I love my deck because
- it can play Steam games fairly well
- it can play emulated game really well
- but most importantly it’s a linux computer, I can browse the web, watch a movie, even be productive on it, and I sometimes don’t even need to plug in a mouse and keyboard or an external screen !
But I was wondering what kind of uses other people have with it, as a non gaming machine?
That’s mostly it for me. Handheld gaming. I used it for a “retro” LAN party 3 times. I also watched a movie on it with some friends with a very scuffed setup consisting of the Steam Deck + dock + external display + old car radio with speakers, lol.
Sure I used it as a desktop (with monitor, mouse and keyboard) browsing the web and stuff just to see how well it does, but I prefer my full-size PC for desktop use and a notebook for the couch to be honest.
I have a desktop and a laptop but I don’t use my laptop at all anymore. I plugged my deck into my TV and use it as a home theatre PC, using wireless game controller and keyboard and mouse.
It’s honestly great - the big screen is so much more comfortable compared to a laptop, desktop mode let’s you do anything you want and you can sink into the couch and relax.
You could obviously plug youe laptop in the exact same way, although the decks gamescope mode gives it that but more versatility I think.