Nvidia Introduces Impressive Features With New GeForce Experience Beta (Updated)

Nvidia's GeForce Experience offers gamers a number of benefits. It is used to keep your drivers up to date, and it will let you opt in to trial beta drivers. The software is able to optimize your game settings and tailor them specifically to your hardware profile to deliver the best balance between settings and performance.

GeForce Experience is also used to manage features such as Nvidia Shadowplay, which allows gamers to record gameplay on the fly without a performance hit, and it automatically saves the last 20 minutes of gameplay. In manual mode, you can record unlimited length clips and effectively turn your PC into a game PVR. GeForce Experience also manages GameStream, which is the underlying technology making gaming on Nvidia Shield devices possible. 

GeForce Experience, Updated

The latest version of GeForce Experience, which Nvidia launched today, introduces a handful of exciting new features that expand what the software can do. For example, the company has integrated a new overlay menu system that can be accessed in-game with a hotkey combination (Alt+z). From this menu, which Nvidia calls "Share," gamers have access to the instant replay, record and broadcast features and options.

The broadcast button allows gamers to instantly start a Twitch stream with one click. This feature can be pre-configured with your Twitch account details, and it accepts a secondary camera overlay so you can use a webcam while you stream.

Instant replay automatically saves the last 20 minutes of gameplay. It can be toggled on and off from the Share menu. Record is the manual recording function, and it does not have a limit on length. This feature can also be toggled from the Share menu, and the resolution can be set as high as 4K at 60 fps.

There is even a limited video editor that will let you cut the clip to your desired length, add a title, and then upload it directly to YouTube. You can even include an optional MyRig stamp that posts your PC's specs into the description of the video. Recorded videos are stored in the Gallery, where you can browse and preview them. All of this can be done right from inside the game. All of the video encoding is handled by the hardware encoder found in Maxwell GPUs.

GameStream Co-Op

The most innovative new feature that Nvidia is implementing in GeForce Experience is GameStream Co-Op, found in the Stream menu. Using this feature, gamers can invite friends into a one-on-one streaming session. This is a direct peer-to-peer secured and encrypted connection between you and one other person. Doing this will allow you to share and experience games in a few unique new ways.

You can have latency-free one-on-one broadcasts that aren't being sent through a third party such as Twitch. Streamed games aren't just limited to passive experiences, though; mouse and keyboard control, as well as microphone support, can be passed through the stream. Players on the other end of the stream will have mirrored controls of the game, and games with local co-op will be able to be played as if it were on one computer. There is integrated voice chat to communicate securely within the session.

Invites for the streams can be sent through email, or the URL can be sent through a chat program.

Nvidia uses a Chrome extension to make this work and said that anyone using a computer with the Chrome browser can connect and play games in this way. The person joining does not need a gaming machine, as all of the rendering is done on the host side.

GameStream Co-Op is currently only available for desktop systems, but laptop support is being worked on. To host a session with GameStream Co-Op, you'll need a PC with at least an Intel i3-2100, a GeForce GTX 650 and at least 4 GB of memory. Nvidia display driver 355.60 or higher is also needed. The guest PC should also have at least an i3-2100 with 4 GB of memory, but it does not require a discrete graphics card.

GameStream Co-Op will work with games that support Direct X 9 and above. Games must be running in fullscreen mode -- borderless will not work. For the best experience, Nvidia recommends an Internet connection with at least 7 Mbps download and upload speed on both ends of the stream.

This release of GeForce experience has some added benefits for gamers with Nvidia GTX 950 graphics cards. These cards alone will have a new feature specifically tailored to MOBA games. Within the optimization settings for MOBA games such as League of Legends, DOTA II and Heroes of the Storm, Nvidia has added options to reduce input latency. When optimized in this way, the GPU will no longer render multiple frames in advance. In MOBA games, your reaction time between actions is a key factor in success, and Nvidia said this new optimization will help reduce input latency.

The GeForce Experience Beta is available in September from Nvidia. The company said it is currently a beta and will remain so for some time. As such, it is potentially prone to bugs and crashing, and you should install it at your own risk. 

Update, 8/20/15, 8:27am PT: Originally, the story incorrectly stated that the beta is available today. GeForce Exprience Beta will actually be available in September. A new GeForce driver was released today.

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