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

It would depend mainly on your needs. If you are going to use it for work also and depends on what type of games (newer or older, more or less taxing for the computer, etc.)

As first option I would say normal laptop, nothing fancy, with gaming additions (extra RAM, graphics card, etc.). If you truly need a full gaming one, go for it for the extra features and performance.

Regarding the Steam Deck you need to be sure that you are going to enjoy playing with a portable device. Never had a Steam Deck on my hands but my experience with other devices of similar weight is that you will grow tired and end up playing on a table or similar place so you don't need to hold it all the time. You can do a test with something of a similar weight to get a feeling of what I'm talking about.

But in the end you should go with the thing that better fits you.

While the steam deck will typically outpreform a gaming laptop around the same pricerange I'd personally still go for a laptop if it's going to be the only PC you own- you'll probably wanna use it for more things other than gaming.
You could always buy the dock and use the deck in the docked mode, connect mouse and a keyboard and turn it into a perfectly usable linux PC, but of course that's gonna cost you extra (i'm using a 3rd party JSAUX dock and it works pretty well and it's much cheaper than the official one).

In the end it really depends on what kinda games you'll wanna play on them (a lot of multiplayer games just won't run on SteamDeck, best to check ProtonDB to see if the games you're interested in are playable on the system) and where you're gonna use it the most, whether you travel a lot or will mostly use it indoors. Also this probably got mentioned a whole lot already but the battery on the steamdeck really isn't that great, you'll need to spend a lot of time tinkering with the deck and game setting if you wanna increase the battery life or just have a powerbank handy (again, that's an extra cost if you don't already have one).

Edit: In that case I'd definitely go with steamdeck

If you are used to the linux os environment and have a nice dock set up, the Steam Deck could be a good value for a computer replacement.

If you plan to use the computer out of home, and want more options of what you prioritize in terms of your computer hardware and are used to windows, then a laptop might be better, although I feel it will be hard to get a good performance to cost ratio from a laptop purchase vs the Steam Deck.

Another solution could be to get a really cheap laptop purely for non-gaming use but then the steam deck for gaming.

I was faced with the same choice. I needed a new laptop.. with a decent graphics card it would have been £700. Instead I chose to get a laptop for £400, then the cheapest Steam Deck model for £350 (should arrive within 1 week).

I also have a PC at home if I want to play on higher settings. Without a computer, I'd probably go for a laptop.

laptop: multitasking, you can do many more things than just playing and its more comfort to use. Also, battery+charging

imagine writing a lot of text on deck, then editing then printing

is it only for gaming or other things as well?

I would go for the laptop. Steam Deck I would only get as extra if I have main comp already. If GeForceNOW is available in your region you can use it even on cheap laptop for more demanding games.

If in question, always get a steak deck. I'd advise to get the medium rare version.

A gaming laptop for the same price as the Steam Deck will have worse gaming performance. So if you're strictly looking at gaming, go for the Steam deck. If you need to do anything else, go for the laptop.

You should buy a regular PC. It's always the best option. If you don't want the best option, and want deck or laptop, then consider the price - if your budget is equal to deck price - get a deck, laptop of the same price will be worse. If you are willing to spend more - get a laptop to get better performance.

If you have nothing at all. Then you need a computer or a laptop.
I'd go with a good desktop before anything else. Then the steam deck.

If you need something non gaming and portable. I'd go with a decent laptop. But not a gaming one. And also the steam deck.

The steam deck can do both. But I would treat is a a gaming machine that can do other stuff as needed in a pinch.
I use mine for games, great device.

Learn how to use steam input. You can do anything a keyboard can do with as many inputs as needed. I've only scratched the surface myself but as a keyboard/mouse gamer, I love how flexible the steam deck is. I've seen vids of people doing amazing things with steam input. No need to dig deep into it all at once, just be aware of what it can do and then learn the bits you need as you have a need for it.

If you only care about gaming, get the Steam Deck. Aside from that, a laptop would be better for you if you need it for work or school.

