NVIDIA started activating GeForce Now RTX 3080 service subscriptions just a few days ago . Thanks to this new service we can play current titles to the full, even activating ray tracing, and without having to worry about even meeting its minimum requirements. As we told you at the time, it is not magic, it is the power of the game in the cloud.
When we access the GeForce Now RTX 3080 service, we enjoy the full potential of an instance on NVIDIA servers that has:
- A custom RTX 3080 for servers.
- A high performance CPU with 8 cores and 16 threads.
- 28 GB of 3200 MHz DDR4 memory.
- One PCIE Gen4 SSD storage unit.
- Resolution 1440p and up to 120 FPS.
- Ray tracing and DLSS.
All that power is more than enough to move, with all the guarantees, any current game. However, as it is a cloud gaming service, the base power of the server is not the only thing that matters, it is also necessary to have an infrastructure and technology that are capable of reducing latency as much as possible, and to achieve good frame rate synchronization to avoid stuttering and tearing problems.
NVIDIA confirmed that with the GeForce Now RTX 3080 service, it had managed to vastly improve latency, from 81 milliseconds to 56 milliseconds, and that the subject of frame synchronization was a thing of the past thanks to the adoption of Adaptive Sync . If we put everything we have said together, the conclusion we can draw is simple and very clear, NVIDIA had improved the GeForce Now RTX 3080 service so much that it should offer, in general, an experience very similar to what we would get playing at home , but is this real or is it all just promises and optimism?
To answer that question it was necessary to test the GeForce Now RTX 3080 service , and that is what we have done for the last few days. In this analysis I am going to tell you about my experience, but I will also talk about some important keys that are deeply related to the service, and that you need to be clear from the beginning in order to get the most out of it.
Before you begin: What is GeForce Now RTX 3080 and what are its requirements?
As we said at the beginning, we are facing a game service in the cloud, which means that when we want to launch a game, it does not run on our computer locally, but on the NVIDIA servers. These will do all the hard work, and they will stream it to our PC so we can play it. We will only need to create an account and download and install the dedicated application.
With GeForce Now RTX 3080:
- You do not have to meet the minimum requirements of a game.
- You don’t have to download or install it either, and your progress will be saved in the cloud.
- You don’t have to worry about possible incompatibilities at the hardware level.
- You only have to meet the minimum requirements of the application, and you must have a good Internet connection.
GeForce Now RTX 3080 Minimum Requirements
In order to access the service, you must meet the minimum requirements set by NVIDIA. They vary depending on the platform on which you are going to use GeForce Now RTX 3080, but in all cases they are very affordable, so you will not have anything to worry about, since any PC released in the last 9 years is compatible.
These are the minimum specifications that you must meet on PC:
- 2 GHz dual-core CPU.
- 4 GB of RAM memory.
- DirectX 11 compatible GPU (GeForce GTX 600 or better, Radeon HD 3000 or better, Intel HD 2000 or better).
- 35 Mbps Internet connection, stable and with a latency of less than 80 milliseconds.
In this case, it is important to remember that, to make the most of those 120 frames per second, we will need a monitor that has a refresh rate of at least 120 Hz, and that is connected through DisplayPort or HDMI. In this review, I have used an ASUS ROG Strix XG32VQ monitor , which has a 144Hz refresh rate.
GeForce Now RTX 3080: Getting Started
The application download process and the creation of our account are very simple, and we can do them through the official NVIDIA website . If we already have an account in the free mode, we can upgrade it to the GeForce Now RTX 3080 version. The cost of this version is 99.99 euros, and it lasts for six months. If we take the average, we see that each month we have 16.66 euros. It is not bad at all, especially considering what it offers, and that will allow us to play without having to worry about the hardware or incompatibilities.
GeForce Now RTX 3080 subscription includes:
- A high-end instance based on a GeForce RTX 3080.
- Gaming sessions of up to 8 hours in length.
- Priority access.
- Up to 1440p and 120 FPS on PC and Mac.
- 4K HDR on Shield TV.
Once we have the account created, and we have finished installing the application, we are ready to start. The first thing I recommend you do is pass a network test to confirm that everything is fine. In the attached image you can see the results of mine. If you are at that level, great, but in the end keep in mind that the important thing is that you reach the recommended level, so do not worry if your values ​​are a little worse than mine.
In the main menu you will find different lists of games ordered by categories, including those that are totally free to those that have ray tracing. If you look at the upper right corner, the name of your account and the subscription method you are using will appear. At the top left you have an icon with three lines that will take you to the configuration menu of GeForce Now RTX 3080.
Through this menu you can manage the video game store accounts that you have connected, Epic Games Store and Steam in my case, and you will also find other interesting options, such as the quality of the transmission and the server location. If you want to use a controller you will not have any problem, since GeForce Now is compatible with a wide variety of models. In my case, I have tested it with the Xbox One controller connected wirelessly, and it has worked perfectly.
The configuration options are very easy to use, and the process of linking our accounts on Steam and Epic Games Store is also very simple. To launch a game that is in our library, or one of the free ones that are available in GeForce Now, we just have to select it, choose the corresponding platform and click on “play”, as we can see in the Attached image.
GeForce Now RTX 3080 under test: My experience
I’m not going to lie to you, I really wanted to try GeForce Now RTX 3080, especially since NVIDIA promised an experience similar to what we would have with a high-end PC, a very ambitious goal and not easy to meet for all the challenges that cloud gaming implies, but the truth is that it has surprised me a lot, and for the better.
