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[MH3M3D]

I rarely get the opportunity to leave the living room where my wife and kids are hanging out to go play games where my PC is. I'm considering getting the Steam Deck and selling the gaming PC.
But the whole reason I got the PC is to be able to play all the Steam games I bought over the years and play them at the highest settings. So I was wondering what you guys would choose and why.
Having both is no option, I hate redundancy.

 

[TintoConCasera]

How's your internet connection? You could stream games from the PC to the Steam Deck and get the best of both worlds.

 

[Banjo64]

Get a Deck Oled and don’t look back. Practicality of use trumps top of the line graphics that you barely ever use.

I thought I’d struggle selling my PS5 and Xbox only leaving me with a Switch Oled but it’s one of the best things I ever did.

 

[Topher]

Having both is not redundant to me. Sometimes I want to play on my PC and big screen OLED. Other times I want to chill out in a big chair with my Steam Deck.

 

[KellyNole]

I don't have a Deck yet, but I can say that graphics hit a point 10 years ago where I am happy. Give me a fun, good to great gameplay, and/or interesting story in games and I am golden. The Switch changed me. I've spent more time on that than any of my other consoles or PCs since it came out. Once I get a Steam Deck, I think it will dominate my time as well. So I would recommend getting the Deck and keeping the PC. A, because sometimes you do want the better experience and B, not all games work on the Deck.

 

[AV]

Having both is no option, I hate redundancy.

This isn't really redundant. Having a desktop can come in much handier for not only certain games but other non-gaming stuff that needs doing that you really wouldn't want to do on a Deck.

You'll likely only be able to sell the PC for way less than you bought for it anyway. It's a much better investment to just keep hold of. I'm guessing your kids are quite young, when they get older and you spend less time hanging out with them, having that PC knocking around might be a big help to someone.

Just buy a Deck as well and keep the PC.

 

[MH3M3D]

How's your internet connection? You could stream games from the PC to the Steam Deck and get the best of both worlds.

Its superfast, but even a dedicated device like the PS Portal wasnt good enough. The tiniest bit of lag was annoying enough for parrying or aiming for headshots in CoD.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Its superfast, but even a dedicated device like the PS Portal wasnt good enough. The tiniest bit of lag was annoying enough for parrying or aiming for headshots in CoD.

IIRC you can configure the quality, bitrate and all that stuff. I got it running with Earth Defense Force 5 and it had 0 lag, although it looked a bit blurry.

Edit: If I were you, I'd try keeping the PC but also getting a Steam Deck for all the reasons other fellas listed above.

 

[nikos]

Be a man and leave the living room.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Stream from your high end PC to the Deck with WiFi 5 or 6.

 

[GymWolf]

I'm the type of guy that like to play even the shittiest 2d indie on a powerfull pc and 4k big tv and a proper controller.

It's exactly because we don't have infinite time to play that when i play, i want to play in the best way possible, not in a small screen with worse controls, graphic, audio and performances.

Of course if you literally have zero time to play properly, i guess a deck is an option.

 

[Dorfdad]

Get a Deck Oled and don’t look back. Practicality of use trumps top of the line graphics that you barely ever use.

I thought I’d struggle selling my PS5 and Xbox only leaving me with a Switch Oled but it’s one of the best things I ever did.

I’d say legion go the screen space can’t be beat, especially older gamers!!

 

[Lucifers Beard]

I have both and they have different use cases. My desktop is for games like Squad or games that just aren't really suitable for the deck.

My Steam Deck is mostly for backlog stuff or older games I never really got around to playing. For example, I'm currently playing Fallout New Vegas on it with mods and it's amazing.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Seems like the decision is made for you? If Steam Deck will allow you the gaming time you otherwise don’t have - go with that.

 

[GHG]

Both is the only correct answer here.

While I won't play all games on the deck (I tend to avoid AAA games on it for obvious reasons) it's really great to be able to pick up where I left off when I do use it.

 

[Arsic]

I rarely get the opportunity to leave the living room where my wife and kids are hanging out to go play games where my PC is. I'm considering getting the Steam Deck and selling the gaming PC.
But the whole reason I got the PC is to be able to play all the Steam games I bought over the years and play them at the highest settings. So I was wondering what you guys would choose and why.
Having both is no option, I hate redundancy.

The deck isn’t going to solve issues but an alternative.

I have the same situation but the games the deck can run and not look bad/perform bad will limit you to old titles or indie titles.

