cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/c/battlestations/p/1389168/contemplating-alternative-setup
Here is my current setup. My laptop is an incredible gaming device but I’m kind of hung up on the fact that I don’t much enjoy gaming at my desk. I much prefer to game in a lounging position where I can put my feet up. Because of this, I’m considering splitting my priorities for gaming and browsing into separate devices.
I’m thinking that a mini pc might be a good option for my desk setup. I would use it mostly for browsing, some light server needs, and (possibly?) some light modeling/design work using freecad (for 3d printing shenanigans). I’ve been eyeballing the minisforum um790 pro or something similar.
My gaming needs would likely be outsourced to a handheld pc. I’m pretty set on getting a onexfly and loading it up with bazzite. I know they’re expensive, but the form factor and hardware capability really has me sold on this one. I know it would handle everything I wanted to play on it, and more. I’ve even been wondering if it would be a good daily driver with a dock or something and just omit the mini pc idea altogether.
Why don’t you simply stream the games to your handheld? No matter what handheld you get after a couple of years it will struggle with newer titles, and building a desktop with a discrete GPU that you can upgrade every now and then is the better option in my eyes.
Streaming can be a good option, but it’s not ideal for me personally. I play a fair bit of platformers, so introducing any amount of latency is a no go. Also, I’d rather not run two devices at once. If I was going to have to run my laptop anyway, I’d just go ahead and play it on there instead.
Being able to upgrade (or not) is a valid point. For the mini pc, it wouldn’t really be used for any heavy duty stuff (except maybe some freecad if it was even capable). I suppose a small form factor like that will have certain tradeoffs.
With the handheld pc, I’ve got kind of a similar mindset. Many of the games I will be playing are indie games that will run great, but I can always tune down the settings for the more demanding titles. The particular model I’m looking at is a very capable device, and I think I’d be happy with it for a very long time.
Mind you, you need to research a bit more about this particular handheld, because in handhelds, ergonomics, long term support, etc. all play a very important role.
I have a Steam Deck and while I didn’t try other handhelds, I am quite content with its performance. A lot of people who purchased more powerful handhelds eventually also settled with Steam Deck, due to numerous factors, so just be very careful with that step.