Cloud game streaming could be the next big thing in the video game industry. Large tech companies believe that consumers are ready to ditch gaming PCs that need to be constantly updated and perhaps even dedicated game consoles. The appeal of game streaming is understandable, as it allows you to scale up as games get more demanding without purchasing new hardware.
It’s too early to tell if game streaming really will change the face of the industry, but we’ll probably find out when Google Stadia and Microsoft’s Project xCloud arrive later this year. In the meantime, two streaming services are already out in front of the competition: Nvidia GeForce Now and Blade’s Shadow. So the question is: Which service wins in the Nvidia GeForce Now vs. Shadow battle?
We examined their strengths and weaknesses across a number of categories. While it’s probably wise to wait for other competitors to come to market before you jump aboard the game streaming train, GeForce Now and Shadow figure to be major players in this burgeoning race.
Supported platforms
Platform support is a key factor in deciding which streaming service to go with. GeForce Now and Shadow each have multiple options, but they aren’t the same.
For GeForce Now, you can stream using a PC, Mac, or Nvidia Shield device. PC users need to be running a 64-bit version of Windows 7 or better, have a dual-core x86 CPU with 2.0GHz or better, 4GB of RAM, and DirectX9 or better. You also need a graphics card, but Intel HD Graphics 2000 or better works. It also works with GeForce (600 series and up) and AMD graphics cards (Radeon HD 3000 and up).
GeForce Now on Mac requires macOS 10.10, but otherwise, it works with most Apple computers released since 2008. If you’ve bought a computer within the last decade — Mac or PC — there’s a good chance you meet the required specs. If your wireless router doesn’t have a 5GHz, you’ll need an ethernet adapter for Macbooks without a dedicated port (such as Macbook Airs).
Shadow wins the platform battle, as it lets you stream on PC, Mac, Android, iOS, and Ubuntu. Shadow’s listed requirements are essentially all operating system-related, as you need to have relatively recent software updates to access the application. If your device can be updated to the required software version, you can most likely use Shadow.
- PC: Windows 7/8.1/10 64-bit
- Mac: macOS 10.10 or later
- Android: 7.0 Nougat or later
- iPhone/iPad: iOS 11.0 or later
- Ubuntu 18.04
Shadow also has an optional piece of hardware, the Shadow Ghost, that lets you stream on your TV. Shadow Ghost costs $150 and comes equipped with: two USB ports, an Ethernet jack, an HDMI port, 3.5mm audio jack, Wi-Fi access and Bluetooth 4.1.
Controllers
Another important component in deciding which streaming service to use is control methods. Shadow and GeForce Now, like most prospective streaming services, each have numerous options.
When playing on PC and Mac with either service, you can use Xbox One, PS4, and wired USB controllers. Basically, any controller you can get to work with your computer, will work here. You can also use mouse and keyboard if you’d like. With Android and iOS on Shadow, you can use controllers that are compatible with your devices.
Streaming quality
Next up is the quality of the stream. This is almost undoubtedly the most important aspect to consider. Streaming services will live and die on stream quality. No one will want to pay for streaming services that regularly underperform or offer subpar experiences across the board.
As both Shadow and GeForce Now are available now in differing capacities, we already know how they fare. Each is well-regarded in terms of latency and input lag. Both streaming services do the heavy lifting at data centers, allowing you to play at high settings without owning a high-end PC. But the upper threshold of qualities picture qualities differs between the two services.
Shadow tops out at 4K and 60 frames per second and 60Hz. Malayalam full movie 2018 joseph. Running in 1080p, you can get 60fps and a 144Hz refresh rate. Shadow has been optimized to run games at these benchmarks with a home internet connection speed of 15 Mbps.
GeForce Now tops out at 1080p and 60 frames per second, but you have to have at least a 25 Mbps connection and be using a 5GHz wireless router or ethernet connection. If you only get 15 Mbps at home, you’re capped at 720p and 60 frames per second. While GeForce Now isn’t as impressive sounding as Shadow, it does have an Ultra Streaming mode for some games that doubles the frames per second to 120.
It’s important to note that Shadow has officially been released, whereas GeForce Now is still in beta. GeForce Now’s stream quality could go up by the time it fully launches to the public. For instance, Nvidia announced earlier this year that it is developing 4K rendering for wireless VR and AR streaming through the platform. Additionally, Nvidia is working with HTC to let users eventually stream with 5G.
Since modern cloud streaming is still in its infancy, neither of these services are perfect. A quick Google search for each service brings up praises from some users and complaints from others. Your experience could very well vary widely, with regards to framerate and overall performance.
Games
GeForce Now and Shadow handle game libraries in a similar fashion. That is, they aren’t services for buying games. To stream games through both services, you first need to buy them from digital storefronts.
GeForce Now has a library of more than 500 supported games from Steam, Uplay, and Blizzard’s Battle.net. More games are added each week. A full list of supported games can be found here. Some of the highlights include recent AAA hits such as Metro Exodus and Rage 2, and sprawling open world titles like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Shadow works a bit differently. You still have to own the games, but the library isn’t restricted to a set list of games. With Shadow, you gain access to a high-powered Windows 10 computer. In fact, when you first start it up, you set up Windows as usual. Then
Features
Nvidia GeForce Now is bare bones in terms of features. At least in beta form. Booting up the app on PC or Mac will automatically perform a sweep of your library to see if you have games that can be added to GeForce Now to play. You can browse GeForce Now’s library of games and click to purchase from the trio of supported storefronts. Mac gamers benefit the most from GeForce Now, as you do not have to run Bootcamp or Parallels to run Windows games. GeForce Now imposes four-hour limits to each session in beta, but you can simply start a new session when your current one ends.
Shadow’s feature set is probably the most unique and customizable of all streaming services both available today and on the horizon. That’s because it’s more of a cloud computing service with a gaming bent than a strict game streaming service. As mentioned, you gain access to a high-end Windows 10 virtual machine, which means you can choose which apps to install (including non-gaming apps, if you want).
The downside of gaining access to a Virtual Machine is that you have to actually download the games, and you only get 256GB of storage. This won’t hold many AAA games at once. However, Shadow’s virtual machine gets blazing fast 1GB/s download speeds, so deleting and downloading new games won’t take long at all. Shadow has apps for each platform that are used to access the cloud computing service.
Pricing and availability
Nvidia GeForce Now is currently in beta, with no release date announced. The beta program is free, though the waitlist to join reportedly includes one million people already. Nvidia hasn’t discussed the payment model in over a year, but Nvidia previously said it would charge $25 per 20 hours of streaming time. That could get pricey quick if you use the service a lot. Or it could wind up being a decent deal. It all depends on your gaming habits.
Shadow has two payment models. If you sign up for an annual plan, your monthly cost is $25/month ($300/year). If you go month-to-month, that rate balloons to $35/month ($420/year). Before you lock into a plan, you can try Shadow for ten days for $10. Shadow is currently available in 38 states across the country and will eventually be available nationwide.
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HomeGamingWhat is NVIDIA GeForce Now? Everything You Need To Know
Earlier this year, NVIDIA formally announced a new service that the company has been working on, for several years now. It’s called GeForce Now and it’s capable of totally changing the way how we play the latest games. Well, this is not the same GeForce Now that you’ve seen on the company’s SHIELD devices so far. This new service is in the beta stage and currently available only in the United States and Canada. NVIDIA randomly selects the users who registered for the early access and mails them an activation code, in order to try out the GeForce Now Beta. For PC users, the beta access have been available since February, but the service was made available for Mac users just recently. So, before you get all hyped up and head over to their website, in order to sign up for the beta access, let me explain what NVIDIA GeForce Now is:
What is NVIDIA GeForce Now?
GeForce Now is a cloud-based gaming service offered by the highly reputed GPU manufacturer, NVIDIA. Consider it to be a Virtual Private Server (VPS) for all the gamers out there. Once you subscribe to GeForce Now, you’re given your own virtual PC in the cloud. These cloud computers are powered by the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics cards, so there are absolutely no questions regarding their performance. You’ll be able to download your own personal game library from digital distribution services like Steam or Origin, and start playing right away, by remotely accessing your virtual computer from any modern machine that runs Windows or Mac. All in all, you get access to a high-end computer on a subscription basis, so that you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars in sourcing the required components and building one for yourself.
