. “These are games that we’ve tested and include support for quick install, persistent saves (game save data will persist from session to session), cloud saves (if the individual game supports it), and quick launches following the initial game session,” Nvidia’s Jordan Dodge tells me. After you install a supported game in GeForce Now, it’ll permanently appear in your Library tab, making it much faster to find it in the future. The homescreen interface would be vastly more helpful if it included the ability to sort through all supported games in alphabetical order, especially since you already need to own them to play them.
Brad Chacos/IDG But you can coax non-supported Steam games into working too, though GeForce Now doesn’t make it obvious. If you want to install non-supported Steam games, simply click the arrow to the right of your user name in GeForce Now’s upper-right corner, then click the Manage Steam option.
The Steam interface appears, and you can use it to navigate to your library and manually install the game of your choice. “Most unsupported games should just work,” Dodge says.
“However, the game may take a while to install, your progress will not be saved, there will be no optimal playable settings, and you will need to reinstall the game the next time you run Steam.” Brad Chacos/IDG That’s all true, but if your game of choice supports Steam Cloud saves, it doesn’t matter that Nvidia doesn’t save your progress through GeForce Now. The initial install on supported games is astonishingly fast, taking mere seconds.
Nvidia’s connection blasts through unsupported games at a blistering rate too, though, as you can see in the image above. Downloading XCOM: Enemy Unknown’s 9.2GB only took a couple of minutes. You’ll need to repeat the process whenever you want to play an unsupported game, though, and unsupported games never appear in your GeForce Now library for quick access. The lackluster main interface and the way Nvidia hides non-supported Steam games are my biggest gripes with GeForce Now, but those are the sort of things that can be fixed quickly. I have no complaints about the core GeForce Now experience—actually playing games. Next page: GeForce Now performance, price, and bottom line GeForce Now performance Nvidia did it. Cloud gaming’s promise has finally become reality.
GeForce Now feels just as good as playing on a dedicated gaming machine, at least in the early days of the beta, and on my setup. I don’t even have a face-melting connection, which made me keen to test the service. My basic Comcast home Internet plan promises at least 25Mbps download speeds, barely skirting by GeForce Now’s minimum requirement, and doesn’t deliver much more than that. Because of that I tested the service while plugged into my router via ethernet the entire time.
And it ran like a champ despite GeForce Now network scans that (incorrectly) claimed I was dropping frames left and right. Brad Chacos/IDG I’d notice if I was dropping nearly 80 percent of frames, and I don’t know why the app kept saying I was. Supported games installed and were ready to play in mere seconds. Once I booted into games they looked beautiful, powered by GeForce Now’s GTX 1080-equivalent graphics.
(In-game settings reveal the real hardware as a Tesla P40 with 24.5GB of VRAM.) GeForce Now automatically uses Nvidia’s for some of its games, but the service doesn’t hide or lock any in-game visual settings. Even with the eye candy cranked in modern triple-A games, frame rates stayed nice and high, never dipping below 60 frames per second in the titles I tested, and often going much higher. GeForce Now defaults to 1920x1080 resolution but lets you crank that up to 2560x1600 if you have a monitor that can handle it.
The virtual PC’s potent graphics hardware can keep the pedal to the metal at those resolutions. Brad Chacos/IDG Sweeping up Destiny 2’s gorgeous vistas.
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Gaming feels great, too. With every other cloud gaming service I’ve tested, you always felt like you were battling the technical infrastructure—lag, stuttering, pixelated images, et cetera—just as much as your enemies.
Not with GeForce Now. Playing several games at several different times felt utterly smooth. The service does add a very small bit of latency to your inputs but never enough to affect your gameplay if you’re not an ultra-competitive MLG Pro. I only noticed it when using a mouse and keyboard in fast-action games like the Doom reboot, and mostly when I was actively trying to detect lag in my role as a reviewer. (Trying to play Doom forced me away from the rival LiquidSky beta last summer.) My brain and reactions adjusted quickly. Lag was largely imperceptible when pulling off headshots with a controller in Destiny 2, even during busier weekend hours.
Brad Chacos/IDG The Ultra Streaming Mode toggle lurks in GeForce Now’s otherwise barren settings screen. If you encounter latency issues, hop into the GeForce Now app’s settings and activate Ultra-Streaming Mode. “Adjusts in-game settings to minimize latency,” the description reads. “This may affect visual quality and cause performance issues on some systems.” I never had to use it, so I can’t speak to its efficiency. Some small quirks remind you that you’re using a cloud gaming service from time to time. Once, later in the afternoon, I received a message that “Lots of people are using GeForce Now right now, you’ll be connected as soon as possible.” The game still launched in less than 30 seconds.
