When you’re searching for router recommendations, Nvidia might not be the first company that comes to mind, but its new recommended router program wants you to start thinking otherwise. Over a year in private beta, Nivida has yet to roll out its GeForce Now online game streaming platform officially; however the company has already begun sanctioning hardware to complement the service, providing what it says are already “optimized [routers] to improve your cloud gaming experience.”
Online gamers are already familiar with, the sometimes, headache-inducing setups behind correctly performing routers that ensure you don’t lag in your next online firefight or dungeon crawl. Nvidia’s new GeForce Now recommended router program aims in recommending “best-in-class routers for cloud gaming in homes” that offer easy setup, a GeForce Now QoS (Quality of Service) profile, and lower latency. With gaming routers being nothing new, the new QoS profile has a lot to do with the company’s recommendation.
Quality of Service profiles allows network administrators, such as yourself in your own home, to select traffic to prioritize on the network. While routers have been offering QoS profiles for quite some time now, the new GeForce Now profile means that no one on the network will have to worry about their gaming becoming impacted by someone else firing up a 4K Netflix stream for a bingeing session. Whether you are streaming a game to your Mac, PC, or Nvidia Shield, you shouldn’t see service bumps.
As of now, the only router recommended officially is the AmpliFi by Ubiquiti Networks — more specifically, the company’s HD Gamer Edition. Nvidia’s own customer support even provides a tutorial on how to set up the QoS profile for GeForce Now. Other companies listed as part of the program, but not yet offering products, include Asus’ Republic of Gamers, Razer, TP-Link, NetGear, and D-Link.
Nvidia’s GeForce program has remained in private beta access for over a year, so it is fascinating that the company has decided to launch an industry-wide recommendation program. The development may mean the company intends to make the service available sometime soon — perhaps as soon as next year’s upcoming CES event in Las Vegas.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.