NVIDIA GeForce Now – The Hardware
Let’s talk about the interesting hardware that powers these high-end cloud computers. Well, NVIDIA offers two hardware configurations that are priced accordingly, so you can choose depending on the performance you need. If you’re looking for a system that can handle most of the games at 1080p/60 fps with minor frame drops, the GeForce GTX 1060-powered virtual PC will be good enough for you. However, if you don’t want to sacrifice on any kind of performance and want the absolute best when it comes to graphical fidelity and frame rate, NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1080-powered cloud computer is the one you should be going for, as it’s capable of running every single game at 1080p while maintaining a stable 60 fps frame rate. Both of these configurations are powered by Intel Core i7 processors and are liquid cooled for optimal thermal performance during intense gaming sessions.
System & Internet Requirements
The best part of GeForce Now is that it doesn’t require any powerful hardware, as the cloud computer does all the heavy lifting. Any modern computer running a recent version Windows or macOS, will easily be able to handle GeForce Now. However, what you’ll always need for GeForce Now to work, is a high-speed internet connection. That’s right, you’ll require a bare minimum of 25 Mbps download speed to stream video from the cloud computer to your system. NVIDIA recommends a download speed of 50 Mbps for streaming at 1080p/60 fps, without any issues. Consumers will need to use a hardwired ethernet connection or a wireless router capable of transmitting 5 GHz signal, for optimal streaming performance, as the widely used 2.4 GHz band just does not make the cut.
Who Needs NVIDIA GeForce Now?
This service is well suited for people who can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars on a high-end gaming machine and also the people who use MacBooks or iMacs as their daily driver, as these machines mostly don’t have enough graphical horsepower to play all the games at the highest visual fidelity. Lastly, if you’re on the move, it’s pretty likely that you’re away from your gaming rig. In such a scenario, you can subscribe to this service temporarily and play all those games on your ultrabook, as if you never left home.
Pricing and Availability
The GeForce Now cloud gaming service is currently in the beta stage for Mac users, and you can completely access this service for free as long as the beta is open. Earlier, PC users got a taste of the free beta as well, but it’s no longer available.
Once NVIDIA officially releases GeForce Now to the public, you will be able to avail it on a pay-as-you-go basis. The GeForce GTX 1060 powered machine will be available at a price of $25 for 20 hours of game time and the higher end machine powered by GeForce GTX 1080 will be available at the same price for 10 hours of game time. As far as availability is concerned, the company has been mum on the final release date for the service, but it’s hugely expected to be made available to the public by the end of 2017.
NVIDIA GeForce Now vs LiquidSky
Before NVIDIA GeForce Now was officially announced, there was already a popular cloud based gaming service that received over 1 million beta sign ups, called LiquidSky. Now, the company has officially made it available to the public and we’re tempted to pit this service against NVIDIA’s service.
You will be able to avail one of the two plans that LiquidSky has to offer with the company’s own SkyCredits currency. These SkyCredits can be either earned for free or purchased on a pay-as-you-go or monthly basis depending on your requirements. The pay-as-you-go option starts at $4.99 and the monthly option starts at $9.99/month, which gets you over 2400 SkyCredits. What excites us the most is the free option, that lets you earn SkyCredits by engaging with the company’s ad partners. Using these SkyCredits, you can avail either the Gamer or Pro plan priced at 60 and 120 SkyCredits/hour respectively. LiquidSky’s Gamer plan provides the user with 2 GB of GPU VRAM, 8 GB of memory and 3 CPU Cores, whereas the Pro plan fetches you with 4 GB of GPU VRAM, 16 GB of memory and 6 CPU Cores. The company is not naming which processor or graphics card model they’re using in their cloud machines, which is kind of disappointing.
When you pit these specs against the GeForce Now service, you’re getting much better performance by opting for NVIDIA, as their GTX 1060 and GTX 1080 graphics cards pack 6 GB and 8 GB GDDR5 VRAM respectively. Based on Pascal architecture, these cards are the best in their class, and there’s no matching them in terms of performance. However, in terms of pricing, LiquidSky seems to be the winner, as you can get nearly 50 hours of game time, for the 25 bucks you’re paying for, especially when you’re opting for the Monthly SkyCredits plan. That’s more than twice as much as what NVIDIA brings to the table. That being said, if performance is your top priority, go for the GeForce Now once it launches, as LiquidSky does not have ample horsepower to push 1080p/60 fps on all the latest games our there.
SEE ALSO: NVIDIA Volta: Everything You Need To Know
Hyped For NVIDIA GeForce Now?
