After years of putting it off, I recently accepted that my PC is in dire need of an upgrade. A graphics card swap last year slowed its march towards obsolescence, but it was clear that my outdated processor needed a boost to match. The more I researched, the more I realized that wasn’t my only problem. I was looking at a full motherboard swap, potentially setting me back $1000. That was all to maintain what’s become my least favorite way to play games. I’d much rather sit on my couch and use my Steam Deck than play on the same monitor I stare at all day for work.
While I know I’ll have to upgrade eventually, I just found another good excuse to put that off a little longer. Razer just released its own Nintendo Switch-like dock, dubbed the Handheld Dock Chroma, built for devices like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally. It’s a deceptively feature-loaded piece of plastic that has already transformed my gaming habits, putting another nail in my PC’s coffin. That comes at a cost though, both figuratively and literally, which stops this from being the one dock to rule them all.
Design and compatibility
If you’ve used a Nintendo Switch before, you should know exactly what to expect with the Handheld Dock Chroma. You place your device of choice into it, connect it to the dock via USB-C, and voila. Your portable device now outputs up to 60 frames per second at 4K on whatever screen you want, whether it’s a monitor or TV. It’s the kind of accessory that any Steam Deck owner should have.
In fact, many already do. Razer isn’t new to the game here, as third-party docks have existed for quite some time. What Razer brings to the market is its premium quality, but for a price: It’ll run you $80. That’s double the price of some great competing docks that do most of what it does. You don’t even get a power supply for that price, which is a bit absurd considering that price tag. If the Handheld Dock Chroma experience I’m about to describe sounds appealing to you, just know that there are other ways to get it.
So, what are you getting for $80? On the positive side, Razer’s dock is a fun bit of engineering. It’s an open-faced dock that’s wide enough to comfortably fit a Lenovo Legion Go. The device rests against an adjustable backside, which can tilt back to about 75 degrees. That means that the dock isn’t just useful for hooking a handheld up to a TV, but it lets players use it in a sort of tabletop mode. That piece can also be folded down flat, turning the entire dock into a small, travel-ready box. The hinge feels sturdy, so most of what you’re paying extra for here is that reliable premium design.
You’re also getting an RGB light strip that glows from the bottom of the dock. While I understand that lighting is part of Razer’s brand identity, it’s a needless add-on that could have been cut to knock the price tag down a peg.
As far as compatibility goes, it worked with just about everything I threw at it, even if some devices aren’t a perfect match for it. The dock has a built-in USB-C cable that’s largely built with the Steam Deck in mind, as in devices that have their ports on the top. That’s the case with most modern handhelds, from the Ayaneo 2S to the Legion Go, but you’d have to place a Nintendo Switch upside down on the stand to hook it up. The Razer Edge similarly places its USB-C port on the underside of its Kishi V2 Pro controller, but it’s off to the side rather than in the center, so built-in cable can get to it without turning it over.
With 100W passthrough, it’s possible to keep those devices charged while playing, even if you need to provide your own power supply to do it (that’s a bit annoying, as I was using my Switch charger, but that isn’t really powerful enough for the Legion Go). Toss in an ethernet port for wired gaming, as well as three USB-A ports, and you’ve got just about anything else you could want here. It’s a sturdy dock that’s elevated by its great portable design, even if that’s not enough to justify the cost.
Replacing a PC
I was especially eager to put Razer’s device to the test because the Steam Deck has become a dominant part of my gaming life in the past few years. I barely play anything on my PC anymore and am happy to take a performance dip in favor of convenience. The Steam Deck OLED’s fantastic display helps make that easier to swallow, but it comes with plenty of sacrifices. For one, the Steam Deck’s touchpads and on-screen keyboard just aren’t enough to replace a traditional PC control setup. Games like The Roottrees Are Dead or Cryptmaster simply don’t work on the device, so that’s when I tend to use my PC most.
That’s where the Handheld Dock Chroma’s utility came into play. I started by testing it with Rift of the Necrodancer. The rhythm game would be a perfect candidate to test the dock for two reasons. The primary one is that it’s a rhythm game built around keyboard arrow controls. It can be played on a controller, but I find that it’s easier to match beats with an arrow layout. I plugged my keyboard in via USB-A and it was like playing on a PC. Considering that Civilization 7 will run on Steam Deck, I can already see myself moving a wireless keyboard and mouse into my living room and playing on my couch rather than at my desk.
Rift of the Necrodancer did reveal a big trade-off, though. The game features a calibration test to make sure players can stay on beat as possible. When playing on the Steam Deck proper, I was getting a -17ms result, a small bit of human error. On the dock, that latency jumped to 115ms. That’s an enormous difference if you’re just looking to plug and play. If you want as little latency as possible, you’ll need to make sure you’re playing in your TV’s Game Mode. If that’s not enough, you may want to ditch 4K for 1080p, knocking part of the device’s appeal out.
While those are the kind of quirks I focus on as a product reviewer, my more casual experience of docking my Steam Deck has been everything I’ve dreamed of. As I was testing it, I got deep into Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist. The new indie is a gorgeous Metroidvania that begs to be played on a handheld, but seen on a big screen. I spent a weekend seamlessly getting both of those experiences thanks to a living room tweak. While I began playing on the Steam Deck proper, I soon moved it over to my dock. I connected a spare Amazon Luna controller to my handheld via Bluetooth and, just like that, I was using my Steam Deck like I would my PS5. I could jump between that handheld and docked experience in no time, depending on what I was in the mood for.
This is the kind of flexibility that I ultimately want from gaming these days. You can blame the Nintendo Switch for that. I don’t want to be tethered to one seat if I want to play a game anymore. I want to take a game with me anywhere I go with as few sacrifices as I can manage. Heck, I even use my PlayStation Portal regularly in my own home. My gaming PC still fits into that desire. If I want to max out all of my graphics settings, there’s a place I can still do that. Convenience is king, though, and that’s what I’m currently getting in my new lifestyle shift.
You don’t need a Handheld Dock Chroma to get that experience. I’m not sure I would have sprung for it outside of a work context, frankly. Any dock will do the trick, but I’ll go to bat for Razer’s durable, travel-friendly design here. This is an all-in-one gaming dock that feels future-proofed enough to handle a range of device sizes. It’s already become a staple of my entertainment center in just one week and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon. At least not until I get that new motherboard.
