If you are lucky enough to have a room dedicated to your gaming setup, you’re going to want to support your gaming system with a high-quality desk. After all, you’ve put your hard-earned money and time into building a system to play all your favorite games, you shouldn’t be expected to play them on any old desk right?
While some people might be able to get by with wireless mouse and keyboards, kitchen table setups or even tiny hand-me-down desks, if you want to game in comfort and have room for your system and all its accessories, a gaming desk is a must.
Not only will a great desk give you room to hold all of the components you need, but it will also allow for some adjustment which, when paired with a good chair, will work wonders for your body.
Why Buy A Gaming Desk?
One of the main draws towards switching to a gaming desk is the sheer amount of space you’ll have available. While a standard desk might only have a space for your monitor and a drawer for your keyboard and mouse, a desk built with gaming in mind will have ample space for multiple monitors, your keyboard, and a large area for your mouse.
This is a great advantage when playing games for obvious reasons. Having more room to move your mouse will mean you’ll be banging into your keyboard less and never running too close to the edge of the desk! If you don’t have enough space, you can mitigate these problems by running a higher level of sensitivity, but this can have a negative impact on your game, especially in FPS titles.
Desks have come a long way in the last few years, especially with streaming and esports becoming more popular. Desks that are geared towards gamers can include RGB lighting, stands to hold controllers or headphones, and even drinks holders! Having a stylish desk rather than a plain old wooden one can really complete your gaming setup.
Where Can You Buy A Gaming Desk?
Depending on where you live, you’ll be able to pick up a desk from almost any hardware retailer, whether or not these will suit your purpose or not is another question entirely.
We’re luckier than ever to live in an age where we can purchase almost anything online. Online retailers such as Amazon will have hundreds of options for gaming desks, each with their own unique set of characteristics.
Websites that are well known for selling tech components will also likely have a few gaming desks on offer – although there may be a limited amount of choices available. Retailers such as Scan, Overclockers, and Novatech all have great options available that really show how extravagant some of these desks can be.
While a desk, in general, is an expensive object to buy, you can pick up some great options that don’t break the bank. It’s worth keeping a lookout for desks that aren’t branded as “gaming” as these will sometimes have all the features you need for a fraction of the price.
Which Gaming Desk Is Best For You?
While we’d love to cover all of the best gaming desks that are currently available, there are so many products out there to choose from, it would take all year! Instead, we’re going to pick a few of our favorites we’ve spotted that will serve you well for many years to come.
We’re going to pick out some of the best options out there which should suit a variety of needs. Saying this, let’s look at our first desk.
Now, if you’re looking for a desk that screams ‘gamer’, this is right up your street. After all, what better way to show dedication to your gaming than having a holder for your beverage of choice as well as a hook to rest your headphones on?
This desk is definitely built with gaming in mind, it has a very large gaming surface that has more than enough room to accommodate your monitors, mouse, keyboard and even some extra space for snacks.
This desk looks the part too, it has a carbon fiber texture on the surface as well as an angular design on some of the outer edges. Another great feature of this desk is that it has LED lighting. While this isn’t RGB lighting, it will still illuminate your desk in a nice blue hue, adding to the overall design of your gaming station.
The design ensures this desk is nice and sturdy and the steel and MDF materials mean it will last for years to come. It’s also not outrageously priced either, if you’re looking for a nice budget pick then this desk is perfect.
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If you want to stay away from the typical ‘gamer’ look, choosing one of the ApexDesk models is a great choice. While you won’t get all of the extras that the Eureka gives you, that’s not to say this is a plain old desk.
If you have never had the opportunity to try one out, standing desks can have a wide range of health benefits that are both good for your body and your mind. The ApexDesk Vortex Series desk allows you to raise or lower the height of your desk to suit your needs.
Height adjustability is a great thing to have in a desk, the benefit of being able to raise this to a standing level can add a bit of variety into your gaming sessions. This is also handled electronically, removing the need to pull out the Allen key and clear the items off the desk in order to raise it. The 6-button setup allows you to raise or lower the desk at the touch of a button and even program in specific heights if you’ll be changing it often.
This desk is available in a number of different color combinations too, you can choose a couple of different colors for the legs and a number of different wood types for the tabletop. This desk would look great in any office environment and is more than large enough to fit a gaming system onto.
The next desk is great for those looking to maximize the space they have on their desks. This large desk area is great for multi-monitor setups as well as being deep enough to give you ample room for your keyboard and mouse.
This desk is pretty easy to put together and also allows for a great deal of customization with the height. The desk also has a top load capacity of 176 pounds which is more than enough for a couple of monitors and even your PC system if you want to put it on display.
