What is a gaming desk? Some would say that anything can be a gaming desk - the kitchen table, the place you’re supposed to be working, your lap - but a dedicated gaming desk can have some interesting extra features, and if you’re spending a lot of time with a controller in your hand, it can be worth looking into, even if you’re a console gamer more used to sitting on the sofa.
You can get desks with ergonomic shaping, so they’re more comfortable to sit at for long periods, or which can have their height adjusted so they better suit their tenant. There are those with larger surface areas, allowing more space to sweep your mouse over them, or fit in extra monitors for an enhanced view of what you’re playing.
There are also practical considerations. Gaming desks assume you’re going to be running a lot of cables, so can have cutouts and trays for routing them out of sight. There are extra shelves and risers for screens and speakers, and electric motors for changing their height that can lift heavy pieces of gear.
Having your monitor or TV on a gaming desk in a dedicated gaming space can improve not just the way you game but the way you feel afterwards. You’ll be closer to the screen, and will be able to use speakers that are positioned precisely for surround sound rather than relying on those built into a TV, which are rarely top quality.
Combining your gaming desk with one of the best gaming chairs is a great way to complete your gaming den, but the option to use a standing gaming desk is also there. Standing at your desk can have benefits for reducing back pain and improving muscle tone, and some models are available that can convert between the two.
Shop the best gaming desks below
Best gaming desks at a glance:
- Best for work and play: Secretlab Magnus Pro Xl - £829, Secret Lab
- Best for budget gaming: Dlongone Computer Gaming Desk - £69.95, Amazon
- Best for putting gamers in the corner: Eden Bridge Designs Corner Desk - £59.99, Amazon
- Best for extra storage: Ikea Fredde - £229, IKEA
- Best for tripping the light fantastic: Cooler Master GD160 - £433, Amazon
- Best for looking the part: Herman Miller X Logitech Nevi - £1,327, Herman Miller
- Best for getting the complete setup: Eureka Ergonomic Gaming Desk - £399.99, Amazon
- Best for converting an existing desk: VIVO Height Adjustable 42 inch Stand Up Desk Converter - £224.99, Amazon
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Secretlab Magnus Pro Xl
Best for: work and play
The Magnus Pro XL is a lot of money for what’s essentially a table, but it’s remarkable how much innovation Secretlab has managed to squeeze between its four legs. This is a large, heavy lump that’s made mostly of metal and comes in pieces, so anyone installing it in an upstairs room may briefly rue their choices in life, but once this motorised and fully adjustable desk is built it more than justifies its complexity.
This is a sit-to-stand desk which can be precisely adjusted to the height you feel most comfortable at. Two electric motors power the desk up and down, and it’s capable of lifting more than 80kg of gaming equipment as it does so. There’s in-built cable management, including a plug socket for your PC or console and monitors, and the whole thing is powered by an integrated cable that runs up the desk’s leg, cutting down on clutter.
Accessories including monitor arms, magnetic cable anchors and a smart lighting system are available, though they add to the already high price. If you’re really serious about gaming, or need to be seen doing it on camera, then it’s worth the investment.
Buy now £829.00, Secretlab
Dlongone Computer Gaming Desk
Best for: budget gaming
What marks a gaming desk out from a normal desk? Is it adjustability? Is it RGB lighting? Is it a design that makes it look like it was cobbled together from discarded bits of F1 cars? Or is it an acknowledgement that you’re going to be doing something sedentary that requires a lot of cables and possibly snacks?
Dlongone has opted for the last two here, with a funky leg design below a broad, flat top that has cutouts to route cables through, a notch to attach a monitor arm, and a headphone hook and cupholder fitted under the front edge.
Buy now £69.95, Amazon
Eden Bridge Designs Corner Desk
Best for: putting gamers in the corner
Steel-framed and topped with safety glass, this modern design gives you enough space for a monitor or two, plus space on the floor within its L-shape for a PC tower. There’s a tray under one of the desktops to stow a keyboard or even a selection of gaming controllers, and with all that real estate at your disposal, you’re sure to find a way to make speakers, screens and headphone stands work.
There’s not much in the way of cable management, however, and with the sparse metal frame and glass top, this is a choice that will appeal to tidy gamers rather than those who like to spread cables and accessories everywhere.