Another time—just once—the game became heavily pixelated and lagged for a few seconds in the middle of a hot and heavy Destiny 2 public event. Those are the only minor issues I encountered in several hours of gameplay. Your mileage may vary depending on your network conditions and distance to Nvidia’s servers.
Brad Chacos/IDG The single time GeForce Now hiccuped in many hours of testing, it got real ugly—though the disruption lasted less than 10 seconds. If you pay close attention to the visuals you’ll sometimes notice minor compromises introduced by the service. A lot of the time graphics appear flawless. But image quality can occasionally be slightly softer than what you’d see on a comparable local gaming rig, and fine details slightly less fine—there’s sometimes a vague sense of graininess.
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Stark, straight lines sometimes can show some jaggies even with anti-aliasing settings cranked, particularly in text. You have to look hard for most of these issues, though, and the fact that I normally play these games on similarly high-powered gaming rigs means I’m probably more prone to noticing them. If you have a lower-powered gaming machine (or no gaming machine) you probably wouldn’t even notice them—the softness doesn’t affect gameplay whatsoever. You’d just be awed at how good everything looks overall. GeForce Now also takes the administrative hassle out of PC gaming, keeping your games and graphics drivers up to date. Nvidia’s GeForce Experience software is active when you’re gaming, too. GeForce Now price and bottom line GeForce Now knocks it out of the park.
It’s the first cloud gaming service that feels like playing on a local rig. It can turn crappy laptops into high-end gaming systems. Bravo, Nvidia. This is a stunning technical achievement. Some interface quirks aside, the biggest questions revolve around the service’s future, and doesn’t affect beta users. Will remain free for the extent of its beta period. How much it costs when the service opens to everyone is the big question.
Nvidia GeForce Now lets you put one of these in your t.
The long-anticipated GeForce NOW for PC is finally here. Well, at least a beta version of the software. However, here at TechNadu, we were thrilled to be a part of the open beta test. This allowed us to check out the new technology and see if Nvidia managed to fulfill its promises. So, welcome to our review of the beta version of GeForce Now for PC. First, let’s get to know this subscription service a bit. The following information will come in handy if this is the first time you’re encountering a technology like this.
Here’s a quick rundown of the most important facts. Final Verdict Pros Incredible performance; Nicely designed UI; Intuitive to use; Works as advertised.
Cons Resolution drops; A subscription-based library is missing. Final Verdict Despite a few setbacks, GeForce NOW has the power to revolutionize today’s gaming. This a major step for the entire gaming industry, in the right direction. Our Score 9.6/10 Finally, let’s take a deep look at the current state of GeForce NOW. Keep on reading to learn more about this game streaming service.
GeForce NOW for PC/Mac: The Basics Before diving into our review, let’s pause for a moment to explain the basics. You probably already know that this is a subscription-based service. However, there isn’t a lot of competition at the moment. That’s because GeForce NOW is a unique service, which means that you’ll need some time to learn the ropes. Let’s answer some of the basic questions. What is Nvidia GeForce NOW?
GeForce is Nvidia’s subscription-based gaming service. Instead of using your computer’s GPU, you can use some of the most powerful Nvidia’s GPUs located in the cloud. In essence, this is a server farm equipped with high-end graphics cards and processors. You install and run your games from a remote server, which means that your PC uses that server and its processors and graphics cards.
In other words, your computer simply becomes a shell that is using a lot of computer power remotely. This is how you can play AAA games on your PC at ultra-high settings, without any lags, even if you have an old computer. Sounds amazing, right?
Isn’t There Another GeForce NOW? You might be wondering what’s so special about this service today, since GeForce NOW was introduced more than two years ago? Well, you are right. Nvidia’s subscription-based gaming service launched in October of 2015. However, we are not talking about that service in this article.
The original GeForce NOW was released for the company’s. Priced at $8 per month, you can still play tons of games up to 60 frames per second. However, the next-generation GeForce NOW is available on PCs and Macs. These are actually two different products, so here’s a quick rundown of the most important differences. First, let’s take a look at the version made for Nvidia’s Shield devices. GeForce NOW for PC/Mac Supported Platforms Windows and Mac. Unique Features Doesn’t bring its own game library; Designed for PCs and Macs; You buy a certain play time (no monthly fixed price).
Available GPUs The latest GeForce GTX GPUs. Max Settings Up to 4K / Up to 120 frames per second. Price To be announced. Visit As you can see, the biggest difference here is that you get to play games that you already own on your PC or Mac.
Instead of paying for a subscription, you will have to buy a certain package that brings 10 or 20 hours of use. Even though their name is the same, these are two very different services. GeForce NOW for PC Review – Specifics We understand that you probably have a lot of questions. So, we will try to answer all of them. We’ll start with the basics and then we’ll guide you through the entire application. Our goal is let you know all you need to know about this service by the end of this article.
