NVIDIA GeForce NOW turns your computer into a powerful gaming rig

Requirements for games change year after year, especially for new titles that are performance demanding. To help gamers curb the need to upgrade their PC’s specifications to play the latest games, NVIDIA has introduced the GeForce NOW.

Although still in beta, the GeForce NOW has already cast lasting impressions even before their showcase at the recently concluded Consumers Electronics Show (CES) 2018.

What is GeForce NOW?

GeForce NOW is NVIDIA’s solution to give owners of low-performance PCs or Macs a way to play games like PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS, Injustice 2, etc. It works by rendering PC games in the cloud and then streaming it back to your gaming devices.

Using the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPUs, gamers can set the in-game settings to the optimum. It is also capable of increasing the frame rates from 60FPS to 120FPS or higher, reducing latency.

That said, there are still minimum requirements for the GeForce NOW to work on Macs and PCs. Users should at least be on MacOS 10.10 and Windows 7. Internet requirements are recommended to have a 50Mbps download speed or higher, which should be easily attainable.

Titles support

Nvidia is working with game developers to bring in more popular titles onboard. Currently, they have support for more than 150 games such as:

• Batman^™: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition;
• Mafia III;
• METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN;
• Middle-earth^™: Shadow of Mordor^™;
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege;
• Tom Clancy’s The Division;
• PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS;
• NBA 2K18;
• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive; and
• Dota 2, etc.

What are others saying?

Reviewers in the US are singing a lot of high praises for the Nvidia GeForce NOW and that’s because it works. Over at Nvidia’s booth at CES 2018, tech media and influencers were given the opportunity to try out GeForce NOW on different setups, from Macbooks, low-performing PCs to even lower performing PCs, the games running to the GeForce NOW were buttery smooth.

How do I get it?

As mentioned, the GeForce NOW is still in beta, which means it is still in the midst of getting feedback from users. Currently, the number of people signing up for the beta has been overwhelming. But if you want to have a go at it, you can sign yourself up on the waiting list here.

Original Press Release:

New GeForce NOW Service Instantly Connects Gamers to High-Performance Gaming Machines in the Cloud

Wednesday, January 4, 2017 – NVIDIA today unveiled the new NVIDIA® GeForce NOW™ service, which delivers on demand a high-performance NVIDIA Pascal™ gaming PC from the cloud to millions of PC and Mac computers.

The new GeForce NOW service connects gamers to GeForce® GTX 1080 PCs in cloud data centres, renders games with the latest NVIDIA GameWorks™ visual technology and streams them in high definition to PCs and Macs.

“There are more than 200 million GeForce gamers around the world today, yet hundreds of millions of others have computers that aren’t well-suited for modern video games,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, founder and chief executive officer of NVIDIA, who announced the service during his keynote address at CES. “With GeForce NOW, a new generation of gamers can now play the latest PC games with great performance and amazing quality.”

In development at NVIDIA for five years, GeForce NOW is compatible with most Windows- and Mac-based desktop PCs and laptops. Gamers simply download the GeForce NOW app to their local machine. With a few clicks, they can connect to their own GeForce GTX virtual PC, install their favorite games from popular digital game stores — like Steam, Battle.net, Origin, Uplay and GOG — and start playing. Free-to-play games like World of Tanks can also be installed directly from their respective websites.

Home or Away. Desktop or Laptop. PC or Mac.

GeForce NOW provides a simple way for new players who may not have access to a high-performance GeForce GTX gaming rig to experience high-performance PC gaming. Gamers can use the service to easily transform ageing Windows-based PCs or laptops with integrated graphics into state-of-the-art gaming machines. They can also play the hottest new PC game releases on their Macs without waiting for the Mac versions to become available.

Gamers can enjoy games they already own on the stores mentioned above, as well as purchase new games as soon as they’re available. GeForce NOW saves in the cloud game progress and achievements and synchronizes them with locally installed games. This means gamers can use GeForce NOW on a secondary laptop and pick up right where they left off playing on their primary gaming PC. They can easily take all their games with them on the road, to their dorm room, a friend’s house or simply another room in the home.

GeForce NOW gives gamers the freedom to enjoy high-performance PC gaming anywhere. And the service makes gaming easier than it’s ever been by automatically installing patches and driver updates.

Pricing and Availability

When gamers register for GeForce NOW, they can play for free for 8 hours on a GeForce GTX 1060 PC or 4 hours on a GeForce GTX 1080 PC. For an additional $25, gamers can play for 20 hours on a GTX 1060 PC or 10 hours on a GTX 1080 PC.