Nvidia GeForce Now RTX 5080 Hands-On: Cloud Gaming vs Console

Tom's Guide

Jason goes hands-on with Nvidia GeForce Now's next generation RTX 5080 upgrades to see whether cloud gaming can kill the traditional games console. With the ability to stream up to 5K 120 FPS, a lower latency than a PS5 Pro and so much more, it seems that the likes of PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo should be worried! Jason compares performance with consoles and gaming PCs alike, as well as the many other new features Nvidia is bringing to the table.

Transcript

00:00I just went hands-on with the next-generation NVIDIA GeForce Now with RTX 5080 Gaming.

00:05And not only do I believe that this could very well be a games console killer,

00:11I believe it's coming for the traditional gaming PC as well.

00:15Let me explain.

00:18Five things that a cloud gaming service needs to do to kill a console.

00:23It needs to look super pretty.

00:24Next, you need to tackle the latency.

00:26It also needs to give you a great experience across multiple devices.

00:29You also need a games library that will continue to expand drastically over time.

00:34And last but not least, it needs decent peripheral support.

00:38So I'm going to go through each of these individually and get a little bit nerdy on it.

00:43So picture quality.

00:44Obviously, the headline feature here is RTX 5080 graphics in all the NVIDIA SuperPods.

00:52But that's only part of the puzzle because they've upgraded the CPU to a new AMD chipset,

00:58which sounds a little suspiciously like a 9800X 3D on paper.

01:03They've also doubled the RAM.

01:05They've also drastically improved the connectivity as well with Kinect X7.

01:10And what this means is NVIDIA can now work with broadband providers like Comcast, T-Mobile, BT in the UK.

01:19NVIDIA can now work with these companies to kind of use the likes of DOCSIS and L4S,

01:24which means that any packages of data related to GeForce Now will get a high priority label.

01:31And it will continue to fire it over and over and over again.

01:34And you will get the best possible bandwidth out of NVIDIA GeForce Now.

01:38And what does this mean?

01:40Well, it means up to 5K gaming at 120 frames a second on a cloud gaming service.

01:50That's bonkers.

01:52And all of this, for example, on Indiana Jones and the Great Circle that I played here,

01:57while barely breaking 100 megabits per second.

02:00This is where the cinematic quality streaming comes in as well.

02:04So you can also get that picture in full 10-bit color with HDR.

02:09It does increase the demand on the internet connection, but it doesn't exceed 100 megabits again.

02:15You've seen what NVIDIA is doing here?

02:17They've not just thought of having a massive V8 engine at the front.

02:21They've also thought about all the pipes to optimize it perfectly.

02:27And then let's talk about the latency of it.

02:30It's always been the biggest problem with cloud gaming.

02:33I must give the disclaimer that this is based on servers that I've been testing on here in Cologne.

02:39You're getting 1080p at 360 frames a second.

02:43But that's not even the craziest part.

02:45Because on paper, NVIDIA promises below 30 milliseconds of what they call click-to-photon latency.

02:54So basically, when I click on a mouse to fire a gun,

02:57how quick does the monitor show me the gun firing?

03:00And while that may be true,

03:03I've seen it at 17 milliseconds.

03:07They even showed the science behind it.

03:08They had a latency tracker piece of hardware literally stuck to a monitor.

03:13And then, of course, you can see the drastic difference when you play Cyberpunk 2077 side-by-side on a PS5 Pro to the LG NVIDIA GeForce Now app,

03:24which can run it at 4K 120.

03:26And the cloud gaming one feels more responsive than the PS5 Pro.

03:32Through lowering the latency by paying attention to, let's call it the plumbing,

03:38of the internet connection and optimizing the flow,

03:42they are able to produce a cloud gaming service that has a quicker response time to your actions

03:48than a local console that is right in front of you in the living room.

03:54Next is compatibility across devices.

03:57As you've seen, I love GeForce Now on the Steam Deck.

04:01It gives me my battery life back.

04:03Now, that's getting an upgrade to 90 frames a second.

04:06And faster than you can say Nintendo Switch 2,

04:09NVIDIA has answered the question of what I wanted when I first tried it.

04:14They are providing 4K 120 frames per second support when you plug it into a dock connected to the TV.

04:23Next coming up is the amount of games you can play and the library ever expanding.

04:28Obviously, you're getting GeForce Now Thursdays, so this library will continue to grow,

04:33but it's about to double with installed play.

04:36You will be able to install your own games on NVIDIA GeForce Now.

04:40Of course, those games have to be flagged as able to be installed.

04:45But instead of seeing the classic play button, some games you'll see install.

04:50And you can upgrade your NVIDIA GeForce account with optional amounts of cloud storage

04:56to kind of like upgrade it, boost it, bump it, however much you want, up to 1 terabyte.

05:01Obviously, this comes with an extra monthly fee,

05:03but it's good to know that whatever games you may have, you can also get access to them too.

05:08And let's talk about the last bit, which is peripheral support.

05:12Obviously, this is just the beginning of it.

05:15It's small baby steps, but they're baby steps to something that could be significant.

05:21They have added Logitech Wheel support with full force feedback built into it as well.

05:26I find myself playing a lot of racing games on NVIDIA GeForce Now.

05:29So to be able to plug in my Logitech Wheel and be able to play the games with the wheel and pedals,

05:35that was the last bit of the puzzle to make GeForce Now more than just a plan B

05:42for if you can't get local access to your games.

05:45It makes it a potential console killer.

05:49And not only that, but with NVIDIA keeping the monthly cost of NVIDIA GeForce Now Ultimate

05:53exactly the same to get this RTX 5080 performance

05:56and maximize the bandwidth and the efficiency of the delivery of that gameplay,

06:00this could pose a threat to the traditional gaming PC as well.

06:04Obviously, I know I'm being a little bit dramatic here.

06:07Like if I was to pick between a local gaming PC and NVIDIA GeForce Now,

06:12give me the big tower, please.

06:13But to say that you could have this service for the price that they're offering it at

06:18and have a full RTX 5080 gaming PC in the cloud whenever I want it is pretty damn sweet.

06:26But let me know in the comments if you're using NVIDIA GeForce Now Ultimate.

06:30You're excited for the upgrades.

06:31If you're not, are you going to get it?

06:34I've been Jason England.

06:35This has been Tom's Guide.

06:36If you've enjoyed the video, hit the subs, hit that notification bell,

06:41and maybe I'll be back to tell you more about some games.

06:43Talk to you soon.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended