What the Mount Ling 2 Pro is
The product is a dock, an external NVMe enclosure and a game-capture device in one shell. It is meant for handhelds such as the Steam Deck, ROG Ally and Switch 2. Its predecessor, the Chizha Mount Ling Dock, introduced the touchscreen, M.2 slot and wide port selection. The Mount Ling 2 Pro continues that line.
There are two versions, and the capture card is the only difference between them. Tom's Hardware reports these Kickstarter early-bird prices:
| Model | Early-bird price | Stated later price |
|---|---|---|
| Mount Ling 2 | $109 | $199 |
| Mount Ling 2 Pro (adds capture card) | $149 | $249 |
These are crowdfunding prices from the review, not confirmed current retail prices. A Kicktraq tracker shows the Kickstarter campaign as active, running from Nov 3 to Dec 3. DockCase's own site had still listed the product as "Coming Soon on Kickstarter". Neither source confirms that the early-bird tiers are still available.
Ports and physical design
The dock reaches the handheld over a single USB-C link running at USB 3.2 Gen 2 speed, which is 10 Gbps. The box includes a short braided cable rated at 40 Gbps and two right-angle connectors. Don't mistake that cable rating for the dock's host link speed.
Through that one connection you get:
- Up to 100W power delivery
- Gigabit Ethernet
- HDMI 2.0 at up to 4K60
- One USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port and one USB 2.0 port
- A second USB-C port that acts as a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port on the base model and as the capture-card output on the Pro
- An optical audio output
There is no 3.5mm jack. The reviewer notes that handhelds have largely lost theirs, so he would have liked one on the dock.
The shell is mostly plastic and measures 8.4 x 7 x 3.5 inches. The reviewer says it feels like it holds more air than hardware. A thick silicone layer on top has grooves for different handhelds, plus a deeper cut for the Switch and Switch 2.
SSD bay: capacity, cooling and the heatsink problem
The M.2 bay takes drives up to 4TB and has mounting points for 2280, 2242 and 2230 sizes. A 40mm fan cools the drive. It runs automatically by default, and you can set its speed manually or turn it off.
The catch is that there is no space for a heatsink. The drive sits almost flush against the vented bottom cover. Most heatsinks would stick out past the rubber feet and prop the dock up. If you plan to fit a hot-running PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 drive, plan around that.
The touchscreen and settings
The built-in screen shows HDMI, SSD and power status on its main page. That is handy for checking that passthrough is running at the resolution and refresh rate you expect. Swiping brings up volume and fan controls, quick settings and a full settings menu.
The full menu is mostly for monitoring:
- SSD details, including SMART data
- USB connection status
- HDMI information
- HDMI transfer modes, for when a handshake fails
- Power-delivery settings, including a rollback to PD 2.0
- Fan control
- Lighting, which is limited to blue, red or a gradient, plus dimming or off
A button on the back turns off the screen and all the lights together.
The screen is responsive, but the software is not polished. DockCase offers firmware updates over USB. The review gives no firmware version, no update procedure and no confirmed fix for the problems below, so don't assume a patch exists yet.
Compatibility: where it shines and where it stumbles
Steam Deck. Docking was seamless. To use the SSD, you have to go into Desktop Mode, partition the drive and add a folder for Steam games.
Windows handhelds. The reviewer had no Windows handheld to test. He expects few problems because the dock uses standard connections that Windows supports well. Treat that as an expectation, not a tested result. He says the storage setup is similar on Windows handhelds if you're using a handheld-native overlay.
Switch 2. This was the weak spot. The reviewer found the following:
- Connecting devices in the wrong order could make the dock reboot, and it sometimes failed to detect the Switch 2 afterward.
- The dock should be fully connected before you attach the host.
- The Switch 2 has to be unlocked before you plug it into the bottom USB-C port. The top port did not work.
- Getting HDMI passthrough to work at all took multiple emails.
- The SSD is unusable on both the Switch and Switch 2.
He also warns that a Nintendo system update could break third-party dock compatibility, including HDMI passthrough and therefore capture. That is a risk, not a confirmed failure.
Capture card: what you get and what you don't
On the Pro, the host sees the dock as a plain video capture device. DockCase supplies no capture or recording software, unlike Elgato and AVerMedia, so you need something like OBS. Resolution and frame rate follow the host's settings, within the HDMI 2.0 4K60 limit. Higher refresh rates are possible below 4K. The reviewer doesn't see HDMI 2.1 as a big loss for these devices.
SSD performance: the 10 Gbps ceiling
The reviewer tested a 2TB WD_Black SN770, a PCIe 4.0 drive rated for up to 5,150 MB/s sequential reads in a motherboard slot. In the dock, CrystalDiskMark showed sequential reads and writes of about 820 MB/s, with much lower random performance. The drive behaved like a typical external SSD. This is one test result, not a guarantee for every drive.
For handheld gaming that is probably fine, especially next to a microSD card or a costly internal upgrade. If you want much faster external storage, Thunderbolt 5 docks with M.2 slots are the better choice. They can often reach sequential reads above 5,000 MB/s.
Is it really the "world's first"?
DockCase calls this the world's first "smart creator dock". Tom's Hardware calls that only partly true. It points to the AVerMedia X'TRA GO, which it says offers extra inputs, a stand and capture for $160. The Mount Ling's real differentiator is the internal M.2 bay.
Who should consider it
- Good fit: Owners of a Steam Deck or another PC handheld who want docking, capture and extra storage in one unit and can live with roughly 820 MB/s.
- Questionable: Anyone buying mainly for the Switch 2. The SSD is locked out, setup is fussy, and the reviewer says an external capture card with the official dock makes more sense.
- Good fit for both: Households with a Switch 2 and a PC handheld could share one accessory.
Bottom line
The Mount Ling 2 Pro puts a lot into one dock, and Tom's Hardware found it solid with the Steam Deck. Before you back the campaign, weigh these points:
- No Windows handheld was tested.
- Firmware quirks are still open.
- Kickstarter campaigns carry delivery risk.
- Capture software is not included.