A tale of two Steam Link... Experiences.

I purchased the steam link over a year ago. I attempted to use it at the time and was less than impressed. I put it away and forgot about it, even neglecting to write a review.

Recently after adding a new television in my bedroom I found occasion to give it another go. I will now recount both of my experiences.

When I first purchased the device I primarily played games on the monitor of my PC, seated at my desk. At the time my computer specs were as follows:

Dell desktop
Dual core 3.0 ghz intel
8 gigs ddr3
Sata HD
gtx 750ti on pcie 2
Meh motherboard

(Also of note, comcast router)

I purchased a 65 inch HD TV for the living room, and wondered how great it would be to play my video games on that monitor without having to move or abandon my current desk setup.

I thought the steam link might be exactly the solution I was looking for.

I attempted to use the steam link with this system (via wired ethernet) and received less-than-stellar results. I could stream some games but nothing graphically demanding... and certain games just didn't work at all. And not necessarily the most graphically intense titles, though it did seem that those uniformly presented the most issues.

After a while I gave up on using the steam link, purchased an HDMI cloning device and connected a 30 foot HDMI cable to an alternate input on the TV which I snaked through the walls. This worked wonderfully and I put the steam link away and forgot about it.

Earlier this year I upgraded my computer to these specifications

Gaming desktop:
Intel i7 @4.0 ghz
16 gb ddr4
Ssd system drive
Zotac gtx 1060 amp on Pcie3

Also upgraded: linksys wrt1600 router. (It is a beast)

I still use the same HDMI clone setup to play games in my living room. I didn't want to discontinue its use or have to snake an HDMI cable the 50 ft to my bedroom.
I decided to give the steam link a second chance. Connected it to the network via wired ethernet.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

It works in an absolutely transparent fashion. I can't spot a difference between playing at my monitor and via the link. (My monitors are all 60hz)

I can stream every game at Max settings 60 frames a second. No noticeable controller lag. It works with my Xbox 360 controller (wireless) and my steam controller.

All the functions seem intuitive and nicely refined.

I can walk into the bedroom turn my television on, and turn on the controller with the central button on either the steam controller or the Xbox.

The signal from either controller will wake the steam link. If my computer is in sleep mode the steam link can send a signal to wake it back up. After that I have full big picture access to my library. As a bonus, I have a samsung smart TV, when I turn on my xbox controller, it turns on the link AND THE TV, with a single button press.

I can also use my wireless keyboard/mouse combo in the same fashion.

When I'm done playing my game the steam link power menu gives me the ability to turn off the link or to turn off my system. Either controller powers itself off when choose one of these options.

Completely intuitive, unbelievably convenient.

In my experience the steam Links performance will be directly tied to your systems quality and capability. When I had an older less powerful computer and a mediocre router, it seems like the steam link was perhaps.. not that great a piece of hardware. Now it is absolutely fantastic.... however I suppose it always was.

Also: I was unaware that the steam link supported Bluetooth... until it inadvertently connected itself to a set of Bluetooth speakers sitting near the television in the bedroom. I was pleased when I saw that it did the same thing with my Bluetooth headphones. Now I'll be able to play video games at night without disturbing my fiance as she sleeps. Bonus.

Overall I cannot recommend this Hardware enough. I am absolutely thrilled with its performance, hopefully my experience can provide some answers to anyone who might be curious.

The device cannot perform miracles ( well, maybe) but if you've got a good gaming system the steam link can give you the ability to use it from any room in your home.

Oh, by the way, I paid full price. Worth it.