I would get the Ally since you’re planning to replace your desktop with this device. Windows is a lot better for desktop applications and while steam deck has a desktop mode it being Linux can make it difficult for people to use. Also if you have non steam games or use gamepass the Ally would be better since it runs windows natively. I personally am not a big fan of the ROG Ally build quality, but it does perform better in higher TDPs and will play any game natively.
Yeah could be a good idea. Doesn’t hurt to try. I’m sorry for you situation. Hope you’re able to get through it. If you do set one up see if your able to add it to your post would be happy to send a few bucks for it.
Just saying more than likely they will black list the account if you don’t return the Deck. It’s a risk if you want to try. They could even ban that specific steam deck like Nintendo does.
Since you have a high end PC you can always use the Steam Deck as a streaming device by using moonlight and sunshine. That’s my intent for games that don’t run natively on the Steam Deck. I also want to take my Steam Deck to work for my lunch break so having games that can run on it helps to.
Some ISPs put a data cap every month and games are big af files, so steam made it where if a game is already installed on a local computer that has steam open it will try and copy the files over your local network. It could be slow if the other computer is being used or the drive it is reading the data from is slow.
As a non LE purchaser it would be awesome if I could swap out the standard black for another color. Fingers crossed they make something like that.
The Z1 extreme is on sale in the US for 600 at Best Buy. The Z1 non extreme is on par or even slower than the steam deck so basically useless. Resolution and performance really depends on what games you want to play. The screen on the OLED is sharp and is right where the performance of the chip can provide. If your only gaming device is this and you plan to play games that need anti cheat like Call of Duty or Destiny you should go with the Z1 extreme ROG Ally. Otherwise if you have a good pc and plan to play games from your back log get the deck.