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Jun 21, 2023

The best gaming desk 2023: top desks for gaming

Game in style and comfort with the best gaming desk for you The best gaming

Game in style and comfort with the best gaming desk for you

The best gaming desks ensures that you're gaming in comfort. When choosing a desk for your gaming setup, not just any wooden (or worse, glass) desk will do. That's especially if you've got a kitted-out one complete with two or more monitors, a massive desktop PC, and a collection of peripherals. You'll need something that's robust and prioritizes your comfort.

So, while just about any desk can technically be a gaming desk, the best desks are designed specifically to bear the weight of a robust gaming rig, come with features that might help you with your gaming experience, and prioritize ergonomics to help keep chronic back and shoulder pains at bay even after long hours of gaming. It's also not a one-size-fits-all, as the ideal one for you largely depends on your specific needs and the gaming rig you currently have (or eventually want).

When choosing the best gaming desk for you, the first step is to figure out the kind you need. If you have a two-monitor setup with a big gaming PC and several accessories, you might prefer something robust and modular. If you want something more ergonomic, you might want a standing desk. If you only have a gaming laptop and want something you can also use for work, a smaller standing desk is a good alternative so you can also take a break from that gaming chair and stretch your legs.

The good news is that gaming desks come in different types, shapes, sizes, and feature sets, which means you'll have more than enough options to choose from if you're thinking of upgrading. We've tested and reviewed quite a few of them so we know exactly the best ones to recommend. And, we're here to help you narrow down your options. Look at our top picks below as you will find something that will suit you best.

Also consider reading our buying advice near the bottom of this page as well as how to guide on choosing the best gaming desk for guidance. And, don't forget to use our price comparison tool to get the best gaming desk deal.

Our expert review:

It's hard to find fault in the Secretlab Magnus Metal Desk. Aside from, perhaps, its assembly being a two-person job for safety reasons, we're hard-pressed to find any. It's not just the perfect exemplification of an excellent gaming desk, but it has raised the bar for all other gaming desks out there.

Solid, spacious, and understatedly stylish, it boasts an extremely robust metal frame, a sturdy desktop, a thin profile, and effortless modularity. And, on test, it has proven to deliver everything Secretlab has promised. We found its magnetic modular system to be the most seamless way of expanding your gaming setup – out of the many gaming desks we've tested – so we cannot wait for the company to expand its available attachments. Another thing it does better than every other rival out there is its included cable management tray, which spans the entire length of the desktop, making it massive and spacious. It even comes with two access doors, one at the top rear, the other underneath.

Ok, there's one other thing we love most about it: it's not as expensive as you might think. In fact, for all it offers, the Secretlab Magnus Metal Desk is actually a terrific value.

Read our full Secretlab Magnus Metal Desk review

The Cougar Mars is the best gaming desk around if you want one that's as big as it is durable. It's heavy and takes time to assemble due to all the individual parts. In fact, it was a two-person job when we set ours up. The upside is that once it's in place, it is rock-steady thanks to its sturdy steel frame with a load capacity of 150Kg.

A capacious textured carbon-fibre surface that's large enough to accommodate two 27-inch monitors with room to spare sits atop the desk. And, the desktop itself sports two RGB lighting strips that can be connected to a PC's motherboard for syncing with gaming peripherals.

Handily, two control stands provide quick access to USB and 3.5mm audio ports, which helps keep your wiring setup neat and tidy. There are three manual levels of height adjustment on offer as well, but don't expect standing desk-level of convenience in doing so as that must be done manually.

Our expert review:

There are many excellent modular gaming desks on the market, but the Secretlab Magnus Pro may have just beaten them all with its ingenious way of utilizing magnets and pins to make assembly and expansion a breeze. That's despite the fact that it is a metal desk and too heavy for the base desk to be set up by only one person.

We loved assembling this sit-to-stand version of the popular Secretlab Magnus – yes, Secretlab now has a standing desk option that works beautifully, we might add! While other modular desks take manual reading and a bit of head scratching to assemble, this one is fairly intuitive.

