Nvidia's monstrous GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card launched over a year ago, but it's still damned near impossible to get your hands on one if you don't feel like paying a just-as-monstrous markup on Ebay. But soon, you'll be able to tap the GPU's fearsome firepower for roughly the cost of a Netflix subscription, as Nvidia is bringing the GeForce RTX 3080 to its GeForce Now cloud streaming service, along with a juicy 1440p, 120Hz gaming option. If you're looking to get into desktop gaming for the first time, or if your current graphics card dies and you don't want to spend $1,500 to $2,000 on an RTX 3080 of your own on the street, GeForce Now can keep you playing at a high level until the madness ends (at least assuming your internet is up to snuff). And yes, that includes cutting-edge, real-time ray tracing and Nvidia DLSS capabilities. Nvidia needed to upgrade its servers to make such a ferocious option possible.

This week, as the lights go out for good at one major game streaming service, NVIDIA is upgrading GeForce Now with a bunch of features thanks to the addition of new SuperPODs equipped with RTX 4080 GPUs. And after testing out some of the service's improved capabilities, the addition of expanded support for high refresh rates and ultrawide resolutions is really turning GeForce Now into a truly high-end cloud gaming app. For those that missed the initial announcement back at CES, GeForce Now's recently renamed Ultimate plan (formerly the RTX 3080 tier) is getting a number of new features including support for refresh rates of up to 240Hz at full HD or 4K at 120 fps and an expanded set of usable wide-screen resolutions (3840x1600, 3440x1440 and 2560x1080). On top of that NVIDIA is also adding better support for HDR on both Macs and PCs along with the ability to use full ray tracing with DLSS3 in supported games. Right away, this elevates GeForce Now above rivals like Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is capped at 1080p/60fps.

Can't get your hands on an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 for your gaming rig (or not keen to pay the $1,199.99 Now you don't have to. Nvidia GeForce Now, the company's cloud gaming service, has released a GeForce Now Ultimate subscription tier that provides RTX 4080-equivilent hardware, complete with ray tracing and DLSS 3 support--and I've spent several days testing it. The RTX 4080's might comes flanked by several other GeForce Now enhancements, including support for ultrawide resolutions up to 3,840 x 1,600. Refresh rates get a boost, too, with support for 240Hz at 1080p and 120Hz at up to 4K. The higher refresh rates can also lead to lower total latency, allowing Nvidia to double dip on its marketing claims.

Nvidia on Tuesday announced that it is growing its cloud gaming ecosystem by partnering with AT&T and Samsung. The new partnerships, announced during CES, will extend the reach and performance of GeForce NOW, Nvidia's cloud-based game streaming service. Nvidia's collaboration with AT&T will focus on developing 5G technical innovations to improve the gaming experience. Engineering teams from both companies are working together to optimize things like latency and minimize packet loss across the network. They're not unveiling any specific developments at this point but plan to work together through the year.

Samsung is overhauling its TV interface, and it's looking to pull many of your gaming needs together in one place. Via the Gaming Hub, you'll be able to fire up console games directly from TV home screens so you can start playing them a bit faster. What's more, you can access Samsung's new game streaming service from the hub. The company teased its latest stab at cloud gaming back in October. You'll be able to connect third-party controllers and headsets to compatible TVs, so you might not need to pick up extra hardware to play games on the platform.