Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing

GeForce Now brings native resolution PC gaming to the MacBook Pro

Jacob Roach
By

You can finally use GeForce Now on a MacBook Pro at its native aspect ratio. When Nvidia announced the RTX 3080 tier for its GeForce Now cloud gaming service, the company said streams would run at the native resolution of 1600p. Now, that’s available as part of the latest GeForce Now update.

The M1 Max and M1 Pro MacBook Pros feature beefy GPUs, but they’re not tuned for gaming. The list of the best Mac games isn’t too large, either. That’s where GeForce Now comes in, allowing you to play any supported PC game on your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, or iOS device without worrying about performance or compatibility.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider on a MacBook Pro.

In the case of GeForce Now, MacBooks actually have a slight edge over PCs. The RTX 3080 tier tops out at 2,560 x 1,440 at 120 frames per second (fps) on PC. The MacBook Pro uses a 16:10 aspect ratio for a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600, which the RTX 3080 tier can now fully take advantage of.

Related

The RTX 3080 tier is the closest we’ve seen cloud gaming get to native gaming. It’s not perfect, as the “magic of PC gaming” is still washed in a layer of video compression, but it’s much closer than any other cloud gaming service has gotten. It’s the most expensive GeForce Now subscription Nvidia offers, offering 1440p on PC, 1600p on Macs, 120 fps streaming, and eight-hour session lengths.

Recommended Videos

There should be a big asterisk next to the frame rate. Although the RTX 3080 tier is capable of 120 fps streaming in most titles, Nvidia caps the frame rate on a number of popular games. Cyberpunk 2077, for example, is capped at 45 fps. Valheim, a game that’s not demanding whatsoever, is also capped at 50 fps.

The RTX 3080 tier runs $99.99 for six months, and Nvidia is currently offering it alongside a copy of Crysis Remastered. Below that is the Priority tier, which is $49.99 for six months. It tops out at 1080p at 60 fps with six-hour session lengths, and it also comes with a copy of Crysis Remastered. Nvidia offers a free tier, though free users are limited to hour-long sessions without RTX features.

In addition to native MacBook Pro resolution, the new GeForce Now update includes integration with Ubisoft Connect. Similar to the Epic Games Store, you can now save your sign-in info for your Ubisoft Connect account in the app. That will skip the log in process whenever you boot up a Ubisoft game.

As usual, Nvidia also announced several new games joining GeForce Now as part of its weekly GFN Thursday. Here are the new games for this week:

  • A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism (Steam, December 7)
  • White Shadows (Steam, December 7)
  • Monopoly Madness (Ubisoft Connect, December 9)
  • Anno 1404 History Edition (free on Ubisoft Connect, December 6 to 14)
  • Prison Architect (free on Epic Games Store, December 9 to 16)
  • Super Magbot (Steam)
  • Untitled Goose Game (Epic Games Store)

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Jacob Roach
Jacob Roach
Senior Staff Writer, Computing
Jacob Roach is a writer covering computing and gaming at Digital Trends. After realizing Crysis wouldn't run on a laptop, he…
What MacBooks needs to learn from competitors about transparency
A MacBook Pro M2 sits on a wooden table with a nice bokeh background.

Look, I get it. When you buy an entry-level laptop, you're not getting the same components as with more expensive models. But usually, that covers things like the size of the SSD, the amount of RAM, or the specific CPU. These are obvious choices that you know you're making when you're putting down your cash.

But Apple's been taking things a step further. It all started with the MacBook Air M2 and MacBook Pro M2, where the entry-level models with 256GB of storage use slower single-NAND SSDs compared to faster dual-NAND SSDs. Without going into unnecessary technical detail, I'll just say that the smaller drives are slower than the larger drives -- around half as fast, in fact. And then, to make matters worse, Apple has done the same with the performance-oriented M2 MacBook Pro, with the smallest 512GB SSD being single-NAND as well and considerably slower.

Read more
HP Dragonfly Pro vs. Apple MacBook Pro 14: a solid alternative?
The HP Dragonfly Pro Support app.

Apple's MacBook Pro 14 has taken over as the best 14-inch laptop you can buy today, thanks to great performance and battery life, a spectacular display, and an elegant, functional design. It's one of the best laptops you can buy, and it's just been upgraded with the newer Apple M2 Pro and Max CPUs for even better performance and efficiency.

HP introduced the Dragonfly Pro at CES 2023 to take on the MacBook Pro, and it has a pretty steep hill to climb. We haven't been able to review the laptop yet, but it marks an interesting switch for the Dragonfly to the consumer segment from the commercial market. Can HP's newly designated 14-inch machine take on the best?

Read more
2 ways the new MacBook Pro may be worse than the 2021 model
Apple MacBook Pro seen from the side.

The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros have arrived, and in almost every way, they're a solid improvement over the 2021 models. They have better graphics, longer battery life, and faster connectivity. They look the same on the outside, but the internal upgrades are real.

But there are two aspects of these machines that may end up being worse than the original models from 2021 -- and they're not unimportant.

Read more