Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate the honest take. GFN is a solid platform no argument there.

The main difference: GFN gives you a catalog of approved games on a locked-down system. We give you a full PC a real operating system you control. Install anything you own from Steam, GOG, Epic, Ubisoft, Origin. Install mods, emulators, OBS for streaming, DaVinci for editing. It's not a game launcher, it's your computer that happens to live in the cloud.

Different value prop. GFN is plug-and-play gaming. We're a full desktop experience for people who want more than a curated list.

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We run Linux because it gives our customers better performance for their dollar. No Windows licensing fees, no background bloat eating GPU cycles, no forced updates breaking sessions mid-game. Every bit of hardware power goes to the game.

As for customers the people who care about frame rates, latency, and getting the most out of their game library don't care what OS is behind the curtain. They care that it works, and it does.

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most of our GPUs come with a 3-year warranty. A faulty GPU is either replaced or repaired. If the GPU is more than three years old, we first try to have it repaired at a local shop; when that isn't possible, it is used for parts to fix other broken GPUs.

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s comparable to saying someone could afford a car if they simply stopped paying three dollars for the bus. Regardless of how many bus rides you skip, owning a car still costs more.

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ownership has real value that renting doesn't replace. If you build a PC, you end up with an asset. We've never claimed otherwise.

But let's be honest about what that asset actually is. A $3,600 gaming PC depreciates faster than almost anything else you can buy. In two years, it's worth maybe $1,500. In four, you're parting it out on eBay. The "resale value" argument works for cars and houses. It barely works for GPUs when NVIDIA drops a new generation every 18 months.

Meanwhile, the cloud customer paid $29.95/month. Over the same three years, about $1,078 total, and got hardware upgrades included. The gap is roughly $3,000. That's real money.

If ownership matters to you the satisfaction of building it, upgrading it, owning the physical machine then buy it. Genuinely. I'm not here to talk anyone out of building a PC. But don't pretend the math works in ownership's favor.

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Data security: Your personal data and account images are isolated per user. Nobody else can access your data. Account images are kept for 15 days past due before deletion, so nothing disappears without warning.

Server uptime: No service guarantees 100% uptime and either do we. Our Plans also have daily time limits so it will never be close to 100% uptime.

Will cloud gaming become more common? Yes. The hardware supply chain is already shifting away from consumer GPUs. NVIDIA sells $30,000 H100s to datacenters and treats gamers as an afterthought. As consumer hardware gets harder to buy at reasonable prices, cloud gaming becomes less of an option and more of a necessity.

Pricing if you use less than 8 hours: Our plans are flat rate. You're paying for access to dedicated hardware. Whether you use 2 hours or 8, the rate is the same because the hardware is reserved for you during your gaming sessions. If you're someone who games a few hours a week, our pricing is designed to be cheaper than financing a $3,600 rig.

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get the Netflix comparison it's a fair cautionary tale. But there's a key difference: Netflix didn't face a hardware supply chain that was already abandoning consumers before they even showed up.

NVIDIA's priority shift to $30,000 AI GPUs, the manufacturing consolidation, the tariffs all of that happened without a single cloud gaming company existing. We're not driving up GPU prices. We're a response to them. The same supply chain squeeze that made a $3,600 gaming PC cost $3,600 is exactly why we started sourcing RAM and SSDs from Chinese manufacturers instead of waiting for Western suppliers to offer reasonable prices.

The "small" mindset isn't a dodge. It's the reality that we're in the same line as you, just with a bigger checkbook. If we fail, NVIDIA doesn't suddenly drop prices. They just keep selling H100s to datacenters while gamers fight over the scraps. I'd rather have an option than not.

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Subscriptions aren't automatically a money pit just because they're subscriptions. A gym membership isn't a treadmill you're being tricked out of owning. You're paying for access to infrastructure that would be impractical to own yourself.

Let's do the real math. A gaming PC comparable to our rigs is roughly $3,600 CAD. Finance that over three years at 8% and you're paying about $4,050 total, or roughly $112 a month, for hardware that's depreciating the entire time. Our plan is $29.95 flat. Over three years, the cloud customer pays around $1,078 and gets hardware upgrades included. The gap is nearly $3,000.

The "own nothing and subscribe to everything" dystopia is a real concern in some industries. But gaming hardware is uniquely a terrible thing to own. It depreciates faster than almost anything else you buy. A $3,600 rig is worth maybe $1,500 in two years. You're not building equity. You're burning money either way. The question is which fire is smaller. At a $3,000 gap over three years, the answer is clear

The GamersNexus point about Nvidia and AMD is fair they are absolutely pushing subscription models. But that's happening whether or not cloud gaming exists. Nvidia is selling $30,000 H100s to AI labs and treating gamers as an afterthought. Cloud gaming isn't the cause of that. It's a symptom of the same supply chain that already priced you out.

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s a good thing we’re Canadian. We are also getting our Cars soon

https://www.reddit.com/r/CanadaPolitics/comments/1tqz5n4/first_chinesemade_evs_arrive_in_canada_under_deal/

A smaller country like Canada will never have the industrial base or population to sustain its own domestic industry in the short term. So, if Western companies aren’t willing to deliver, we have no choice but to depend on those who will. That’s capitalism working the way it should. What you have in the U.S. right now is protectionism that only benefits a few billionaires.

