Which "Steam console" should I buy?

[Sam]

For a while my only console has been the Switch but I'm sick of Nintendo's bullshit so I conviced my dad to buy me something I could run Steam on for my birthday , the thing here is that my house is relatively small and every single corner has something in it so there isn't really anywhere I could put a PC and play comfortably   but fortunately for me there's a few "consoles" made by Steam (Steam Deck and Steam Machine) so which one would you recomend getting? I'm more inclined towards the Steam Deck (no idea which model though) since I'm more familiar with it bt I don't really understand ANYTHING about hardware so I would really appreciate it if anyone could explain the pros and cons of both  

[Melooon]

So right now the only one you can actually buy is the Steam Deck, the others are not on sale yet; I'm really excited for the steam VR headset (only if its under 500 euro though) because I wanna try making some VR worlds again (I do have an old Oculus Rift but its such a massive hassle to set up and it needs Facebook cameras); however I don't think a VR headset is ever a good idea as a primary game system. The Steam Machine I suspect will be around 1300 euro by the time it arrives and its unclear when that is (I don't recommend waiting for it - you can replicate 95% of what it does using an any gaming pc/laptop running Bazzite)

I think you are best sticking with the Steam Deck (I have an OLED one); its a great device, although it is getting a touch old now so best for emulators, older games and indie games. They only sell the newer OLED model these days, so if you want the cheaper LCD one you have to get it second hand; however I would suggest even if you're on a budget, get the OLED one, its really a huge jump.
There is a thread for it here: https://forum.melonland.net/index.php?topic=1381.0

*edit:* Also to explain screens! OLED is a newer and all-around better screen technology than LCD. On the OLED Steam deck the screen is bigger, the contrast is vastly better, the colors are a lot better, it uses less battery; and since so much of your game-playing experience is looking at the screen, all that has a huge impact.

I'd suggest looking for a second hand one in good shape, it will save you a bit of money and there are a few out there depending on where you live!

*This has been your Melon Tech Tips report* 

[BasilABST]

Seconding the Steam Deck OLED! I got a third party dock for it, connected a screen/kbm to it and I have a setup to play my preferred way as well. But the actual console itself is really responsive, I just prefer that way of doing stuff :P

It should be able to run most games, except the big AAA ones. Forget about UE5 lol, but if you're used to a Switch expect something a bit better but overall similar preformance-wise. It has some really intuitive emulation software too, and the fact it can go into a desktop mode can enhance its customizability and it's honestly just really cool for me, as someone who is not used to consoles doing that.

It also has a microSD slot so I won't worry about the more expensive version with extra storage. You can get a card for way cheaper :P just remember to remove it if you wanna swap the case, lol.

[Dan Q]

Seconding the Steam Deck. I have one and it's pretty slick.

I looked at the (upcoming) Steam Frame and personally I wouldn't bother. You can build the equivalent for the same or cheaper, with greater customisability, and you can even run SteamOS on it if you like. I built "Bee" earlier this year to be a "Steam Frame"-like box for my kids: under-construction pic attached. Bee is running Bazzite and it's working out really well (and has helped me reclaim the use of the living room, where the kids used to monopolise the media centre PC, by sending them up to the playroom insyead!).

[Melooon]

I looked at the (upcoming) Steam Frame

I think you might be confusing the Steam Frame with the Steam Machine. The Steam Frame is a VR headset and you can definitely not make one yourself from bits from a computer parts bin the Steam Machine on the other hand is a boxy-pc and you totally can make your own, as you have!

Also that build is super cool! On the subject of Bazzite, have you had any issues with it? For 99.9% of things it works really well for me; HOWEVER for some reason I'm able to install The Sims 3 under Proton on my Steam Deck, but not on Bazzite; it just errors out every time!

As far as I know the key thing about the Steam Machine is that its small and can auto-turn-on TVs; but if you enjoy tinkering even a little bit, doing a custom PC is still the more fun option.

Here's my "Steam Machine"