The best gaming desks go above and beyond the simple necessities – holding your computer, mouse, monitor and keyboard – to genuinely enhance your gaming experience. If you've got one of the best gaming PCs or best gaming laptops around, you don't want it to be let down by your desk.
Because the truth is that a gaming desk is a really important part of a gaming setup, just like the best gaming mouse or the best gaming keyboard. Sure, gaming involves a lot of skill too, but it certainly helps when you've got the right environment for your sessions.
Here we'll take you through our favourite gaming desks of the moment, and we've got something to suit every need and budget, all meticulously reviewed and researched. Don't forget to check out our best gaming monitor page if you're looking for more hardware.
The best gaming desk for most people is the SecretLab MAGNUS Pro XL Sit-to-stand Metal Desk. With a solid build, motorised sit-to-stand functionality and 120kg load capacity, it ticks all the boxes, and looks super smart while it's at it.
Meanwhile, if you want the best gaming desk without sit-to-stand functionality then you want the original Secretlab MAGNUS Metal Desk. This offers 95 per cent of the quality of the Pro XL, but doesn't have standing ability.
If you're looking to keep your spending right down, the Hbada Gaming Desk is a great budget option. It has a solid build and forgoes many of the fancy extras to keep that cost lower.
Lastly, if you want something a bit different, then consider the Waleaf Vitesse Gaming Desk. With a carbon fibre top it looks stunning and has some handy storage areas and cable management, too.
The best gaming desks 2023
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If you want the best gaming desk in the world, one that is also a superb office desk, then you want the Secretlab MAGNUS Pro XL.
For a long time the gaming desk that now sits directly under this one was considered the best gaming desk in the world, but then as we noted in our full Secretlab MAGNUS Pro XL review, it was improved upon.
The result was Secretlab beating its own top gaming desk offering with a product that boasted even more quality, as well as simply awesome motorised sit-to-stand functionality.
The sit-to-stand functionality really is the MAGNUS Pro's party piece, with a simple button press allowing the owner to raise and lower it to a desired height. This means you can game while seated as well as while standing.
This sit-to-stand functionality, in partnership with the table's ludicrously good build quality, means it is also the best office desk in the world, too. You can switch from gaming on the MAGNUS Pro to working in an instant, and in whatever position you want.
Other reasons why this is the best gaming desk in the world include its stunning aesthetics and build materials, exceptional selection of experience-enhancing accessories - including a monitor arm, LED light strip and floating PC mount - and simple assembly and setup.
Yes, the Secretlab MAGNUS Pro XL isn't cheap, but you buy this once and you're set for life in terms of a desk for gaming and working.
To know the SecretLab MAGNUS Metal Desk is to love the SecretLab MAGNUS Metal Desk: it's a stunning piece of gaming furniture that fully earns its spot as the best gaming desk of the moment. Having already been wowed by the gaming chairs that SecretLab has been putting out, we're just as impressed with this gaming desk – it offers premium materials, a robust construction, excellent cable management and plenty of nice little touches.
You get a series of MAGPAD leatherette mat options that magnetically fix to the top of the desk, giving you both a solid and a quality feel for your gaming – and the use of these mats means you can change up the look of the desk quite easily. Despite the relative thinness of the frame, the desk is capable of holding up to 100kg of gaming weight for you, and we're also fans of some of the magnetic accessories that you can get, including little cable anchors that clip anywhere on the top of the desk and keep trailing wires tidy.
Really though, it's the quality of the construction and the stainless steel materials that make the MAGNUS stand out from the crowd. From constructing the desk to finally placing a gaming PC on top of it, it feels like a substantial step up in quality. When factoring in the cost, consider the price of any accessories you might need: cable anchors, cable fastening straps, desk mats and the RGB light strip that you can affix to the back all cost extra.
Potential buyers will also be interested to know that the SecretLab MAGNUS won the Best Gaming Accessory award at the T3 Awards.
If you're wanting to spend as little as possible on one of the best gaming desks around, then let us direct you towards the affordable Hbada Gaming Desk as one of your possible options – despite being on the very cheap side, it still has plenty to offer, including a robust construction and an ergonomic design that is suitable for smaller rooms where you might not have quite as much space available.
Among the reasons you might want to pick up the Hbada Gaming Desk are the t-shaped steel legs that are able to take plenty of weight, the power strip box for keeping everything neat and tidy, and the curved desk edge that adds a touch of elegance to proceedings. The entire surface of the desk is covered with a carbon fibre finish, and you get both a headphone hook and a cup holder as well.
The price of this desk means you're not going to get as many bells and whistles as some of its rivals can offer, and as we've mentioned it's on the smaller side, which might not be to your liking. It does have plenty in the positives column though, including that low price, and it gives you a sturdy and versatile gaming desk setup that should see you through many hours of enjoyable gaming sessions.
The look and feel of a desk has to be considered alongside its specs and features, which is why we think the stylish-looking Eureka Ergonomic Gaming Desk deserves a spot on our best gaming desk list. It really does look the part, from the subtle coloured edgings to the cut-out curve along the front of the desktop that lets you move in and get closer to the action as and when you need to.
The ultra-soft, zero-slip mouse mat that covers the entirety of the top surface is worth a mention too, not only making sure that the Eureka Ergonomic Gaming Desk has an air of sophistication about it but also that accessories like the keyboard stay in place when they're supposed to. It's well crafted, well built, and sure to slot in nicely no matter what sort of gaming den aesthetics you're going for.
