The Price

[caelcyndar5]

Seriously? $89 for this when I've found identical docks for $42 or less?

[Murasakino Rin]

compared to the other docks, you do get a spare steam deck power brick.

and compared to the other steam deck dock out there so far that i know of:
this one has a DP port on it and will adjust power for the ports pending if your dock is plugged in or not

[P4M]

While I too find the dock quite costly at EUR 99, others I've used appear to pale in comparison, albeit just on paper as of now.

I decided to go for the Valve version because it is made for purpose. There will surely be third-party options with the same connectivity, but right now it just seems like the perfect fit. And, tbqh, I don't see ordering & returing other dock options becoming a habit for me.

My previous experiences with hardware from Valve, be it the Steam Link, Controller or the Deck itself, prove to me that going for the original is the best option for me personally.

Afterall, it's a one-time investment for a device that costs several hundred dollars/Euros, which will greatly increase the versatility of the Deck.

All in all - whether to buy it or not depends on your use case. If you don't plan on using the Deck in a docked state - skip it. Otherwise I'd certainly advice on buying the accessory designed for the main device.

[Cunstable]

Even though its only a dock. I'm going to wait for reviews to come out first. I mean I know it should be fine. But I waited for reviews of the Deck before placing the final order anyway.

[GUN]

So go buy one at $42!

[Thaurin]

I don't think those $42 dollar docks are identical, specs-wise.

Actually, I think the latest JSAUX dock is similarly-priced to the Steam Deck Docking Station. The 3rd Docking Station goes for $60 and doesn't have a charger, which goes for $25 at iFix. So that would make it $85 for a similar offering.

https://www.jsaux.com/products/docking-station-for-steam-deck-hb0702

[Zapix]

Originally posted by Thaurin:

I don't think those $42 dollar docks are identical, specs-wise.

Actually, I think the latest JSAUX dock is similarly-priced to the Steam Deck Docking Station. The 3rd Docking Station goes for $60 and doesn't have a charger, which goes for $25 at iFix. So that would make it $85 for a similar offering.

https://www.jsaux.com/products/docking-station-for-steam-deck-hb0702

Meanwhile their $130 priced dock has an 2280 m.2 slot built in. Probably the best one of them all, though I ended up picking up the Steam Dock... The m.2 is nice, but I will likely not use it docked so much, thus not needing that extra storage.

[DUdE]

Thinkpad docks cost 200-500€...

[GlaucomaPredator]

Originally posted by GUN:

So go buy one at $42!

May not be the same, if this allows gaming on a screen in Game mode, vs Desktop mode, then the other docks pale in comparison to this.

[caelcyndar5]

Originally posted by Zapix:

Originally posted by Thaurin:

I don't think those $42 dollar docks are identical, specs-wise.

Actually, I think the latest JSAUX dock is similarly-priced to the Steam Deck Docking Station. The 3rd Docking Station goes for $60 and doesn't have a charger, which goes for $25 at iFix. So that would make it $85 for a similar offering.

https://www.jsaux.com/products/docking-station-for-steam-deck-hb0702

Meanwhile their $130 priced dock has an 2280 m.2 slot built in. Probably the best one of them all, though I ended up picking up the Steam Dock... The m.2 is nice, but I will likely not use it docked so much, thus not needing that extra storage.

That stand with the option to add an SSD actually sounds pretty good since I'd kinda prefer to use the Steam Deck docked with a controller and a bit larger screen.

[SpielerVersum]

But what if I don't care about the power brick and many of the specs?

[1668880]

Valve please make another dock with m.2 slot built in. I bought your deck but the JSAUX HB0604 for $40 more with m.2 slot is making me reconcider since I know I will want more storage space and the sd card is not as fast as m.2.

[AndyCalling]

Originally posted by SpielerVersum:

But what if I don't care about the power brick and many of the specs?

That is a good point, and for such customers I'd recommend a 3rd party dock as it would make the best cost/benefit sense.

I will want the extra PSU to tuck behind the TV cabinet so for me, the official dock makes more sense.

[AndyCalling]

Originally posted by 1668880:

Valve please make another dock with m.2 slot built in. I bought your deck but the JSAUX HB0604 for $40 more with m.2 slot is making me reconcider since I know I will want more storage space and the sd card is not as fast as m.2.

The downside with such solutions is that they aren't well suited for use without the PSU attached. The approach taken by the official dock allows you to attach fast storage via the USB 3 ports, but detach it if you want to grab your dock to easily plug into a mate's TV on the fly.

I think it's great that 3rd party stuff takes a different approach to the official stuff. That way we get the best of both worlds, and can choose what will work best for our personal use cases.

[A Walrus]

The question is would you be willing to risk another peripheral damaging your Steam Deck, that may be of a lesser quality, for another 40 bucks or so? The console itself is not cheap, and would purchase only components designed for it to eliminate any issues. The customer support you'd get over a 3rd party would be better as well because they know exactly what you are using and could potentially replicate any issues in-house, if any.

For another 40 bucks or so, long term, you'd be better off.