There is no single set of best GeForce NOW settings that suits everyone, because you are choosing between two goals that pull against each other: the lowest latency and the best image. Someone playing shooters sets things up differently from someone who wants to admire ray tracing in a single-player game. Both choices share one step that comes first, though: your quality target has to match what your connection can actually handle, otherwise higher settings make the experience worse.
NVIDIA does not publish specific bitrate values. It only publishes the recommended connection speed for each combination of resolution and frame rate, and what each device class and membership tier allows at all. You can work backward from these numbers, and that is a more reliable approach than chasing the maximum.
Set Server Location to Auto
The most important setting is not image quality but the server choice. You will find it in the app menu at the top left under Settings as Server Location. With Auto selected, the client finds the nearest and best data center on its own, which is the biggest single lever for latency. Picking a server manually only makes sense for comparison when you are testing your network.
There is one exception worth knowing. For Install-to-Play games the server choice does not apply, because the game always runs where your cloud storage is. The storage location is also set with your first purchase, and changing it deletes all saved data for your Install-to-Play games.
When latency is the priority
Here you work from the top down. A lower resolution means a lower data rate, and that travels faster even over a more congested connection.
- Stay at Full HD. According to NVIDIA, 1920×1080 at 60 FPS needs 25 Mbps, while 4K at 120 FPS already needs 45 Mbps. You notice the difference in latency sooner than the difference in detail.
- Higher frame rate before higher resolution. Ultimate supports 1920×1080 at 360 FPS, and NVIDIA lists 48 Mbps for it in its FAQ, which is less than 5K needs.
- Cable instead of Wi-Fi. NVIDIA recommends a wired connection and, among wireless options, only the 5GHz band. No menu setting can do that for you.
- Reflex and Cloud G-Sync belong to Ultimate. Both features target smoothness and latency, and they are not available on the lower tiers.
When image quality is the priority
The opposite direction makes sense for slower-paced games and only on a connection with headroom. Ray tracing is available from Performance up, and so are HDR10, SDR10 and ultrawide monitors. The very top level, meaning up to 5K, DLSS 5 and 7.1 audio, is reserved for Ultimate.
| What affects image and latency | Free | Performance | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resolution | up to 1080p | up to 1440p | up to 5K |
| Frame rate | up to 60 FPS | up to 60 FPS | up to 360 FPS |
| Ray tracing | no | yes | yes |
| HDR10 and SDR10 | no | yes | yes |
| Ultrawide monitors | no | yes | yes |
| Surround sound | no | 5.1 | 5.1 and 7.1 |
| DLSS | no | no | DLSS 5 |
| NVIDIA Reflex | no | no | yes |
| Cloud G-Sync | no | no | yes |
| Saved game settings | no | yes | yes |
The last row tends to be underestimated in practice. On the free membership, in-game settings are not saved, so you have to adjust the graphics again every time you launch. Prices for each tier are in the GeForce NOW membership comparison, and what the membership can do without paying is summed up in the article on GeForce NOW for free.
Why higher settings hurt on an unstable connection
A stream is a continuous flow of data, and the higher the quality you choose, the bigger that flow gets. On a connection that holds its speed, this is not a problem. On a connection that dips every now and then, the higher demand shows immediately: missing data has to be replaced with something, so the image breaks into blocks, freezes or skips. Latency also goes up, because the service has to keep a bigger buffer.
The practical consequence is unpleasant for your wallet. Moving to a more expensive tier unlocks higher resolution but does not improve your connection, so on a poor line you pay for a worse experience than you had at Full HD. How much each combination of resolution and frame rate needs is covered in the overview of internet requirements.
You can check whether your connection is good enough right inside the service. The built-in network test measures bandwidth, packet loss, jitter and latency, and those four values are exactly the right feedback when you change settings. How to run it and what to take from the results is described in the article GeForce NOW not working: what to do.
Where your device has its own ceiling
Settings are not limited by your tier alone. Every platform has its own limit, and some cannot reach the highest modes even with Ultimate.
- Browser: QHD and 120 FPS require Ultimate.
- Chromebook: 1600p and 120 FPS only on Ultimate.
- Android: 1440p and 120 FPS only on Ultimate.
- Gaming handhelds: 1440p and 90 or 120 FPS only on Ultimate.
- Windows: 5K, 4K, ultrawide resolutions, ray tracing, HDR, Cloud G-Sync and 90 to 360 FPS need a paid membership.
- iPhone and iPad: you need a gamepad to play; keyboard and mouse only work for menus and signing in.
TVs also have their own rules and their own speed table, including the fact that 4K on Smart TVs is reserved for Ultimate. They are covered in the guide to GeForce NOW on a TV, and the full list of platforms is in the overview of supported devices.
Who gains nothing from chasing top quality
- Competitive players. On top of your monitor’s delay comes the trip the image makes to the data center and back. Every extra megabit that a higher resolution demands works against you here.
- People playing on a phone or tablet. Nobody can tell Full HD from QHD on a six-inch display, but everyone notices a stream dropout.
- People on a shared connection. Tune your settings for the worst moment of the day, not the best one.
- People still finding out whether cloud gaming suits them. Start at Full HD and go up until the image starts to fall apart. Why it works this way is explained in the introduction to cloud gaming.
FAQ
The ones your connection can handle with room to spare. NVIDIA asks for 25 Mbps for Full HD at 60 FPS and 45 Mbps for 4K at 120 FPS. Leave Server Location on Auto, connect with a cable and raise the quality step by step. Settings higher than your connection has headroom for make both the image and latency worse at the same time.
NVIDIA does not list specific bitrate values on its website. It works with a recommended connection speed for each combination of resolution and frame rate, from 15 Mbps for 720p to 65 Mbps for 5K. These make a better basis for your settings than a number in megabits per second.
Both target image smoothness and input latency, and NVIDIA offers both features exclusively on the Ultimate tier. They are not in the settings on the free membership or on Performance, so do not count on them with the cheaper tiers.
Higher quality means a bigger data flow. When your connection dips, the missing data shows up as blocks in the image, freezes or skips, and latency goes up as well. The fix is to lower the quality target by one step, switch from Wi-Fi to a cable, or both.
On the Performance and Ultimate tiers it does; NVIDIA lists saved game settings for both. The free membership does not have this feature, so you set the in-game graphics again every time you launch.
How the service works and what a subscription gets you is covered in the article on GeForce NOW, and other cloud topics are in the cloud gaming section on Gamers Together. Information verified as of 13 August 2026.