We'd also like to point out the gamepad rack that comes with USB charging ports as well – very handy if you want to be charging a phone or a tablet while you're gaming. Add in two headphone hooks, a socket holder, and height-adjustable feet, and it's clear why this is such a good gaming desk – with one purchase it can take your home gaming setup to another level.
You'll have to pay above average to get hold of the Waleaf Vitesse Gaming Desk but we reckon it's a worthy investment if it offers the design and the features that you're looking for: from the resilient carbon fibre finish on the top of the desk to the very handy cup holder at the side of it (essential for staying hydrated during those long gaming sessions), this is a piece of furniture that has a lot going for it.
Besides that cup holder there's also a headphone hook, plus a recharging rack for your gamepads, should you need one. There's some nicely hidden storage space underneath the desk for keeping all of your cables neat and tidy, plus double-wire holes on top of the premium density fibreboard material as another anti-clutter measure. Each steel leg foot is individually adjustable as well.
As well as giving you plenty of room for your monitor, keyboard, mouse and whatever else, the Waleaf Vitesse Gaming Desk is also very well built and reasonably easy to put up too. While the colour scheme might be a bit too bright and vibrant for some, it's one that we can get behind – and it definitely gives off a gaming aesthetic.
There's a certain aesthetic that comes with gaming products that involve the ability to program a series of RGB lighting. Whether its on your keyboard, headset, laptop or wall lighting, the colours can create the right mood for your session and they also just look cool.
When it comes to picking your desk, one that comes with extra RGB lights might not be on your essentials list but it's certainly a plus. The Mars Pro 150 has that benefit but it's also a solid and great-looking gaming desk in its own right.
In our Cougar Mars Pro 150 review, we found that this is an extremely sturdy desk. With a 150kg load capacity, it can cope with multiple monitors, desktops and laptops without breaking a sweat. It also comes with a handy set of I/O ports to make swapping out connections a breeze.
It's not the easiest to assemble and the price is certainly on the higher side, but with three height settings and that RGB lighting, it's worth the money.
See the words "tough" and "battlestation" and you pretty much know what to expect from this high-end Thermaltake gaming desk before you've even set eyes on it. The desk carries some serious weight and heft, with an l-shaped design that means there's plenty of room for extras and accessories. In total, it can take a huge maximum load of 150kg, so you're going to find it very hard to overload this particular piece of furniture, even if you have your gaming PC up on the desk itself.
Obviously with a desk form factor like this, you need to have plenty of room to spare, but if you can fit it in then it gives you lots of layout options for your gaming rig, your accessories, and your other devices. The steel-constructed frame feels robust and secure, while the anti-scratch laminated desktop material on top feels like a giant mouse pad (and on the main section of the desk there's even customisable lighting).
Another key advantage of this Thermaltake model is that this model takes its cues from today's best standing desks and enables you to adjust the work surface height so you can switch from sitting to standing whenever you need to. Add in some smart cable management underneath the desk as well, and you've got a lot of reasons why this might appeal to gamers. Definitely on the large and expensive side, but that's what plenty of you are going to be looking for.
When it comes down to it, what do you actually need from a great gaming desk? A lot of space to work with, a solid construction, and a way of keeping everything tidy – and the Arozzi Arena Gaming Desk ticks all the boxes and then some. If you need to get yourself an impressive gaming desk that isn't going to break the bank in terms of cost, then this is one well worth checking out.
There's so much space here, enough for three reasonably large monitors in fact (or just a huge ultrawide). Your keyboard, mouse and other accessories will have a huge amount of room to roam in, and the entire surface of the desk is like a giant mouse pad, with a textured, water-resistant finish. That mat sits on top of a wooden desk top, and the furniture is finished off with steel legs.
There's a curved, contoured finish to the front of the desk so you can get closer to the action (and your keyboard) if you need to, while the ergonomics in general are first class. When it comes to cable management, we've got some carefully positioned cut-outs here, and you've got nets underneath the desk itself to stop everything getting too messy. A gaming desk that you won't be disappointed in.
We're always interested in something a little bit different, which could well be why we are drawn to the Homall Gaming Desk: an inexpensive bit of gaming furniture with some neat extras, a distinctive look (check out those angular corner modules for example), and a ridged carbon fibre finish that's going to earn some approving looks from any visitors to your gaming PC room.
It's not as big as some other gaming desks we've listed here, but then again it doesn't necessarily have to be – not everyone has huge gaming rigs and massive monitors, and sometimes space is at a premium. We like the cut-outs in the desk for the cable management, and on the front of this piece of furniture from Homall you've got somewhere to hold your cup and somewhere to hang your headphones.
The z-shaped steel legs add excellent durability to the frame, and you can actually adjust these legs independently (very handy if you're trying to set up a gaming rig on uneven ground, for some reason). To add to the appeal, the Homall Gaming Desk is straightforward to put together, even if the thought of furniture assembly is normally enough to bring you out in a cold sweat.
How we test gaming desks
To really understand what these gaming desks are like to use, we follow the same process as you would do buying one online. Most desks require some form of assembly, so the ease of putting the desk together is an important part of the test.
Our gaming desk testers live and breathe gaming, so once the desks are built, they live with them for a few weeks. The desks are put through their paces with the excessive amount of gaming products these guys are testing at the same time, so they know whether it can cope with a regular amount of equipment.
Having tested a range of gaming desks, we know how each desk compares to the competition, both in price and performance. That lets us give a fair assessment of the value in the products too.
If you want to know more about how we review products, you can take a look at our how we test page.
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