The right gaming desk will help you have fun for longer, avoid being on the wrong end of a killer shot and build up XP. The last thing you want is to get owned because your set-up is too crammed to move the mouse quickly. Whether you are finally upgrading your gaming equipment or excitedly setting up a gaming room for the first time, level up the fun with the best gaming desk for you.

Do you know what makes a good gaming desk? How is it different from a regular desk? What accessories are worth splurging on? Read on to find all the answers you need to make the best choice. This is the ultimate desk-buying guide for PC gamers of all levels.

What makes a good gaming desk?

In order to buy the best gaming desk, spend a bit of time thinking about some key factors. While colour, finish and other design elements are exciting, you first need to square away these basic but essential elements: size, shape, material and height.

Size

Many people contact us asking “how big should a gaming desk be?”. Honestly, the bigger, the better. If you have a whole room to dedicate to gaming and can purchase an XL desk, that’s great.

Alas, many of us only have small spaces to work with. While a 1.8-meter desk will comfortably hold two monitors and your gaming rig plus accessories, it may not be suitable in a shared-purpose room. As long as you can set up one monitor, gaming mouse and keyboard on the desk, you are good to go.

Whether you are going small or large, we can’t recommend enough that you take out a tape measure and check that the gaming desk you are about to buy fits in your space.

Shape

When it comes to choosing the best gaming desk shape, your two main choices are rectangular gaming desks and L-shaped gaming desks. There’s barely a difference between the two in terms of optimal battlestation setup. L-shape desks may be good for a mixed WFH and gaming setup. Twitch streamers can use the extra desk space of an L-shape desk to display merchandise or to host their lights and camera gear, but that's about it. What you should focus on instead is how much space you have available. Additionally, should you wish for a height-adjustable L-shaped desk, ensure they have a strong motor system due to the added tabletop weight.

If all you have to work with is a corner of your room, then an L-shaped desk will help you maximise your desk space — meaning more room for gear and gaming accessories! However, if you are going to put the desk against a flat wall, L-shaped desks can look very out of place in the middle of the room. 

Thermaltake ToughDesk 500L RGB BattleStation Height Adjustable Gaming Desk

Since the answer to “are corner desks good for gaming” purely depends on your space, let’s look at some truly important design elements, such as curved desks and cutout desks. The benefit of both is that they provide more support to your wrist by letting you rest more of your arm on the desk surface and providing more room to move the wrist. This means a reduced risk of developing carpal tunnel. The downside is that your chair might not work as well with this shape and also that you miss out on some extra desk space.

Material 

It’s important to ask yourself what material is best for a gaming desk as it doesn’t just impact what it looks like but its durability and your online performance. A surface that scratches or dents easily can affect your mouse’s movements and cost you dearly in moments when the stakes are high, which is why glass desks are rare in gaming battlestations. The most popular materials are wood, natural bamboo, aluminium alloy and steel. These surfaces are scratch-resistant and waterproof, protecting your desk from wear, tear and accidental spills. Be careful if mounting clamped accessories like monitor arms, hollow desk tops may collapse due to their fragile construction.

Height 

Another common question is “what is the best height for a gaming desk?”. Considering we spend many hours sitting down at our desk gaming, it’s really important to get it right. If not, you can easily develop a bad posture and get sore arms, shoulders, neck or back. The most common gaming desk height is 29’’ or 73 cm, which is perfect if you are 1.65m but is too low or high if you are taller or shorter. You also want to think about the gaming chair you’ll be using. If you have chosen a gaming chair that is adjustable, you are golden; otherwise, measure the chair against your current computer desk and use that as a buying guide. Ideally you want to have right-angled ankles, knees, hips/pelvis and elbows while your shoulders should be relaxed. Your eyes should be looking about one-third down from the top of the monitor. A footrest may be required if the desk is too high. 

Are height-adjustable desks the future of gaming desks?

In recent years, electric standing desks have grown in popularity in the WFH, gaming and streaming community thanks to the many advantages they offer. For starters, they are great even if you don’t want to do any standing. Instead of having to worry about buying the right height desk, you can easily adjust your new sit-stand desk to be at the perfect level or customise your position as you adjust in your chair.

