Tinbinx Steam Deck Dock Delivers Flawless Everyday Docking

The Tinbinx Steam Deck Dock (model JZ31) is a seemingly universal docking station for USB-C compatible portable devices. As the name implies, it’s physically designed for ease of use with the Valve Steam Deck hand-held gaming device, however it is also compatible with the Nintendo Switch, and various tablet/phone devices. What features of the dock are compatible with depend upon the device connected. The device itself is quite compact, and feels shockingly light given it’s functionality. Combined with the rubberized pads on the bottom, it’s weight is just enough to allow it to hold itself down with myriad cables connected. The dock features ports for gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.0, USB-C power pass-through, and three USB-A 3.0 connections. During my testing I used each, and found them to perform as expected. The dock doesn’t come with a power cable or adapter, but those included with the Steam Deck worked fine, as did multiple 3rd party adapters that I tested. With a suitable power adapter, you can comfortably game while the Steam Deck charges it’s internal battery, allowing for limitless docked pay time. Using the gigabit connection, I was able to download titles from my Steam library with the same speed as my powerful desktop PC with 10-gigabit Ethernet connections. Speeds of over 60MB per second were achieved, seemingly limited by the Steam servers themselves. Transfers from other devices on my network to the Steam Deck in desktop mode also performed as expected. The HDMI 2.0 connection that the dock provides allows for several resolutions up to 4K at 60FPS. I was successfully able to connect and game at this resolution as well as at 720p60, and 1080p60. Games performed as expected. What resolutions, frame rates, and latency you experience will of course depend upon what specific monitor of television you connect. The USB ports worked without issue. Wired controllers, and portable hard drives all connected without fails and transfer speeds were in-line with the USB 3 spec. The design of the dock allows it to easily accommodate the Stead Deck without blocking the air intakes. The width of the area where the Steam Deck (or other compatible device) rest within the dock is fairly sizable. I have no doubt that this dock could handle a Steam Deck that has a skin, silicon grip case or other protective cases that remain on the Deck with it’s in use. The same would hold true for phones or the Nintendo Switch. However, larger or heavier tablets are likely to topple out of the dock, or simple knock the dock over. In the end, the Tinbinx Dock is a solid product that does exactly what it claims with no fuss as a competitive price to other options. It performed admirably in every test, with each feature working flawlessly. The only possible issue is the built-in wire that connects to the dock to the Steam Deck. It’s coated in a protective rubber that bows out under stress (see images taken after unboxing), and over time if the wire was folded (say when tossed into a bag) this rubber could wear down and expose the wire. To be fair, this is a fault with many cables, but bears mentioning.