Is cloud gaming finally a viable alternative to the local experience? The recent release of the new premium RTX 3080 tier for GeForce Now sees Nvidia push online streaming specs higher than we’ve ever seen them before: more compute, enviable ray tracing performance, AI upscaling via DLSS, 1440p120 and 4K60 HDR functionality. Meanwhile, Nvidia makes big claims about GeForce Now actually outperforming Xbox Series X in terms of input lag. In a world where PC upgrade prices are sky-high – if you can find the hardware to begin with – maybe Nvidia’s £89.99/$99.99/€99.99 six month subs might be worth considering?
But make no mistake, GeForce Now may improve the cloud experience, but it’s still facing the same fundamental challenges as other services. Video compression, streaming hitches and some degree of lag are present. Inevitably, the quality of the experience will depend on the internet connection you have. In bandwidth-constrained scenarios, playing any cloud-based system while the connection is in use elsewhere within the home can also cause issues.
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