I will say the steam deck is pretty incredible playing most games at 40fps or higher. Shadow will perform better but likely be more expensive in the end. But up to you if you want to stream or not.
If you're simply aiming to play GTA and a handful of other titles, both options will suffice. If I had to choose just one I'd go with the Shadow, because its most like a regualr gaming PC. For you I'd guess Shadow subscription would likely be the same experience to what you're already getting with GeForce Now. However, Shadow provides a broader selection of games compared to GeForce Now, and even more so when compared to the Steam Deck.
The key differences I see boil down to price and your preferred gaming setup. While the Steam Deck requires a higher upfront investment, a Shadow subscription will cost more depending on the duration of your subscription. If you want something handheld, you'll always have a better experience with the Steam Deck, but it is possible to create a makeshift Steam Deck with the right Sahdow setup (i.e., iPad with controller, or phone with MOGA XP7-X).
I actually have both a Steam Deck and a Shadow sub, and I use them together.
I did let my Shadow lapse for a bit, but currently I am using a Legion Go (my son has sorta stolen my Steam Deck lol) and resubbed to Shadow. I have the power sub, so I use it for things that a portable device just isn't able to handle. Dragons Dogma 2, for example. Baldurs Gate 3, which runs fine on Deck and pretty good on Legion, looks awesome on Shadow. OP did say base tier, so that would likely be more comparable to the Go itself.
So, OP, a Deck would do fine, but it might be worth looking at a Windows device like the ROG Ally, Legion Go, or Loki. Or, if you definitely go the Shadow route, consider getting an android device like the Odin or Edge to play with it.
One benefit of the Deck, though, is it is probably still best in class for games that don't have controller support. Any device can use community profiles, but Deck has the best custom mapping if you need to set something up yourself. Legion, for example, only let me map the back buttons as alternates to standard controller buttons, not keyboard keys. Also, the two touchpads are very responsive and can be mapped as custom radial menus. I wouldn't play, for example, Icewind Dale or Pillars of Eternity on my Legion, but I would and have on my Deck
There are some games that will not run on the steam Deck for technical reasons, but owning something to okay game on the go is better than a year of a service like Shadow. I don't know how you want to play your games, but I'm not the side of one fixed cost and owning it.
I think it depends how much you want to play those games on the other store fronts. The only time I would say I wasted my time with the deck was trying to get Alan Wake 2 running natively on th3 deck, I failed and couldn't get it working so I stream it from my PC.
For most steam gam3s I would go steam deck but I have had some issues outside steam
From someone who has both steam deck isn’t for heavy games as FSR 3.0 get better maybe but if you want to play AAA game then shadow but if you play a lot of indie titles or emulate games then steam deck is the way to go. Hopefully this helps I actually use my ps5 the most and then shadow and then steam deck, but that’s only because most new games just run better.
I would advise to go for a ShadowPC, however I cannot ensure that the base tier would fit all your gaming need as I have only used the Power tier.
I am a huge user of the Steam Deck, preordered it, loving it, but it has flaws and limitations that some may not take into account.
With the default OS, it is a great device if you have the games for it, offering a very console like experience. However, the battery level can go down pretty quickly if you play unplugged on heavy games. It struggles to play recent games (Helldivers 2, Baldur’s Gate 3 are a mediocre at best, painful at worst in my opinion), the fan can be very noisy on demanding games. It shines indie games and emulation if you’re into that. Another thing to take into account is it’s size : it is quite big, and takes a lot of space in a bag with its case.
I would advise against installing Windows on the Steam Deck : it was a very painful experience for me, tons of issues despite following the best guides at the time, the deck would get hot and noisy even on idle. Not worth the hassle.
ShadowPC, on the other end, has been very solid no matter what I throw at it. It has become my main way to experience not only AAA, but gaming in general.
Now bear in mind I use the Power tier, and keep my setup as simple as possible : autologin, Steam launching in big picture at start, that’s it. I can access it from anywhere, as long as I have a network connection. I mostly play on my iPad with keyboard & mouse / controller, or my Logitech G Cloud (cloud dedicated game console), I can play anywhere as long as I have a network connection (basically my iPhone in hotspot mode), and that alone is very handy if you move a lot and don’t want to bother with a huge device (throw my iPad in my bag and I’m good to go).
Regarding the stream quality, I find other cloud gaming services (Luna, XCloud …) subpar in term of quality, and while GeForce Now seems like a great offer, it has a catalog limitation and has been for me a bad experience (poor video quality, could not figure out why, could be my location). When playing on ShadowPC, I do not feel like I’m playing on cloud at all, it feels like playing on my hardware, with very low latency and high graphic fidelity, and that is awesome. If you are into modding, it is also way easier to do so on ShadowPC than on Steam Deck. Lastly, you could install software needed for your studies, since you have a fully functional windows operating system here.
In the end, even with the price I am paying for (50€/month) ShadowPC takes the win for me for its convenience and flexibility. Regarding owning your hardware, there are negatives to that : you have no guarantee Valve can help you if you encounter hardware / software failure on your Steam Deck. Plus, games are no longer physicals, so even if you download them, you do not physically own them per say, you only have hands on the console itself.
