It’s the feature that most changes the maths when you compare prices, and the one fewest people use: all of these devices output video over USB-C, so with a dock or even a simple adapter they become a living-room console.

You aren’t comparing a handheld against a PC, but a handheld plus a modest living-room console. There are three things to get right, though, and one of them is what ruins the experience for almost everyone who tries this without knowing.

What you need: dock or adapter

Both work, and the difference is convenience, not image quality.

A USB-C to HDMI adapter is the minimum and costs little. It outputs video, and that’s it. The catch is that it takes your only USB-C port, which is also how the device charges: on a long session you run flat with the thing plugged into the TV.

A dock solves that: it carries HDMI, USB ports for peripherals and pass-through charging, so you can play indefinitely. It doesn’t have to be the brand’s official one — any decent USB-C dock with HDMI and Power Delivery works.

What to check on the dock:

• That it supplies enough charging wattage. If the dock delivers less than the device draws while gaming, the battery still falls, just more slowly. With a 45 W or higher charger you’re fine.
• The HDMI version, if you want 4K above 60Hz. For 1080p or 4K at 60, anything does.

The mistake that ruins it: setting the output to 4K

Here’s the important part, and it’s the opposite of what everyone does.

When you connect to a 4K TV, the system can set the output to 4K. And that’s where it all falls apart: your handheld doesn’t have the power to render games at 4K. Ask it for that resolution and you go from a playable 40 FPS to a slideshow.

The right move is setting the output to 1080p and letting the TV handle the upscaling. TVs have been doing this for years and they do it well: the image looks perfectly good from sofa distance, and the device performs as designed.

If your TV supports it and the game is light, 1440p is a reasonable middle ground. Native 4K, no — except on indies or very simple 2D games.

And a useful consequence: playing on the TV doesn’t give you more performance by itself. The chip is the same. What does happen on several models is that, being plugged in, you can raise the TDP beyond what the battery would allow — and there you do gain something. How to tune it is in the battery and settings guide.

Turn on your TV’s game mode

This is the second silent mistake, and it has nothing to do with the handheld.

TVs apply image processing — motion smoothing, sharpening, elaborate upscaling — that adds delay between pressing a button and seeing the result. In a film it doesn’t matter. While gaming it’s very noticeable, and people blame the device.

Game mode switches that processing off and cuts the lag dramatically. Look for it in your TV’s picture settings; it sometimes engages automatically when it detects a console, but with a handheld it often doesn’t and you have to set it manually.

If your TV has it, enable it on the specific HDMI input you’ve connected to: on many models the setting is per input, not global.

The controller

With the device on the TV, its built-in controls are out of reach. You need a controller, and the site’s recommendation doesn’t change here.

Xbox layout by default. It’s what both SteamOS and Windows recognise without configuration, and what makes games show the correct button prompts. The full criteria and models by tier are in the PC controller guide.

On connection, following the same logic as everywhere else on the site: if the dock has USB ports, the 2.4 GHz receiver plugged in there is the best option — lower latency and a more stable link than Bluetooth. Bluetooth works and is the tidiest if you want no cables, but it’s the worst of the three for gaming.

Details worth knowing first

Audio goes over HDMI. It usually switches automatically on connection, but if you hear nothing, check the system’s audio output before assuming something’s broken.

Mind the distance and the text. Plenty of PC games have interfaces designed for a monitor half a metre away. On a TV three metres back, some menus are hard to read. Games with proper controller support have this solved; older ports sometimes don’t.

And check the refresh rate. If your TV is 120Hz and the game can’t get there, forcing it gains nothing — but if it has adaptive sync (VRR) and your device supports it, enabling that smooths the dips considerably.

Frequently asked questions

Can I connect my handheld to a TV? Yes, all of them output video over USB-C. A USB-C to HDMI adapter is enough; a dock adds charging and ports, which is what you want for long sessions.

Do I need the brand’s official dock? No. Any USB-C dock with HDMI and Power Delivery works. What matters is that it supplies enough wattage: 45 W or more.

Should I set the output to 4K if my TV is 4K? No. Your handheld doesn’t have the power to render at 4K. Set the output to 1080p and let the TV upscale: it looks good from sofa distance and performance holds up.

Does it play better connected to a TV? The chip is the same, so not by itself. What you can do while plugged in is raise the TDP beyond what the battery would allow.

Why do I feel lag playing on the TV? Almost always the television’s image processing. Turn on game mode in the settings, and do it on the specific HDMI input you’re using.

Which controller should I connect? One with an Xbox layout, which works without configuration on both SteamOS and Windows. If the dock has USB, use the 2.4 GHz receiver rather than Bluetooth.

Bottom line

The three steps that separate a good experience from a disappointment: a dock with enough charging wattage, output at 1080p rather than 4K, and game mode enabled on the TV.

With that, the device in your bag is also the living-room console — and that’s the part almost nobody factors in when comparing prices. The models by tier are in best handheld gaming PC.