JSAUX USB-C 6-in-1 Steam Deck Dock review: "A solid, if unremarkable option in a buyer's market"

If you're like me, Steam Deck docks are one of those things that make it pretty easy to feel paralyzed by excessive choice, when Amazon or any other storefront will place at least two hundred seemingly interchangeable variations before you at the merest prompting. But, for what it's worth, the JSAUX USB-C 6-in-1 Multifunction Adapter is certainly not a bad option from the multitude, albeit with a few caveats along the way.

Coming in at roughly the midpoint when it comes to the pricing averages of the best Steam Deck Docks at a respectable $42.99/£47.99, my two weeks spent putting the dock through its paces presented a solid, if unremarkable option in a buyer's market… though I couldn't help but have a few qualms about the thing's rather odd aesthetic.

Design and Features

Like the vast majority of docking stations out there, this is effectively just a small shelf stand into which your Steam Deck can be placed if you want to use it as one of the best gaming PCs, with various ports concealed at the back in which you can plug in chargers, USB peripherals like controllers and keyboards, and hook it up to a TV or monitor for big-screen play.

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That being said, you'll have to provide all that extra stuff yourself. The JSAUX we got sent came with no cables bundled in whatsoever - not a rare occurrence, but one worth keeping in mind. There's no USB, no charger, no HDMI cable, or anything, so while it's certainly compatible with all that standard tech, you'll have to meet it halfway in actually linking them together. Still, none of these things are especially hard to obtain (you probably have most/all of them to begin with) and that deficiency goes someway to explaining the less stinging price tag.

And what cables does it work with? All the classics, basically - along with an input for the default Steam Deck charger, there's also an HDMI 2.0 port that should handle 4K images well enough, a Gigabit Ethernet port (on its right flank, oddly enough) for those who don't want to depend on WiFi, and three separate USB 3.0 ports into which you can stick one of the best PC controllers, keyboards, mice, all that good gaming peripheral stuff. The dock is slightly on the larger side of average, but still smaller than the Steam Deck itself, so it hardly matters for the sake of space conservation. Still, if you want a smaller, less assuming model, maybe check out the puckish Syntech 6-in-1 Steam Deck Docking Station.

There's also an over-the-top arching cable that plugs into the Steam Deck easily enough, which is your sole connection required for hooking up the Deck to the JSAUX dock itself. Once all the wires in the back end were set up, whenever I wanted to game I could just drop the Steam Deck into place, plug in that one wire in the top and get to it within moments, an agreeably painless process, though hardly out of the norm for most docking stations. The official Valve Steam Deck Dock has set a standard that most of the non-official models follow, and the JSAUX clearly sees no reason to fix what wasn't broken in the first place. It also doesn't hurt that at 100W, this is a charger that works pretty quickly.

But the thing that stuck out to me the most was the dock's appearance, and not really in a positive way. There's a more traditional slate-grey model of the JSAUX that I spotted for sale online, but I was sent the red version for review, and I can't help but wonder what sort of front room they expected me to have that it would fit in seamlessly with the general decor. Most consoles and tech these days look pretty monochromatic rather than coming in flavors of glossy dark red, especially in the living room, which is where docking stations usually end up in my experience. I'm also not personally a huge fan of the techy (but pointless) lines and seams on the case that I think are reaching for a futuristic spacefaring look, but just made me think "Iron Man toy sold separately."

So that wasn't ideal. I wasn't aghast at the appearance or anything, but I did feel a little better shuffling it behind the TV rather than having it on full display. There’s no accounting for taste though, so I’m sure plenty of younger players or those who want to lean into the gamer aesthetic might appreciate the style.

Performance

 The JSAUX works, and frankly I'm not sure what more needs to be said on this front. For all my uncertainty about its appearance, I can't fault the JSAUX's functionality, having put it through a variety of games and never having any problems on the technical side. A simple plug-in-and-play dock, the images that came through my 55-inch 4K gaming TV were as clear as you'd hope, there was no delay between the controller and the image itself, and my Xbox controller never had any problems in the process.

The only other thing worth mentioning is that because all the USB-C ports are in the back, you might need to obtain a slightly longer cable depending on your tech setup, or place the dock at an angle for maximum manoeuvrability. It's not a massive asterisk, but at least one front-facing port wouldn't have been a bad idea - again, assuming this is for living rooms, it's what would've been most user-friendly.
 

Should you buy the JSAUX USB-C 6-in-1 Steam Deck Dock?

There's certainly worse options out there right now, and truthfully the choice may come down simply to how much the JSAUX's less-traditional design aesthetic speaks to you, as there's no criticisms to be levied at it when it comes to functionality. I wasn't a fan, but if the "Halo Spartan armor" style appeals to you personally, this could be a worthy purchase (oh, and make sure you have all the important cables yourself, because as mentioned, this dock assumes you have them already). 

How we tested the JSAUX USB-C 6-in-1 Steam Deck Dock?

We spent two weeks testing the JSAUX USB-C 6-in-1 Multifunction Adapter with a 256GB Steam Deck, playing a variety of games including Darkest Dungeon 2, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Baldur's Gate 3, Into the Breach, The Witcher 3 and The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, comparing it to other docking stations we'd used in the past (mainly the official Valve model).

To read more about how we test the latest gadgets, take a look at our hardware policy.

Whatever deck you settle on, it deserves the best peripherals to back it up. Check out the best gaming mouse, and the best PC controllers here!