In one of the more fascinating pieces of software wizardry to come out of the gaming industry recently, you can now stream Co-op games over the internet with a friend if both you and your friend have the correct hardware and drivers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqsT4Og28lI For the streamer, a GTX 650 or higher is needed, or a "... Non-Optimus Notebook with GeForce GTX 660M or higher graphics (Optimus support coming later.)" One also needs at least 4GB of ram, with a recommended 7Mbps upstream internet connection. Windows 7 onward is also required for both the streamer and the receiver, although these days that really shouldn't be much of a problem.
For the 'guest' PC, one only needs a half-decent rig, with no GPU requirement, 4GB of ram and a requested Intel i3-2100 3.1GHz or higher CPU, although you would also need 7Mbps downstream internet connection as well in order to properly stream.
This sounds all well and good, but there are some downsides to this new feature. One such downside is the fact that after an hour of play the streamer would have to re-invite the friend back into the stream, along with imposed limit of 720p resolution and 30 frames per second, something that will hopefully be fixed when Nvidia GameStream comes out of beta.
DirectX 9 or higher games will be able to be streamed, which already adds a prolific library of games to play through. The stream itself can only be run in fullscreen at the moment, with Nvidia noting that an "... Games must support fullscreen exclusive mode to work with the BETA version of GameStream Co-op..."
Another feature is that as well as playing Co-op with a friend, the player can actually take control of the streamer's game and play, if the streamer desires it. If not, the setting can be changed so that the both of them can play, as seen in the video above.
For those interested in downloading the beta and checking out the requirements page, go here.
For more information, stay tuned to TechRaptor.
