Lori Grunin / CNET
The competition in cloud games is heating up, with Streaming of Xbox’s Xbox Game from Microsoft (xCloud) arrival in September, and now Nvidia infringes on Google Stadiums turf by adding Chromebooks no GeForce No‘s supported platforms. The ability to run on a Chromebook is a great option, and GeForce Now is a slightly smarter choice than Stadia. It’s also easy to use: Just go to play.geforcenow.com, add a game that you have in Nvidia’s support list, and launch it.
Unlike Stadia, which has a small library of custom-optimized games that you buy specifically to run on its platform, GeForce is now a bring-your-own game. At least if you buy a game on Steam, Epic or Ubisoft, you can still run it on a PC if Nvidia pulls the plug on the service instead of getting stuck with a stack of useless bits. However, I am of the opinion that you should not buy games exclusively to play with any of these services. They move in and out of libraries because of licensing, and you may still end up with that pile of useless bits; with GeForce Now, you’ll have to buy a PC that can run the game when it’s flying out of the library.
However, you do not necessarily have to buy games. There’s a huge selection of games that are free to play – nothing that is not free on every platform, but now you can play them on a Chromebook. You can give the founders’ membership $ 4.99 a month (which entitles you to priority access and longer sessions than the free option) to give it a try with Nvidia’s new promotion: six months for $ 24.95, which equals one free month. It includes a Battle One battle pass for Hyper Scape and some content.
The nice thing is that you can store one of the free-to-play games with the free account on your Chromebook and record it at zero cost.
Now that you can sync your Steam library with GeForce Now, Nvidia’s listing of your library is no longer as overwhelming as it once was, but if you’ve got games through the Epic Games Store, it’s really boring on a Chromebook. This is because there is no EGS launcher for Chromebooks, and you can only view your game library in the launcher, not through the site. It’s not Nvidia’s fault, but it’s Nvidia’s problem.
See again:
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The minimum recommended Chromebook specs aren’t the ones you’d find in a cheap model, despite Nvidia’s claim that a $ 299 GeForce Now model will run “fine”: a 7th gen Intel Core M3 or better (that’s t Intel HD Graphics 600 integrated) and 4 GB or more RAM. Just as with its general network requirements, Nvidia recommends a wired or 5GHz wireless connection – that means WiFi 5 (802.11ac) – and a network connection speed of at least 15 Mbps (recommended 25 Mbps)
Although these are the recommended specifications, Nvidia has so far tested about 14 Intel-based models, some of which fall well under them:
I gave the service a whirl on the Chromebook 715, which falls on the high end of the performance spectrum. If it works, it works well, and the experience matches playing on the desktop.
But, usually, beyond a certain point, it is not the hardware that holds back the experience; it’s your internet connection. And bandwidth is just one factor when playing. The consistency of the connection is even more important, and it’s something you can not measure, because it changes minute by minute, and it is difficult to repair in many situations. That doesn’t always translate to less gameplay, but it often starts to glitch the controls.
I would launch a game when the connection was OK and at least 150Mbps, but by the time the opening screen appeared I would get regular “spotty connection” warnings. In observation, the glitchy video controls and unresponsive camera controls could continue as part of the game. In a platformer like Dead Cells, not so much. That your mileage may vary.
I think the problem is full on the Wi-Fi channels; there are no lights used between 20 or so Wi-Fi networks around my apartment and my router. Ethernet is an option, but really inconvenient, which is probably true for many people. This is not unique to GeForce Now. It happens with all services for me. But clearly it is a problem, given that Nvidia has a recommended router program for the service.
The other problem is Chromebook screens, which tend to dim and wash out. They are not normally designed for a great gaming experience or with high contrast the way a phone or laptop screen is with higher end.
The Chromebook version supports all the latest features of GeForce Now, including highlights, which can automatically include notable gameplay and FreeStyle for applying filters to your games. Ansel – the high-resolution capture tool for Nvidia drivers – will soon be available in GeForce Now.
If you have a Chromebook, even one that does not meet the minimum specs, it is definitely worth giving it a try to see how well it works on your particular setup.
