I need some advice. I'm not sure if I should go for a pre-built gaming laptop, build one myself, or grab a Steam Deck. Half the games I play on PS5 have already been or will be ported to PC, and being able to mod games seems fun. If it weren't for GTA VI, I would've sold my system a while ago, working with $1,2k

Do you have ANY reason to get a laptop? Why would you be thinking about a laptop?

Building a PC is extremely easy these days. There are sites to tell you what parts will fit and if you've got enough power, etc, and the boards are all labelled so you cant fucking anything up.

As far as specific parts, ask around, but 1200 will get you a solid mid-tier rig.

I got this for 900€ about 3 years ago.

>>717312813 (OP)
>I'm thinking of jumping ship from being a console-only and switching to gaming on PC
I essentially did this 15 years ago.
I was an idort already in the 90s. Got my first proper PC in 2003, but ran it alongside with PS2-3 and GC. The later consoles were absolute waste of time and money.

>I'm not sure if I should go for a pre-built gaming laptop, build one myself, or grab a Steam Deck.
First things first:
Always get a desktop, unless you absolutely need portability.
You cannot really "build" laptops. That's desktop's benefit.
Deck is a 800p/40fps toybox that cost 500 bucks.
You could get a fine desktop OR laptop for that price.

I just very recently upgraded from this 13 years old Intel i7-2600k + 16GB DDR3 + GTX 1060, to the Ryzen 5 5600X + 32GB DDR4 + RTX 3060 12GB setup I'm running at the moment. Kept my old case and PSU, all my old SSDs and HDDs, and the total cost was just 550€.

You don't need top of the line enthusiast build specs to run majority of the vidya out there.
If it's a console port, which all run ~30fps at upscaled 720p on the consoles, it'll run on a decade old specs. And the few great non-Unreal Engine games we get instantly run 40 times better than the UE5 shit.

Already back in 2022, you could get something like Ryzen 7 3700 + 32GB DDR4 + RTX 3060 for 600 eurobucks.
Similar build with 5th gen Ryzens and more up to date GPU can be acquired for even less. Always scout the used market for good base builds + components.

>Half the games I play on PS5 have already been or will be ported to PC
Correction : ALL Snoy shit WILL be on PC sooner or later. Their CEO already stated this back in 2017, and so far they've held their word. And I'm seriously puzzled on why anyone would give a fuck about trash like GTA this day and age, and pretend as if it would not have been PC exclusive series from the very get-go.

>working with $1,2k
That's more than plenty to get you a GREAT build.

For starters, as the other anon said, unless you have a mighty need for mobility during your work/daily life that only leaves you with laptop as your gaming option, aiming to build a big gaming pc to use in your house seems like the better idea (its also cheaper). In this option you could also go straight for a pre-built rig, but building really isn't that hard and gives you more freedom of choice
Now, if you truly prefer or need to aim for a gaming laptop (despite future disadvantages such as problematic repairs, cooling issues and risk of damage while travelling with that on your bag, etc) going for a pre-built set in this case seems like the better option to me, laptop building can be a little complicated

>>717312813 (OP)
Go for a desktop. Based on what you said, you seem interested in modern games and the steam deck has already reached its limit with them. With 1200 bucks you can get something now and start setting yourself up on an upgrade path before GTA6 comes out

If you do go the PC route then just remember you can upgrade your parts over time.

So if you really need to, you can prioritize getting a good CPU, PSU, Motherboard and cooler right now and then save up for a month or so to then get a good GPU to back it all up.
It's good to prioritize those starting up because that'll give you a good 'foundation' to build upon imo

>>717313886
>With 1200 bucks you can get something now and start setting yourself up on an upgrade path before GTA6 comes out
GTA6 will be a console game, mate.
PS5 is already 6 years old, and consoles always use cheaper / older hardware to keep the price down.

Anything you can buy or build for 1200 dollaroos right here and now should easily 1440p / 120fps that game when it drops. Most likely all natively as well, which is important thing to mention since AI upscalers and even frame-gen are a thing these days.

steam deck is too old and youd regret it long term its cheap though so theres value in that, but youd have to buy games to use it smoothly via the steam store, a normal laptop/pc gives you easier access to free games via piracy (its possible on the deck but fucking annoying)

id buy the deck but only look at it as a short term (id say 2~3 years) before i find a replacement, and with the knowledge that many new games will run like shit on it

id use that time to save up for a real pc, thats just me
if you want piracry rn get a laptop

>>717312974
laptops use less power and trump is making everything to pump electricity costs

>>717312974
>>717313342
>>717313783
>>717313829
>>717313886
>>717313960
>>717314289
>>717314008
>>717314630
OP here, Big thanks to everyone in the thread, I'm gonna force my research towards desktop, honestly very helpful thread

>>717315468
>force
focused

>>717312813 (OP)
I have a laptop. Don't get a laptop.

>>717315859
I have a laptop. I like it, but i pretty much only play TF2.

>>717315468
You better appear again in a completely unrelated thread to post a pic of your new assembled rig so we can all laugh about it, shitpost and then recommend some good pirated games

>>717312813 (OP)
I adore the steamdeck, but it is something that gains a lot of its value from complementing a desktop PC (and a steam library built up over multiple decades).
On its own, as your only gaming PC, I'm not sure it really makes sense.

>>717316431
>so we can all laugh about it, shitpost and then recommend some good pirated games
my nigga

>>717312813 (OP)
I used to be only on console, then went console and PC, and now I really only play PC. Online is free, and consoles are almost all digital now anyway, severing my last preference for consoles entirely. Not to mention steam sales and demos, and modding too. Plus I us my PC for a lot of other things besides just gaming.
Prebuilts are better than they used to be I hear, but I haven't done it myself.
Check some sites like Starforge or something and then put something together yourself on PC Part Picker and compare prices.
Keep in mind you'll need an OS as well if you build it yourself.
Building a PC is nice and pretty rewarding. Can be frustrating if something is going wrong and you're feeling lost, but as long as you have a smartphone you can look anything up to figure it out.

Steamdecks are cool, great emulation devices too, but they run most brand new modern games poorly, and I would not recommend it if your plan is to play modern releases outside of lower end indie titles. What >>717316570 said is pretty accurate.

Make sure you get an upper mid range low high range sony tv for a monitor.
The king recommends.
https://litter.catbox.moe/gs741b2cw4puvlvj.mp4

>>717315468
Here you little fag, I build you a decent rig under 1,200$
>https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2vkZyW
Yoi can use that site to change and tweak yoir build, but this is the lowest you should get to have a decent experience for at least 3-5 years, depending what you play and stuff.
After that is just components upgrades.
Good luck noob.

>>717318452
wrong pic

>>717319094
Cute Fern.