Ever heard of Shadow? No. Not that thing that follows you around when it is sunny. I mean Shadow by Blade? Neither had I until I happened to stumble upon them at EGX earlier this year.
The team over at Shadow remove the usual blockade in the proverbial road of owning a high end gaming rig or graphics pc by providing a revolutionary service.
The service in question enables you to sign into their secure data centres and on to your own system, loaded with the latest processors, high end Nvidia graphics card and enough RAM to keep your heart content.
But what do we need to access this form of modern wizardry?
It’s pretty simple, all you need is an internet ready device and a steady stream of Internet anything from 5 mb/s of speed will work but for best results I would aim upward of 15 mb. The last and final piece of the puzzle is a subscription at the groundbreaking price of just £26.95 a month! Think about it for 27 quid you get a fully up-to-date, constantly upgraded system on the latest Windows platform for £300 per year! If you know the price of hardware and maintaining it you know it isn’t cheap, then you start upgrading and changing your load out. The price really racks up, all just to stay up to date.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWEYZZ1W5t8
Shadow hands its customers the power of the latest hardware in the click of a button, output of up to 4k and speeds of up to 1GB per second is crazy. The latest titles both offline and online will keep you gripped and you’ll be rest assured that you will be getting top-flight graphics and a lag free experience.
Delving across various games such as the other popular Fortnite, Rocket League and Destiny 2 neither faltered, left me short of pixels or a drop-in connection at anytime in my experience. This is something that I really wanted to test it out and wasn’t left disheartened. I used every piece of tech I could, even a beat up old laptop. Everything works seamlessly and on high or epic graphics settings!
My job as a graphic designer also requires me to use demanding programs from Adobe e.g. Illustrator, Photoshop and Premiere Pro to name a few. All programs run simultaneously with ease and with my current PC in need of an upgrade, Shadow would definitely be my choice as it follows me everywhere I go!
There is some physical hardware, that you can use as a dedicated base for your shadow. It’s currently being upgraded and will be called the Shadow Ghost on release in early 2019. The facelift will encompass a sleeker and more compact case than its predecessor the Shadow Box One, with no moving parts thanks to its passive cooling system, perfect for distraction free gaming.
The Shadow Ghost will have 2x USB 3.0 ports, 2x USB 2.0 ports, and a jack in/out, so you’re still able to connect the required accessories. Blade have also replaced the two display ports with HDMI 2.0, meaning no need for any adapters. Delving inside further there will be wifi (Dual Band 2, 4Ghz & 5Ghz up to 400Mbps) and bluetooth (4.1) enabled, making the entire Shadow experience even more wireless and flexible.
Shadow Ghost includes a very efficient power supply, approximately 30 times more than a standard PC. Just like the Shadow Box 1, the Shadow Ghost features 4K Ultra-High Definition at 60 fps and FUD at 144 fps, making for super high picture quality, day and night.
Shadow was very simple to use the interface is very clean and it’s simple to setup for those of you who are tech-savvy and those who aren’t.
Pros: Top graphics card and processor. Latest Windows. Fully updated. Impeccable support. Minimum downtime or break of service. Low monthly cost in comparison to buying yourself.
Cons: Constant use of Internet. Could become costly if not on Wi-Fi or on metered connection. Not physical hardware.
You can check out all the above and what the team can do for you at www.shadow.tech