Do you REALLY want to play a game like BG3 at donkey shit settings and fps on a small screen? Hell no.

Is it a great way to play slay the spire, balataro, MGS collection, or Hades? Yes.

Think if it as a way to play back log titles or stuff you missed out on. Tomb raider collection or ninja gaiden or devil May cry.

You’ll still want that rig for when games like cyberpunk 2077 hit.

 

[hinch7]

Stream from your high end PC to the Deck with WiFi 5 or 6.

This. I use mine from time to time and the quality is great. With high bitrate plus direct connection no noticable lag; its worlds away from PS's portal and other streaming devices and services.

Also a Steam Deck just isn't powerful enough for a decent experience in the latest AAA titles. If looking for a desktop replacement I'd steer more an ROG handheld.

 

[TheStam]

I have both, but if I could only choose one it would be a Steam Deck OLED quite easily. If you care about performance you will have to give up some modern AAA, but at the same time BG3 is one of the most played games on SD somehow so for many it doesn't even seem to matter all that much.

 

[BadBurger]

I'll say this about the deck: even games as old as the PS360 gen look good on that 7"(?) 1200x800 screen, and can usually run at the highest or near highest settings and still get at least 45 fps. You can also dock it and play undemanding games like Ori and the Blind Forest at much higher resolutions and get good performance.

But when we're talking about more modern demanding games, like say the new God of War games or Horizon Zero Dawn, you're going to notice the limitations of the Steam Deck intimately. You're going to be tinkering with settings and screen refresh rates and FPS locks just to get decent performance.

I say go for both - keep your gaming PC for when you have the time to be dazzled, use the Deck around the house. The 256GB LCD model is only $399.99 USD now, just $50 more than the old 64GB model. It's not a premium purchase to go 256GB like it was in the past. Also the storage controller in the Deck isn't the latest and greatest, so playing off a microSD that supports the fastest I/O speeds of the Deck doesn't affect performance of most games by any noticeable degree according to people on reddit and such (I have the OG 512GB with the fastest storage so I have never played games off of a microSD card myself).

 

[Hohenheim]

50/50
The Steam Deck (and other PC handhelds) are great companions for a high end PC rig, and playtime is about the same for both setups here.

 

[Topher]

Stream from your high end PC to the Deck with WiFi 5 or 6.

Yeah, that works really well.

 

[rm082e]

The Steam Deck is a nice addition to my gaming PC, not a replacement for it. It's nice to have when I need to take my teenagers somewhere and hang out for a couple of hours, or when I go on a business trip.

To me, there's no replacement for a high end PC. That's home base for games.

 

[RickSanchez]

i do not understand why this is an 'either-or' choice. I have both a high-end PC and a Steam Deck. I guess you are asking for people who do not have both. And even then i play completely different games on both. High-end PC is for games with high system requirements, which most of the time are your usual AAA fare. Steam Deck is for the niche indies that can run on a potato. The kind of games which are enjoyed for their narrative or innovative gameplay or unique artstyle.

 

[U n i o n 0015]

You can only have just one? Guess I'd go with the Steam Deck in that case.

I've gotten really into the handheld emulation scene lately. I've got four of them plus a Steam Deck. It definitely allows for a lot more random gaming time versus dedicated time in front of the gaming PC.

 

[Minsc]

When you're playing games on a ~7" screen, playing them at the "highest" settings gets pretty pointless. Is there a difference between low/med/high? Probably, but good luck noticing it anymore.

That said you'll def end up finding yourself having more time to get in games on a handheld like the Deck than a PC if you're struggling with the PC already.

 

[BennyBlanco]

I use both a lot. Day time if I’m home with my daughter I use the steam deck on the couch and let her watch TV. Night time after she’s asleep I’m on the desktop with a headset. Couldn’t imagine going without either at this point. If I had to pick one I would keep my desktop just for games like AoE and Civ.

 

[rofif]

You can do playstation portal situation and steam link games to steam deck at full quality I suppose ?
I disliked steam deck compromised settings when I had it but it was all nice and playable

 

[Bartski]

deck is my pc gaming sad.gif

 

[64bitmodels]

Get a pc first. I initially wanted to get the deck first but now that I have a nice PC I have a much greater opinion with the deck thanks to the synergy of both devices. Plus, interfaces are easier to navigate with a kb and m and you get better support for custom software and mods