Steam Deck: Pc or just another gaming device?

[schuck6566]

Is the Steam Deck a viable PC that can do more than say the xbox with it's browser access? Or is it just a glorified hand held console for PC games?

[LabRat]

Used mine much more as a secondary PC*  than as a handheld. More than once, it was the only 'online' PC I had running and used it to write Windows images for my desktop.
NtM, As a Windows DD-er and Linux near-knownothing, I managed to Daily Drive it while my R5 5600 was in RMA, too.

(*"Desktop mode" SteamOS + 42" 1080 LCD HDTV via USB+HDMI-multiport hub + a backlit 'ruggedized' BT KB+touchpad) 

IMO, if it wasn't for the implicitly 'handholding' shape, it'd easily and readily adapt into a highly-capable "Tablet PC-like".

Not all the 1st-release units have fantastic screens, and I'm still upset it lacks USB4/TB or some form of externally-availible PCIe 
but... it's a very competent Linux PC. That's just not its *primary* purpose.

Regardless,
it's built and marketed to play "PC Platform" games (primarily, but not exclusively) from Valve's Steam digital distribution service.

 

[Sir Beregond]

I would use it to game on if I was in such a position where I wanted to game but wasn't at my computer. I have no interest in laptops personally, so imo this would slot into a good use case for me.

 

I don't have one, but if I did, I would use it for that.

[Kaz]

Gaming on the go would by my use case.  I already have a laptop if I want portable computing.  I don't own one, probably because if I want to play a game I can go sit at my computer.  Next big expenditures are VR and an OLED monitor.  Steamdeck would come in after that, though I might want a 2nd graphics card if I have to send my 7900XTX in because it's artificing. 

[pio]

I voted in your poll, but I don't use a Steam Deck, nor would I likely ever use one.  HOWEVER, I bought one for my child.  So here's my position.

From my perspective, my child absolutely LOVES his Steam Deck.  He takes it everywhere he can because its got all of his favorite games on it.  That's all he uses it for, and that's all I bought it for him for.  So for HIS use case, its strictly for gaming (which is what I voted in the poll).

ME PERSONALLY - I can't stand portable computing at all in general.  Give me a proper monitor, keyboard, mouse, and a chair and I'll go to town.  Laptop or "steam deck"?  No thanks, I'll sit and scroll youtube on my phone before I'll use either of those 9/10 times.

[tictoc]

I mostly purchased the deck to mess around with it as a mini PC.  My Steam Deck spends 90% of it's life sitting in the dock hooked up to a 27" monitor on my work bench. I do occasionally pull it off the dock to play some games sitting on the couch, but mostly it just functions as a desktop PC.

 

Since I've been daily driving Arch Linux for the last decade plus, I'm right at home on SteamOS.