Let’s get started. Platform Compatibility GeForce NOW is designed for older computers – as well as anyone who wants to play PC games at ultra-high settings.
However, you need to have a broadband Internet connection. Our Score: 10/10. Even though the software is still in beta, we have the official requirements. GeForce NOW can be used on a large range of Windows PCs as well as on Mac computers.
Here are the requirements. Windows PC Requirements Processor Intel i3 with 3.1GHz or faster. RAM 4GB of system memory. GPU Any GPU that at least supports DirectX 9 As you can see, you don’t need to have a powerful PC. Actually, that’s the whole point of this service. It should run just fine even on older computers that aren’t meant for gaming. However, there’s another important requirement.
Since this is a Web-based service, it requires a 25Mbps Internet download speed. Actually, it’s recommended that you have a 50Mbps download speed or up. In addition, you will need to use a 5GHz wireless router, or you can connect to the Web via hardwired Ethernet connection. The bottom line is that you can use a very old Windows PC but you absolutely need a very fast Internet connection.
This is the only way to ensure smooth framerates without any drops in resolution. Installation Process Nvidia has done a marvelous job of making the installation as simple as it can be. The software does all the work on its own. Our Score: 10/10. You might think that a software like this one has a complicated installation process.
However, that’s not the case. After downloading GeForce NOW on your computer (it’s close to 60MB in size, so it’s a fairly small file), you need to install it. Double-click on the installation file and the software will do the rest of the job. After a few moments, the application will launch. First, you will need to agree to the Terms and Conditions before you continue.
Then, you need to log in to your Nvidia account by clicking on ‘Log In’ in the top-right corner. After a few moments, your username will appear and you’re ready to start using this service. In case you don’t see a Network Testing tool, it’s advisable to run this test and make sure you can use the service. This tool can be found under your profile picture (top-right corner) – named Test My Network. The software will determine if your Internet connection is capable enough to stream games by taking a look at three factors: bandwidth, frame loss, and latency. Hopefully, you’ll check all three and you can finally start gaming.
User Interface The GeForce NOW application is very simple but also nicely designed. Once you open it, you are just a few clicks away from playing the games you already own. Our Score: 9.5/10. In case you’re already using the GeForce Experience application to update your GPU drivers, you’ll know what to expect.
During the last couple of years, Nvidia started making easy-to-use software that looks very nice as well. The existing rules also apply to GeForce NOW. All of the important options are visible on the home page, and you don’t have to dig deep to find advanced options. When you open the application, you will see its home screen. It consists of a grid of available games.
They are nicely categorized into different categories, so you can easily check out the available titles. In case you don’t own any games, you can try free-to-play titles. However, this streaming service is made for those who already have a rich library of PC games on their computers. On the left side of the screen, you will see two tabs in the sidebar.
The ‘Games’ tab is the home screen of the application. It simply lists the supported games. Then, there’s the ‘Library’ tab. This is where your games will appear, after you play them for the first time. That’s pretty much everything you can expect. At the top of the screen, you will find a search tool, application’s settings, and settings related to your account.
When it comes to application settings, there isn’t much to tinker with. You can turn on the ‘Ultra Streaming Mode’ if you have a very capable connection and wish to minimize latency. Speed & Performance Despite a few sudden resolution drops, GeForce NOW manages to run games at ultra-high settings with ease. However, remember that we’re testing the beta version. Our Score: 9/10. Finally, it’s time to take a look at how this service actually works. After all, you’re not here to read about the UI – you are here because you want to know if GeForce NOW can run the latest games at ultra-high settings.
Starting a New Game Once you open the application, you will see a list of supported games. At the moment, these are games from the Steam store and from the uPlay store. This means that you need to buy one of these games, or you can play those that you already own.
Hover over any of the games available here, and you’ll see a green button that says ‘Play’. Click on it, and you’ll need to sign-in to your Steam or uPlay account. The software will recognize that you own the game and it will begin playing it in an instant. This means that you don’t have to install games on your hard drive. The game is already installed on a remote server and you can run it from there. You can save your progress and load your progress at any moment.
In addition, you can load saved games via Steam. In case you haven’t played something for some time, you can launch GeForce NOW and start playing where you left off. It all happens in the background, without much input needed from your side. Server-Side Optimizations The good news is that the majority of the available games have been optimized by Nvidia.
This means that you don’t have to tinker with the game’s settings. Once you hit the ‘Play’ button, the game will load and you’ll be able to play in an instant. Continue where you left off – and you’ll be surprised by how well games look. There’s no need to tinker with anything.
