Secret Lab

I have used a lot of desks over the course of my career, but I can honestly say I’ve never used a desk quite like the Magnus Pro XL. It is at once the most industrial-looking table, while also giving off huge gamer energy. Measuring 70 inches long and made almost exclusively of metal parts, this desk is not meant for one-person assembly. It took nearly two hours to put it all together, but once it is finished, it’s a work of art.

It has a five-setting standing system, and the motors are some of the quietest I’ve heard in my testing. The motion is smooth, and even though the desk weighs quite a lot, it rises quickly and without hassle. I never thought of using a standing desk for gaming before, but it really helps to break up the hours of sitting.

If you can manage the cost of getting the extras I would recommend it. The cable management is already excellent with the built-in power supply unit, as well as the large trench down the back, but the optional magnetic conduit lets you hide all of your wiring sins. I especially liked the PC mount that connects your gaming tower to the leg, making it rise with the table so your cables don’t stretch as the desk moves.

The cost of this desk is my only sticking point. Fully loaded, it will set you back $1,500, though you could reduce that with fewer optional extras — and it’s currently on sale. But if gaming is your job and you need a large desk to help you, I cannot recommend the Magnus Pro XL enough.

Branch Furniture

At first glance, the Branch standing desk looks pretty generic, but the level of craftsmanship is apparent on closer inspection. All of the materials feel premium, with a weight that only comes from good engineering. 

Putting it together was simple and only took about 30 minutes, though I think having two people would reduce that significantly. It was also extremely well packaged — something that Branch does with all its products — so it was in top shape once I had it all together. 

The Branch desk can remember four separate heights and has a handy cable door at the back to keep your desk clear and tidy. While the desk can feel a little too business-like — I received the white top and white legs — if you choose one of the warmer woods and the gray legs, it will likely blend into your home office better. 

Of course, if you are furnishing an office then the Branch desk and Verve office chair from our best office chairs is a great combination.

Fenlo

This light writing desk is a lot like many of the others I tested. Writing desks tend to be easy to put together — this one took 10 minutes — and are small in stature. It can hold maybe one monitor and a laptop comfortably, but not much else. 

The beauty of that, though, is it can be placed in almost any room and still look nice. There are a lot of finishes to choose from, too, and each one comes with a lamp to illuminate your work. The best feature, though, is the outputs. The Fenlo desk has a standard power outlet, two USB-A ports and, impressively, built-in wireless charging. It is much easier to manage cables for your laptop, tablet and phone when you can access them from the front.

The Fenlo is very light, so it does suffer slightly from the wibble-wobbles, even when its legs are tight. This only happened when I loaded it to its max weight though, so if you are using just a laptop you should be fine. 

Fezibo

Most standing desks have a clinical look to them like they are designed to be in a drab office rather than your home. Not so with the mid-century standing desk. Its design with dark wood surface, black drawer fronts and antique gold handles gives an air of ’50s sophistication. 

The standing desk portion works well too with four programmable heights and a sturdy structure that feels secure even at full extension. I especially like the center drawer that can fit your wireless keyboard and mouse to hide them from view and keep the mid-century aesthetic. 

Homary

This desk from Homary looks fantastic when it is all put together. The glossy white finish and antique gold accents give it the luxurious feel a $1,500 desk should have. All of the individual parts have the weight that you expect from an executive item, and once it was all put together it looks absolutely stunning.

Unfortunately the desk we got to test had the wrong holes drilled for the hardware to build it, and it arrived damaged despite being strapped to a pallet. Homary did replace the broken part with no issues or complaints but was unable to fix the incorrectly drilled parts. This meant I had to go to Home Depot for new parts to fix it myself. 

Now, do I think that this happens all of the time to all of Homary’s products? No of course not, otherwise it wouldn’t still be a business. Unfortunately, I couldn’t test it properly if I had to buy the parts myself. 

Monoprice

Gaming desks can often be extremely expensive, especially when you add extras. This desk from Monoprice is simple, cheap, and stable — all good things — and also has some neat extras like a headphone hook, cable management tray, and an off-desktop cup holder. Having your beverage off to the side of the desk is a great idea. If you knock it over, it’s going on the floor, not on the expensive electronics on your desk. 

The work surface is grippy, with grommets in the rear to push cables through. I wish these were a little bigger, but they do the job as long as you don’t have too many cables. There is also a notch in the front that lets you get closer to the work surface while maintaining a good posture.

At the price, the Monoprice is a decent entry-level gaming desk, though I did note — and I’ve seen this in many of the desks I tested — that not all of the holes that should have been predrilled were. When the manual tells you to screw something in a specific place, there should be predrilled holes to make that happen or you could end up splitting the wood.