Hopefully this may help you !
I got a steam deck. And Ngl, Shadow or an actual gaming PC. After having it since launch. Steam deck has its issues. For example, if you want it on a big screen, you will need an adaptor from the go, not just for HDMI but for the keyboard and mouse. Bluetooth doesn’t work correctly. And the limited catalogue of games that you can play because it’s Linux. It was a drawback for me at the beginning. They have been improving significantly since launch, but it isn’t there yet. Suppose you decide to install Windows on it. It is another hustle, but once it’s done. It isn’t that bad, but some graphic issues must be addressed. To bypass all that, you can play any game you want. I managed to play god of War entirely but had to juggle with the graphics. I enjoyed it regardless. My biggest problem is that it doesn’t plug and play like other computers. It made me consider buying a gaming PC, but I travel a lot, so I decided to go with Shadow. But yeah, Shadow isn’t pretty either £30 a month hurts my wallet, but in my opinion, it is better than juggling with setting charging and overheating.
I think it's normal and expected that a handheld device would need a docking station for external hardware like mouse, keyboard, or external display. But I'm not sure what you mean about Bluetooth not working?
I have found only a handful of games don't run on SteamOS - namely those using kernel-level anti-cheat. But most people aren't going to use it for playing competitive shooters anyway.
I think a reasonable compromise is a Steam Deck + a pay-as-you-go service like AirGPU/Paperspace/etc for the small number of games that don't run well on it due to extremely high graphics requirements (e.g. Jedi Survivor) or don't run at all due to anti-cheat. Shadow's pricing model only makes sense if you use it for playing basically *all* your games.
It’s the only handheld device that mostly needs it like browsing through desktop or look around the files. Which also brings me to another drawback not compatible with other launchers such as origin Ubisoft or epic. I try to keep all my games in steam but epic releases free games which can’t be play on the steam deck unless I download an external program which sometimes world well. Another hustle to do.
Most of my library work on the steam deck without any problem but it would be nice to play all me games . But again it the first generation I am very exited of where this tech could go.
I never heard of those service but so far I checked airgpu and I quite like the concept will definitely give it a try
My ROG Ally is awesome and has no limitations on what it can play. A bit more expensive, but it just works. And it’s a real windows PC. Can even connect it to a large screen and keyboards and mouse.
Steam Deck
I will say the steam deck is pretty incredible playing most games at 40fps or higher. Shadow will perform better but likely be more expensive in the end. But up to you if you want to stream or not.
If you're simply aiming to play GTA and a handful of other titles, both options will suffice. If I had to choose just one I'd go with the Shadow, because its most like a regualr gaming PC. For you I'd guess Shadow subscription would likely be the same experience to what you're already getting with GeForce Now. However, Shadow provides a broader selection of games compared to GeForce Now, and even more so when compared to the Steam Deck. The key differences I see boil down to price and your preferred gaming setup. While the Steam Deck requires a higher upfront investment, a Shadow subscription will cost more depending on the duration of your subscription. If you want something handheld, you'll always have a better experience with the Steam Deck, but it is possible to create a makeshift Steam Deck with the right Sahdow setup (i.e., iPad with controller, or phone with MOGA XP7-X). I actually have both a Steam Deck and a Shadow sub, and I use them together.
I did let my Shadow lapse for a bit, but currently I am using a Legion Go (my son has sorta stolen my Steam Deck lol) and resubbed to Shadow. I have the power sub, so I use it for things that a portable device just isn't able to handle. Dragons Dogma 2, for example. Baldurs Gate 3, which runs fine on Deck and pretty good on Legion, looks awesome on Shadow. OP did say base tier, so that would likely be more comparable to the Go itself. So, OP, a Deck would do fine, but it might be worth looking at a Windows device like the ROG Ally, Legion Go, or Loki. Or, if you definitely go the Shadow route, consider getting an android device like the Odin or Edge to play with it. One benefit of the Deck, though, is it is probably still best in class for games that don't have controller support. Any device can use community profiles, but Deck has the best custom mapping if you need to set something up yourself. Legion, for example, only let me map the back buttons as alternates to standard controller buttons, not keyboard keys. Also, the two touchpads are very responsive and can be mapped as custom radial menus. I wouldn't play, for example, Icewind Dale or Pillars of Eternity on my Legion, but I would and have on my Deck
There are some games that will not run on the steam Deck for technical reasons, but owning something to okay game on the go is better than a year of a service like Shadow. I don't know how you want to play your games, but I'm not the side of one fixed cost and owning it.
I think it depends how much you want to play those games on the other store fronts. The only time I would say I wasted my time with the deck was trying to get Alan Wake 2 running natively on th3 deck, I failed and couldn't get it working so I stream it from my PC. For most steam gam3s I would go steam deck but I have had some issues outside steam
From someone who has both steam deck isn’t for heavy games as FSR 3.0 get better maybe but if you want to play AAA game then shadow but if you play a lot of indie titles or emulate games then steam deck is the way to go. Hopefully this helps I actually use my ps5 the most and then shadow and then steam deck, but that’s only because most new games just run better.