Nvidia has done a great job of making the application very simple to use, while providing top of the line performance. Gameplay Performance We have tested this application by playing two very different games. Those are Mad Max and Planet Coaster. Even though they aren’t exactly the newest, both of these are quite challenging for an average gaming computer. Without using GeForce NOW, we could play Mad Max at up to medium-quality settings. The same applies to Planet Coaster. Using GeForce NOW, both of these games become available at ultra-high settings, taking a whole new appearance with plenty of beautiful visuals.
When it comes to Mad Max, it is required that you have an Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTX 760 graphics card. Of course, we are talking about running the game without GeForce NOW. Click to open in a new tab (full-resolution image). Once Nvidia’s software becomes part of the equation, all of these specs become irrelevant. The software manages to provide top-of-line visuals without any drops in resolution or frame rate.
Even in the most intense scenes where a lot of moving objects along with sand and fire are involved, the game runs perfectly fine. What’s also interesting to note is that our computer stayed relatively cool during the whole process – with the fan barely turning on.
Take a look at the video capture below which should illustrate the gameplay performance. Next, we have decided to test GeForce NOW using a game named Planet Coaster. In case you liked the Rollercoaster Tycoon, we are sure you’ve tried the recently-released game.
It brings highly polished visuals, along with advanced simulation techniques. This game isn’t only demanding when it comes to a GPU unit but also requires a powerful processor.
Click to open in a new tab (full-resolution image). Before we had a chance to test GeForce NOW, our computer managed to run Planet Coaster at up to medium settings. However, our processor (Intel Core i5) struggled with numerous calculations. Once we managed to build a park and attract more than 1,500 guests, the game became close to unplayable. As you can imagine by now, things are completely different with Nvidia’s technology involved.
We managed to play the game at ultra-high settings. In addition, it seems like Nvidia’s servers did the computing as well because 1,500 guests aren’t even a challenge anymore. However, we did notice quite a few resolution drops. This could happen due to two reasons. First, there might be a server overload or the game isn’t still fully optimized for this service. Either way, we are sure things will change once the product gets released to the public.
Game Availability At the moment, more than 100 games await – and the software is still in beta. The chances are that GeForce NOW will most certainly feature your favorite games. Our Score 9.5/10.
Before you can use GeForce NOW, there are two things you need to check. First, you need to have a valid game license. In other words, you need to buy a game from Steam or uPlay. Then, you need to check if that game is compatible with Nvidia’s streaming service.
Among some of the most popular titles, you can find Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds, Fortnite, Overwatch, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, League of Legends, and more. Then, there’s also Football Manager 2018, Injustice 2, numerous Assassin’s Creed titles, Farcry Primal, Watch Dogs, and numerous others. However, you should know that all of these games are supported but some aren’t still optimized. Unoptimized games can start with low settings and you need to adjust the settings manually. Titles in bold come optimized. As you’ll see, there are more than one hundred titles – and the software is still in beta. We believe that GeForce NOW will manage to bring the latest titles once it gets officially released.
Pricing There isn’t any official information about the pricing of this incredible service. Therefore, we won’t provide any score for this aspect of GeForce NOW. At this moment, Nvidia hasn’t come up with any news regarding the service’s pricing.
However, there are some indications to how the company will decide to approach this problem. The version of the GeForce NOW for Shield devices is priced at $7.99 per month.
However, GeForce NOW for PC is an entirely different product. More importantly, it requires a lot of processing power, which translates to huge expenses for Nvidia. That’s why we expect from this service not to be the most affordable option out there. There are some indications that GeForce NOW will come with a free trial period. You can choose to play using a GTX 1060 (and receive eight hours of play time) or using a GTX 1080 (and receive four hours of play time). From there on, you can pay $25 and receive a 20-hour block on the 1060 GPU, or a 10-hour block on the 1080 GPU.
In case you’re a hardcore gamer and you wish to play using the GTX 1080 GPU, this could easily cost you up to $50 or more per month. Once again, we want to highlight that we don’t know the price of this service just yet. Nvidia might come with a subscription-based plan, which is something that would make us very happy. In case this service turns out to be not as affordable, you can use it until you save enough to. The Verdict Here at TechNadu, we were quite excited to finally try out Nvidia’s latest project. And we have to say that we’re not disappointed in any way.
Thanks to GeForce NOW, every PC can be the ultimate gaming PC. This will make you look at your games in a whole new way. Finally, this is a very exciting technology that can change the entire gaming industry. PROS: Streamlined installation; Nicely designed UI; Lots of supported games; Very easy to use; Amazing performance; No resolution/framerate drops.
CONS: You need to own games to play them; Might be expensive to use in the long run. OUR SCORE: 9.6/10. Final Words There you have it, hardcore gamers. We hope that you enjoyed reading our review of GeForce NOW for PC. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post them below. We’ll do our best to answer them as soon as possible. In case you’re as excited about GeForce NOW as much as we are, why not share this article online?
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