ASUS Steam Link

Before anyone considers this product, I think it is more important to know what is ISN'T before you talk about what it is. There are tons of reviews online that go over exactly what the Steam Link is and what it can and cannot do. I'll try not to repeat too much of what is already widely described out there, but the single most important thing that you must know about the Steam Link is:The Steam Link is not a gaming console!The Steam Link is also not an all-in-one solution to gaming on Windows. Many people do not like playing games on a Windows PC because the experience is not as streamlined as a console. You need to install apps, load updates, sometimes hardware doesn't always work correctly, sometimes Windows gets in the way and pops you out of your game. All of these scenarios can still happen with the Steam Link which can be annoying if the gaming PC is in another room to where you are using the Steam Link. You may need to get up, walk over to the PC and press ENTER for something to go away.The Steam Link is an accessory to a gaming PC which allows you to stream your screen to a display device like a HDTV somewhere else on your network. There are a couple of prerequisites that you must already have before this device will be useful for you. They are:A Gaming PC - You must already have a gaming PC that can play games at an acceptable frame rate. If your PC has an under powered CPU or GPU, the Steam Link will not improve upon it.An Ethernet Network - Although some reviews say that this device will work with a wireless adapter, this is a very bad idea IMO. Anytime you stream anything, whether its a game, movie, or anything, you should never do it over wireless. The speeds simply can't support it properly. Yes, it will work, and it might even work "acceptably", but for the serious gamer who wants high frame rates and instant response, this is a no-go. If you cannot get wired ethernet to both where your gaming PC is and where you plan on using the Steam Link, I would not buy this product.Console Gaming Pads - The Steam Link is often pictured with the Steam controller because Valve makes both products and of course they want to sell them to you. While the Steam controller has it's merits, I personally do not like it. There is a large list of controllers that the Steam Link is fully compatible with including the Xbox 360 wired and wireless controllers, Xbox One controller, and PS4 controllers. There are more, but if you want to see the whole list, you can find it online. For me, I used my 6 year old Xbox 360 controllers with a Microsoft USB wireless adapter and they work FLAWLESSLY.Steam Games - It should probably go without staying that a product called the Steam Link, requires Steam. You must have Steam loaded and running on your Gaming PC before you can use this device as it needs to connect to your Steam library on the gaming PC. If you hate Steam and their DRM, then stay away from this product. If you have non-Steam games installed on the same PC, you must first manually add them to your Steam library first. Not every non-Steam game works smoothly when added into Steam, so be sure the game works properly on the PC itself before trying it with the Steam Link.So, assuming you have an adequately powerful gaming PC, a wired ethernet network, one or more compatible gaming controllers, a Steam library, and a need to play your PC games on a television or display device that is far away from your PC, then this is the product for you!What the Steam link does is actually quite simple. When launched, it puts your PC in "Big Picture" mode, which in essence changes the display on the PC so that things are larger and easier to use on a television in a living room. Everything the Steam Link shows is actually happening on the PC itself. The Steam Link basically "mirrors" whats on your PC screen onto your HDTV. It is important to understand that everything you "see" is actually happening on the PC which means that someone else cannot be working on the PC browsing the web while you are playing a game. When the Steam Link is working, the PC cannot be used for other tasks (background apps still work fine though).Windows has come along way in terms of being game friendly, but the occasional Windows system update, or a random application notification can pull you out of the game which means you have to walk back to the PC to acknowledge whatever came up and go back to the game. Depending on your level of PC knowledge, you may want to disable Windows Updates or certain apps while playing. The Steam Link does an EXCELLENT job of mimicking a console in on a HDTV, but it still is not a console.The device itself is very small. Its about the size of a USB external hard drive. It has absolutely no lights on it whatsoever. Valve was clearly going for a minimalist design, but I would have appreciated at least a tiny LED to let you know it's on.There are 3 USB ports on the device for various controllers. I believe you can even connect a mouse and keyboard to the Steam Link, but I haven't actually tried it. Other than the USB ports, there is a HDMI port, an Ethernet port, and the power cord port and that's all. The device tucks in nicely behind your TV, so it can be completely out of sight.The UI is pretty simple and straightforward. When powered on, it immediately searches your network for a PC running Steam. On mine, it found my gaming PC immediately. The first time it connected, it automatically updated it's firmware on it's own. It also detected the proper resolution of my Sony HDTV and my Xbox 360 controllers. There was literally no setup other than turning the device on and waiting for it to update.Once everything was updated, I connected to my Steam library and was able to browse my library. The UI is designed to be readable from "couch distance". Everything is large and bright and easy to see. Valve did a great job with the UI as everything was intuitive and unobtrusive.In terms of performance, I did not do any actual benchmarks, but I played a variety of racing and FPS shooters and I noticed no perceptible screen lag. My gaming experience was just as good as if I was sitting in front of the PC itself. Some reviews note a 10% loss in framerate, which may be true, but my PC is powerful enough that I couldn't see it.I did notice some occasional artifacting in fast motion sequences, but it was no worse than the type of artifacting you see in some low bitrate fast motion video. It was barely noticeable and by no means compromised the gaming experience for me.Simply, the experience was good enough that if you were to invite your friends over and just start playing a game and not told them what kind of device you were using, they would have no idea that you didn't have an actual console somewhere behind the TV.Overall, I am extremely happy with the Steam Link. The fact that this thing costs only $50 is amazing to me. It would cost that much to get a very long HDMI cable and run it from a PC in another room to your TV. The fact that its a nicely designed piece of hardware with a great UI and it integrates seamlessly into your Steam library and is compatible with almost any modern gaming controller is one heck of a value!As I said earlier in this review, it is very important to know what this device is not before you buy it. Assuming you meet all of the prerequisites to make it work, this is hands down, one of the best piece of consumer electronics I have ever used.

