[updated] Should I get a steak deck or a gaming laptop?

What would the specs be on the laptop of similar value you’re looking at? Are they comparable to the Deck?

You think you will use it a lot as a portable (travel, garden, sofa) etc?

Do you do other work related stuff? Then it speaks to get a laptop.

So many factors.

Yes, you should, definitely.

There's a lot of factors to take in. Do you need portability? Are you going to use it just for gaming? Are you fine with playing with a gamepad? Are you willing to tinker with Linux every now and then? Do you play any of the most popular multiplayer games? (A lot of those games don't work on the Deck because of anti-cheat, unless you install Windows on it). Do you like steaks?

If you don't need your computer to work/study and use it for gaming most of the time I would go for the Steam deck.
I need to upgrade my computer and I'm thinking about getting a Steam deck too.

Well, a laptop is more useful than a gaming console, so if you want to do things other than playing game, you need a laptop. That being said, i doubt you can get something that is good enough to play recent AAA games at that price (cmiiw) so consider that if you want to play those kinds of games.

Get the steak deck.

Now, seriously, if you are planning to use this only for games, go for the Steam Deck. I am jealous, I cannot get one here yet. But if you want to use other things (Text Editing, Spreadsheets, etc.), you probably need a bona fide PC. :(

Warning: picture below NSFV.

View attached image.

If you want a portable device just for gaming, go for the deck but if you will be working on it as well then laptop for sure. There are many other factors to be considered as well like your budget for the laptop etc.

All I can provide regarding gaming laptops is a meme. I personally want a Steam Deck but it's mostly because I want to play comfortably in my bed like I do with a Nintendo Switch.

View attached image.

Laptops are cool, but not when you consider how much of a laptops job has now been transferred to our phones.

I'd say a phone, collapsible Bluetooth keyboard, and Steam Deck, are the way to go, when on the go.

I have a Deck and love it, played almost 600h with it since May.
But if you have no other PC I'd always get something else first. While it certainly might replace a full desktop experience while docked, I'd consider the Deck a bonus.

Mmmh, steak...
Like others said it depends if you need the laptop for anything else than gaming. If not get the Deck.

Voted for the laptop. You get a bigger screen, a keyboard and more usefulness out of it than just that gaming thingy that can't even run all of your games.
That typo is hilarious ;P

First question is how much time do you spend on gaming? I do enjoy playing on my Steam Deck, but longer session aren't comfortable to me, for these I prefer desktop. Second question is: do you only/mostly play on Steam? If not, do you mind some trouble setting up other launchers on Deck. Also some games are still unplayable on deck

It depend of your usage if you like to stream youtube twitch & Netflix get a laptop
If you want to go outside and play game in trains go to steamdeck
Have a nice day 🥳

Gaming laptop 100%

I'm pondering getting one as well.
I was thinking about laptop as well, but something that can run games comfortably will be twice as expensive... But I already have laptop I use for work, movies etc. It runs only low requirement games though (It's a 13 inch zenbook specifically for versatility).. and I also have relatively decent but old PC. Can't run the most new titles, but most games I love it runs. For me I want something I can throw in a bag and get a quick session after or before work with my coffee.. or when visiting somewhere.. I realized laptop will be too expensive and at this point tin my life setting up PC is a bit troublesome..

I still will think about it for some time (and if I do then which version), but if you have a laptop already and want something for games - I think deck would be better. While I am always advocate for getting something that is good for many things (like PC works perfect for productivity, games, work, internet), in this regard laptop would be huge downgrade for games you could play.

So it depends if you play low req games or no. 700$ (if we are talking for 512gb deck) would be cheap line of laptop that will have a challenge of running newer games and I would guess some older titles as well

But I get your dilemma ... I don't want to pay such money for something that can basically only run games... But if I want to buy laptop or PC that could run everything I want as well, that will be way more expensive.. which I don't want much either.

I’m thinking of getting a steam deck or a gaming laptop of roughly equal costs.

As in?.. If you mean recommended MSRP, then with Steam Deck's price tag even its' most expensive model is just $649, and I doubt you'll ever find gaming laptop as powerful/optimized for that price. If, however, we are talking about $1000-1500 range (which is regular price range for mid-end level gaming laptops), then obviously go for laptop.

Obviously there is one more factor, which is: how much do you travel, do you prefer to play on sofa or sitting in the computer chair and so on.

A rare one, please.

You would get more in-game performances with a Steam Deck, rather than a notebook of the same price range, so if you already got a decent monitor, a keyboard and a mouse, consider docking the Deck for work/study/daily use.

The Deck is literally a PC, shipped with SteamOS (which is an arch fork), so if you don't have any special needs that only Windows could meet, I think it's a solid choice. You could also install Windows, but you give away half of the fun and some optimization.

If you have nothing to dock it with, consider buying a notebook. You definitely need a physical keyboard and a bigger monitor to use it as a pc, imo.

Also, if you want to stay low on budget, consider buying 64GB version and replace the SSD later to get more storage. The 64GB version is ok if you use it for emulation and lowish-end games, but if you want to play bigger-scoped games, you need more storage.

You could also install games on a microSD, if you have one, but with heavy graphics games, 64GB could not be enough for shader cache.

If you never used a linux-based OS, SteamOS is pretty easy to use for basic needs, but there's a bit of a learning curve for more advanced stuff, so also take this into consideration.

Also voted laptop, since you say you have no computer atm. It’d be good for everything else you might need or want to do outside of gaming. But my friend who got a steam deck is happy with it, for what it’s worth.

I really like the deck idea, and Valve did an amazing job in all aspects, but I feel that the concept needs to mature for a few years to tackle some issues. The battery is somewhat limited depending on the game, it can't run all the titles, can't play VAC games

Maybe a deck 2 would provide a better experience. I'd personally go for a laptop. But as people pointed out, there's many factors at play

Was your computer also a laptop?
If you look at price / performance scale, Steam Deck would have more power for the same price laptop. If you don't care about mobility, I'd suggest a desktop PC, if you already have a desktop PC though, because you won't need to get some of those parts anew. Generally speaking, a laptop will be more useful than a handheld console, even though it can be used as a normal PC. So, depends on what you really need. Steam Deck is a great piece of hardware, but it's not a PC replacement.

Gaming Laptop (of similar value) of what? Of Steam Deck? 679€ laptop is hardly "gaming". But laptop still have more uses than a tiny screen gaming device. If u want ONLY to play games buy Deck. If u want also other things buy laptop but 680€ really will not get u gaming laptop. (maybe if u play old games or some simple games)