Just another post from a brand new soon-to-be SD owner. I’m definitely not the only one who is feeling like just purchasing the OLED is some kind of gateway drug.
I am also one of those guys who grew up exclusively playing consoles (playstation and nintendo), so this is my first dive in the PC world. As such, I want to ease myself into the scene by also using the SD as a very basic and budget desktop setup. My current everyday computer is my work Macbook Air.
What budget recommendations do you have for a dock, monitor, mechanical keyboard, and mouse? I am looking for a good balance between cost and function. I’m also $600 into this project after just buying the 512 GB OLED itself, so I am not too inclined to purchase components that will bring the entire cost up to a full-fledged gaming PC.
Any input is useful!
PS. Also, any game recommendations for my first downloads for Black Friday would be great!
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- Protective case with a kickstand and hardshell front cover. It used to be $10. They probably raised the price from the surge in news since the OLED release.
- x-in-1 USB-C Dock with HDMI, Ethernet etc. Easier to keep out of view under the desk etc so only one cable (USB connector to steam deck) is on your desk. If you case has a kickstand like above, the base from a dock is already redundant. Only thing exclusive to a dock is if you need one that has a built-in SSD or something like that.
(that’s just my personal prefs tho. Some people rather have a “dock” form-factor even though you have to manually connect the cable either way) - If like me you prefer using the deck as a controller after getting used to always having the trackpads, you can get an extension like this. Even when docked to my external display I use the deck as my controller.
- USB to 3.5mm Audio Adapter if needed; so you don’t have to unplug anything other than the USB-connector to the deck
Black Friday deals for steam haven’t been announced yet, so hold of on those for a week.
Almost any USB c dock should work. I’d try to see if there are any that have special features you like. I bought the 2nd gen jsaux dock because it was one of the first to have USB 3.0 ports, but this was before the valve dock released. I also don’t have displayport on my dock.
There are now a few docks that allow you to add a second SSD into the dock. It might be a nice option if you want to keep your work stuff separate from your gaming stuff. If you already have a dock for your MacBook, that should work fine too. I used one of the docks at work for a dell laptop just to show it off a while back.
Keyboard and mouse are going to be subjective. My gaming rig is all Corsair stuff, but everything else in my house is Logitech membrane keyboards. They’re honestly fine, and Sam’s club had them on sale for $25 for mouse and keyboard at the time.
For the dock, basically any one with an HDMI slot will work. Doesn’t even need to be a dock, a simple USB hub will work too. Docks are just hubs with a spot to put the Deck on. Just make sure your hub/dock has the ports you want and has power passthrough charging (most do).
For a mechanical keyboard on a budget… You’re in a bit of a pickle. Mechanical keyboards are typically a lot more expensive than membrane ones.
Eg I got an Onn bluetooth membrane keyboard for $6 on clearance from walmart that works fine. My Keychron K6 mechanical I got for $50 on sale also works fine and I like it a lot more since I’m a writer and I do a shitload of typing, but it’s pricier. Since you’re docking you could probably go for some cheap chinesium mechanical keyboard without wireless capability, for like $30 or so, probably. I trust you have a good idea of what kind of switches you want on your mechanical? Remember, cheap mech keyboards usually skimp on things like foam muffling so you’ll wake everyone in the house if you get the wrong switch.
Mice… I got a cheap $12 Tecknet mouse that I haven’t had any complaints about.