On my PC I have a high-end configuration that allows me to play any current title without problems, with the maximum settings, in 1440p and with ray tracing and DLSS when both are available. By this I mean that I am used to playing at a very good level, and therefore I immediately notice any significant loss of quality or fluidity, and also any kind of minimally serious graphical problem.
The first thing we have to pay attention to is the time we have to wait between choosing a game in GeForce Now RTX 3080 and it actually starts to work. As I have said, this service does not carry out any type of installation on our computer, and the games are executed directly on the NVIDIA servers, so it would be normal to find some kind of delay more or less marked.
This image allows us to see the level of quality that GeForce Now RTX 3080 is capable of maintaining even over long distances.
With that in mind, imagine my surprise when I saw that with GeForce Now RTX 3080 the wait is minimal, so much so that Cyberpunk 2077 took less than a minute to start up . This time includes the process of synchronization with the games saved in the cloud. Once inside the game, we have at our disposal different configuration options, and we can load the games that we have saved.
I decided that Cyberpunk 2077 was going to be the first game I would try with GeForce Now RTX 3080 because, after all, it’s one of my favorites, and it’s also one of the most demanding at the hardware level . In the attached video you can see the configuration used, and also the result offered by GeForce Now RTX 3080.
There is no doubt, the game works perfectly , it presents an outstanding graphic quality, even despite being configured with the DLSS in performance mode, and it also works with total fluidity, without problems latency, hitches or lags that affect gameplay. There is also no load time of any kind, and the transitions between zones are completely smooth.
I have to admit that at first I had a hard time believing that this was really a game running in the cloud. The loading times are minimal , so much so that loading a game only takes a few seconds, something that confirms that, indeed, with GeForce Now RTX 3080 we enjoy the performance of a PCIE Gen4 SSD, and all the game scenes are generated in real time without us having to install anything on our computer. At no point did I have latency issues, as I said, and overall the experience is so good that is almost like playing it locally. Impressive, without a doubt.
Let’s go again with a video, since it is the only way to show you what GeForce Now RTX 3080 is really capable of. We have configured Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition in 1440p, with ultra quality, ultra ray tracing and DLSS activated. The graphic quality it shows is simply spectacular. Look at the beginning of the video, when we have the full view of the destroyed city, the DLSS does a fantastic job, and the graphical finish we have fully matches what you would expect from a new generation system. To all this we must add that, in addition, the loading time is minimal.
Take a look at the richness that Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition presents running on GeForce Now RTX 3080.
The fluidity of the game is total, even in the most intensive scenes , where the lighting generated by ray tracing has a greater impact on performance, and the response is perfect again. I have not noticed the slightest latency issue, which makes the experience, again, almost as good as playing at home. Again, it’s hard to believe that it was possible to reach this level with a cloud gaming service.
In the final part of the video you can see that, during combat with the beasts, the low latency offered by GeForce Now RTX 3080 is key for it to be able to shoot the last enemy before of him jumping on me . Finally, I also wanted to spend a few seconds to show you the fantastic execution of ray tracing applied to lights and shadows playing with the flashlight in the bonfire area.
Before you click on the video, I apologize, as in recording there was a conflict with my 5.1 system that generated a reverb effect that clearly affects dialogue. It is not serious, but just so you are clear that it is a recording problem, and that has nothing to do with GeForce Now RTX 3080.
It is hard to believe that we are looking at an image captured from a cloud gaming service, but it is.
Returning to the game, the GeForce Now RTX 3080 service allows us to configure Guardians of the Galaxy to the maximum, with 1440p resolution, ray tracing and DLSS, and enjoy an experience so good that, again, it seems that we are playing locally . Look at the level of detail of the settings and the characters, everything looks sharp that removes hiccups, and the graphic quality is, in general, what you would expect from a high-end PC.
On the other hand, loading times are minimal, fluidity is perfect, and latency is so low that actions are executed instantly. I have not experienced the slightest delay, and you can see it in numerous scenes in the game, such as when I enter the code of Gamora, or in the double jumps.
Final Notes: NVIDIA Raises the Bar, and Sets the Way Forward
Words, without deeds, are useless. When NVIDIA introduced the GeForce Now RTX 3080 mode, it made a lot of promises that, frankly, sounded great, so much so that for some they fell right into the realm of “too good to be true” . That skepticism was understandable, after all, thinking of a cloud service that was capable of offering the experience guaranteed by NVIDIA was not easy at all, but it must be recognized that, in the end, the green giant he has succeeded.
My expectations were very high, and they have been met. From the moment I launched Cyberpunk 2077 and saw the fantastic load times, I started to get a slight smile that indicated a clear “can’t be, it’s real.” And yes, it is, GeForce Now RTX 3080 offers an experience very close to what we would have playing locally with a high-end PC, configured with a powerful CPU, an RTX 3080 and a PCIE Gen4 SSD unit . This makes it, directly, the best cloud gaming option that currently exists within its category.
NVIDIA has demonstrated, with facts, that not only is it taking cloud gaming very seriously, it also has everything it takes to smoothly lead the industry. GeForce Now RTX 3080 has marked a major turning point, not only because it has shown that cloud gaming can also be an option for the most demanding gamers , but also because it confirms that cloud gaming It is no longer the future, it is the present.
ABSTRACT
GeForce Now RTX 3080 has marked an important turning point, not only because it has shown that cloud gaming can also be an option for the most demanding gamers, but also because it confirms that cloud gaming is no longer the future is the present. This service is so good that, in short, it is almost like playing locally with a high-end PC equipped with an RTX 3080 and a PCIE Gen4 SSD.