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Hands-On With NVIDIA's GeForce Now Streaming Game Service
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Blizzard has been dead to me once they started valuing Chinese authoritarian regime over freedom of speech.
Yeah, it is crazy! $50-60 will get you 50Mbps in some locations, but in mine, will get you 100Mbps...I think a lot of cable companies bumped their starting speed up from 50 to 100. At least Spectrum did in my area, hence, the $50-60 for 100Mbps. I said screw cable tv a long time ago, and I go with AT&T TV NOW (formerly DirecTV NOW) which I am grandfathered on their old "Go Big" package which I easily get over 150+ channels (only watch about six of them regularly) for $30/month and that includes free HBO and Showtime as long as I am with them...benefit of being an AT&T wireless customer. I see a lot of hate for AT&T TV NOW, but I really love it, as I do not seem to get most of the issues a lot of people complain about.
10Gbps, which would be 1.25 GB/s isn't even available to the general public that I know of? Sure, huge companies probably have that and more, but not us at home. Hell, I just found out last night that Spectrum finally offers 1Gbps speed in my area for $109.00/month, which I do not consider that a bad price. I would love if some people would let me know if that is a good price compared to what you or a friend etc. pay for gigabit internet? I have 500/50Mbps internet right now, and get a pretty good price for it, plus...the huge question is...do I really need gigabit internet at home? What can really take advantage of that speed that I have in my house?
MacBook Pro's - I think all of mine 2015, 2019 15", and 2019 16" all have 3x3 MIMO. On WiFi, they can get to a Tx Rate of 1,300Mbps, but they would have to have close line of site with the access point (which mine do) be on MCS Index 9, and the access point would have to be 80MHz 5G channel (which mine is) so they can probably handle gigabit speeds (you can see this info by holding down the Alt key while clicking the WiFi symbol in the Menu Bar), but because of noise, channel selection etc., most likely you will get about half/slightly over, of that 1,300Mbps Transfer Rate. Mine has no problem handling my 500/50 connection, and running speed test I often get speeds of around 550/50 (a little over provisioning of the modem by the cable company must be) on my own modem and router, not the cable companies garbage modems/routers.
My friend has a gigabit connection & a WiFi 6 setup (lives in a different city) and plugged directly into the router gets me 940Mbps and 10ms ping on my 2019 16", and over WiFi 692Mbps with 11ms ping.
Maybe someone with a better knowledge of Internet/WiFi can correct me if I made any mistakes, I always love to learn more, especially from my mistakes.
My Apple TV HD cannot do gigabit ethernet, but my Apple TV 4K can. No clue what there max WiFi speeds are, they both are 802.11ac, but it is plenty for me on the ATV HD, the ATV 4K is plugged directly into the modem.
Forget it...I was going to go through all my Apple devices (and my Xbox One X) but that would take forever. I think you get my point about do I really need gigabit internet? At this point in time, the answer is no.
*Also people complain that the new 16" MacBook Pro did not come with WiFi 6, but 3x3 WiFi 5 will be faster than 1x1 WiFi 6. To be clear, I am making assumptions about the modem/router used and the channel space etc...but you cannot assume WiFi 6 is automatically faster, it depends on a lot of factors. Right now, for most of us, WiFi 5 will be absolutely fine for years to come. Yes, I get the argument about future proofing though, and WiFi 6 in the corporate environment.*
Sorry for such a long post!
Edit: I did run Speedtest when I was at my friends house, went back a looked at my results history.
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Wi-Fi was going to be the solution for home networks, but after a decade and an apparent infestation of SSIDs and interference, wired ethernet is now the solution to all internet-related issues.
Yeah, huge problem in my condo building. I just went and clicked on my WiFi symbol in the menubar and 33 different SSID's came up. Most modems adjust automatically for noise and what not, but even then it can still be an issue.
You really have to know how to optimize your modem using the firmware settings to avoid getting hammered by all the interference and what not.
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And those people can get external GPU box which will probably still be cheaper anyway.
I game on my Mac and I'm fine. Current iMac is fine (for example) for most games.
Gamer is not gonna use 12" Macbook.
My 15" MBP 2017 is fine also. Sure, could be better but I think this service is not good.
I game on my Mac and I'm fine. Current iMac is fine (for example) for most games.
Gamer is not gonna use 12" Macbook.
My 15" MBP 2017 is fine also. Sure, could be better but I think this service is not good.
A lot of people, especially on this forum, do not like Windows PC's at all. This service allows people that cannot, or will not buy a Windows PC to game on a Mac, which you should know is very, very, very far from great! Bootcamp is not the best solution either.
I honestly do not like Windows at all, and the only reason that I have Windows is (as I described in my earlier post) because I enjoy building my own custom computers, which Windows is specifically used to game on (I literally do nothing else on my Windows PC) and then I do some Hackintoshing.
Also, I have 500/50 internet, and it is not really that expensive...so 400/50, or 400/25 is most likely going to be cheaper. Then to add a service that costs $4.99 (and also has a free tier) is not bad at all.
This:
I agree overall. 👆
While the GeForce Now worked a bit better when it comes to latency than I expected (over 100 Mbit Ethernet) and that it seems NVIDIA has been working hard to get it down, there still is a big difference when compared to playing the same game locally. For some slower paced game the latency will be less of a problem and for others a bigger problem.
Trying out the fast paced and competitive first person shooter Apex Legends on GeForce Now was very problematic latency wise compared to playing the game locally – this will give you a big disadvantage, especially when some people you play against are using displays supporting over 120 Hz and variable refresh rate which also yields a lower ”input lag”. We also have HDMI 2.1 (which will be used on the next gen consoles) having – among other things – features related to getting input latency down. Not to mention picture quality and resolution on a locally rendered game compared to a stream.
So, I can't see that streaming games will be replacing local play any time soon, if ever. However – I'm pretty certain streaming games will be part of the the future since it works well for some lower paced games.
I agree overall. 👆
While the GeForce Now worked a bit better when it comes to latency than I expected (over 100 Mbit Ethernet) and that it seems NVIDIA has been working hard to get it down, there still is a big difference when compared to playing the same game locally. For some slower paced game the latency will be less of a problem and for others a bigger problem.
Trying out the fast paced and competitive first person shooter Apex Legends on GeForce Now was very problematic latency wise compared to playing the game locally – this will give you a big disadvantage, especially when some people you play against are using displays supporting over 120 Hz and variable refresh rate which also yields a lower ”input lag”. We also have HDMI 2.1 (which will be used on the next gen consoles) having – among other things – features related to getting input latency down. Not to mention picture quality and resolution on a locally rendered game compared to a stream.
So, I can't see that streaming games will be replacing local play any time soon, if ever. However – I'm pretty certain streaming games will be part of the the future since it works well for some lower paced games.
What about the people that do not have Thunderbolt 3 Macs (as Apple apparently killed Thunderbolt 2 eGPU support with Catalina) to run those eGPU's?
I agree with you, if you have TB3 and can afford and eGPU, I would go that route because then you can update the graphics card when you want, unless you buy an eGPU that cannot be upgraded, which is just stupid...looking at you Apple/Blackmagic!
just buy a new computer. Paying monthly for this + big internet connection etc. will pay for the computer in the long run so why give it to them when you can give it to yourself 
What about the people that do not have Thunderbolt 3 Macs (as Apple apparently killed Thunderbolt 2 eGPU support with Catalina) to run those eGPU's?
I agree with you, if you have TB3 and can afford and eGPU, I would go that route because then you can update the graphics card when you want, unless you buy an eGPU that cannot be upgraded, which is just stupid...looking at you Apple/Blackmagic!
just buy a new computer. Paying monthly for this + big internet connection etc. will pay for the computer in the long run so why give it to them when you can give it to yourself
Definitely get what you are saying, but a lot of people cannot go splash down $2,799 in cash or on a credit card for a base model 16" MacBook Pro, or the $4,299 I splashed down for one because I upgraded the CPU/RAM/GPU/SSD.
