Inven Global

AI is advancing by the day, expanding into everyday tasks such as shopping and search. However, gamers view this rapid growth with mixed feelings. While there are many reasons, the main issue is that prices for PC components are skyrocketing due to the growth of the AI industry and the expansion of data centers.

A prime example is system memory (RAM). Samsung Electronics' DDR4-3200 16GB RAM module cost around 40,000 won back in January 2025, but it is currently trading in the 190,000 won range. Consequently, prices for not only PCs but also consoles like the PS5 are going up one after another. Most notably, the PS5 saw its price increase from 748,000 won to 948,000 won starting in May 2026.

Another product directly hit by memory shortages is graphics cards. NVIDIA had already fueled graphics card price increases by cutting consumer GPU production to focus on AI data center GPUs. Compounded by memory shortages, graphics card prices are now soaring through the roof.

While it can hardly be called a typical consumer graphics card, the latest RTX 5090 lineup commands prices as high as 10 million won. Given the situation, some gamers even say that those who bought graphics cards early this year are the true winners.

The problem is that this semiconductor shortage shows no signs of being resolved anytime soon. Related news reports even suggest that the situation could persist until 2028 or 2029. But that doesn't mean game releases are slowing down. New titles continue to pour out every quarter, including a steady stream of AAA blockbusters.

In this environment, gamers using mid-range or entry-level graphics cards face a growing dilemma. With 4K monitors becoming increasingly common, even compromising on graphics settings makes it difficult to maintain 40 to 50 FPS, let alone 60 FPS.

Amidst all this, one service caught my attention: the cloud gaming service GeForce NOW. Though six years have passed since its official launch on February 4, 2020, quite a few gamers are still unfamiliar with it. Can GeForce NOW serve as a new savior under the current circumstances?

'Phantom Blade Zero,' which made headlines by surpassing 830,000 peak concurrent users on Steam, is gaining popularity with its flashy action and impressive visuals. However, as one might guess from its stunning visuals, the system requirements are fairly high.

While the flashy choreography unique to kung fu action plays a role, frame rates are inherently critical for an action game where guarding (parrying) and dodging are paramount. Players on PCs meeting recommended specs running high-resolution monitors especially have to find an acceptable middle ground between graphic options and frame rates.

However, there was no need for such compromise on GeForce NOW. Even at 4K resolution and 120Hz with DLSS upscaling, Frame Generation, and all graphics options—including ray tracing—set to max, the game ran smoothly.

The most impressive aspect was the stable frame rate. Given the game's flashy action, boss fights could naturally be expected to cause frame drops due to heavy visual effects, but GeForce NOW delivered smooth gameplay without any noticeable performance dips.

As long as network-heavy tasks like uploading or downloading large files were avoided, there was virtually no buffering or resolution drops. It maintained stable streaming quality throughout the entire play session.

The latest entry in the Gears series, 'Gears of War: E-Day,' is another game renowned for its stellar visuals. Its optimization is also quite impressive. That does not mean a PC matching recommended specs can run it maxed out, however. While medium-high settings offer satisfying visuals and performance, cranking every option to maximum still demands high-end hardware.

On GeForce NOW, by contrast, it ran at maximum settings effortlessly. Beyond the visuals, the frame rate stayed rock-solid at 120 FPS. From cutscenes to chaotic firefights with bullets flying in all directions, both visuals and frame rates remained consistent. Unless someone told you, it was hard to even notice you were playing via GeForce NOW.

Although latency was hard to measure with precise numbers, it felt virtually indistinguishable from playing on a local PC. Ping also held steady at around 40ms. Unless a gamer is exceptionally sensitive to latency or ping, controls felt responsive enough to seem instantaneous.

'The Blood of Dawnwalker,' the debut title from Rebel Wolves, caught attention with its unique combat system. At first glance, it may look similar to standard action-adventure games, but it features combat mechanics that allow attacking and blocking in four directions: up, down, left, and right.