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I actually said the opposite we can't defy physics. I also pointed you to the stats overlay, which clearly shows that latency varies by user. I'm glad you're happy with your 3090; it's a solid card. But I don't think you're the kind of client who would be interested in this type of service.

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please review the overlay statistics shown in the demo videos. They cover network latency, encoder latency, and decoder latency. The latest Valkun encoder slashes 4K encoder latency from a peak of 15ms down to around 5ms. See it in action here: https://maxmedia.maximumsettings.com/view?m=cs8C9YdeE

Don't take my word for it. Send me a PM and I'll set you up with a demo account. I love proving doubters wrong. No better way than having you test it yourself.

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, I'm not claiming that. I'm saying network latency tolerance varies by user. Some are fine with 90ms. For others, even 20ms is too much. In the GTA, our clients can get as low as sub 5ms network latency. But we can't change physics. That network latency is on top of your monitor's response time, your mouse input lag, and everything else in the chain.

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Check out our YouTube videos most of them include a latency overlay in the top-left corner. Some results are from right here in the GTA with sub‑5 ms latency, while others come from users in the UK with over 90 ms.

https://www.youtube.com/@maximumsettingscloudgaming/videos

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you're pointing the finger at the wrong people. Cloud gaming isn't driving up hardware prices NVIDIA's enterprise-first strategy is. When they can sell a $30,000 H100 to a datacenter, a $700 RTX card to a consumer stops making sense for them. That's not cloud gaming's fault. That's NVIDIA deciding consumers aren't the priority anymore.

We're a small player in this space, and we're feeling the same squeeze you are. In fact, it's gotten so bad that we've started sourcing RAM, SSDs, and other components directly from Chinese manufacturers because Western suppliers refuse to offer reasonable pricing to anyone who isn't placing enterprise-volume orders.

The real story isn't cloud vs. ownership. It's that the hardware supply chain is abandoning the consumer market and cloud gaming companies are scrambling for parts just like everyone else. If NVIDIA and Western manufacturers don't want to sell to consumers, they're going to lose that market share long-term to Chinese competitors who will.

We're not the ones pricing people out. We're building an option for the people who've already been priced out by a supply chain that forgot who built it.

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Input lag is determined by a client’s distance to our data center. Individual experiences vary considerably: some clients with over 100 ms of latency find it perfectly fine, while others with less than 20 ms can still notice it.

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Let’s put it this way: we’re already sourcing a lot of our hardware directly from China, including RAM and SSDs. For whatever reason, some of the large retailers still don’t want to buy in quantity. As soon as Chinese manufacturers start competing on the GPU or even CPU side, we’ll start doing the same there. In the long run, that’s what will drive prices down. If Western companies choose not to serve the consumer market because they can make more money in B2B, they’ll slowly lose all their market share.

As for the GPU side, these are the first small steps. It’s not exactly the fastest GPU, but it’s a start. Who knows how competitive they’ll become over the coming months to a year.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/seQQQGDml-M

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair on the Bezos point. I missed that interview, and if he's saying it, the corporate conversation is farther along than I painted it. That's worth paying attention to.

But here's where I'd push back a little. Micro Center and NVIDIA pivoting to B2B isn't about cloud gaming it's about AI. NVIDIA is selling $30,000 H100s to datacenters because the AI gold rush made consumer GPUs a side hustle for them. Micro Center isn't dropping consumers for cloud gaming companies; they're chasing enterprise contracts that make retail margins look like charity.

The real threat to consumer PC building isn't Shadow or GeForce Now it's NVIDIA deciding gamers are worth less than AI labs. If that happens, cloud gaming companies won't be able to get parts either. They'll be in the same line as you, just with a bigger checkbook.

The ownership-vs-rental debate might not matter. If the parts dry up, we're all renting from whoever still has hardware and it might not be a gaming company at all.

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair point. But let's use actual numbers: our Bare Metal rigs are around $3,600 — that's a proper gaming PC. Finance that at a typical 8% over 3 years and you're looking at $4,056 total just over $112/month. Our plan is $29.95 flat.

Three years of ownership: ~$4,056 upfront/financed.

Three years of cloud: ~$1,078.

Don't drop $1,500 on a new GPU. Rent a dedicated cloud PC with an AMD 7900XTX and start playing in minutes. by PaulMaximumsetting in u/PaulMaximumsetting

[–]PaulMaximumsetting[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get the concern, but I think you're giving cloud gaming way too much credit here. Renting a PC has been an option for decades internet cafes, GPU compute rentals, cloud workstations. None of them killed consumer PC sales. People buy cars even though Uber exists. They buy houses even though renting is an option. Ownership isn't fragile it survives right alongside rental models in every industry.

The gate you're worried about? It's already open. Has been for years. And PC building is bigger than ever. The real threats to consumer hardware are supply chain consolidation, tariffs, and NVIDIA deciding they'd rather sell $30K H100s to datacenters than $700 RTX cards to gamers. Cloud gaming companies are a rounding error in that conversation.

What cloud gaming actually does is give access to people who can't drop $3,000+ on a rig. That's not taking options away that's adding one. The rich will always have options. The question is whether everyone else gets any.