Steam Deck

Favorite: I can stream games from my desktop flawlessly. Favorite: The Dock makes this a wonderful Kodi box too

Least favorite: The screen is merely OK Least favorite: Battery life could be better when playing new games

Overall, I've honestly had a really positive experience. Most games I've tried work out of the box, performance is impressive, the control they give users is awesome, the support they are giving the Linux community is awesome, and it's great to have a second "PC" to game with my fiance or take with me on trips.

So with all that said, my biggest con by far is the official dock. I still have tons of problems hooking it to different TVs, and even when it does work there are issues with audio crackling.

I loveimy steam deck but for your purposes, if you have literally any other device you can run steam link on it, connect it to your TV, etc. And that would probably be better performance assuming that your computer has good specs

Likes: Portable, play games like on a console but have access computer exclusive things, like console commands, grate control customization, and nice button layout.

Dislikes: Not so great battery life, a bit too heavy for my taste, and doesn't come with a dock.

Favorite? Pretty much what everybody else says. Portability. Battery life, all things considered. Controls feel great. Amazing handheld for emulation. I have an electric car, and I love being able to use my Steam Deck whenever I'm waiting for my car to charge.

My least favorite? The touchscreen. It's garbage. I was excited thinking I could play Osu on it. Nowhere close. It's not really even accurate enough for higher-level Plants vs. Zombies. You'd think a device like the Steam Deck would be great to dual-booted or virtualize Android on, but with the crappy touch screen, I can't recommend it. But the worst part is trying to use the on-screen keyboard with it. I use my Steam Deck as a PC replacement at work. I'm a sysadmin, I've been using Linux for two decades, but the touchscreen makes even the most basic terminal commands painful to type with the OSK. So if you plan on using it heavily as a PC, or doing a lot of tinkering with it like I do, do yourself a favor and get a physical keyboard for it. Bluetooth ones are okay, but having a full-blown keyboard, mouse, and monitor with USB-C dock is definitely nice if you're using it for more than just a game console.

My opinion is likely outdated. I was really excited for the stream deck, but it struggled to work properly when I received it. And there were often issues with the clock and wifi that made it nearly impossible to use. Throw in some issues with audio not playing over tv speakers...

It ended up becoming an expensive paperweight over the last few months as it brought me memories of frustration and buyers regret rather than joy.

I'm not trying to make anyone angry or anything. Many people here seem to love it, so maybe I should give it another go. I hope some updates have maybe increased its performance. Just wanted to share my honest experience...