You are saying that you have nothing.
Then there is only one way, a laptop. You can do a million things more in a laptop.
If you said, my gaming laptop is dead but I want portability, then it would have been a suggestion for a Steam deck.
I am not using it that much, but I am very happy with it any time I used it. Big enough screen, not that much loading and I have not used it in AAA games yet, but other work fine.

Considering your budget, I guess what I'd do in your place would be to try and get a refurbished gaming laptop. You can't get a decent new gaming laptop for the price of a Steam Deck, but wasting money on a Steam Deck while you don't even have a computer for other daily life uses doesn't seem very reasonable.

As many already said, they are different devices, optimized for different scenarios. Pick one depending on what you'll do the most.

Steam Deck is good for gaming on the couch, outdoor, while travel etc, and has an integrated gamepad of course. You can play games with a decent level of details relatively cheap, while for a laptop you should spend a bit more in order to get a good machine. But a laptop is far more versatile, so I'd get that one unless you NEED a Steam Deck; especially if you don't have a PC, which are supposed to be useful these days, you know.

Personally, I would pick a Steam Deck.

Why?

I am assuming you have a desktop, gaming or not. I would say it's required nowadays to have a computer to do multiple things,

Now, since you have a desktop, a Steam Deck or gaming laptor is for traveling or so. And for those times, a Deck is specifically designed for gaming. While you can do more things on the gaming laptop, for most things you need a laptop, you can use a mobile phone anyway. Half the people that buy a gaming laptop, are just using it as a more expensive desktop. For all those that actually use it for traveling, a Steam Deck is smaller and easier for travel.

The only advantage I could see for the gaming laptor is non-steam mods, but https://getonstream.com/can-i-use-mods-on-the-steam-deck/ that one is covered too

Check how to install non-steam games on the Steam Deck.

Also, don't buy the 64 version. That's way too small. There are SINGLE games that already use more than that. Buy at least the 256 GB version.

Middle Earth: Shadow Of War – 95GB
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – 77GB
Call Of Duty: Infinite Warfare – 101GB
Hitman 2 – 111 GB
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 – 112 GB
ARK: Survival Evolved – 112 GB
Gears Of War 4 – 112.3GB
Call Of Duty: Black Ops 3 – 113GB
Borderlands 3 – 116 GB
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition – 120 GB
Halo: The Master Chief Collection – 125 GB
Microsoft Flight Simulator – 127 GB
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege (HD Texture Packs Included) – 131 GB
Final Fantasy 15 – 148GB
Red Dead Redemption 2 – 150GB
Destiny 2: Shadowkeep – 165GB (THIS IS A SINGLE DLC!!!!)
Quantum Break – 178GB
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare – 231 GB
Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War – 250 GB (OK, for this one the 256 is barely enough)

Pd: Ooops, you wanted to choose between a Steak deck and a gaming laptop. In that case, pick the Steak. It's more tasty.

Bump

Laptop

desktop pc + deck :-D

Both.

Well with the updated information I suggest the Deck. Easy.

Like others have said already, if you're looking to go equal cost, then get a Steam Deck for sure. It'll just run more games better, even when taking the "Steam Deck Capable" games list into account. Better future-proofing too. Also, handhelds are just more fun. 😎

A gaming laptop will be twice the price of a SD? If not, it's probably junk? SD can still play new AAA games that came out THIS year. For $500 that is pretty good no? Also with the dock, it becomes a PC, you can even dual-boot Windows 11 (if you really need to) The $399 64GB is a farily easy mod to grab a 512 or larger MM2 drive, check youtube for how to do it.

If you don't need portability, go for Desktop PC and Hook it up to your TV.

If you want portability for games only, Steam Deck is a nice choice.
If you want gaming without portability, get a gaming workstation (desktop PC).

Never buy gaming laptops. They're the worst of both worlds, you'll overpay for something subpar and it'll wear itself out in a few years with little to no way of getting replacements/repairs that are worth the time and money.

If you really need portability for games and other things like work or browsing the internet, get a regular laptop in addition to what's mentioned above. If you have an office job, chances are you already have a work laptop for this purpose anyway.