Games crash - it's one of those facts of life gamers have grown to accept. But it remains a barrier to that perfect experience that you should be aware of - if only to have something to blame your terrible Team Fortress 2 performance on. This isn't going to be a deal-breaker, and in ideal circumstances most gamers might not even notice a difference. Your TV probably has a 'game mode' that'll dial down much of the video processing that happens when your TV receives and displays a signal, but it's still going to pale in comparison to the response time of a monitor.

I'm not about to hang up my keyboard and mouse, but it's a great option when I want to stretch out on the couch.Īnd if everything there's flawless? You're still likely going to run into that oft-ignored buzzkill, input lag. But the Steam Controller is a dizzyingly customizable contraption, equally at home playing first-person shooters and turn-based strategy games. It's sold separately, and there's a bit of a learning curve you'll need to put up with, like the need to customize inputs for games that aren't built for SteamOS, or the touchpads that replace the traditional analog sticks on a console controller. But then there's Valve's Steam Controller. The Steam Link will support most of the input devices you plug into It, including wired controllers for the Xbox One and Xbox 360, a wireless Xbox 360 controller (if you have a wireless gaming receiver ) or even a keyboard and mouse.

Pick up a Steam Controller, and you won't really need a keyboard and mouse

But for those of us who already have a dedicated gaming rig and are just looking for a cheap way to access our PC game library while we flop about on the couch, the Steam Link is a great value. This makes sense of course: a Steam machine is a fully fledged gaming PC, whereas a Steam Link is just a streaming device. A Steam machine will cost more - Alienware's latest effort rings up at $449 (there are no UK and Australian prices yet, but that works out to about £290 or AU$615). The Alienware Steam Machine will set you back $449 Sarah Tew/CNET It's a fraction of the cost of a proper Steam machineĪ Steam Link will set you back $50.

Tvs with steam link