Buy now £59.99, Amazon
Ikea Fredde
Best for: extra storage
While many other gaming desks rely on broad desktops and convenient holes for cables, this one from Ikea brings shelves to the party. There’s a pair of them at ankle level for a PC tower or stack of books. There are two on the outer (or inner, depending on how you construct it) edge of the uprights for speakers to nest on. There’s one above the desktop that will bring your screens to eye level, and there’s one right at the very top to store flight sticks, lamps, extra speakers or anything else you’re not using right now.
This leads to an uncluttered desktop that’s enhanced by cupholders, cable management ports, and hooks for headphones or other small paraphernalia.
Buy now £229.00, Ikea
Cooler Master GD160
Best for: tripping the light fantastic
Gaming PC manufacturers like to light things up. Programmable RGB lighting - a multicoloured light show that can be made to react to your actions, to music or just flash in a pattern, is a big part of the gaming PC scene, so why not bring that to your desk too?
This steel-framed and height-adjustable desk has 192 individual lighting zones spread across its front and back, meaning you can create a light show just below your keyboard (which, if you’ve chosen one of the best gaming keyboards, will probably light up itself) or at the rear of the desk to reflect off the wall behind. It means you can keep the room lights off to increase game immersion, and still retain a level of ambient lighting so you can see what you’re doing.
It’s another complicated, heavy desk that will arrive in pieces and need to be assembled, and it plugs in both to the wall and your PC so you can use its software to configure the lighting. Once that’s done, there’s a remote control to adjust the height to your liking, and easily switch between lighting schemes too.
Buy now £433.00, Amazon
Herman Miller X Logitech Nevi
Herman Miller is a big name in the world of office furniture, so should know a thing or two about making a desk. Logitech is a big name in the world of computers and gaming, so should know a thing or two about what gamers want. Put them together, and you get this luxurious gaming desk that has an electrically adjustable height setting and solid metal-framed construction.
Thanks to its adjustable height, it also functions as a standing desk, so there’s an extra level of versatility there. The drawback of the Nevi is that it’s extremely expensive for a desk that doesn’t come with any extra bells and whistles. While it has a beautiful finish and fits in nicely with Herman Miller X Logitech’s other gaming furniture and accessories, such as gaming chairs and monitor arms, these are additional purchases.
Buy now £1327.00, Herman Miller
Eureka Ergonomic Gaming Desk
Best for: getting the complete setup
Viewed from the top, this desk looks rather like some sort of military drone, or the sort of thing Batman would throw at the Green Goblin. It has a steel frame and a wooden top, and comes with triad extra little shelves and stands so that you’ll never be hunting for a hook to hang your headphones on.
There’s a keyboard tray that hinges out from under the tabletop, which itself is shaped so that its sides wrap around you, meaning you can put a gaming mouse on one side and a controller on the other, both in easy reach. There are two monitor arms to support a multi-screen setup, while twin stands at the back of the desk are perfect for supporting speakers, and have built-in lights.
The desk itself is covered in a soft-touch rubber material that acts as a mouse pad, and there’s a cup holder, headphone hook, slot for a tablet and cable management spaces underneath.
Buy now £399.99, Amazon
VIVO Height Adjustable 42 inch Stand Up Desk Converter
Best for: converting an existing desk
Any desk can be a gaming desk if you place a converter on top. This is really a converter to turn an existing place of work into a standing desk, but with its broad top that can fit two monitors side-by-side, a keyboard tray that keeps those all-important WASD keys at a comfortable level, and a tablet slot, there’s a lot here that gamers will like too, and the health benefits of using a standing desk aren’t just for people who spend their days peering at spreadsheets.
Buy now £224.99, Amazon
Verdict
Whether you prefer to sit or stand, getting one of these gaming desks can improve the comfort of your gaming sessions, and make your gaming space look both tidier and more impressive. Expensive desks like the Secretlab Magnus Pro XL and Herman Miller X Logitech Nevi will offer a lot of options and a luxurious finish, but it’s possible to obtain a similar effect using one of our budget recommendations.
Gaming desks might seem an unnecessary item in a world where simple tables are pretty easy to come by, but their adjustable heights and cable management features mean they can take a mess of leads and peripherals and turn it into a tidy part of your home you’ll want to show off.