Of course, Secretlab's brilliant cable management design are still present and accounted for, even extending it to the new monitor arms that are more articulate than the competition. But, this time around, there's a slight yet crucial update – this version comes with a built-in electrical socket just below the massive cable management tray.

Read our full Secretlab Magnus Pro review

Our expert review:

Eureka has been upping its gaming lately, expanding both its gaming desk and gaming chair collections with more solid, better quality options. Among them is the Eureka EGD 60, which already impressed us even during setup. This is one of the best L-shaped desks on the market, and we especially appreciate that extra space that its wing gives us.

This one is a standing desk too so even if it's not as cheap as our previous pick, it's certainly a great value for your money. It's also impressively robust, thanks in large part to its sturdy aluminum legs and carbon fiber laminate table top, allowing it a 220-pound max-load capacity. That means you can have a full gaming setup with a desktop PC, a pair of monitors, and other equipment on the desk without worry.

Read our full Eureka EGD 60 review

Our expert review:

Despite the "gaming" bit in their name, not all gaming desks actually have RGB lighting. In fact, there's really not a lot of them, which makes the Cooler Master GD160 ARGB a nice treat to RGB-loving gamers who want to bathe in all that immersive lighting whilst gaming. It takes it a step further by not only offering presets you can cycle through without the software, but also having addressable RGB so you can customize each individual lights via the app.

As fun as the RGB lighting though, we appreciate the amount of desktop space it offers. There's plenty here to fit a full gaming kit with two monitors, a gaming PC, a speaker system, and the rest of your peripherals, as well as a tablet, a laptop, and whatever else you have. What we loved most during testing, however, is the standing desk feature that allows us to easily and seamlessly switch from sitting to standing and back again.

The anti-collision feature here could have been better, but this gaming desk is already pretty great. That's especially with that desk pad it comes with that's water-repellent.

Read our full Cooler Master GD160 ARGB review

Our expert review:

Mojo Desk's gaming bundle, the Mojo Gamer Pro, comes with all the necessary trimmings, unlike the other light-on-features options on this list. This gaming desk setup couple's the brand's highly-praised standing desk with their MagicSnap cable tray, chain, PowerBar, a Monitor Arm, and CPU Tower Hanger – all the things you need to keep things organized and under control.

The cable tray, chain, and the PowerBar together make up one of the best cable management systems we’ve ever had the pleasure of using, each one ensuring that no cable is out of place and being an eyesore. Of course, it's still the desk that's the best part of the equation. It's among the most robusts desks we’ve used, and the motor is among the smoothest and quietest.

Plus, the whole thing is surprisingly easy to assemble. It's a recommended two-person job, but we’ve management to put the whole thing together with just one.

Read our full Mojo Gamer Pro review

Our expert review:

Some desks require you to pay extra for other accessories, but the Eureka Ergonomic AED-E70B comes with more shelf space and accessory holders than you might ever need for a very affordable price, saving you money. And, that's on top of the two monitor arms it comes with. Plus, looks very much like a gaming desk, which should endear it to gamers who are all about that gaming aesthetic.

We found the keyboard holder to be too low during our testing, and because of the way it is shaped, it's not something that will fit seamless in that unused corner of your room. On the contrary, it's going to need a lot of space despite not being very big. However, we also found it to be sturdy, spacious, and nicely priced, which means none of those are massive deal-breakers.

Oh, and did we mention it has controllable RGB lighting as well? There's zero doubt this desk's made for gaming.

Read our full Eureka Ergonomic AED-E70B review

One of the largest gaming desks on our list, the grandiose Arozzi Arena is an eye-catching slab of MDF wood that places you closer to the action thanks to its ergonomic front curve. More importantly for people who have a multi-monitor setup, its 63-inch version is designed to accommodate three monitors at once without looking crowded. Of course, if you prefer to save space,

Available in red, white, black, and blue – just bear in mind that some colorways are pricier than others, it's convenient to boot thanks to its microfiber surface which is waterproof, easy to clean and removes the need for a mouse mat. Another useful feature is its cable management pouch that's made of mesh to keep chargers nice and cool. This mesh pouch is positioned underneath the desk and works in tandem with three cut-outs used for snaking wires out of sight.

