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GeForce Now brings native resolution PC gaming to the MacBook Pro

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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.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

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.

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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.

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)

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Jacob Roach
Jacob Roach
Lead Reporter, PC Hardware
Jacob Roach is the lead reporter for PC hardware at Digital Trends. In addition to covering the latest PC components, from…
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