You might be looking for a dock for your Steam Deck. Check out our list of the best games that aren’t made by Valve.
The Steam Deck is an amazing mobile game system that is a great deal for the money. But it can be a lot more than just a portable gaming gadget.
By adding a dock to your Deck, you can connect it to a big screen, add more ports, and make a place for the machine to charge. Are you already sure, or should we keep trying?
Valve has a dock for Steam Deck, but it’s not the best. It costs a lot and doesn’t have as many features as competitors like JSAUX, so it’s not the best pick.
The best docks should be inexpensive, well-designed, and have a number of input and output ports. Some docks have M.2 caddies, while others are made in a simpler way. Let us help you decide if you don’t know which one to pick.
JSAUX Docking Station is the best Steam Deck dock
At the moment, there are three different kinds of JSAUX Docking Stations. We think HB0603, which is called an “upgrade,” is the best choice. The JSAUX Docking Station is our top pick for those who want all the bells and whistles. It costs a huge $30 less than the official dock and has almost all the same benefits.
It has Ethernet, HDMI, and three USB-A 3.0 ports built in. The only thing it doesn’t have is DisplayPort, but you’ll probably dock the Steam Deck into something that doesn’t have it anyway. But if you just want a good dock that can hold your devices and has an HDMI port, you should look for the HB0602. It costs $35.99 right now. The bad thing about it is that it doesn’t have any USB-A ports and only has two USB 2.0 ports. Good for decorations, but not good for storing things outside.
Even though it doesn’t have as much as other USB-C hubs, the price is about the same.
The next step up would be the one we just reviewed. There is a version of JSAUX that works with an M.2 NVMe drive. This lets you add games to the dock’s storage instead of using up valuable gigabytes on the Steam Deck.
Price-wise, this is a step up, but reviewer Lloyd Coombes says it’s well worth it.
If you want a good alternative, JSAUX now has the HB0702, which has a DisplayPort and works the same as what Valve offers on their gear.
Can any USB-C hub be used with the Steam Deck?
Yes, and we even suggest it, as long as you don’t mind putting your Steam Deck on the desk. This is often the best choice since general USB-C hubs are often useful for people with laptops, desktops, iPads, or Android devices who want to watch a movie quickly through an HDMI port.
Valve’s update to support their own dock fixed a lot of problems with the Steam Deck’s USB-C port when it came to sending pictures to TVs. Stuck at 30Hz, it made games impossible to play and made it even harder to use settings. Since that update, however, almost every USB-C hub we’ve tried has worked almost perfectly, even with a 4K projector.