Is great. That's all.
Plays on my now ageing Surface Pro 4 and doesn't even cook it.
GeForce Then:
It's an interesting concept but you're basically just streaming a game from a remote server, no?
What's the subscription cost and what about input /output lag on fast paced multiplayer games?
Just downloaded it, there's a free option all the info is on the geofrce now website. Worth a go just to use on games on your steam account.
Yes you are streaming a game from a remote server BUT you are only paying for the server. You link it to your Steam, Epic or er Ubisoft (I think) accounts and you just play the games you own there. Works for me because I don't have a gaming PC, and I'm using my Surface Pro.
It's £9/mo essentially for the rental of a PC - or £16 for a high spec one. I didn't notice lag at all but I've nothing to compare it with. Theoretically it might be better since only your inputs are going via your broadband, everyone else's actions are going to nVidia's data centre.
Unless the game is on the device you are using then everything is getting streamed so all graphics, movements, etc are being sent from remote system which will use a lot of resources and bandwidth (which will introduce lag and delays)...as far as I know.
Of course it uses a lot of bandwidth, but if you have that it's not bad at all. I have no issues with it. Clearly competitive COD or whatever isn't going to be quite as good but for general gaming it seems fine.
There is noticeable lag but it's absolutely fine for casual gaming, you can quickly get used to it. It's honestly quite impressive
Can you play any game on it now? When I tried the beta it was limited titles only.
It's probably the way things are headed. Microsoft have been flirting with it for years but the infrastructure hasn't quite been there, or at least not widespread enough. The current Xbox has a lot of titles that say something like "you can play this from the cloud! (but for best results, install it)"
Now that we've done away with the need for physical media for most practical purposes, there's increasingly little reason to have expensive hardware sat at home. And what company doesn't love a rolling subscription model?
I just occured to me that with electric prices going up too, an nvidia 3080ti will set you back £800 just for the graphics card, and commands probably a minimum of a 750w power supply, not that they will consume that much power, but they are quite thirsty.
Certainly doesn't make a subscription service any less appealing! assuming the service is up to the job.
Can you play any game on it now?
Yeah it links to your own Steam account so you can play anything on there.
Suggestion is 350W or so for a decent gaming PC consumption whilst gaming, versus what, 40W on a laptop or about 80 for a low end office desktop. I worked out that I'd save roughly half the cost of the sub on electricity, given a heavy week for me might be 12 hours or so.
On top of the cost of the PC itself. I don't own one and I can't really afford one, but I want to play a specific PC game for multiplayer reasons among others.
Xbox cloud gaming works quite well, but doesn't do 4k resolution (I don't think anyway, correct me if wrong)
We use Xbox cloud gaming quite a lot sometimes from an Android tablet paired with an Xbox controller and sometimes from a steamdeck.
What resolution does geforce now stream at?
Suggestion is 350W or so for a decent gaming PC
LOL! And the rest.. A pc with a 350w power supply unit will be an office machine at best.
A pc with a 350w power supply unit will be an office machine at best.
Yeah but whilst they have 750W power supplies, I read that they don't use it all the time, just peak loads. I'd be surprised if it were 750W all the time - that'd be like having a heater under your desk.
What resolution does geforce now stream at?
HD on the cheap tier, 4k on the premium one.
Power supplies are sized for peak load - CPU and GPU both maxed out plus ancillaries, even though its a rare event where both will be fully loaded. Newer GPUs also tend to have peak loads a fair bit above the normal rated draw so a hefty margin on your PSU is needed.
For casual gaming Geforce now is great, but the input lag really got on my nerves when I tried it after my GPU died during the the great GPU drought of 2021. Was fine if annoying on singleplayer games though.
So after a bit of faffing with syncing my Steam account I had a go on the free option. I played Witcher 3 - Wild Hunt which is installed on my PC. It can only run at 1600x900 or somesuch on the free option. I turned everything to Ultra, there's no way it'll be playable on my PC on Ultra. Other than the wait to load (because of the free Geforce now, and resolution limit) it played no problem at a full 60fps. No issues with bandwidth. I was really quite impressed, if I had the time to play more often I'd happily pay the sub fee seeing as a new graphics card is about 2 years of subscriptions.
Edit: The HD resolution, does look shit FWIW on the free streaming option.
A pc with a 350w power supply unit will be an office machine at best.
There are plenty of cards capable of decent 1080p performance that have fairly modest power draws. 1650 super needs 110w. Not everybody needs or buys top end stuff.
Tried it on my crappy work PC with a smaller monitor, my word it's impressive!
I'm playing Elite Dangerous, and whilst I don't mind the HD resolution on the actual game objects, it's shit for on-screen text and instruments etc which feature heavily in this. But I can live with it to save £8/mo.
Best thing about it is that it's your own Steam account with all your normal stuff on it - no rebuy required.
