- Jun 15, 2000
- 5,659
- 198
- 106
So I decide to try Shadow, a cloud gaming service. Basically, you get a cloud based VM to run Windows. They have clients for Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS and Android. They also have a client box available but I haven't looked into that yet. I am using the app on macOS (2017 iMac i7) and it is still in beta. My iMac is currently using wifi which I believe Shadow does not recommend for latency reasons although it seems to work fine. After Christmas I will try running the Windows 10 client using bootcamp to compare performance to the Mac client.
Right now it takes a little time between when you sign up for the service and when your Shadow (the VM) is activated and ready to use. The service is new and I don't believe it is available everywhere. It took about a week from the time I signed up to when I received an email telling me my VM was activated.
On your first sign-in you basically go through the standard Windows 10 new install process. Checking My Computer, the system comes up as 2.5GHz Xeon E5-2678 v3, 12GB of RAM, and a Quadro P5000 (although some VM show a 1080 apparently). It also came with 256GB of storage. After installing Steam, Borderlands 2, GOG Galaxy client with Grim Fandango and Undying (haven't played them yet) I have 211GB of free space.
I did experience some initial issues. During setup mouse clicks weren't properly recognized (didn't always work) and I had some issues changing resolution (it defaulted to 1024x768). However I worked through those things and now have the VM set up with a resolution of 2560 x 1440.
I installed Steam and Borderlands 2 to check out the performance. I don't have any benchmarks yet (sorry) and I haven't played much but it seems to work extremely well. I did experience a couple instances of stuttering towards the beginning of my first gaming session but it was extremely brief and seemed to not return after a few minutes of playing. I started at 1080P but then switched to 2560 x 1440 and didn't notice a difference in performance. Also, my iMac was using 2.4Ghz wifi which is a little crowded at my house. I have since connected to my router using 5Ghz but I have yet to test that while gaming.
After the holidays I will have more time and will try to run some benchmarks. It seems very promising. A 12 month commitment costs $24.50 per month. You can get it a little cheaper if you pre-pay for a year.
If anyone has any questions about this service or wants me to try something let me know. And just to be clear, I am NOT affiliated with the company in any way. I just heard about it and wanted to try it out.
-KeithP
Right now it takes a little time between when you sign up for the service and when your Shadow (the VM) is activated and ready to use. The service is new and I don't believe it is available everywhere. It took about a week from the time I signed up to when I received an email telling me my VM was activated.
On your first sign-in you basically go through the standard Windows 10 new install process. Checking My Computer, the system comes up as 2.5GHz Xeon E5-2678 v3, 12GB of RAM, and a Quadro P5000 (although some VM show a 1080 apparently). It also came with 256GB of storage. After installing Steam, Borderlands 2, GOG Galaxy client with Grim Fandango and Undying (haven't played them yet) I have 211GB of free space.
I did experience some initial issues. During setup mouse clicks weren't properly recognized (didn't always work) and I had some issues changing resolution (it defaulted to 1024x768). However I worked through those things and now have the VM set up with a resolution of 2560 x 1440.
I installed Steam and Borderlands 2 to check out the performance. I don't have any benchmarks yet (sorry) and I haven't played much but it seems to work extremely well. I did experience a couple instances of stuttering towards the beginning of my first gaming session but it was extremely brief and seemed to not return after a few minutes of playing. I started at 1080P but then switched to 2560 x 1440 and didn't notice a difference in performance. Also, my iMac was using 2.4Ghz wifi which is a little crowded at my house. I have since connected to my router using 5Ghz but I have yet to test that while gaming.
After the holidays I will have more time and will try to run some benchmarks. It seems very promising. A 12 month commitment costs $24.50 per month. You can get it a little cheaper if you pre-pay for a year.
If anyone has any questions about this service or wants me to try something let me know. And just to be clear, I am NOT affiliated with the company in any way. I just heard about it and wanted to try it out.
-KeithP
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