The core of combat lies in executing a perfect block matching the direction and timing of an enemy's attack. Success triggers a parry, breaking the enemy's stance without consuming stamina. As such, precise directional inputs and timing are crucial.

With parrying at the heart of combat, frame rates and input lag are naturally critical. Just like the previously mentioned games, optimization as well as GeForce NOW's ping and latency play vital roles.

Fortunately, executing parries posed no major challenge on GeForce NOW. Once accustomed to the gameplay, it was easy to forget that it was running on a cloud gaming service. With practice, taking on three or four enemies at once felt like overwhelming foes like a movie protagonist.

While not true for every game, titles featuring hyper-realistic graphics or next-level visuals often carry steep system requirements. Remedy Entertainment's 'Control: Resonant' is no exception. While it boasts decent optimization, that only holds true if graphics options are reasonably compromised. Setting every option—including ray tracing—to maximum makes smooth performance difficult to guarantee even on a high-end PC.

So how did it perform on GeForce NOW? Of course, settings like resolution, DLSS, and Frame Generation need to be dialed in appropriately. With those configured, even with ray tracing and all other graphics options pushed to maximum, it maintained a stable 120 FPS matching the monitor's refresh rate. It effectively delivered both stunning visuals and solid frame rates.

It has become commonplace for mobile games to offer native PC clients, and many players enjoy them on PC while at home. As such, some might wonder why anyone would bother playing a mobile title like 'Zenless Zone Zero' via GeForce NOW.

However, the story changes when playing in unfamiliar environments, such as business trips. While bringing a gaming laptop wouldn't present much of an issue, few people carry heavy gaming laptops on business trips or out-of-office tasks. Most rely on office laptops like the LG Gram, which are not designed for gaming and inevitably face performance limitations. In fact, playable titles on such machines are few and far between.

GeForce NOW eliminates those worries. Even on an office laptop, players can enjoy smooth performance with ray tracing enabled.

Of course, there were drawbacks compared to running the game locally on a PC. Since it is a cloud gaming service, the hardware gap between a desktop and a laptop is largely irrelevant, making the network environment the ultimate bottleneck. This test in particular was conducted during an overseas business trip, relying on hotel Wi-Fi, which meant the network conditions were far from ideal.

Even considering those limitations, gameplay was surprisingly smooth overall. It showcased GeForce NOW's key advantage: allowing players to continue playing their favorite games even in environments lacking a high-performance PC.

Given a stable network environment like wired internet, GeForce NOW delivers undoubtedly impressive performance. Unless side-by-side screens are compared running the same game on a local PC with identical specs, it is difficult to notice much difference from local PC execution.

This is not limited to static screens either. The same holds true for intense action games. Even during dynamic combat scenes where the camera shakes wildly and characters zip across the screen, it maintained stable resolution.

Another major advantage is that installation and updates are unnecessary. Because games run directly on GeForce NOW servers, a single click launches a title within seconds. Considering modern games routinely exceed 100GB in base install size and push updates measuring tens of gigabytes, this convenience is highly appealing.

While a stable network environment was highlighted earlier, standard wired internet setups present no real issue. There is no need for expensive internet plans; standard home internet plans are more than sufficient for a smooth experience.

Of course, this does not mean GeForce NOW is a flawless cloud gaming service. It has drawbacks as clear as its advantages. Chief among them are a limited game library and playtime restrictions—even the Ultimate plan caps monthly usage at 40 hours and session length at 6 hours.

The 6-hour session limit can be bypassed simply by reconnecting, making it a minor inconvenience. The 40-hour monthly limit, however, is a different story. For regular gamers who play consistently, that cap is frustratingly restrictive.

Ultimately, it is true that GeForce NOW cannot yet be considered a perfect substitute. However, with graphics card prices skyrocketing, spending millions of won to build a modern PC has become the new normal. With prevailing forecasts indicating that semiconductor shortages and price hikes will persist for at least a few more years, holding out through this long winter via GeForce NOW might be a reasonable option if a PC upgrade feels too burdensome right now.