My son (13 yrs) is busting my balls because he wants a gaming pc, to play steam games (cannot do it on his school Chromebook) and Fortnite (which he plays on his switch). So I was thinking of buying a SD, connect it to our office monitor (HP 23” 1920x1080 60fps) and mouse/keyboard both wireless (we have already a usb-c hub).
To me this would make the most sense… but I’d like to know which AAA games he could play with good quality results (in case, monitor could be improved), especially at this price below 400 euro (eventually bigger memory would be installed DIY).
Or, because of the oled just launched, better looking for a used one (in Europe)?
Thanks!
You could get away with installing Windows onto the Steam Deck so that Fortnite would work, but this may not be a good plan for the exact SD you are looking at. You will need to upgrade the storage if you get the 64GB model to do this, which will be around 60-100 USD bucks for the SSD and then some leg work to install it, then install Windows onto it. So we are talking around 450-500 USD when its all said and done.
The other trouble is, finding a laptop to run games well enough for under $500 USD may prove difficult unless you look at used devices. For me, used laptops scare me somewhat, and would personally vote against this.
I would recommend you go at least a 256GB Steam Deck and keep Fortnite on his Switch for now. Or, go for a full desktop build since he already has a Switch for portability. Using older/used parts and using that monitor you have would end up being pretty affordable and powerful setup at the $400-500 USD range. He would for sure have a better Fortnite experience on this versus his Switch. Plus then you have a full gaming PC that can be upgraded down the line.
I wouldn’t suggest steam deck in this case. Roblox and fortnite etc you can get a cheap dell optiplex on ebay slap on a 1650 and get way more performance. Or even skip the Gpu just let a decent igpu box do it! He has a switch for portable stuff!
So you mean something like this: https://www.itgigant.nl/refurbished-computers/hp-8200-elite-tower-i7-4gb-250gb/ (with ram maxed out 32gb) and this: https://www.paradigit.nl/msi-gtx-1650-d6-ventus-xs-ocv1/21034633/product/3118 together +/- 460 euro
Better ebay or used market for the Gpu because they should be wayyyyy cheaper like 80 euro. And a mini dell optiplex should be 100eur. I’m not sure where but you should have office refurb pcs in the used market going for that price!
You can get one of those cheap mini PC’s on amazon with similar specs to the steam deck and they will come with a windows 11 license as well.