As someone who was in a similar position, i recommend getting the steamdeck and a refurbished thinkpad. This will be better and more versatile for gaming AND productivity, and probably still cost less/ take up less backpack space than a larger more powerful laptop would, especially when you factor in needing a controller. I already had a steamdeck but i picked up a cheap thinkpad for like 300$ canadian and i couldnt be happier with both. My laptop is for schoolwork and my steamdeck is for games and i often bring both to school. But when youre writing a test or late to a lecture you want to be able to just pull out a slim laptop and open it straight away, not have to boot the steamdeck into desktop mode and attach a mouse and keyboard first.