If you’re a person who’s constantly on the move, but own an underpowered laptop like a MacBook that can barely run any games, you’ll be happy to subscribe to a cloud based gaming service like NVIDIA GeForce Now, so that you don’t have to sacrifice gaming for portability. However, if you already own a gaming laptop, we really don’t think it’s worth paying for this service, unless you’re going to be away from your machine for a few days. If you’re skeptical about paying $25 for a service that lasts just around 20 hours, you can register and try out the free beta that’s currently available for the Mac users in the United States and Canada, before judging it beforehand. Well, are you interested in trying out GeForce Now? Do let us know what you guys think about NVIDIA’s cloud based gaming service, by shooting your valuable opinions in the comments section down below.
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HomeGamingWhat is NVIDIA GeForce Now? Everything You Need To Know
Earlier this year, NVIDIA formally announced a new service that the company has been working on, for several years now. It’s called GeForce Now and it’s capable of totally changing the way how we play the latest games. Well, this is not the same GeForce Now that you’ve seen on the company’s SHIELD devices so far. This new service is in the beta stage and currently available only in the United States and Canada. NVIDIA randomly selects the users who registered for the early access and mails them an activation code, in order to try out the GeForce Now Beta. For PC users, the beta access have been available since February, but the service was made available for Mac users just recently. So, before you get all hyped up and head over to their website, in order to sign up for the beta access, let me explain what NVIDIA GeForce Now is:
Geforce Now Download Mac Pirate Bay
What is NVIDIA GeForce Now?
GeForce Now is a cloud-based gaming service offered by the highly reputed GPU manufacturer, NVIDIA. Consider it to be a Virtual Private Server (VPS) for all the gamers out there. Once you subscribe to GeForce Now, you’re given your own virtual PC in the cloud. These cloud computers are powered by the latest NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics cards, so there are absolutely no questions regarding their performance. You’ll be able to download your own personal game library from digital distribution services like Steam or Origin, and start playing right away, by remotely accessing your virtual computer from any modern machine that runs Windows or Mac. All in all, you get access to a high-end computer on a subscription basis, so that you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars in sourcing the required components and building one for yourself.
NVIDIA GeForce Now – The Hardware
Let’s talk about the interesting hardware that powers these high-end cloud computers. Well, NVIDIA offers two hardware configurations that are priced accordingly, so you can choose depending on the performance you need. If you’re looking for a system that can handle most of the games at 1080p/60 fps with minor frame drops, the GeForce GTX 1060-powered virtual PC will be good enough for you. However, if you don’t want to sacrifice on any kind of performance and want the absolute best when it comes to graphical fidelity and frame rate, NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1080-powered cloud computer is the one you should be going for, as it’s capable of running every single game at 1080p while maintaining a stable 60 fps frame rate. Both of these configurations are powered by Intel Core i7 processors and are liquid cooled for optimal thermal performance during intense gaming sessions.
System & Internet Requirements
The best part of GeForce Now is that it doesn’t require any powerful hardware, as the cloud computer does all the heavy lifting. Any modern computer running a recent version Windows or macOS, will easily be able to handle GeForce Now. However, what you’ll always need for GeForce Now to work, is a high-speed internet connection. That’s right, you’ll require a bare minimum of 25 Mbps download speed to stream video from the cloud computer to your system. NVIDIA recommends a download speed of 50 Mbps for streaming at 1080p/60 fps, without any issues. Consumers will need to use a hardwired ethernet connection or a wireless router capable of transmitting 5 GHz signal, for optimal streaming performance, as the widely used 2.4 GHz band just does not make the cut.
Who Needs NVIDIA GeForce Now?
This service is well suited for people who can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars on a high-end gaming machine and also the people who use MacBooks or iMacs as their daily driver, as these machines mostly don’t have enough graphical horsepower to play all the games at the highest visual fidelity. Lastly, if you’re on the move, it’s pretty likely that you’re away from your gaming rig. In such a scenario, you can subscribe to this service temporarily and play all those games on your ultrabook, as if you never left home.
Pricing and Availability
The GeForce Now cloud gaming service is currently in the beta stage for Mac users, and you can completely access this service for free as long as the beta is open. Earlier, PC users got a taste of the free beta as well, but it’s no longer available.