Yes, there are cheaper Macs, I think the Mac Mini is the cheapest right now at $799, and the cheapest Mac laptop is the new 13" MacBook Air which is $1,099.
If you are going to get a Mac, you should not get the base model (for future-proofing) because the new base model 13" MacBook Air AND Mac Mini still only come with 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD. It is not really the SSD storage that bothers me, since a lot of people (including myself) put a lot of data in iCloud Storage, or other cloud storage solutions.
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FWIW my service is pretty cheap, it costs $30/mo for 300 down, if I wanted gigabit it would jump to $70, just because much of the US is getting screwed by comcast et al (which I'm so happy I got away from with my last move) doesn't mean that's true everywhere (and this is a global product, there's a lot of the world where fast connections are vastly cheaper than what I'm paying).
Also, that's crappy comparison, because people need their internet connection anyway typically, so this is an add on to something you already have, not an *additional* $800-$1000 for a decent windows gaming rig (especially annoying for plenty of people all in on macs, including most of the people on MR)
I have a gaming rig personally, but for a lot of people this would be a good value
Amen!
Exactly what I was trying to tell him with the several posts we have gone back and forth on. I made the same point on people that are all in on Apple/Macs, and the fact that a lot of people do not have the money to go out and buy a dedicated gaming PC.
I pay $80 and change after taxes and fees for 500/50, and it would cost me $109 for gigabit internet if I wanted it.
Also, as I said earlier $4.99/month is not bad at all for this service, and there is also a FREE TIER!
Thank God you understand this.
I understood it (both of you) but I don't think you understood me.
Gamers usually have PC and those that can afford Mac usually have something recent which is fine. Sure, those stuck on 2012 or older machines are not fine but do we really talk about that?
The cost monthly will be substantial in 2-3 years so its a question of what is worth it? Pay for service and never get 'resale' value back or put the same money to PC and maybe get something out of it at the end (even if small).
What I'm saying is that this scenario you described is probably small percentage so the service in general doesn't make sense. Sure you will find people that benefit but on average its not worth it I think.
I understand your angle though
Gamers usually have PC and those that can afford Mac usually have something recent which is fine. Sure, those stuck on 2012 or older machines are not fine but do we really talk about that?
The cost monthly will be substantial in 2-3 years so its a question of what is worth it? Pay for service and never get 'resale' value back or put the same money to PC and maybe get something out of it at the end (even if small).
What I'm saying is that this scenario you described is probably small percentage so the service in general doesn't make sense. Sure you will find people that benefit but on average its not worth it I think.
I understand your angle though
Amen!
Exactly what I was trying to tell him with the several posts we have gone back and forth on. I made the same point on people that are all in on Apple/Macs, and the fact that a lot of people do not have the money to go out and buy a dedicated gaming PC.
I pay $80 and change after taxes and fees for 500/50, and it would cost me $109 for gigabit internet if I wanted it.
Also, as I said earlier $4.99/month is not bad at all for this service, and there is also a FREE TIER!
Thank God you understand this.
My sadness is sudden and utter, in that I was doing a 100% play through of Doom 2016, and about a third of the way through Kadingir Sanctum mission, I wasn't able to resume the game again. I don't know why, but I suspected that it was a Bethesda thing. I tried to fire up Quake Champions, and it refused to play, too.
You know the rest.
You know the rest.
I have the service and it works well on my wife’s 2015 Macbook Air. I am able to play all the PC (and Mac) games I want with ultra detail. I haven’t tried the 4K version with Sheild or Chromecast 4K dongles, but this service does fill a nice gap. You don’t have to buy a new library or lose your library after you stop the service. It should work pretty well even with a modest internet connection as long as the latency is reasonable.
I have FiOS gigabit internet (~1000Mb/sec up & down.)
My suggestion- it’s absolutely 100% FREE to try it in one our playing segments without any other restrictions. Go try it if you’re on the fence.
