If you still can’t find an RTX 3080 graphics card to buy, consider renting one.
Starting today, Nvidia is allowing anyone to lease access to an RTX 3080 GPU through its cloud gaming service, GeForce Now. In October, Nvidia debuted a new tier to GeForce Now that uses the RTX 3080 to stream the gaming experience over the internet to a customer’s PC. But at the time, the service was only available to existing paying customers.
On Thursday, Nvidia lifted that limitation, opening up GeForce Now RTX 3080 memberships to the wider gaming public in the US and Europe. Interested customers can sign up on the official GeForce Now website.
However, the service isn’t cheap. Nvidia is charging $99.99 for six months of access. Subscribers will also need a steady internet connection that can reach at least 15Mbps to enable gameplay at a 720p resolution. In return, consumers can rent the RTX 3080 GPU to stream games at up to 1440p at 120 frames per second on a PC or a Mac, assuming their broadband connection can handle the data.
The RTX 3080 membership also represents the highest GeForce Now tier. A step below is the Priority membership, which costs $49.99 for six months of access. However, the game streaming occurs via an “RTX 2080- or GTX 1080-equivalent” GPU, according to Nvidia. As a result, the streaming is capped to 1080p at 60fps for most games.
At the bottom is the free membership, where streaming occurs via a GTX 1060 GPU. The game sessions are also capped at one hour, forcing players to log back in and wait for server access.
The other limitation to GeForce Now is how you have to buy the games. However, the service lets you play any existing games you have in your Steam or Epic Games library. GeForce Now currently supports over 1,100 titles.
Renting access to an RTX 3080 certainly isn’t ideal for PC building purists. But it can offer some temporary relief since the GPU shortage is expected to persist into next year. Consumers can also consider other cloud gaming services that might suit them better.
