Shadow PC Review - Is it worth the premium price?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ม.ค. 2025
- Shadow PC is all about giving you a high performance PC in the cloud. But it costs several times more than other cloud gaming services. So? Is it worth the premium cost? The answer is a bit complex, so check out the full video to find out!
Disclosure: I was given access to Shadow free of charge for review purposes. Shadow has had no say in the making of this video.
Sign up for Shadow here: shdw.me/pc
Want something less expensive? Try out Boosteroid: boosteroid.com... (affiliate link)
Or why not try GeForce Now? nvda.ws/3XMNuVU
Want to support the channel; check out this page for various options:
dadplaysgames....
Wish it was a bit cheaper. Sometimes, It's hard to pay for it. But having a high end pc running on my potato is just too good to quit.
It use to be but it got so popular after people found out how good it is
Shadow PC is great for what it is. The service allowed me to experience Residend Evil 4 HD fan remaster on my laptop from 2012. I spend a month with it and was very satisfied. Essentially a rented digital PC with decent specs.
There's definitely room for great services like Stadia too though (yes, I loved it, Google fucked up bad in its management of it).
The ease of access of services like Stadia, where you just click a button and are in the game in less than a minute reduce the friction of getting started with a game. I love Shadow and use it for both gaming and video editing, but launching a game on Stadia back then, or on GFN with steam connected, is much smoother. If I'm sitting down for a long session, Shadow is great. For just a quick match of something, GFN is better
@kaptain_torrent_ there's also the price difference. A third of the price for the reduced friction and lack of storage woes but with an experience closer to that on a locked down console.
If you have a use for it other than gaming, Shadow is definitely way more useful, but if you just want a good gaming system, I'd go with GFN.
But yeah, the streaming quality will differ for everyone. Shadow's DCs are a bit too far away for me to be a GREAT experience but close enough for a good. GFN on the other hand has one in my city, so it's pretty flawless for me.
As for Stadia, I disagree, the optional lack of a monthly fee and promise of a true cloud experience (GameBus for example) was quite something. But alas, Google made every possible misstep along the way so 🤦
But again, just my point of view, all good to have different ones
I want to use DaVinci resolve and edit heavy files! Can we do in shadow pc ??
@Memespark should work just fine! I've done a fair bit of editing using Shadow
@@DadPlaysGames thanks for the quick response! I’ll give it a try 😀👍🏻
What makes the real strength of this service is that it is much better than a simple rental. The pc is located remotely and being there it means i’m not directly involved in managing it physically, like cleaning it or cooling it appropriately during summer, or even upgrading it by myself if I’m not skilled in that because an expert technician will do it for me. Also, with apps made for many different devices, I can bring it up almost everywhere on my home and outside. It’s expensive yes but hands down this is the ultimate, definitive and outstanding experience of a gaming pc, even better than a simple gaming cloud service, which of course is cheaper and convenient but doesn’t let the user to fully manage their gaming libraries on steam or GoG or others.
It really is impressive, I agree. For pure gaming needs, the instant access of Boosteroid, GFN etc is "better", but Shadow is an incredibly efficient method of getting a gaming PC
💯💯 couldn't agree more dude everything in my home with an OS has shadow installed. Shadow paired with a Razer Edge 5g makes for one hell of a handheld PC gaming experience. One of my favorites is the Apple TV 4k. Add an Xbox/PS controller and you're set. No way do I want another big box sucking up power and collecting dust🤣
Or even a creative suite PC. I am also surprised more "arcade gaming" places don't utilize it. It means they don't need to maintain or upgrade the PCs, and there is also way less chance of a break-in, if you don't have 30 gaming PCs standing around.
@millanferende6723 I edit mostly using Resolve on Shadow or InShot on my phone, depending on what kind of video it is and how I am, time wise, so yeah, Shadow is a great creative tool for when you need some Oumph
I tried this about 3-4 years ago. It was phenomenal for what it was. If you have a TERRIBLE PC, DEFINITELY give it a try. It’s not something we are going to want to play first person shooters on but any type of RPG game or single player type games you will have a blast.
Edit: why I say no FPS games,
There’s a significant noticeable delay between your PC and the shadow PC. It is not a pure one to one. Oh so that’s why I say RPG games instead of FPS.
100%!
I mean, it all comes to each individual's setup. I have great internet but my closest datacenter is over 1600 km away and still my latency is below 40 ms in general. Barely noticeable. I've successfully played games of all genres without issue on it.
In comparasion though, GeForce Now and Boosteroid both have Datacenters here in Stockholm and I am rarely if ever above 5ms to those.
