GeForce Now's RTX 5080 upgrade could bring me back to cloud gaming
Each of the Ultimate-grade GeForce Now SuperPods hanging out at Nvidia's data centres will soon be swapped for ones seriously more oomph, meaning you'll effectively be gaming on an 8-core Ryzen CPU and with double the system memory as the previous-gen setup.
The generational step up from 4080-era silicon to a Blackwell 5080 is bringing HDR10 and 4:4:4 Chroma colour, which should make visuals that bit crisper and more detailed than the outgoing GeForce Now gear. You'll also be able to play at much higher resolutions and refresh rates – without the wallet-busting outlay of having to buy a graphics card yourself.
With a compatible monitor or TV, you'll be able to stream games at 5K/120p. And if your screen doesn't have quite so many pixels, don't worry: 1080p content can now top out at 360Hz, for esports-grade responsiveness. With new support for Low Latency, Low Loss (L4S) networks, Nvidia reckons the end-to-end latency when playing Overwatch 2 is actually lower than playing locally on a PlayStation 5 Pro – though whether your internet provider also supports them is a bit of a crapshoot right now.
LG's 2025 and 2026 TVs and monitors will be first in line for 4K/120Hz with HDR and 5K/120Hz gameplay respectively. The Lenovo Legion Go S is also getting 120fps streaming support, while Valve's Steam Deck OLED will be able to hit 90fps as long as you've got a good enough broadband connection.
The Xbox Cloud Gaming rival has a bunch of big-name titles due in the coming months, with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Borderlands 4, Hell is Us, The Outer Worlds 2 and Dying Light: The Beast all down to appear on the service on day one.
It'll also finally fully support racing wheels, including haptic feedback, so aspiring sim racers can put their cash towards upgrading their rig rather than their graphics cards.
The good news is that pricing is staying the same. GeForce Now Ultimate will still set you back $20/£20/€22 per month once the 5080 upgrade rolls out.
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a day ago
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I played the Asus Xbox ROG Ally X and it really is the Xbox handheld we've been waiting for
Initial Stuff Verdict Everything that made the ROG Ally X a compelling gaming handheld, made much more comfortable and more immersive. The Xbox Ally has huge potential to bring console players to PC Pros Xbox-style grips give comfort a major boost Streamlined Xbox software smoothes some Windows trickiness Plenty of power and promising battery life Cons IPS display can't match the Switch 2's OLED opulence Potentially expensive compared to Steam Deck OLED The Xbox ROG Ally and Ally X finally feel like Microsoft taking gaming handhelds seriously. Up until now, Windows 11 and portable gaming went together about as well as oil and water; yet with Asus handling the hardware and an Xbox interface designed for smaller screens, it could now have the mainstream appeal to convince console owners to give PC-based gaming a go. Effectively Xbox-approved tweaks on the formulas Asus established with the original ROG Ally X and ROG Ally, these two Windows-based handhelds will soon to go up for pre-order ahead of an October 16 launch. While pricing is still TBC, both versions are expected to come in higher than a top-spec Steam Deck OLED. Based on some early hands-on time, though, there are some things the Xbox ROG Ally duo does better than Valve's trend-setting handheld. And it goes way, way further down than simply bolting some controller grips to an existing Asus model. How we test gaming hardware All games consoles and gaming hardware tested on Stuff are put through their paces with days' worth of play time. We use our years of testing experience to judge areas such as build quality, software experience, battery life and other features. Manufacturers have no visibility on reviews before they appear online, and we never accept payment to feature products. Find out more about how we test and rate products. Familiar yet different There's plenty of Asus DNA still on display, but the Xbox ROG Ally X also proudly wears its Microsoft influences. Two grips that look like they could've come straight off an Xbox One controller now flank the handheld's 7in screen, giving you a lot more to grab onto. It instantly feels more comfortable than the OG Ally, which was way too angular. It sits more naturally in your hands than the Asus flavoured Ally X, too. It's way chunkier than a Nintendo Switch 2 as a result, but still smaller in your hands than a Steam Deck OLED. Think PlayStation Portal and you're most of the way there, only with the extra hardware inside for on-device gaming it's considerably heavier. Otherwise you're getting a similar layout, with offset analogue sticks that have an eye-catching LED underglow, a brace of (satisfyingly clicky) face buttons, and the usual selection of menu keys. There's now a dedicated Xbox button here, too – making it much easier to get back into the refreshed UI from your games. The triggers and bumpers at the rear haven't moved, but they have gained haptic feedback. This is a big deal, as it brings the gameplay experience that much closer to playing on an Xbox console with an official controller. The way you can feel different spell types in Hogwarts: Legacy is so satisfying. Connectivity is unchanged, with two USB-C ports at the top edge (handy for charging and playing on an external display at the same time) alongside a 3.5mm headphone port and microSD card slot. I like that the power button still doubles as a fingerprint sensor, too – so much easier than prodding an onscreen keyboard every time you switch the handheld on. The 7in screen is very pretty, thanks to a sharp 1080p resolution and brightness that got pretty high during my hands-on session. 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The white stuff The regular Xbox Ally is clearly meant to be the Series S of the pair, being that little easier on your wallet and arriving dressed in white. As an Xbox 360 die-hard I prefer this look to the Ally X's black, even if it does draw attention to the black screen bezel. With a slight hardware step-down Microsoft and Asus reckon it's more aimed at 720p on-the-go gaming. The Ryzen Z2 A chipset, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of on-board storage will still have the oomph to run newer titles, just with reduced settings or AMD's Fluid Motion Frames upscaling tech. The two things I noticed the most during my hands-on time were how much lighter it felt than the Ally X – 45g might not sound like much, but it'll make all the difference after an hours-long play session – and the lack of impulse triggers. With how much extra immersion these add in compatible games, it's a real shame not to have them on the cheaper machine. It's not like the Xbox Series S comes with a stripped-out controller. 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Stuff.tv
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GeForce Now's RTX 5080 upgrade could bring me back to cloud gaming
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I've been waiting for this ultra-portable 4K projector – now it's here, you'll want it too
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