Simplicity
Setup is easy. Just connect your Steam Link to your TV and home network, where it will automatically discover any computer running Steam. All that’s left to do is grab your favorite controller, kick back, and enjoy your collection of games from the comfort of your couch.
Performance
Steam Link is designed to take advantage of the horsepower you already have in your home, streaming from your current gaming computer by mirroring its experience to your TV. Video and audio data is sent from your computer to the Steam Link, while your controller input is sent back in real time. Virtually every game that your computer runs can be played on your TV using Steam Link.
Top comments
LagunaLoire
6 Apr 1714#2
Really recommend at this price, along with the Steam Controller this has completely changed how I play PC games.
Expecting the usual flurry of "waste of money, lag, doesn't work" etc comments. Problem is that there's no guarantee how well the Steam Link will run with your setup. It can be a little glitchy at times and may not necessarily run flawlessly out the box. I had to do a lot of tweaking to get it running how I want it to - it's perfect now I've fixed it, but admittedly it was incredibly frustrating at first.
It's well worth a punt at £16 though. Heat :smiley:
Emeye to LittleRedRidingHood
6 Apr 179#39
Just because your broadband is running at 100Mbps doesn't mean your wifi is running at that speed.
FRZ
6 Apr 173#11
Friendly heads up - if you have a laptop with HDMI and internet you can do exactly what the steam link does just by installing steam and streaming from your gaming machine.
delusion to Spark
6 Apr 173#6
Have you tried home plugs? My router and steam link are both in the front room but my gaming pc is in the office on the other side of the house. Works perfectly without lag as long as your home doesn't have ancient electrical wiring.
Really recommend at this price, along with the Steam Controller this has completely changed how I play PC games.
Expecting the usual flurry of "waste of money, lag, doesn't work" etc comments. Problem is that there's no guarantee how well the Steam Link will run with your setup. It can be a little glitchy at times and may not necessarily run flawlessly out the box. I had to do a lot of tweaking to get it running how I want it to - it's perfect now I've fixed it, but admittedly it was incredibly frustrating at first.
It's well worth a punt at £16 though. Heat :smiley:
LagunaLoire
6 Apr 173#3
The Steam Controller is a grower. At first I couldn't figure it out. I was cursing at it, waste of £28 etc...but after a while it clicks. It's actually very accurate when you get the hang of it; it can't fully substitute M+KB but it's a solid effort.
It's an absolute godsend for isometric RPGs. Being able to play Pillars of Eternity in bed on a 50" screen is pretty cool :smiley:
admgecko
6 Apr 172#4
Picked one up from Game in Leeds - Loads of stock
Spark
6 Apr 17#5
I got one of these over Christmas but unfortunately the lag is just unbearable when I use it, most probably because my desktop is on Wi-Fi. The SteamLink is connected to Cat6 but I don't think it helps all that much. Some non-Steam desktop applications (e.g. Cemu and media players) refuse to work with a controller connected to the SteamLink as well.
delusion to Spark
6 Apr 173#6
Have you tried home plugs? My router and steam link are both in the front room but my gaming pc is in the office on the other side of the house. Works perfectly without lag as long as your home doesn't have ancient electrical wiring.
+1 recommendation for powerline adapters. They are a godsend. Steam Link or not, your desktop will thank you. The only better method would be a long ethernet cable and a hole in the wall/floor.
Well technically you don't need the internet, just a local network, and I'm assuming you said HDMI because you're talking about connecting the laptop to a TV, but otherwise, yes, it's basically the same thing because the Steam Link is simply a mini PC (low spec, low power, Linux based) that runs the Steam client so you can stream games to it the way you would to any other PC - it's just that, at £16, it's much cheaper than a spare laptop so you can justify having it permanently setup with your TV so you don't have the hassle of connecting laptop, controllers, etc. every time you want to play.
abradley101 to Spark
6 Apr 171#19
I had a little bit of lag on mine when I was using the link on Wifi. If you can't connect your PC via cable to your router, try a powerline. Worked wonders for me.
Gotothebar to Spark
7 Apr 17#57
I had this problem too. The latency was around 500ms. Then i discovered game mode on my TV and it 100% went :smiley:
If you're getting a good quality, smooth image with high latency it is often the problem.
mcsmik to Spark
7 Apr 17#68
Depends on your wifi quality. I have a desktop with the asus motherboard and it's built in AC wifi + the Ubiquiti AC Pro as my access point. 60fps up to 50mbit streams with no lags or drops. If I use my 600Mbps power line I get issues with and lag. So... yea
Sin_of_nature
6 Apr 171#7
Got 2 of these (1 for living room and 1 for bedroom) using TPLink 1200 power adapters, it works flawlessly. No delay at all, I'm so impressed.
However, I have heard others having quite bad experiences (especially on wifi).
jdolliver77
6 Apr 17#8
Got one last time at this price and although haven't used it much. It is good when I do use :sunglasses:
Spark
6 Apr 17#9
No. Tbh I won't really use this thing enough to justify the additional cost.
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Opening post
[Steam Controller]
Stream your games to your TV with Steam Link
Simplicity
Setup is easy. Just connect your Steam Link to your TV and home network, where it will automatically discover any computer running Steam. All that’s left to do is grab your favorite controller, kick back, and enjoy your collection of games from the comfort of your couch.
Performance
Steam Link is designed to take advantage of the horsepower you already have in your home, streaming from your current gaming computer by mirroring its experience to your TV. Video and audio data is sent from your computer to the Steam Link, while your controller input is sent back in real time. Virtually every game that your computer runs can be played on your TV using Steam Link.
Top comments
Expecting the usual flurry of "waste of money, lag, doesn't work" etc comments. Problem is that there's no guarantee how well the Steam Link will run with your setup. It can be a little glitchy at times and may not necessarily run flawlessly out the box. I had to do a lot of tweaking to get it running how I want it to - it's perfect now I've fixed it, but admittedly it was incredibly frustrating at first.
It's well worth a punt at £16 though. Heat :smiley:
I use these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00X59GJGC/
All comments (80)
Expecting the usual flurry of "waste of money, lag, doesn't work" etc comments. Problem is that there's no guarantee how well the Steam Link will run with your setup. It can be a little glitchy at times and may not necessarily run flawlessly out the box. I had to do a lot of tweaking to get it running how I want it to - it's perfect now I've fixed it, but admittedly it was incredibly frustrating at first.
It's well worth a punt at £16 though. Heat :smiley:
It's an absolute godsend for isometric RPGs. Being able to play Pillars of Eternity in bed on a 50" screen is pretty cool :smiley:
I use these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00X59GJGC/
Well technically you don't need the internet, just a local network, and I'm assuming you said HDMI because you're talking about connecting the laptop to a TV, but otherwise, yes, it's basically the same thing because the Steam Link is simply a mini PC (low spec, low power, Linux based) that runs the Steam client so you can stream games to it the way you would to any other PC - it's just that, at £16, it's much cheaper than a spare laptop so you can justify having it permanently setup with your TV so you don't have the hassle of connecting laptop, controllers, etc. every time you want to play.
If you're getting a good quality, smooth image with high latency it is often the problem.
However, I have heard others having quite bad experiences (especially on wifi).