However, we bet you’ll be taking advantage of the full range of your new gaming desk and try standing when gaming. Sitting in the same position for many hours can get exhausting, and studies have even shown that it’s an unhealthy habit. With a height-adjustable gaming desk, you can easily switch positions; many desk even offer buttons to save certain heights so that you can always get it perfect to the centimetre with the click of a button. 

Cooler Master GD160 ARGB Electric Height Adjustable Gaming Desk

Since PC gaming gear is not cheap, make sure you buy a top-quality sit-stand desk. Choosing one specifically made for gaming means that it comes with a host of useful safety features, such as balanced lifting, an anti-collision sensor and a self-locking protection system. For extra peace of mind, consider a dual-motor sit-stand desk. Dual-motor sit-stand desks are typically more robust than their single-motor counterparts though often cost more.

Differences between gaming desks and regular desks

It might not sound like much of a difference at first, but gaming desks are desks designed specifically for gaming. Everything on them is optimised to help you game longer and better.

In practice, they are more spacious than normal desks, so you have more freedom to move and the surface to set up multiple screens, peripherals and accessories. They also often boast some pretty smart features and add-ons to keep all your most used items handy, as we’ll discuss later.

The best gaming desks cost a bit more but offer awesome designs that look super cool, with RGB lighting and ergonomic features that are both practical and aesthetically pleasing. A good example of this is the official platform-licensed gaming desks like the Eureka Call of Duty Sentry Gaming Desk, which is subjectively the best set-up to play COD.

Another difference between gaming desks and regular desks is that gaming ones have to bear a lot of weight. Gaming PCs, microphones, speakers, lights and other gaming accessories add up to a large weight. Because of the unique design demands, the best desks for gaming are made of higher-grade materials and with tougher, stronger legs. 

The best gaming desk features

As we said already, gaming desks come with pretty cool features that regular desks don’t offer or only do for a steep price tag. Designed to make your gaming experience a breeze and help you have fun for longer, these are some of the most popular accessories:

• Mousepad — Many mid to high-end gaming desks come with a large mousepad custom-fitted to the table so you’ll never run off the sides again and stuff up your game. Some gaming desks offer mouse pads that cover the full size of the desktop surface. An example being the Thermaltake Level 20 GT BattleStation Height Adjustable Gaming Desk
• Monitor riser or arm — This handy accessory holds your screen higher, improving your posture and freeing more desk space. Splurge for a dual monitor arm if you have multiple monitors.
• Headphone hook — Normally placed under the corner of the desk, the hook helps keep your headphones in good working order and within reaching distance while your desktop is clutter-free. Just be sure to take care when moving your chair that the chair arms do not collide with the hook or headphones!
• Drink holder — It might sound unimportant, but if you’ve ever accidentally knocked your drink over in the midst of the action and damaged or stained your equipment, you know how vital a place to keep cups or cans is.
• RGB lighting — Not only does RGB lighting help you create the right atmosphere, but it can also reduce eye fatigue when used practically. The best gaming desks feature reactive RGB lighting that sinks to your music.
• Cable management system — Either as grommets, magnetic ties or screw-on trays, you need something like this to keep your cables organised and out of sight.
• Built-in charging ports — It’s quite common to have one or two USB charging ports built into the desk or even a wireless charging pad for charging phones or even some mice.
• Keyboard tray — Sliding in and out from under the desk, it lets you increase your table’s surface without taking up more space in the room when not in use. Keyboard trays are becoming less popular nowadays though in favour of monitor risers or arms instead.
   

Eureka Call of Duty Gunship L-Shaped Electric High Adjustable Gaming Desk

So, are gaming desks worth it?

Absolutely, there is no better way to enjoy your gaming than investing in a good gaming desk. Whether you are a hardcore gamer or only like to play every now and then, there are real benefits in having a top-quality desk for your gaming setup, especially one with all the accessories and add-ons. At Mwave, we have some of the best gaming desks in Australia. Take a look at our range of gaming desks today and take your gaming to a whole new level.