Nvidia launches GeForce Now beta so you can play top games on even an old laptop

Want to play demanding games on your underpowered laptop or desktop PC? Then you might be interested to learn that Nvidia’s game streaming solution which allows you to do just this has opened its doors as a free beta.

The GeForce Now service effectively gives your less-than-speedy machine – say, a laptop with integrated graphics – access to powerful GeForce GTX graphics cards via the cloud, allowing it to stream intensive games at 1080p resolution, achieving up to a highly fluid 120 fps (frames per second). And you can crank up the graphics detail settings to high, as well.

Your frame rate will depend on the exact game, with Nvidia noting that Fortnite will reach the full 120 fps, for example, while streaming PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds will hit 60 fps (although that’s still plenty smooth).

Patch perfect

There are other benefits to the system, too, as GeForce Now also handles the likes of game patches and driver updates, installing these automatically. Your saved games are stored in the cloud, meaning you can access them from different devices (perhaps running different operating systems).

Both Windows and Mac gamers can sign up for the public beta in most of North America and Europe currently, then hook up their library of games from major digital stores such as Steam and Ubisoft’s Uplay, and start playing.

When you’re given access to GeForce Now, that is – the slight downside is that at the moment, Nvidia says that there’s a waiting list to give the beta a go due to popular demand. You can sign yourself up to the list right here.

Of course, as with any streaming service, performance will be dependent on one factor: the strength of your internet connection.

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