If you think a Steam Deck Dock is a must-have for Valve's popular handheld device, you might be tempted to buy one. A mooring station's essential allure is to change the Steam Deck into a big-screen work area console — with the harbor giving a formed elastic seat that the two charges your handheld gadget and keeps the screen from getting scratched.
However, a closer look at the alternatives to the Steam Deck dock reveals that the main draw of this accessory is that it can be easily replaced with alternatives that are less expensive—and sometimes even free.
There are a number of good reasons not to purchase a Steam Deck Dock.
1. The Official Steam Deck Docking Station Is Expensive
The price of a Steam Deck Dock is the most important reason not to buy one. The official Steam Deck Docking Station costs a whopping $89 on the Steam Store!
It's hard to say whether the official Steam Deck Docking Station is worth the price given the features it offers. Obviously, there are generally less expensive outsider options in contrast to the authority pack, yet these frequently shift in quality, dependability, and wellbeing with regards to taking care of your dearest Steam Deck.
Instead of sprinkling out on a costly docking station — or taking a chance with the life span of your Steam Deck with an outsider other option — you can utilize a USB-C to HDMI connector (favoring this later), which is a lot less expensive and more secure.
2. The Steam Deck Dock Isn’t Compatible With Other Devices
The official Steam Deck Docking Station is yet another piece of equipment that works with a single device if you buy it. Barely any families (or even people) own only one piece of tech nowadays — so having an embellishment that is not viable with different gadgets feels like a hopeless cause and cash.
We take a comparable issue with the Nintendo Switch Dock, which we accept is very much past due for an overhaul. When you know how to work around having to rely on a dock, neither the Steam Dock nor the Nintendo Switch docking stations offer cross-compatibility with other devices or value for their prices for two of the most popular handheld devices.
3. There Are Cheaper Alternatives to Buying a Steam Deck Dock
One of the principal contended motivations behind why you ought to purchase a Steam Deck dock incorporates the capacity to transform your handheld gadget into a computer games console. Just interfacing the Steam Deck Docking Station to a television or screen gives you big-screen PC gaming — and you might in fact utilize the Steam Deck as a work area substitution.
The catch here is that you don't have to purchase a Steam Deck Docking Station to change your Steam Deck into work area mode. Likewise to how you can interface the Nintendo Change to a television without a dock, all you want is a standard USB-C to HDMI connector that has a USB port or two. A few screens and televisions support USB-C links straightforwardly, making the association with your Steam Deck much simpler.
You can play on a big screen without spending as much as the official Steam Deck Docking Station by using an adapter.
4. You Can Improve Steam Deck Gameplay in Other Ways Without a Docking Station
A great way to enhance your gaming experience is to connect your Steam Deck to a television. Without the restrictions of a docking station, you can update the Steam Deck in alternate ways.
Xreal (formerly Nreal) Air Glasses are without a doubt the best Steam Deck accessory. When you wear Xreal Air glasses with your Steam Deck, you'll get a full HD OLED screen with 3840 x 1080 pixels (1920 x 1080 pixels per eye resolution) instead of the Steam Deck's LCD screen with 1280 x 800 pixels.
Connecting your Steam Deck to a lapdock is yet another portable method for enhancing it. A lapdock has a screen, keyboard, and battery, but no heavy-duty computing components (like memory, a processor, or storage), which makes it look like a laptop. Instead, a Steam Deck device supplies a lapdock with these missing components, transforming your handheld device into a laptop.
To learn more about turning your mobile devices—including some smartphones—into laptops, check out our lapdocks beginner's guide.
5. For Travelers, the Steam Deck Dock Is Another Item to Carry Around
While voyaging, the last thing you need is to convey loads of superfluous extras — regardless of their size. You don't want to carry around a docking station that will take up space in your luggage when it comes to the Steam Deck. Additionally, a Steam Deck dock can become a burden; simply one more thing to possibly lose (or have to safeguard because of its cost) while voyaging.
Use USB-C cables rather than a Steam Deck dock when traveling.
6. The Steam Deck’s Wireless Connection Is Sufficient for Its Intended Purposes
The official Steam Deck Docking Station's availability of Gigabit Ethernet is yet another reason to purchase one for your Steam Deck. Technically, this means that you can use the dock to consistently get faster download speeds.
However, you will only really benefit from this increased download speed if you already have extremely fast internet, which many of us do not. On the off chance that you have the lower-end Steam Deck model which offers less extra room, you're probably not going to require reliable quick rates in any case as your restricted space implies you're probably not going to consistently be downloading enormous documents.
7. You Can Play Desktop Games With Bluetooth Mouse and Keyboards
Steam offers numerous methodology games that are obviously better played with a mouse and console than in handheld mode. Even though Valve insists on adding "extensibility to your already extensible Steam Deck," you don't need a costly docking station to convert your handheld device into a desktop setup.
You can directly connect a wireless mouse and keyboard to the Steam Deck because it has Bluetooth. If you don't already have one, wireless mice and keyboards are widely available at reasonable prices.
Is the Steam Deck Dock Just a Glorified Stand?
Although purchasing a Steam Deck dock has some advantages, such as providing the device with a stand and increasing internet speed, these do not outweigh the cost.
The purchase of a docking station for your Steam Deck does not have to be expensive. Generally, purchasing an all inclusive USB-C to HDMI connector can supplant the need to purchase a costly docking station.
