When I first reviewed the JSAUX ModCase back in January, I didn’t get every accessory with it. I got the cooling fan, but I didn’t get the dock, the power bank, or the M.2 adapter. After getting in touch with JSAUX, they were kind enough to send the power bank and dock for my review. I didn’t request the M.2 adapter as I wasn’t going to put it to any use. Now that the review samples have finally been sent over, here’s my thoughts.

Power Bank⌗

Let’s be honest…this JSAUX power bank is essentially a re-branded Baseus charger. The orange-colored cable, the shape of the brick, the layout of the ports…it’s kind of a dead giveaway. I will say this, though: it’s a pretty good combination between size and weight when putting it on the Deck. An extra two USB type A ports are provided should you want to simultaneously charge other devices, and a USB-C to USB-C cable is provided in the box. A LED display is provided that gives you an easy glance at how much battery life is left in the power bank.

As the bank doesn’t have a clip, what you do to attach this to the Steam Deck is to use the strap that’s supplied with the ModCase and wrap it around the power bank. Make sure the strap is secured tightly; the connection will be very loose otherwise.

The Deck is fairly hefty at 1.3 pounds, but thankfully, the power bank – coming in at 425 grams (around 15 ounces) – doesn’t add that much weight while it’s secured to the back. I’ve been able to comfortably hold the Deck with the bank attached for several hours and haven’t noticed any cramps. The bank isn’t too wide so that it gets in the way of where my fingers are on the back of the Deck.

The bank has a capacity of 20000 mAh and a power delivery of 65 W. Not exactly a fan of the orange-colored USB-C cable that’s attached to it, but I guess the good thing about the bright color is it will make it easier to see in the dark. When the bank isn’t in use, you can safely tuck the USB-C cable into the port on top. However, if you have it strapped to the back of the Deck, I recommend placing the cable underneath the ModCase strap when it’s not in use; if the cable is tucked in to the USB-C port on the bank, it can get in the way of your fingers while playing.

In my testing so far, you can definitely get a full charge of the Deck when its battery is empty. I had my Deck suspended at 10% battery. The power bank completely charged it and still had 40% power left. Though, be aware that it will take a while. It took close to three hours to fully charge the Deck. (To 99% it probably would have only taken two to two-and-a-half hours, but to get to that last percent takes a lot longer.) So I can safely say you can get one-and-a-half charges to the Deck before the bank goes bonkers.

The time it takes to fully charge the power bank depends on what you use to charge it. With the official charger for the Steam Deck, it took around two hours. Charging is done via the USB-C port. And good news is, even if the game you’re playing is tugging 20 W on average, the power bank will still increase the battery’s capacity rather than make the battery discharge at a slower pace – if that makes any sense.

The Dock⌗

Finally, a dock that’s more unique than the rest. This one actually addresses some of the criticisms Hi-Tech Lo-Life and CryoByte33 brought out in regards to Steam Deck docks needing improvement. It has a full-size SD card slot, a MicroSD card slot just below it, a 3.5mm headphone jack, two USB 3.0 ports, one USB 2.0 port, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, DisplayPort, a USB-C port, and a 100W power delivery. And it actually has a detachable USB-C cable! Finally! Now if the USB-C cable gets damaged, you can easily replace it with another one and still get the full functionality of the dock.

A USB-C to USB-C cable is provided, as well as a 90-degree USB-C connector. Supposedly both the HDMI and DisplayPort support 4K at 120 Hz, but I am unable to confirm since I don’t have a 4K monitor. I also see no mention of “VRR” support on JSAUX’ website. When connecting to an external monitor, you may need to go into Steam’s settings and change the audio output device; by default the Deck’s speakers are still used when connected.

What’s pretty nice is there is a “outer plate” that you can slide into the dock. When you put this on, it will provide the “slot” mechanism so you can attach it to the ModCase. Otherwise, you can keep this off and use it like a regular USB-C dock. Meaning that you don’t need to purchase a ModCase in order to use this.

When you attach the dock to the ModCase, it basically acts like its own stand; you can place the Deck on your desk at an almost perfect 90 degree angle.

Don’t really have any complaints about the dock, except that the USB-C cable provided could be a little shorter; it kind of sticks out like a sore thumb. Otherwise, the dock does its job. I was able to connect all the equipment I needed to record my video on how to set up PMEX Remix on Deck. I connected the Deck to my 1440p monitor via the HDMI port, connected a keyboard through one of the USB ports, a microphone into another, set up the mouse with Bluetooth, and I was good to go.

Would I Recommend These?⌗

The JSAUX power bank is available for $60. The Baseus power bank is essentially the same thing and available on Amazon for the same price. I definitely think it’s worth getting a power bank for your Deck if you don’t already have one; the power drains rather quickly, especially when playing games with higher graphics fidelity. The JSAUX bank, combined with the ModCase, makes it very convenient to have extra power with you wherever you go. So, whether you get the one from JSAUX, or the one from Baseus, is up to you. But when supplied with the ModCase, again, it makes extra power very convenient.

The JSAUX Steam Deck dock, when sold by itself, is $70. On JSAUX’ site it says “Coming Soon,” and I personally think that price tag is way too high anyway, so you might be better off getting the ModCase and docking station combo for just $10 more. Outside of the price, though, this docking station is quite nice. It has SD card slots, a headphone jack, and a detachable USB-C cable, along with all the other ports you could possibly think of.

TL;DR

The good:

  • power bank is light and small enough to not get in the way of your fingers
  • easy to monitor how much power is left in the bank with the LED display
  • dock has detachable USB-C cable, 3.5mm headphone jack, SD card slots
  • dock has “outer plate” attachment so that you can use it with the ModCase

The not-so-good:

  • can take a while to fully charge the Deck with the power bank
  • ModCase strap isn’t the sturdiest when it comes to keeping the power bank secure
  • USB-C cable supplied with dock could have been shorter
  • dock’s $70 price tag is too high

If you would like to read more about JSAUX’ Steam Deck accessories, check out my ModCase review.

Review samples sent courtesy of JSAUX.