Hands-On With NVIDIA's GeForce Now Streaming Game Service

Back in 2017, NVIDIA announced the launch of its GeForce Now streaming gaming service, which it made available in a beta capacity.

After years of testing, polishing, and refining, the GeForce Now service saw its official launch on February 4, so we thought we'd go hands-on with GeForce Now to see how it works on Apple's Macs.


GeForce Now is a streaming gaming service that lets you play GPU and CPU intensive games on Macs that might not be able to natively handle the hardware requirements for a particular title.

All rendering and computing is handled by NVIDIA's servers, where the games are installed. Gameplay is then streamed to your computer, so naturally, a robust internet connection is required to make sure there's no lag.

There's a free version of the GeForce Now service, which provides standard access and limits gaming sessions to one hour, but for $4.99 per month, gamers can get priority access, support for NVIDIA's RTX graphics rendering platform, and longer session lengths.

The $4.99 per month cost (or the free service) does NOT include access to games. You still need to purchase games from supported game stores like Steam to be able to play them using GeForce Now, though there are some free ad-supported titles.

Even though GeForce Now has been in beta for three years, the game library is still a little bit lackluster. There are many newer games that are not supported, but games like Fortnite, League of Legends, Witcher 3, and Destiny 2 are available.

NVIDIA recommends a stellar internet connection, but even with 400Mb/s download speeds, we ran into some troubles. On a 12-inch MacBook, which is certainly not powerful enough to play most games, titles would output at 30 frames per second maximum at a resolution of 1200 x 800, which was not a positive gameplay experience. The game was choppy, blurry, and frustrating to play.

Using GeForce Now on an iMac Pro with the same WiFi connection resulted in similar performance issues, but swapping over to an Ethernet cable for a hardwired connection solved all of our issues.

Playing Destiny 2 over GeForce Now with an ‌iMac‌ Pro on the wired connection resulted in no lag, a much higher resolution and frame rate, and no dropped frames. It was a smooth experience that was much like playing the game on a high-end gaming PC.

When trying a wired connection on the 12-inch MacBook, gameplay was also flawless, so NVIDIA is not kidding about the internet requirements. For the best possible experience, connecting over Ethernet is ideal.

GeForce Now is limited to North America and Europe at the current time, and the gaming library is limited, but as new titles are added, this may be a service worth checking out. It's free to try, so long as you own the game you want to play.

Have you tried GeForce Now? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Top Rated Comments

gimmesomemo Avatar
40 months ago
Ive been using GeForceNow throughout Beta on my shield tv (wired) and it has been really amazing. I never bothered with my MacBook, as the whole point was to be able to play on my 55' 4k tv on a sofa with a beer and a controller, from a measly android tv box!
Sure, there were some issues which came and went, some laggy weeks, sever bugs, etc, but overall it was really good.
The big, big problem now, is game developers pulling out of the service.
Seems like they're getting greedy and figured out that if they pull out of Geforce Now and go exclusively on Google Stadia they can get us (suckers) to buy their games twice.
There's no way to justify their behaviour other than greed, and if you look at the companies who are doing it, it makes sense.
It's a real, real shame. Stadia - a) sucks, b) you need to buy all games again, and c) well it's google so I don't trust them as far as I can hold them to account.
Geforce now is really head and shoulders above the rest in functionality and its getting beaten down by industry greed at the cost of us, the consumers.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChrisMoBro Avatar
40 months ago
How many people almost fell off their chair with shock/excitement when they saw the words "Nvidia" and "now" and momentarily thought Nvidia drivers had been released?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
warp9 Avatar
40 months ago
Without Blizzard, it's a non-starter for me.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Freida Avatar
40 months ago
if you can afford to pay monthly for 400mb/s internet + paying for geforceNow surely you can afford better computer. This service makes no sense to me.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SeanG1027 Avatar
40 months ago
12 inch MacBook Pro?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Winni Avatar
40 months ago

if you can afford to pay monthly for 400mb/s internet + paying for geforceNow surely you can afford better computer. This service makes no sense to me.
That's simply because you fail to see the bigger picture. It's the declared strategy of all big IT corporations to move --all-- computing to "the cloud", games are just one piece of the puzzle here (albeit a very demanding one).

Xbox is turning into a streaming platform for games, Microsoft already stated that they no longer care what hardware you want to use to play Xbox titled. You probably can even expect an Xbox streaming client for Sony's Playstation rather soon.