Its name may sound like a Nokia handset from the 90s, but the Respawn 3010 is no joke. It's the cup, bookshelf speaker, headphones, and cable holders that come included are what separates this from the rest of the options. Featuring appendages where most gaming desks have none, the 3010 includes a dedicated monitor shelf and lets you hang anything from gaming accessories to cups from its multiple trays for easy retrieval.

It's height- adjustable as well, and comes with a maximum 200-lb load capacity that's enabled by its sturdy steel tube frame. The Respawn will support pretty much anything you place on it and then some. The gaming desk is available to buy in black with a choice of two-tone colour flourishes - including blue, red, grey and green to match Respawn's line of gaming chairs.

Our expert review:

The Vari Essential Electric Standing Desk is an affordable non-gaming desk alternative if you're getting tired of the same dark and in-your-face gamer aesthetic. Or, really, if you have a work-from-home setup that lets you go from being productive to immersing in the latest AAA games.

We've found that a lot of gamers are now going for desk with a white laminate or wood finish, pivoting towards brighter aesthetics. And, if you want to join that movement, this standing desk is an accessible option, even if it isn't the cheapest one. Especially because it delivers great performance, proving to be comfortable to use and rise from a seated to a standing position in under 10 seconds during our testing. And, setting it up is an intuitive process, taking us less than 30 minutes to assemble.

Read our full Vari Essential Electric Standing Desk review

Choosing the best gaming desk for you isn't as simple as getting one with a spacious enough desktop. If you've got a simple and portable gaming setup, you don't have to be so picky. But, if you've got a complicated, multi-monitor setup, there are a few things to consider.

You have to make sure that the gaming desk who choose has the ideal maximum load capacity to support all your devices. And, you should consider its expandability and modularity, as in the future, you might want to add supporting accessories like a monitor arm, a bigger cable management tray, or a tower hangar.

In fact, consider investing in such add-ons early on, especially if you're meticulous about keeping your gaming desk clean and organized. Some gaming desks already come with them while others you do have to pay extra for such inclusions. If you have the money, trust that a cup or headphones holder will be worth it.

Consider getting one with easy height adjustments as well. If you like to switch between sitting and standing during game sessions, a standing desk is a better option for you.

In addition, take a look at extra features like a charging hub or RGB lighting. These might not be useful for some people, but other gamers might find them important.

Finally, be sure that the price you're paying is worth the desk you're getting. Gaming desks can be very expensive, especially when loaded with features and add-ons, so make sure that the one you choose is a great value for you.

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Testing a gaming desk is no easy task. After all, we don't just test an already-assembled desk then move on once we've written the review. We have to unbox it, put it together, and perhaps even move things around to make space for it.

Therefore, we like to be a little meticulous about our testing. We note just how easy (or hard) it is to assemble. We check its specs and list of features on paper, and make sure that the desk lives up to them by setting it up and using it as our main desk for a week or so. We test things like load capacity, height adjustments, and any automations it might have. If it's got special features, we check those out as well to ensure that they live up to the hype.

Once we've got all the information we need, we take it and compare it with the gaming desk's asking price to see whether or not its a good value for you. If it is, we add it to this list. If not, we move on to the next one!

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Michelle Rae Uy is the Computing Reviews and Buying Guides Editor here at TechRadar. She's a Los Angeles-based tech, travel and lifestyle writer covering a wide range of topics, from computing to the latest in green commutes to the best hiking trails. She's an ambivert who enjoys communing with nature and traveling for months at a time just as much as watching movies and playing sim games at home. That also means that she has a lot more avenues to explore in terms of understanding how tech can improve the different aspects of our lives.

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