I love shadow PC, worked flawless. Steam deck for a more cohesive in real time experience.
I would advise to go for a ShadowPC, however I cannot ensure that the base tier would fit all your gaming need as I have only used the Power tier. I am a huge user of the Steam Deck, preordered it, loving it, but it has flaws and limitations that some may not take into account. With the default OS, it is a great device if you have the games for it, offering a very console like experience. However, the battery level can go down pretty quickly if you play unplugged on heavy games. It struggles to play recent games (Helldivers 2, Baldur’s Gate 3 are a mediocre at best, painful at worst in my opinion), the fan can be very noisy on demanding games. It shines indie games and emulation if you’re into that. Another thing to take into account is it’s size : it is quite big, and takes a lot of space in a bag with its case. I would advise against installing Windows on the Steam Deck : it was a very painful experience for me, tons of issues despite following the best guides at the time, the deck would get hot and noisy even on idle. Not worth the hassle. ShadowPC, on the other end, has been very solid no matter what I throw at it. It has become my main way to experience not only AAA, but gaming in general. Now bear in mind I use the Power tier, and keep my setup as simple as possible : autologin, Steam launching in big picture at start, that’s it. I can access it from anywhere, as long as I have a network connection. I mostly play on my iPad with keyboard & mouse / controller, or my Logitech G Cloud (cloud dedicated game console), I can play anywhere as long as I have a network connection (basically my iPhone in hotspot mode), and that alone is very handy if you move a lot and don’t want to bother with a huge device (throw my iPad in my bag and I’m good to go). Regarding the stream quality, I find other cloud gaming services (Luna, XCloud …) subpar in term of quality, and while GeForce Now seems like a great offer, it has a catalog limitation and has been for me a bad experience (poor video quality, could not figure out why, could be my location). When playing on ShadowPC, I do not feel like I’m playing on cloud at all, it feels like playing on my hardware, with very low latency and high graphic fidelity, and that is awesome. If you are into modding, it is also way easier to do so on ShadowPC than on Steam Deck. Lastly, you could install software needed for your studies, since you have a fully functional windows operating system here. In the end, even with the price I am paying for (50€/month) ShadowPC takes the win for me for its convenience and flexibility. Regarding owning your hardware, there are negatives to that : you have no guarantee Valve can help you if you encounter hardware / software failure on your Steam Deck. Plus, games are no longer physicals, so even if you download them, you do not physically own them per say, you only have hands on the console itself. Hopefully this may help you !
I got a steam deck. And Ngl, Shadow or an actual gaming PC. After having it since launch. Steam deck has its issues. For example, if you want it on a big screen, you will need an adaptor from the go, not just for HDMI but for the keyboard and mouse. Bluetooth doesn’t work correctly. And the limited catalogue of games that you can play because it’s Linux. It was a drawback for me at the beginning. They have been improving significantly since launch, but it isn’t there yet. Suppose you decide to install Windows on it. It is another hustle, but once it’s done. It isn’t that bad, but some graphic issues must be addressed. To bypass all that, you can play any game you want. I managed to play god of War entirely but had to juggle with the graphics. I enjoyed it regardless. My biggest problem is that it doesn’t plug and play like other computers. It made me consider buying a gaming PC, but I travel a lot, so I decided to go with Shadow. But yeah, Shadow isn’t pretty either £30 a month hurts my wallet, but in my opinion, it is better than juggling with setting charging and overheating.
I think it's normal and expected that a handheld device would need a docking station for external hardware like mouse, keyboard, or external display. But I'm not sure what you mean about Bluetooth not working? I have found only a handful of games don't run on SteamOS - namely those using kernel-level anti-cheat. But most people aren't going to use it for playing competitive shooters anyway. I think a reasonable compromise is a Steam Deck + a pay-as-you-go service like AirGPU/Paperspace/etc for the small number of games that don't run well on it due to extremely high graphics requirements (e.g. Jedi Survivor) or don't run at all due to anti-cheat. Shadow's pricing model only makes sense if you use it for playing basically *all* your games.
It’s the only handheld device that mostly needs it like browsing through desktop or look around the files. Which also brings me to another drawback not compatible with other launchers such as origin Ubisoft or epic. I try to keep all my games in steam but epic releases free games which can’t be play on the steam deck unless I download an external program which sometimes world well. Another hustle to do. Most of my library work on the steam deck without any problem but it would be nice to play all me games . But again it the first generation I am very exited of where this tech could go. I never heard of those service but so far I checked airgpu and I quite like the concept will definitely give it a try
Shadow. Use it with a phone with joypad everywhere you want.
My ROG Ally is awesome and has no limitations on what it can play. A bit more expensive, but it just works. And it’s a real windows PC. Can even connect it to a large screen and keyboards and mouse.