In December 2019, Microsoft launched a product called "Windows Virtual Desktop". It's exactly what it says on the (virtual) "box": A virtual Windows desktop, running in Azure. With the desktop versions of Office. And whatever other software you want to install on it. All you need is an HTML5 capable browser to use a Windows machine this way. And again, Microsoft doesn't care what hardware or operating system you use to access this virtual desktop.

"We’re building out Azure as the world’s computer.”
-- Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft Corporation, in his ”Vision Keynote” at the Microsoft Build 2019 Conference

This is where this all is headed. Right now, they're all building the back-end infrastructure so that it is ready when the telcos have finished upgrading their (mobile) networks to make the necessary bandwidth available. What will feel completely natural to use in five years from now, is being built today.

But all of us should ask ourselves the very important question whether we want this future.

Here is the must-read book on the topic, and it explains in non-technical language why that question is to important:

"The Age Of Surveillance Capitalism"
https://shoshanazuboff.com/book/
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17 on Phone Feature

Gurman: iOS 17 to Provide Several 'Most Requested Features'

Sunday March 26, 2023 6:05 am PDT by
Apple changed the strategy for iOS 17 later in its development process to add several new features, suggesting that the update may be more significant than previously thought, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In January, Gurman said that iOS 17 could be a less significant update than iPhone updates in previous years due to the company's intense focus on its long-awaited mixed-reality...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 Will Add These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday March 26, 2023 8:06 am PDT by
Following nearly six weeks of beta testing, iOS 16.4 is expected to be released to the public as soon as this week. The software update includes a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone 8 and newer. To install an iOS update, open the Settings app on the iPhone, tap General → Software Update, and follow the on-screen instructions. Below, we have recapped eight new features and...
apple mixed reality headset concept by david lewis and marcus kane

Some Apple Employees Seriously Concerned About Mixed-Reality Headset as Announcement Draws Closer

Sunday March 26, 2023 8:25 am PDT by
Some Apple employees are concerned about the usefulness and price point of the company's upcoming mixed-reality headset, The New York Times reports. Apple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane Initial enthusiasm around the device at the company has apparently become skepticism, according to eight current and former Apple employees speaking to The New York Times. The change of tone...
Steve Jobs Theater dusk

Apple Reportedly Demoed Mixed-Reality Headset to Executives in the Steve Jobs Theater Last Week

Sunday March 26, 2023 5:53 am PDT by
Apple showcased its mixed-reality headset to the company's top 100 executives in the Steve Jobs Theater last week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that the "momentous gathering" is a "key milestone" ahead of the headset's public announcement planned for June. The event was intended to rally Apple's top members of...
top stories 25mar2023

Top Stories: iPhone 15 Pro Design Leak, iOS 16.4 Coming Soon, and More

Saturday March 25, 2023 6:00 am PDT by
We're still almost six months away from the official unveiling of the iPhone 15 lineup, but it seems like every day we're learning more about what to expect from the next-generation models. Notably, this week gave us our clearest look yet at what appear to be some changes for the volume and mute control hardware. iOS 16.4 and associated releases are also right around the corner with some new ...
iOS 16

Apple Releases iOS 16.4 With New Emoji, Safari Web Push Notifications, Beta Changes, Voice Isolation for Calls and More

Monday March 27, 2023 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 16.4, the fourth major update to the iOS 16 operating system that initially came out last September. iOS 16.4 comes two months after the launch of iOS 16.3, an update that added Security Keys for Apple ID. iOS 16‌.4 and iPadOS 16.4 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. It can take a few minutes...
Hero0009

Best Apple Deals of the Week: Samsung's Smart Monitor M8 Gets Massive $250 Discount, Along With Year's Best AirPods Prices

Friday March 24, 2023 10:23 am PDT by
We saw a lot of great deals on Apple products and related accessories this week, including Samsung's iMac-like Smart Monitor M8 for $250 off, a 30 percent off spring sale at Anker, and the year's best prices on numerous AirPods models. All of these deals are still available to purchase right now, so we're recapping them and more below. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these ...
dynamic island

iPhone 15 Dynamic Island to Include New Integrated Proximity Sensor

Friday March 24, 2023 12:27 am PDT by
This year, all iPhone 15 models will include Apple's Dynamic Island that unifies the pill and hole cutouts at the top of the display, but there will also be a material change to the feature that wasn't included in the iPhone 14 Pro models. According to a new tweet by Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the proximity sensor on the iPhone 15 series will be integrated inside the Dynamic Island ...