GamesRadar+ Verdict
Ivoler's Steam Deck Dock is an affordable, easy-to-use, and surprisingly stylish way to take your Steam Deck gaming to the big screen.
Pros
- +
Mimics the convenience of the Switch dock
- +
Discrete when in use
- +
Great connectivity
Cons
- -
Slightly lacklustre build quality
- -
Requires some UI tinkering for the most graphically intensive titles
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With Steam's official Dock only just being released in late 2022, other manufacturers have grasped the opportunity to fill the void. One such brand is Ivoler, a smaller company looking to mimic the form and functionality of the Nintendo Switch Dock with its own Ivoler 5-in-1 Steam Deck Dock.
It's an incredibly affordable option in the best Steam Deck dock market at $49.99 / £39.99, and although it may not be the creme de creme when it comes to build quality, it does well to offer the simplicity of the Nintendo Switch dock in terms of connectivity and ease of use.
Design & Features
The iVoler 5-in-1 Steam Deck Dock is essentially a little shelf to hold your Steam Deck. There's a lip to stop it from sliding forward, and it blends in well with the Steam Deck itself thanks to its similar color scheme. It has rubbery feet on the bottom of the dock, which ensure it's well balanced even with the heft of the Steam Deck sat in it.
Around the back are all the ports you'll need for turning your Steam Deck into a desktop machine. Its own USB-C cable reaches over the back and onto the top of the Steam Deck, which is a nice touch for the Steam Deck's positioning as it allows great space for ventilation during longer sessions. It comes with a trio of USB 3.0 ports, and an HDMI port that supports output up to 4K at 30fps. There's also the 65W power port where you can plug in the charger that comes with your Steam Deck. iVoler's dock doesn't come with its own power supply, or an HDMI cable so you'll need to bear that in mind before purchasing.
All those ports mean that the iVoler can cater for more than enough peripherals to increase your armoury. During our testing, we connected a wired Xbox One controller but also a wireless gaming keyboard and gaming mouse. It all worked incredibly smoothly, with the dock and Deck detecting the different inputs and changing on-screen prompts automatically. Because all of the ports are around the back, it can become a mass of cable spaghetti unless you're willing to make the dock part of a permanent set-up.
iVoler has designed this dock to be lightweight and portable, and I can easily see myself chucking it in a bag along with my Steam Deck to take to hotels or a friend's house. However, because it is so lightweight it does feel a touch cheap.
Performance
When it comes to performance, the iVoler is a great plug-and-play machine - for the right games. For indie titles and games that are perfect on Steam Deck, the iVoler dock is brilliant. We tried out a number of titles including Potion Permit, Powerwash Simulator, Disney Dreamlight Valley, and Cult of the Lamb, which all worked brilliantly without any fiddling around with menus or settings. It does upscale well graphically, making titles look fantastic even running on one of the best gaming TVs in the form of a 55-inch LG G1.
However, with titles like God of War and Wolfenstein: New Order you will have to tinker with the menus to lock the framerate at 30fps to avoid any issues before you start playing. iVoler does do a 60fps 4K model which would eliminate the 30fps cap, of course, and this also comes complete with an ethernet port - something the model we reviewed lacks.
The Steam Deck generally has some issues with being docked that require booting up into desktop mode to have more control over resolution and framerate, which of course is not an Ivoler-specific issue. It's never going to be quite as easy as docking a Switch but this does get pretty close.
Overall - should you buy it?
If you're happy to delve into menus to optimise your Deck setup, this is a fantastic little dock that is affordable, easy-to-use, and surprisingly stylish. Its design makes your Steam Deck a feature of your setup, whether you're playing at a desk or in the living room. Making the dock a stand as well is a brilliant touch from other USB-C hubs that are available on the market for the likes of MacBooks and other tech.
It is on-par design-wise with Valve's own dock, just without a few of the additional ports. But, for this price, it's a no-brainer for getting your Deck on a bigger screen.
How we tested the iVoler 5-in-1 Steam Deck Dock
We spent several weeks testing the Ivoler Steam Deck Dock with our own Deck (the 512GB version). We tested various games from our existing Steam library on three screens - the LG G1 4K OLED TV, the 2021 43-inch Samsung Frame, and a 4K 60Hz gaming monitor from Asus. Games were tested using both the Xbox One controller and a wireless keyboard and mouse duo from Razer. We tested the games across all screens and with both inputs to ensure that there was no lag detected.
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To further bolster your Steam Deck setup, check out our guides to the best Steam Deck headsets, and best gaming monitors to elevate your immersion.
