Playing the best PS4 games on a laptop? Count me in.
Remote play is one of those ideas that sounds great in theory but suffers a bit in practice due to lag and formatting issues. Sony, however, has worked hard to ensure that PS4 Remote Play is an experience worth the effort, and if your Internet connection is up to the task then playing your PS4 via your gaming laptop is not only possible but relatively painless.
First, you’ll need to update your PS4, because the latest patch includes the Remote Play ability and you won’t get anywhere without it. Then you’ll need a computer – Mac and PC both work here, so no worries about compatibility. Install the PS4 Remote Play app, then enable remote play on your PS4 and you’re good to go – as long as you remember your Sony account password
Naturally, your PS4 needs to be turned on before you can play. And before you get any big ideas about dominating Destiny with a keyboard and mouse, know that you’ll need a USB cable and your PS4 controller to actually control a game. The good news is that, with all the right equipment, any game on PS4 can be played on your computer – it’s just a basic relay system.
About that lag – Sony recommends having both upload and download speeds of at least 12 Mbps on that top gaming laptop we’re assuming you have. This isn’t going to be a problem if you have, say, Google Fiber. If you are stuck with something like Comcast…well, results may vary. Our net connection is reliably in the 30-40Mbps range and we had almost no noticeable lag, but it’s hard to count on that for everyone: You should probably avoid twitchy gameplay and super-competitive modes, for your own sake.
Which brings us to the last issue – what’s the point? Remote play is a cool trick, but when does it matter? There are a couple situations where this comes in very handy. Because your PS4 only needs to be in rest mode for this feature to work, you can let other family members/roomies watch the TV and play on the PS4 at your computer. Also, if you travel a lot and have a great net connection, playing remotely at hotels isn’t out of the question. Of course you’ll need a powerful laptop for this to work well, which is why you should definitely head over to our best gaming laptop reviews and suggestions for 2016.
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