I feel like steam OS is the perfect balance. You can go from minimal tinkering to getting down and dirty with the settings. I wouldn’t be scared off by it being your first gaming pc. I’m primarily a windows user … and even going into the desktop mode (which you don’t need to) the steam deck is such a device with tons of community support you will always find answers to a problem. Either via Reddit or YouTube.

I would go for it . I’ve been loving mine as a first time steam deck user (although slightly more technically experienced with computers altogether)

People I believe are being nitpicky with the glossy vs etched glass tbh. I do believe putting a screen protector on will more so replicate the glossy finish from what I’ve found online. It will also take away the anti glare effects.

So in reality it appears you can get similar effects from either steam deck depending on what screen protector you put on. From my understanding at least

I downloaded a few large games and it ended up going into sleep mode once it was done downloading.

Regardless though, oled tech has came a long way and I wouldn’t worry about burn in. Look at bob wulf on you tube with his switch oled. It finally has burn in, but he left it on for 2 years on the same screen. I think he didn’t have any noticeable differences until a year if I recall correctly lol

Don’t get the standard z1. I know the extreme model is on sell right now for $599 right now. Could also do open box but not sure if you will hit the 450. At that point I would go steam deck