So your connection and distance to a data center will affect the experience. Most people will probably have a pretty good experience, enough for even big FPS games, without noticing latency. But not everyone will.
I played this back in 2020 during Covid, and I played cod MW 2019 as I had purchased it and couldn’t play it since my computer was garbage at the time. I eventually got used to the delay and I recently got a true gaming rig. It felt so much better to play the game on lol. But I did love shadow PC when I had it.
I have a use for shadow PC that nobody seems to have mentioned: I own a Quest3 which is fun, but the built-in graphic options are severely limited. With Shadow PC I can try out for a few months, whether it would be worth it to build a 2000 $ game rig or not…
Wouldn't work for me due to latency but that's a GREAT use case if closer to the DC than me
It is wonderful. I’ve had it for a year and been able to play the same games as my friends. Overwatch, palworld, RB6. For only 32.99/mo I can’t beat it
What about input lag because of internet connection ?
@@myemail1668 idk i have google fiber no problems
Thank you so much!
Glad to be of service! ☺️
It's $50 now with rtx 3070 Ti. I remember only paying about $20 back then. You can't do much with an rtx 3070 Ti so the price is insane because that's for one month's worth of service for Shadow.
Yeah, I really like the service but the price is an issue
@@DadPlaysGames Yeah. They should have more options like before.
Honestly geforce now lets me down, not being able to play most of my games is a big let down.. and most of the games on geforce now can run on a potato which kinda seems pointless to me. Your review helped me, I think I'll get shadow.
Keep in mind, they have fewer datacenter, so if your performance isn't what you want, and since GFN didn't have the games you want, I'd look at Boosteroid. But hopefully Shadow runs like butter for you!
@@DadPlaysGames I did the internet speed test as soon as you mentioned it in the video 22MB/s down and 6MB/s up so I think shadow will be fine! Never heard of Boosteroid before but looking into it does have most of the games I want at a much better price! Thank you for the reply.
@NightcoreDemon as a cloud gaming enthusiast, I'm happy to help!
That bandwidth should be enough for 720p-1080p. Play wired over Ethernet if you can, 5ghz WiFi if you need wireless, for the best experience
The best thing with good gaming is the freedom of being able to play on any screen you have and always having your gaming rig with you so you speak. 🥰
So after using it for a few months I've come to realize it's not a bad service at all it's just I feel from my personal experience with it that unless your in a town or at least pretty close to a town with one of their data centers your going to get really bad lag constant stuttering issues and just a really slow and sluggish experience. I know it personally wasn't my internet paying for gig internet so I know my ping and speeds weren't the issue it's the fact I guess I lived to far from a center and got nothing but a real sluggish experience especially in games it was the worst.
They don't have as many datacenters as some of their competitors for sure, and that affects things. I live 1600+km from my closest one and get about 40ms. Lots of factors in play of course but yeah, the closer the better
How do you go about connecting a controller to your TV if you haven't got a computer yourself?
Connect it to the tv via bluetooth or usb. That device should then be sent by the shadow app on your tv to the virtual pc.
discount code for those who wanna try shadow cloud gaming: E2CDC5C
Thanks, it worked
Ive been desperate to want to play WolfQuest anniversary edition on my laptop but its so bad that it looks like a slide show. Im just more or less worried about the startup fee because im trying to keep my money- ah fuck it
thank you for this!
Thank YOU for watching and commenting
How does it work? Let's say i download few games, do I need to download em everytime, or it sticks everytime i connect?
You get a full PC, with dedicated storage, as an on demand cloud pc. You download and install games just like on any other pc.
@DadPlaysGames Oh I see, damn I might grab few months, thanks for quick reply!
@wardoe happy to help! If you do, use code ShadowDad and you get 20% off the first month :)
@DadPlaysGames ayy alrighty, if i do get it, ill use it , cheerio mate
Thanks for this! Can you use a VPN, any thoughts on Shadows security? Hidden IP, etc.
Not my area of expertise in afraid. Never bothered with a VPN unless I want to do something geolocked
Shadow pc has no cap like gfn has 8 hrs daily limit like i can use this service for 24 hrs 30 days i mean unlimited timing?
Yeah, as long as you actively use it. If you idle for a while (can't remember for how long), it'll cut the connection after a while then spin it down.
That said, I've never once hit even the 6h session limit on GFN Priority and just rebooting isn't the end of the world
It doesn't work as advertised. USB forwarding does not work, you need a third party app to do that.
Usb forwarding for things other than a controller and mouse and keyboard need a first party plugin and a latency of less than 35ms, but no, it does work.
