M1 MacBook Air transformed into a gaming machine thanks to Nvidia GeForce Now

Roughly six years ago, I purchased my first-ever MacBook, the 13-inch MacBook Air M1, and I still remember the feeling to this day. I was excited to finally have a device that not only promised a great performance initially, but was something I could count on for years. And the same MacBook is still going strong. The only thing that it isn’t built for, is gaming. But that has also changed. Earlier this week, I transformed my MacBook into a gaming rig and I couldn’t be happier, thanks to Nvidia’s GeForce Now app that recently made its debut in India. Here’s what exactly happened. 

Also read: I carried this Rs 4.5 lakh gaming beast to work everyday, here is how it performed 

About Nvidia GeForce Now

Before I delve into the details, let me quickly tell you a bit about GeForce Now. It is a cloud gaming service that has existed for years, but made its debut in India recently. Instead of running the game locally, everything runs on Nvidia’s remote servers, and you stream it like a video. Now this means  that your hardware matters less than your internet connection. 

So, I linked my Steam library, fired up a few demanding titles, and spent time testing different settings and resolutions on my device.  And yes, my MacBook Air can now run games it should never be able to. So how did I set it up, it was quite simple. 

Once you get access, all you need to do is sign in and connect your existing libraries. Platforms like Steam, Epic Games Store, and Ubisoft Connect plug in without any issues. There is no downloading of massive game files, no worrying about storage, and no background updates eating into your bandwidth.

The only catch here is that your experience is only as good as your internet. Once everything is set, the overall experience feels almost surreal. You are launching games that would normally require an RTX-powered machine on a fanless laptop that barely gets warm. So how was the experience with each game? Read on.

Pragmata

This was the first game I tried on GeForce Now and it truly took me by surprise the moment it launched on the M1 MacBook Air.  As soon as I started playing the game, I started getting native 100 FPS. Remember that this is without DLSS. However, the game was stuttering a bit initially. Now I was on a 300 MBPS Wi-Fi connection and thought that might be the culprit here. So I shut the game in order to try to restart it. But, a quick report by Nvidia caught my attention. GFN told me to instal AWDL to help with issues. As soon as I did that and relaunched the game, the stuttering disappeared and there was no latency or any other issue. I played for hours without any issues. 

Getting more into details, I started playing at 1080p with maxed-out graphics and pushed DLSS to 4x on performance mode. And I started getting around 300 fps which is way too good. The game also felt incredibly smooth. I then changed the resolution to 1920:1440 which enhanced the image quality a bit and still gave me around 200 FPS with the DLSS set to 4x. And this is where I knew I had hit the sweet spot. 

Resident Evil Requiem

The next game that I tried was Resident Evil Requiem. Because this is the kind of game that relies heavily on lighting and atmosphere. I pushed the resolution to 2560×1600 and cranked up settings like lights and shadows to high. At native performance, the game was running at around 40 fps, which is decent but not ideal for a smooth experience.

Once DLSS was set to balanced with 4x frame generation, things changed drastically. Frame rates jumped to around 160 fps, and more importantly, the game felt fluid. The lighting in darker scenes looked detailed, and reflections held up well. And this is where GeForce Now really starts to show its strength. You are not just playing the game, you are playing it at settings that your hardware would never realistically allow.

Black Myth Wukong

Now Black Myth Wukong is easily one of the most demanding games today which made me want to test it on GeForce Now. I ran the game at 2560×1600 resolution with high graphics settings, DLSS set to balanced, and frame generation enabled.

At native performance, the game hovered around 65 fps, which is already respectable. But with DLSS and frame generation kicking in, the output climbed to roughly 259 FPS. Combat felt responsive, and the overall experience was far smoother than I expected. Considering the scale and detail of this game, the fact that it runs like this on a MacBook Air still feels slightly unreal.

So, can cloud gaming replace traditional hardware?

What GeForce Now does is remove the biggest barrier to entry, which is expensive hardware. It turns almost any screen into a potential gaming setup. In my case, it transformed a six-year-old MacBook Air into something I never expected it to be.

And that is the real takeaway here. Cloud gaming is no longer just a concept. It works, it is accessible, and with the right internet connection, it can genuinely surprise you.

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