Using a laptop as an external display for Steam Deck

[FinS11]

I have a steam deck and want to use my laptop as an external display, my laptop has a thunderbolt port, so theoretically it should be able to take display port input. But I can’t figure out how to display the Steam deck onto it?

[Bad 💀 Motha]

The Laptop can output; it can't input anything video-wise.

What you can do is just log in both devices to the same Steam Account and you can "Stream" the game from the Deck to the Laptop, using the Deck's controls to play the game whilst looking at the Laptop screen.

[smokerob79]

host and slave logic is still at play even in USB-C.....the laptop and steam deck are both hosts.....it wont work on a direct C connection.....

[_I_]

you can remote play from the deck to the laptop

[Pepe]

I think you're out of luck. The older iMacs had this target display mode which allowed the use of their display as a normal monitor though Thunderbolt. As far as I know nobody else bothered with this feature in a laptop or in an All-in-One. Even Apple killed this feature in newer iMacs.

Your best bet is Remote Play or any other kind of remote display/desktop software (e.g. VNC, RDP, X11).

Of course, if you're kind of a hardcore tinkerer and have no use for the laptop, the laptop monitor is just a normal display after all, if you can figure out the wiring and the required controllers, you should be able to hack something out.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

I'd also really like to know (just being curious and want to better understand) why you've even want to do this. You can just connect the Steam Deck directly to any display that uses HDMI. I don't see why the Laptop is put into the equation at all.

FYI buy a decent USB Hub for your Deck. The Steam Dock for Deck is one, but there are 3rd party ones that are verified for Steam Deck as well.

[MancSoulja]

Originally posted by Bad 💀 Motha:

I'd also really like to know (just being curious and want to better understand) why you've even want to do this. You can just connect the Steam Deck directly to any display that uses HDMI. I don't see why the Laptop is put into the equation at all.

FYI buy a decent USB Hub for your Deck. The Steam Dock for Deck is one, but there are 3rd party ones that are verified for Steam Deck as well.

His laptop probably sucks and he wants to play games on the bigger screen when he's out and about \ at school \ college. It makes sense if you think about it.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

The thought makes sense sure. But the reality just doesn't allow for that the way he/she are thinking. PC's don't allow video input, they do video output. You need something like a USB HD Capture Device to input video into the Laptop and it's screen.

[OYUNCUheri]

You can use Steam link for PC

You can download the installer from Valve:
https://media.steampowered.com/steamlink/windows/latest/SteamLink.zip

[Connie]

This thread was quite old before the recent post, so we're locking it to prevent confusion.