@@DadPlaysGamesnope, be it used to work great but no longer. My latency is way less than the max. Im exceeding all requirements. It works about 10% of the time. Plus they just gave out all my info to hackers so there's that.
Do I have to purchase the games license ?
Yes. Shadow is basically a monthly fee to get a high powered PC in the cloud. You can then do whatever you want on it. Work, game, you name it. So you bring your own games too.
What about a shady game installing is it allowed?
I don't think it is, but I also don't think they're able to trace that, so 🤷
Guessing you're at risk of getting your subscription cancelled if they notice torrenting etc.
I wouldn't risk it myself
does it support mods on steam?
Yeah, it's a full virtual pc in the cloud 😊
The one area of Shadow PC that I hate is the high latency in audio and video. I have a hard time having a great gaming experience playing Overwatch. The audio if off and just awful and the resolution goes good to bad back and forth. And yes the latency is so high. $30.00 a month is debatable to basically rent a computer in the cloud. Remember you do not own this computer and it's not even physical it's all in the cloud. I have mixed feelings. I'm thinking of just buying a Cyberpower gaming PC that has 8 cpu cores, 16 gb of ram, a 4060 GPU, and etc at BestBuy for $950.00 after tax. The reason is I get to own the pc and it's physical pc. What do you think?
I guess it comes down to your usecase and what for, where and how much you plan to use it. For gaming alone, I'm personally content with GFN, Boosteroid and Xcloud. But I still want a powerful local machine for content creation (which I don't have, to be clear 😅)
Having access to shadow is a bonus for me. I mainly use it for the odd cases where I can't use the other services nowadays but did do some editing on it a while back.
Shadow IS a good service, but really dependent on where you are in relation to their data centers. I'm just outside Rach for that optional experience personally though.
So will this work with gta rp wit a lg c2 and laptop
Can i use this on my chromebook
Sort of. There is no Chromebook app, but the Android app works and the Linux app should be able to be installed if you enable Linux on Chromebook. I haven't tried that though
@@DadPlaysGames what budget laptop should i buy then
@@millyman232 You can use it on your chromebook, but you'll need to download the app from Google Play Store and be aware that it'll be the mobile app, not a custom one for Chromebooks. There is also the option to install linux apps on Chromebooks, but I have no experience with that.
But generally, any laptop with decent network speeds should do! :D Heck, I've ran it successfully on a low end 2013 windows tablet!
Before I buy it
Can I only play Shadow's game released? Or can I play whatever I want? Unknown games I know or normal programms for example bluestacks, spotify, and all these useful background programms
Edit: What are the rigs used in these VMs?
You can install whatever you want, mods, tools, games or whatever you need (no mining though).
As for the rigs, I believe they've listed the specs on their website, but which specific cards and chips I don't think is public knowledge
Sorry for necroing this comment, but you defnitely cannot use BlueStacks, because it's a limited virtual machine, not bare metal.
Things like Emulators or anything that needs virtualization doesn't work at all or if it works, it's terrible.
Games like Genshin Impact detect VMs and won't run at all.
Source: Personal experience 2 years ago using Shadow.
@TheFingerMove today i learned! Didn't think that to be an issue 😊
@@DadPlaysGamesYou’re welcome!
Dose not work on android the ext button closes the app plus f buttons don't work
I've not tried with a Bluetooth keyboard but using touch is perfectly fine on android for me
Don’t you have to wait to use a virtual pc on Shadow? i.e. there is a queue to access shadow and it can often be 10-20 minutes plus.
Not to my knowledge, no. The pc needs a minute to boot, then you might need to patch a game or so, but they have 1Gbitb or so for each VM
So is shadow just like using a gaming pc. Does it lag at all?
Exactly!
I barely have any lag and my friend who lives much closer to their datacenter finds it indistinguishable from his gaming rig.
Support wont get back to me. Portal cannot even run Starcraft 2 or stream steamlink despite me having a 300mps broadband service.
So the vibration function that I can play with my PC now? Will translate through shadow p c using steam?
My pc broke today😢 so im looking to shadow gor extensive excel work. Do you think its worth it?
Your review is actually perfect for me. Thanks man!
Aw man, that sucks! Hope you find cloud useful for you in the meantime/as a replacement!
I've had Shadow for a year. I've not had many problems at all. Over the year I've maybe had about 6 times where I had stability issues. I use it for extensive editing work and it works very well for me. No complaints at all 👍🏾
I’ve used shadow the whole time. It’s been pretty great 👍
Is that safe?
