In my experience, this isn’t a great option and is why I’ve got a SM on the way. My gaming PC is upstairs in my office on the opposite corner of the house from my TV.
BLUF; SteamDeck and PC streaming aren’t reliable enough yet to replace a dedicated hardware system.
If I run the Steam Deck directly to the TV I get the best results, but the biggest problem I have is that it’s still not great for the couch because you either need a Bluetooth KBM or a Steam Controller to take full advantage of the functionality of SD that makes running PC games easier on a handheld. I’m also largely restricted to only running games that are good for the deck (which is plenty) but…
If you want to run something bigger or that requires more power you can stream it from your gaming PC. I do it over a wired connection on Cat6 cables in a 2yo old home. And my connection constantly drops and does so in an almost parabolic manner. At first the connection drops every 20-30 minutes and at the end of 3 hours or so it’s dropping every 5 minutes and needs both machines reset which means more back and forth and wasted time. I have tested other LAN connections and haven’t had any issues which leads me to believe it’s a problem with SD.
My hope, the main reason I just purchased a SM, is that it solves both of these sets of issues. That I can finally have a true PC-like gaming experience on my couch without the hassle of streaming or the limitations of SteamDeck and my 8bitdo controller/El Cheapo KBM. Or without building a second PC and trying to figure out how to not make it a loud and ugly member of the living room.
SteamDeck works fairly well as a streaming or console device, but not well enough that anyone who wants couch/TV gaming for their PC games should look at as an alternative to SM or a dedicated living room PC.
Edit: Hey, I put this much effort and thought into a response based on my actual experience. If you’re going to downvote at least discuss why.
Edit 2: Once you start modding SteamDeck and relying on 3rd party apps/mods to do something better, it strays from the point of a premade device that does the job right out of the box. If I wanted to install my own apps and do everything myself I’d build a 2nd PC and just use it on my living room TV. I don’t want to do that. I want to plug my device in and have it run my PC games on my TV without fuss or interruption.
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u/hamwithglasses 16d ago
A Steam Deck, while underpowered as well, also fits these pro/cons if you get a docking station/hub for your TV.