Casual gamer here. Have been a console fan all my life (life-long Playstation owner), but have recently been getting into emulation and am dabbling in PC gaming now.
I've been using my old 2018 Dell XPS 15 to run PCSX2, but have noticed performance has been slowing down lately. Might finally be time for me to dig into better options.
My current dilemma - buy a Steam Deck or a mini PC?
Purpose: Casual gaming. Mainly for PS2 emulation, but wouldn't be opposed to PS3 emulation or even more active titles (GTA V, Mouse PI, etc.). Will still use my PlayStation 5 as my primary device for Triple A games, so this will be my secondary device. Not a big online/multiplayer gamer, so that won't be a factor.
Steam Deck - Pros and Cons
Pros - portability. I've never had a proper handheld, so this is really appealing to me (play on the train on my commute into work, when traveling, etc.).
Cons - low availability at the moment, out-of-stocks, generally worse performance compared to mini PC
Mini PC - Pros and Cons
Pros - versatility. Can be used for video editing, photoshop, and more general PC purposes, better performance
Cons - not as portable
Based on the above - what would you all recommend? Would pay up to $800 for the Steam Deck, but would prefer spending less if I go the route of a mini PC (closer to $500).