Safe in what way? 🤔
@@DadPlaysGames User data security, payment data security, data protection, personal data theft, two-factor authentication, so everything like that… U know , im a littlebit scared…
They DID have a data breach in 2023, which you can read more about here: www.reddit.com/r/ShadowPC/s/WwevaM4Sq6
Luckily no passwords or payment data got accessed.
Unfortunate but all companies are constantly fighting an arms race against hackers so I suppose sometimes these things happens even to the best of them.
I'd say security seems about the same as at every other place
Shadow PC+ Razer Edge 5g 144hz OLED screen= absolutely 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻
Shadow is the best cloud gaming service hands down
Shadow is awesome
🤘🤩 fantastiskt min vän
i think its mostly just encoding type of thing, besides just gaming, well, for most part because of it not really playable when you are doing it professionally,
BUT, it is really good for 24/7 Live Streams, Encoding something that will take a while, especially if you don't want to encode it on your main computer, sense you use your main computer alot, so thats a good thing as well, and other stuff that relates to having to use another pc incase if your's either slow, or need a pc to leave alone type of thing,
it does cost alot, espically the 50 dollar per month, after all, it is RTX 3060 on it, and alot better specs then the 30 dollar one
It comes down to data center distance in a lot of cases. I'm 1600km+ away from Dunkirk, France, and still have 35ms added only. GFN and Boosteroid with datacenters in Stockholm, the same town I live, has less than 5ms. That should be competitive for local hardware for most people. When connecting to Amsterdam, from Stockholm, I get about 20ms. Personally, I can't tell much difference between 5 and 20. At 40, I begin to notice it, but for me it's still playable.
If you live closer to a datacenter than me, like, same country/state or even town, you'll likely have sub 20ms latency or better. And at that level, unless you're a top esports player, I think you'd be happy with it.
But also, yes, things like encoding, editing, programming etc, it's a good idea!
I am not a fan of shadow pc but I honestly think it is great.
DO NOT GET SHADOW PC!. I, like you, used Shadow PC due to not having a capable gaming PC and Shadow was able to do that for me. However, I just got an email from the CEO stating a social hacker has exploited a number of accounts. Information exploited includes: Name, Address and Credit Card information. Shadow states that passwords were not exploited however this is due to a lack of security on their part and not having their servers "Pen. Tested". Shadow states the attack began on discord, and on a specific employee whom they state is also a victim of the attack, a phishing attempt was made to said "victim" and the attacker succeeded. **BE AWARE OF SHADOW**
The electric bill pays for itself
I feel like this product is for non gamers.
Interesting idea. Hadn't thought of it before and to an extent, yeah. If you're only going to use it for gaming, then no, it's not a great fit. But gaming and other things? Definitely worth considering
I do not recommend using this service. Their power is not enough to play even average games. Instead of returning your money, they will tell you that the connection is bad. But there is always a difference between a weak connection and when the computer itself cannot render images and all movements are slowed down. In support I was manipulated and be rude.
if you were going to create a spam account, you could have atleast tried a bit harder, 5 year olds could tell this is a fake account 😂 fake review nice try tho
5 Off Shadow PC with D0B1AAD
Niddle east players 😢
DO NOT USE SHADOW!!!! Terrible customer service. Takes 24 hours for support to reply to a message so a issue can take weeks to get sorted. If you are running a buisness through Shadow then potentially be offline for days/weeks at a time. Worst customer service I have ever encountered. Do yourself a favour and dont give these thieves any of your money.
stop lying
@@mlh7939 He's not lying. Maybe you're experience was different, but I had Shadow for two years and during that time I needed to contact customer service twice. Their quickest response time, for me, was 4 days.
The second time I had needed customer service I waited 8 days to hear back from them and it was another 3 days before my problem was solved.
White Knight for them if you want, but if I'm paying over $30 dollars a month I expect to be able to use what I'm paying for, and I expect them to fix any issues I have in a timely and professional manner. Shadow absolutely did not live up to those expectations when I did have issues.
man u cant expect to run a full bussines in this maybe using it for help but if u are serious about your bussins u need to invest for a pc this product is dedicated mostly for gamers and a little help in bussines maybe u can render in your pc and play games in shadow pc while u wait or things like that tbh i think this service its only better than gforce now, boosteroid or gamepass if u want to play with mods its the only cloud service that let s u download mods in games
its not worth it . Its so shit . it never works . i have a 2024 new mac air and xbox controller trying to run COD MW3 OMG its so dam stressful 1 out of 10 times it runs smooth and perfect the other 9 times the xbox controller wont connect or there is lag and interruptions im paying for the extra gaming bandwith and i wish i just got a fucking xbox coz thats the cost after three fucking months. honestly shadow has been the worst fucking gaming experience of my miserable life