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Here to report it works with the wonky MacBook Air wifi. I occasionally would see a hiccup. Your point is probably 100% valid- but it worked well enough that I wouldn’t have had a complaint over wifi.
I have FiOS gigabit internet (~1000Mb/sec up & down.)
My suggestion- it’s absolutely 100% FREE to try it in one our playing segments without any other restrictions. Go try it if you’re on the fence.
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Here to report it works with the wonky MacBook Air wifi. I occasionally would see a hiccup. Your point is probably 100% valid- but it worked well enough that I wouldn’t have had a complaint over wifi.
GFN isn’t as convenient to use as Stadia but it works pretty good for me. Some resolution drops here and there but for a casual gamer like me it feels very responsive - especially compared to Stadia that has slightly noticeable lag when using a mouse.
Just for the kicks, I once booted up my retired Late 2008 MacBook during the beta and what can I say: Playing a game like Destiny 2 on a machine more than a decade old, with better graphics and higher framerate than my console (PS4 Pro) was incredible. On WiFi it suffered from some hiccups every few minutes but switching to ethernet solved this issue almost completely.
Although I played the base game on my PS4, I preordered the upcoming DLC for The Divison 2 on Uplay to use with GFN, because how much better it plays (with kbm) and looks. I just hope it doesn’t get pulled...
My connection is VDSL 100/40 with 15-17 ms latency to the closest GFN server according to their network test.
Just for the kicks, I once booted up my retired Late 2008 MacBook during the beta and what can I say: Playing a game like Destiny 2 on a machine more than a decade old, with better graphics and higher framerate than my console (PS4 Pro) was incredible. On WiFi it suffered from some hiccups every few minutes but switching to ethernet solved this issue almost completely.
Although I played the base game on my PS4, I preordered the upcoming DLC for The Divison 2 on Uplay to use with GFN, because how much better it plays (with kbm) and looks. I just hope it doesn’t get pulled...
My connection is VDSL 100/40 with 15-17 ms latency to the closest GFN server according to their network test.
Very interesting!
I haven't heard much about Stadia in the news lately - any of you MR folks out there using/enjoying it?
I haven't heard much about Stadia in the news lately - any of you MR folks out there using/enjoying it?
After reading this article, I got super excited because I hadn't actually heard of GeForce Now before, and I've always wanted to play Planet Coaster, but have had no way of doing so — until now!! GeForce Now works like a charm with Ethernet connectivity (my Wifi is really poor), but what I'm most disappointed about, and what I can't BELIEVE MacRumors doesn't talk about is how GeForce Now is NOT Retina-display compatible!! The streaming works fine and all, but the resolutions offered by GeForce Now are simply too low to be supported on a Retina display like my 2012 15" MacBook Pro's. So for such a detailed game as Coaster Planet with text-based OS-style menus, this kind of crummy low-resolution makes playing the game virtually impossible because you simply can't read the small text, and the details are so washed out. I have tried lowering the resolution of my MBP with third-party apps like Display Menu from the App Store, but with a retina display, there are simply too many pixels, and even lower resolution settings are just blurry simulations. So doing so helped a little bit, but there are still no sharp lines on anything, and the text remains too nebulous to read clearly. I hope Nvidia updates GeForce Now to offer Retina Display support!!
It works, and works well. The only thing that kills it for me is latency. I have great internet, but the latency makes almost every game unplayable. I live in Denver and it's not good at all. Well, most titles aren't. Some are manageable and some aren't (especially fps titles and multi-player.) That was expected though. I knew I wasn't close enough the their servers for it to be any good. I think the closest one is Dallas, not quite sure though. I heard Google is working on an algorithm that learns how you play, and basically activates the buttons before you actually hit them. So, it plays the game for you, as you. We'll see about that though.
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Agreed. It will all go in the direction of streaming. Especially when they figure out latency fixes. Eventually though, it'll start becoming like movies and tv are now. Where there are lots of providers to choose from, and you'll have pay sub fees for tons of different providers just to play a game you want. So, that bubble will burst and one ring will rule them all. Probably Disney. Haha.