Tag: Steam

Level Up Your Portable Gaming Setup with the Best Steam Deck Accessories

Laurent

Valve’s Steam Deck is a powerful handheld PC that can offer a redefined portable gaming experience. And even though it is great out of the box, the best Steam Deck accessories can take things to the next level.

But the thing is, not all the accessories for Steam Deck are worth it. Some may seem highly functional, but they might decrease the comfort factor of your portable gaming setup. So, selecting the best Steam Deck accessories can get tricky.

To make things easier for you, I’ve made a curated list of the best accessories below. They are perfect for your Steam Deck and will enhance your portable gaming experience.

Best Accessories for Steam Deck

SanDisk Extreme Pro MicroSD Card – Best Memory Card for Steam Deck

SanDisk Extreme Pro MicroSD Card

Do you find yourself playing a lot of graphics-intensive games on your Steam Deck? Well, if they are open-world games, you can save yourself from the strife of moving data around with the SanDisk Extreme Pro microSD card.

Although it’s possible to replace your Steam Deck’s SSD with a high-capacity drive, good SSDs can be pretty expensive. But just because the SanDisk Extreme Pro microSD card is a cheaper option to expand your Steam Deck’s storage, it doesn’t mean the performance will be terrible.

The Extreme Pro cards from SanDisk can offer a read speed of up to 200MB/s. And the write speed of the cards is rated at up to 140MB/s. Thanks to these read-and-write speeds, you can get a smooth gaming experience on your Steam Deck.

What’s more important is that the Extreme Pro cards range from 32GB to 1TB. This allows you to expand your portable gaming console’s storage by up to 200%. And let’s not forget to mention that installing a microSD card is much easier than opening up the Steam Deck to replace the SSD.

Pros

  • Can offer up to 1TB of additional storage
  • Super reliable
  • Reasonably fast

Cons

  • The read speed tends to fluctuate from unit to another

Anker 537 Portable Charger – Best Portable Power Bank for Steam Deck

Anker 537 Portable Charger – Best Portable Power Bank for Steam Deck
Anker 537 Portable
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The best Steam Deck accessories 2023

Laurent

I’ve been meaning to round up the best Steam Deck accessories for a while now – ambushing Liam with homemade Etsy gadgets is one thing but now that there are literally millions of Decks in owners’ hands, quite literally, it’s time to put a serious face on and consider which accessories genuinely are the best buys.

This guide is keeping separate from the best Steam Deck microSD card list, mainly because a good microSD card is less of an accessory and more of a core essential (especially if you’ve gone for the 64GB Steam Deck model). Still, this guide will cover an array of addons, from alternative cases to thumbstick covers and USB-C docking stations.

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Best Steam Deck accessories in 2023

Laurent

The best Steam Deck accessories will level up your portable gaming experience. If you’ve decided to buy a Steam Deck (opens in new tab), accessories should be the next logical step to improve those little issues you’ve been having with your on-the-go gaming habit. Valve’s Steam Deck may be the reigning champion of handheld gaming, but picking out the best accessories for the Steam Deck will give you the edge you need to game just right.

Choosing Steam Deck accessories from the mountains of false-economy rubbish out there isn’t an easy task, we get it. Thanks to Valve’s very kind offer to release its CAD files (opens in new tab), online stores are brimming with innovative accessories—from the exceptionally practical to the downright obscure. Take the Steam Deck joint holder (opens in new tab) for example, which is somehow both.

Thankfully there are some well established manufacturers racing to make the best Steam Deck accessories. From hard cases, to Steam Deck docks with M.2 slots, to perfectly sized NVMe SSDs for the Deck, there’s something to give your portable Linux powerhouse a little hand. 

I’ve spent the past few months testing a bunch of accessory options, and have brought together all the best Steam Deck accessories below so you can feel confident whipping your Deck out in public, or at home. They range from safety accessories, to storage, to a full extra charge so you don’t have to panic when your battery starts flagging mid-boss fight. I’ve even included a great pair of gaming earbuds, and a Steam Deck carry case or two, to jam all your new accessories in.

Best Steam Deck accessories at a glance

The Sabrent 6-port steam deck dock at an angle.Best dock

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Sabrent 6-Port Steam Deck Dock

This dock adds a USB Type-C 3.0 port over the more expensive competition. While there’s no ethernet port, it’s super well thought out, and a fantastic price.
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For

  • 95W PD
  • 3.0 ports
  • Additional USB Type-C

Against

  • No ethernet
  • Cases don’t fit

The JBL Quantum TWS earbuds front on.Best ear buds

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JBL Quantum TWS gaming earbuds

Thanks to great noise cancelling,

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The best Steam Deck accessories in 2023

Laurent

Valve’s Steam Deck handheld has slowly become a full-fledged portable gaming PC ever since it first hit shelves last year. I got mine roughly two months ago and it’s completely changed how I view gaming. But as is often the case for gadgets we grow to love, accessories round out the experience and increase the utility of the device.

For instance, the Steam Deck’s battery life isn’t great (it’s OK to admit it), so having multiple charging and power options is a must. And since we’re dealing with PC games, storage is at a premium, no matter which model of Steam Deck you own. Below you’ll find some Steam Deck accessories that will take your gaming experience to the next level.

best steam deck accessories cnnu docking station

It took a while after the launch of the Steam Deck for Valve to release an official dock for connecting your Steam Deck to a TV or computer monitor, but the official Docking Station has everything you’d need. As far as connections go, there’s a DisplayPort 1.4 port, an HDMI 2.0 port, power connection, a Gigabit Ethernet port and three USB 3.1 ports for connecting other devices like a keyboard and mouse.

best steam deck accessories cnnu jsaux docking station

Don’t want to buy the official dock? The 6-in-1 docking station from JSAUX is highly rated, looks great and has all of the essential connections. More specifically, there’s an HDMI 2.0 port, three USB 3.0 ports, a USB-C port for power and an Ethernet connection. There’s a 90-degree connector on the cable that goes between the dock and the Steam Deck (also present on the official dock), which is a small but appreciated touch and is nice to see in a less expensive alternative. You will need to provide your own power source; anything that provides 45W of power will work. The 6-in-1 dock isn’t the only one JSAUX has in its lineup, with models ranging from $30 up to $110.

best steam deck accessories cnnu anker 713 wall adapter.jpg

The most glaring issue with the Steam Deck is its battery life. I routinely get around two hours of playing time in games like Uncharted 4 or God of War, which isn’t very good. That’s

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