An incredible steal at $20 for what it does. Might arguably even be worth it at $50.During Thanksgiving and Christmas 2016 the Steam link dropped to $20 and I thought why not. Recently at our house we've been exporing either getting an alienware alpha or building a small i3/1050ti system to play games at the tv. We also looked at Intel's nuc units, but never really decided to go to anything because of the at least $150 to play issues that plague those solutions. At $20 the steam link promised some of the things that those provided, but I later found out it provided a lot more. The review will cover that.Package (What you get) - The Steam Link comes actually packaged very well. It doesn't seem cheap at all. You get a nice flat network cable, 3 different types of power converter for international power, and an hdmi cable. The unit itself is resting on the top of the box so any over zealous package openers make sure to put the box on a table before you open it lest the device fall out. There's really nothing to complain about the packaging, it's really well done.The Steam Link (physical) - The unit itself is rather small in size. It's roughly the size of your standard media players like the Amazon Fire, and various other units. The only power confirmation light I saw on it is the network jack. Connectivity is sparse but appropriate. Hdmi, 3 usb ports (2 back, 1 on the side), power, and rj45 network jack. Build quality is nice, it's a matte black, and should go pretty easily with most home theater systems. The bottom is flush flat so anyone who wants to double side tape it like I did will be happy to know that.Installation - If you have any iota of technical savvy this thing will be elementary school installation for you. It's super simple, super easy, and very quick. I suggest using WIRED ethernet. We currently have a nice gigabyte setup over here with a comcast 300mbd/25mbu and the link works with it well. When you first use the unit it will patch itself but that doesn't take long. After initial setup in which it looks for your network (wired or wireless) you will proceed to the home screen. The Steam Link had zero issues detecting my usb keyboard and mouse. The Only dumb thing is if you try to connect your xbox or playstation controller to the link wirelessly it will find the controller, give you a button command to confirm (that's one of the controller buttons) but it won't actually allow you to press that button to confirm blue tooth connectivity. You have to either confirm with a mouse click, or plug in your controller via a usb cable to confirm.Gameplay - Our gaming rig at the house is a 5930k with a simple 3g 1060 (1080p gaming, so no need for overkill). Streaming from the unit we get a solid 60fps on the "beautiful" setting via the link. Once again we are working of wired connectivity. Downloading games via the big picture interface is speedy, but this pretty much is based on your internet connection anyways. I was able to test the link with various games like Ori and the Blind Forest, Final Fantasy X, Smite, Max Payne 3, Left 4 Dead 2, and a few other games. There was little hitch. Having a keyboard and mouse close to you for connectivity while playing is a good idea. I suggest a smiple logitech tiny keyboard/touchpad combo. As a gaming stream device the Link worked as advertised. I didn't get any windows prompts, but the link is only 70 feet away from the steam computer so it shouldn't be much an issue.THE BEST THING ABOUT THE LINK - Guys this is what I'm excited about. The Steamlink is an AMAZING remote access tool for your computer. While the link does start in big picture mode, once you leave big picture it doesn't drop connectivity to the computer, it actually goes to your windows desktop. From here on you are streaming your desktop, and it's damn nice and fast. I was floored at how nice the execution was because it allows basically any of our computers on steam to be accessed. I've already used the steam link while watching a movie to switch over to the main rig to send client invoices and work out. The main rig is on a 4k display and the link made it easy to work with without leaving the room. While some people may not see what the fuss is about, at $20 this option is incredible and the reason why I will be ordering another steam link. We have a little guest house/workshop only 120' away, and I love the idea that we can run a network cable out there, mount a cheap acer 21" ips 1080 screen and a steam link and have a working computer in the backroom. The other reason I'm excited about this is because it offers a hardware mount point for usb devices such as a keyboard, and mouse. I haven't tried memory sticks, etc...but just the fact that it's a small psuedo computer rocks.It's not all perfect - Funky issues -Here's a few funky issues I've run into- If steam link is connected to your tv, you lose audio out on the computer. So if you decide to go to your computer, you have to log off the steam link client to get your sound back.- When my xbox one s controller went idle and turned off, I lost connectivity to bluetooth when I turned the controller back on. Couldn't get it to resync so it was easier to just plug it in via usb to the steam link.Conclusion - At $20 the steam link is incredible. It streams games well (as long as your host is good, and your network is good). It's got an incredible value as a remote desktop with hardware attach ability that those with various rooms in the house could find a practical use for this.