While this gaming desk isn’t as flashy as the Eureka desk, it still stands out in any room due to its curved design and sleek base. As this desk is only three pieces, it’s easy to take down, transport and reassemble if needed.
You also won’t have to worry about cable management with this desk as there are three cutouts that let you route cables through the desk and into a cable management basket. This is perfect for those looking to create a sleek and stylish gaming setup.
If you are on a bit of a tight budget and don’t want to sacrifice much in the way of space, an L-shaped desk could be perfect for your gaming setup. If you think of it as two desks connected together, this gives you an idea of just how much you can store on it.
It’s common for people to maximize space on corner setups by having their monitors in the corner section of the desk but it looks like the legs won’t allow this to be possible without it being uncomfortable. However, there are plenty of other more expensive desks that could achieve this.
While there is a roll-out drawer on this desk, there is still enough space on top of the desk to hold a mouse and keyboard, especially if you’re using a monitor stand. You can then use the drawer to hold books, headphones, or even not attach it at all.
For a budget desk, this has a lot of promise. While the build materials aren’t the greatest and you won’t be able to store especially heavy items on it, as a desk it functions perfectly well – especially as it’s not branded towards gamers.
Gaming Desks Vs. Normal Desks
While you can use either for several different purposes from work to gaming, gaming desks do have a few key differences to normal desks.
Gaming desks are more likely to have height adjustability built-in to make long gaming sessions more comfortable. They may be more likely to have more space to account for several different peripherals such as controllers, steering wheels, or VR headsets as well.
Normal office desks might have more storage built-in for things like documents or printers but plenty of gaming desks have this also. As well as this, a gaming desk might also be more likely to have cable management solutions to help keep your gaming station tidy which is great news for those who hate trailing cables.
Generally, gaming desks are more expensive because they’re more likely to come with adjustable features, more space, and also gaming-specific storage solutions. If you can’t quite afford one of these, we’d say the two most important things to look for are the surface space they offer and their level of adjustability.
Things To Consider
Height Adjustability
If you’re going to be spending a lot of time at this desk, it’s important that everything is suited to you personally. Seat adjustability is one thing but if your budget can stretch to a height-adjustable desk, this will be a great addition for your comfort.
Being able to adjust the height means that your computer, monitor, keyboard, and mouse will all be at the exact right height for you. This can help you avoid neck strain and wrist or shoulder pain which can typically be caused by a seating or desk position which is wrong for your height.
If you can splash out and get a stand-sit desk this can help with back pain and posture as you can avoid just sitting down all day. However, these can be more on the pricey side.
Load Capacity
If you are planning to put heavy equipment on your desk, you need to consider the load capacity and material used in the desk. Most desks will be fine with a basic monitor and peripherals but could struggle with a large PC on top of it, especially if it’s a budget desk.
When looking at load capacity, you will also need to take into account the materials used and the price of the desk will relate to that. For example, if you’ll be putting heavy equipment on it or taking things on and off it a lot, you might want to avoid a glass desk and go for a wood-topped one instead.
Surface Area
While having a desk that fits all the essentials is a good start, have a think about other ways you use your desk. Do you need space to write or look at documents? Are you typically eating meals at your desk and need space for that too? Don’t underestimate the space you need either while gaming or doing other tasks.
Of course, you’ll be limited in space by the area you plan to put the desk in. So, it’s definitely worth getting out a tape measure and ensuring the desks you’re looking at will actually fit comfortably in the space available.
It’s also important to have a desk that’s large enough to handle an extra monitor or two and a large mouse mat area. Having a large surface area will also make gaming on your new desk a great experience. We’d say when it comes to surface size, aim to get as large of a desk as possible that fits in your room. This is a good idea, especially as you’ll find yourself filling up desk space relatively quickly.
Materials
There are a couple of things to consider when looking at the type of materials used in desks. First of all, there’s the look of the desk. Naturally, you’ll want it to fit in with your style so whether you go for traditional wooden, glass, metal, or chipboard desks will be down to personal preference.
Another thing to consider is durability. If you really want a desk to last a long time, this will also affect the type of materials and the cost too. If you’re on a budget, you may sacrifice some style and durability.
Our Verdict
While you can easily spend up to a thousand dollars on a desk for your gaming setup, the fact of the matter is, you might not need to. As long as your desk is sturdy, adjustable and can hold all of the components you need on it, it’s likely to serve its purpose very well.
If you have a bit of extra cash lying around, you can pick up some great-looking desks that can really become the centerpiece of the room. If not, we’d recommend one of the budget options to start off with.
We’ve tried to include a variety of desks for you to look at today, but as always, we don’t have time to list them all. If you have any further questions about anything desk-related, feel free to drop us a comment below and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.