Unfortunately my experience with Geforce Now was deeply deeply underwhelming when played from a current-gen maxed out Macbook Pro w/ a wired Gigabit connection and 1050Mbps/75Mbps Internet service. It was a horrible lag-fest and felt like the game I was playing was being rendered as a flip-book.
Coming from previously having a top-of-the-line ($6k+) gaming PC a decade ago that still does "okay" on most titles at 1080P to trying to game via GeForce Now from my Macbook was a shockingly bad experience. I'm very interested in the SteamDeck specifically because it allows me to use local hardware to run the game without requiring me to build another $6k+ gaming PC which I might get to use one day a month.
Why not build a Ncase M1 form factor gaming PC (or other mini-itx), download steam on Mac and PC, and use Steam’s local streaming to play on Mac while being powered by the PC?
Alternatively, gaming laptop. I’m missing the use case of the Steam Deck except in the event of a budget crunch, since you can get ultraportable 14” gaming laptops that have good oompf - examples being the Asus G14 and the Razer Blade 14.
Generally speaking, I'd just as soon build my $6k+ gaming desktop. I honestly probably would have already done so if it weren't for such severe parts availability issues and my refusal to give money to scalpers.
Coming from previously having a top-of-the-line ($6k+) gaming PC a decade ago that still does "okay" on most titles at 1080P to trying to game via GeForce Now from my Macbook was a shockingly bad experience. I'm very interested in the SteamDeck specifically because it allows me to use local hardware to run the game without requiring me to build another $6k+ gaming PC which I might get to use one day a month.