Hydra vs ASTER: Hydra goes further.
Both turn one Windows PC into several seats. Hydra adds the things you notice every day: no restart to change seats, Secure Boot left on, and one price for every seat.
| Feature | ASTER | Hydra |
|---|---|---|
| Own screen, keyboard, mouse and account for each person | Yes | Yes |
| Full graphics speed, nothing streamed | Yes | Yes |
| Runs on Windows 10 and 11 | Yes | Yes |
| Move a screen to another seat, no restart | No | Yes |
| Back to one person on every screen, no restart | No | Yes |
| Several screens on one seat, sharing a graphics card | No | Yes |
| Secure Boot stays on | No | Yes |
| Never holds back a Windows update | No | Yes |
| Turns itself off after a failed or crashed start | No | Yes |
| One price, every seat included | No | Yes |
| Refunds | No | Yes |
Change seats without a restart
Add, stop or remove a seat, or move a screen to another seat, right in the panel while everyone keeps working, with no restart. Going back to one person on every screen takes a few clicks, and the setups you use most can be saved as templates, so game night is one click away.
ASTER: Going back to one person on every screen means turning ASTER off, which needs a restart. Moving a monitor to another seat needs one too.
Every screen you plug in, on any seat
Give each seat as many screens as you like, in any mix, from one graphics card or several, including the graphics built into your processor. Your seats share the graphics cards in your PC.
ASTER: A seat with several monitors needs a graphics card of its own, not shared with any other seat.
Sound for every seat
Sound works from the first start. Each seat gets its own headset or speakers, or seats share them, and one pair of speakers can even be split, left for one seat and right for the other. Windows' own volume works per seat.
ASTER: A sound device for each seat; its two-player guide suggests adding a second sound card.
Secure Boot stays on
Installs like any properly signed Windows software, with a driver signed through Microsoft. Secure Boot and BitLocker stay on, and there is nothing to change in the BIOS. Setup turns Memory Integrity off while Hydra is installed and puts it back when you remove it.
ASTER: As of version 2.70.6, its driver has no Microsoft signature, so keeping Secure Boot on needs a workaround that weakens Windows' security.
Windows keeps updating
Hydra never blocks a Windows update. Windows Update runs as usual, so the PC gets every security fix as Windows delivers it.
ASTER: Its notes for version 2.70.5 say it blocks Windows updates that affect stability while its services are on.
A bad start never strands you
It turns itself off: if a start fails or crashes, the next one comes up as a normal PC, on its own. An emergency off key and a recovery file back that up.
ASTER: It doesn't turn itself off after a failed start; ASTER documents safe mode and an emergency key for that.
One price for every seat
One license for the whole PC, with every seat included: pay monthly, yearly, or once for a lifetime license (launch price until 31 December 2026). Try every feature free for 7 days, and your first payment is refunded within 14 days, for any reason, so buying is risk-free.
ASTER: Priced by the number of seats, yearly or one-time, in roubles. Licenses can't be refunded.
Both give each seat its own game controllers, and both run on Windows 10 and 11. We describe ASTER from its own public documentation and installer; if something has changed, tell us and we'll correct it. How each safety feature works: Safety. Split-screen, streaming, virtual machines and a second PC: ways to share one PC. Moving from ASTER: the switch guide.
Last updated 1 November 2026.
Sources. ASTER v2.70.6 (downloads page, 08.09.2026); the newest, v2.70.6.1 (30.10.2026), lists minor fixes only. Windows updates: the v2.70.5 notes in ASTER's version history (01.07.2026). Secure Boot: the Windows Driver Policy instruction on ASTER's wiki. Refunds: ibik.ru/ru/buy ("ASTER licenses are not refundable"). Driver signature: read from the public v2.70.6 installer on 2026-10-21; it is signed by IBIK LLC's own certificate, with no Microsoft signature.
Make the switch to Hydra.
Start your 7-day free trial with every feature. One license covers every seat, and your first payment is refunded within 14 days.
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