Once NVIDIA officially releases GeForce Now to the public, you will be able to avail it on a pay-as-you-go basis. The GeForce GTX 1060 powered machine will be available at a price of $25 for 20 hours of game time and the higher end machine powered by GeForce GTX 1080 will be available at the same price for 10 hours of game time. As far as availability is concerned, the company has been mum on the final release date for the service, but it’s hugely expected to be made available to the public by the end of 2017.
NVIDIA GeForce Now vs LiquidSky
Before NVIDIA GeForce Now was officially announced, there was already a popular cloud based gaming service that received over 1 million beta sign ups, called LiquidSky. Now, the company has officially made it available to the public and we’re tempted to pit this service against NVIDIA’s service.
You will be able to avail one of the two plans that LiquidSky has to offer with the company’s own SkyCredits currency. These SkyCredits can be either earned for free or purchased on a pay-as-you-go or monthly basis depending on your requirements. The pay-as-you-go option starts at $4.99 and the monthly option starts at $9.99/month, which gets you over 2400 SkyCredits. What excites us the most is the free option, that lets you earn SkyCredits by engaging with the company’s ad partners. Using these SkyCredits, you can avail either the Gamer or Pro plan priced at 60 and 120 SkyCredits/hour respectively. LiquidSky’s Gamer plan provides the user with 2 GB of GPU VRAM, 8 GB of memory and 3 CPU Cores, whereas the Pro plan fetches you with 4 GB of GPU VRAM, 16 GB of memory and 6 CPU Cores. The company is not naming which processor or graphics card model they’re using in their cloud machines, which is kind of disappointing.
When you pit these specs against the GeForce Now service, you’re getting much better performance by opting for NVIDIA, as their GTX 1060 and GTX 1080 graphics cards pack 6 GB and 8 GB GDDR5 VRAM respectively. Based on Pascal architecture, these cards are the best in their class, and there’s no matching them in terms of performance. However, in terms of pricing, LiquidSky seems to be the winner, as you can get nearly 50 hours of game time, for the 25 bucks you’re paying for, especially when you’re opting for the Monthly SkyCredits plan. That’s more than twice as much as what NVIDIA brings to the table. That being said, if performance is your top priority, go for the GeForce Now once it launches, as LiquidSky does not have ample horsepower to push 1080p/60 fps on all the latest games our there.
SEE ALSO: NVIDIA Volta: Everything You Need To Know
Hyped For NVIDIA GeForce Now?
If you’re a person who’s constantly on the move, but own an underpowered laptop like a MacBook that can barely run any games, you’ll be happy to subscribe to a cloud based gaming service like NVIDIA GeForce Now, so that you don’t have to sacrifice gaming for portability. However, if you already own a gaming laptop, we really don’t think it’s worth paying for this service, unless you’re going to be away from your machine for a few days. If you’re skeptical about paying $25 for a service that lasts just around 20 hours, you can register and try out the free beta that’s currently available for the Mac users in the United States and Canada, before judging it beforehand. Well, are you interested in trying out GeForce Now? Do let us know what you guys think about NVIDIA’s cloud based gaming service, by shooting your valuable opinions in the comments section down below.
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March 27, 2019
WebDriver-387.10.10.10.40.124.pkg
61.0 MB
62,138
Graphics Cards
Mac OS X
CUDA Application Support:
In order to run Mac OS X Applications that leverage the CUDA architecture of certain NVIDIA graphics cards, users will need to download and install the 6.5.18 driver for Mac located here.
What's New:
- Graphics driver updated for Mac OS X El Capitan 10.11.2 (15C50)
- Contains performance improvements and bug fixes for a wide range of applications.
- Includes NVIDIA Driver Manager preference pane.
- Includes BETA support for iMac and MacBook Pro systems with NVIDIA graphics
Release Notes Archive:
This driver update is for Mac Pro 5,1 (2010), Mac Pro 4,1 (2009) and Mac Pro 3,1 (2008) users only.
Supported Products:
- GeForce GTX 680
- GeForce GTX 285
- GeForce GT 120
- GeForce 8800 GT
- Quadro K5000 for Mac
- Quadro 4000 for Mac
- Quadro FX 4800
- Quadro FX 5600
Previous Versions:
Here's other similar drivers that are different versions or releases for different operating systems: - January 3, 2019
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