Computer Desks (rant)

[HeXen]

So i'm shopping for a new desk. nothing fancy but i wanted to go stealth/minimal look this time rather than the flat top cluttered mess look of my current.

My biggest complaint is the slide out trays for kb/mouse. None of them are wide enough to support a gaming kb and mousepad. Even with just a regular mouse pad and standard kb, they really don't offer that much room to move that mouse around. Nothing like piloting a jet in BF2 as i move right/left 4 inches then pick the whole mouse up so i can do it again and again, just to make a 180.

Even the dual slide out tray's are not very comforable for having kb on top and mouse on bottom / vise versa. And of course why they don't make the back portion of the desk sit lower so the actual screen itself is placed more correctly for eye level i'll never know. seeing how the slide tray's sit too low for you to properly adjust higher view.

Then the ones with tower compartments. fine if you own an HP. But they never think of us gamers do they? No way my Cosmos S case would ever fit in any model i've ever seen in stores.

My current is just a flat top desk that sits rather low. This style is ideal for the most part and i'm assuming its what most gamers use...but i would like a more stealth/minimal look and beable to hide most of my gear.
just a damn shame.

Of course with a 5600 dpi mouse, i shouldnt need much room, but i guess i'm spoiled or mad, yeah i'm just mad. :twisted: ok i'm done crying now.

Then theres this of course. but its not very stealthy/minimal looking

 

[alkemyst]

My NEC 2490 has major height adjustment...you could also get an adjustable arm.

There are a lot of high end computer desks that do a very good job at hiding stuff and cable management. I don't know the brands, but I know one that I was working with had an invoice for $30,000 sitting on it.

 

[greenhawk]

Personally, I just use a old second hand table. Not sure if a writing table, over sized side table or a dining table. Solid though. Held up my 21 and 17" CRT's back in the day . it is about average height, but I got a chair that sits lower than normal so feet out (not correctly upright, but not 1/2 way to comfortable either). Good for leaning back on too

A co worker who is taller than me gave up looking and made their own. It is tall enough so they sit correctly, but also that same hight allows his full tower case to sit under it on the side on a small shelf as well. Just made some higher shelves to position the monitor and gear, then cut holes to run the needed cables. Ended up pretty good, but getting the right wood took him a while as he wanted sterdy, so no chipboard/plyboard was used.

 

[WT]

In the market for a desk myself (or so the wife tells me). I don't mind what I have - the faux wood adhesive is peeling near the bottom of the keyboard rest where it takes a beating, and the left side tower compartment is now too narrow to fit my new Level 10 GT case inside of it.

I do like to tuck my stuff away and make it look like just a desk, but computer desks are such a personal choice anyhow. Hard to find one that makes both me and the wife happy.

 

[piasabird]

Using old Kitchen rectangular formica table. Too cheap to buy something fancy. a few hundered $$ would be too expensive. Where would I put all my notes about what episode of HULU programming I am watching? Where would I put my cheat cheats? I hate those multi-level tables or tables you can see through.

I had an L Desk at work and kind of liked it. The L had a nice file drawer in it. The Desk also had a file drawer. Just basic business metal desk.

 

[vshah]

i have an ikea galant corner desk and I like it a lot.

 

[gorcorps]

Yeah... I just bought a regular desk. The one thing I did buy this desk for is the back has an elevated shelf thing that's only a couple inches high. I keep my monitor on that, and then my keyboard slides underneath pretty much out of the way if I need to use my desk for anything else.

 

[HeXen]

If they only made the slide out trays like 10 inches wider, i'd be content on those $50 desks they sell at Walmart.Even the $200-$300 desks with the Kb tray is no wider.
I guess i just like how they look. For once i'd like to beable to hide most of my gear, maybe its my age but looks too cluttery and geeky. Sure i'm a geek but dont' want it to be so obvious.
My setup doesnt look too far from that movie, the 40 yr old virgin, lol. especially if i end up getting that Sony hzm1 3d Oled headset

 

[SithSolo1]

My current desk has a KB try that is 28" wide and is adequate though I wish it were even wider. I can't tell you how many times I've looked at getting another desk only to find the ones I like will only fit the KB. I've had this thing for like 9 years.

 

[corkyg]

For several years I operated with a wood door sitting on two 3-drawer filing cabinets. Lots of room, right height, and very cheap.

 

[HeXen]

I can't tell you how many times I've looked at getting another desk only to find the ones I like will only fit the KB.

and that alone drives me insane. i just don't get why their designing them like that cause none i've seen is really good enough for a cheap HP desktop much less a gaming rig

Anyway, i did end up getting a desk, a $49 Souder i picked up a Meijbers.
but i'm gonna have to change things using some existing hardware i already have. I figured i'd take the guts out of my case and just put them inside the cabinet itself and cut a side panel to put plexiglass on. i also have some cold cathode tube lights i never used, good place for them.
I'll give up my merc stealth kb for my G13 pad and just use my wireless MS Arc kb on top of the desk cause it would still look stealthy as its small and nice looking.
Though i'll miss my Merc. its nice to change things up a bit. should make for a fun project to make a Souder desk into a stealth gaming center...at least thats my goal

i could afford a much nicer desk of course, but i didnt see the point

 

[bigboxes]

I use a Bush return desk with a keyboard tray that accommodates my keyboard and mouse with pad. I like it because it is open underneath with room for my UPS, mid-tower case, paper shredder and boxes of pc parts, but nice looking on top. It has grommets on the back (both sides) and one on top that help with wire management. I use an Ergotron monitor arm so that my NEC is staring me right in the face and not at the back of the desk. This frees up desk space that would otherwise be wasted if I had the standard monitor support. Combined with a nice leather high-back chair it is a very ergonomic and comfortable setup. It's a pleasure to spend hours in front of each day.

 

[Vdubchaos]

I have never used a slide out keyboard/mouse tray that I ever liked.

i have an ikea galant corner desk and I like it a lot.

This!!!

I have Ikea Galant desk with Adjustable legs. Perfect as you can adjust it to whatever position/angle you would like.

 

[vshah]

^ also not too expensive and very, very sturdy. make sure you get the A legs like in the pic above and not the T legs, as those only connect to the table at one point on each side.

 

[pandemonium]

I've enjoyed my L-shaped glass/metal desk I bought from OfficeMax like 7 years ago. I can't find the exact desk anywhere now, but it's something like taking these two desks and putting them together and cost about $200:

 

[HeXen]

I've enjoyed my L-shaped glass/metal desk I bought from OfficeMax like 7 years ago. I can't find the exact desk anywhere now, but it's something like taking these two desks and putting them together and cost about $200:
http://www.off[/QUOTE]

i still have that desk. But the slide out tray is still no wider than any other. I never cared for it, you can see all your wires and gear, it takes up a fair amount of room and more flat top space than i needed.
It was one of those impulse buys i guess.

I also have an Armoire style desk. i really like it but its now too small for my 32" monitor. it was really designed for no larger than a 19" but a 24" fits in it if you cover the side shelf inside.

 

[alkemyst]

My biggest problem is none of the affordable "desks" work well for me. I don't need drawers, I want something 3' or deeper and about 6' or wider. I want shelves around me.

In my little 500sq ft apartment I built this:

I built this in my current house:

For perspective, that's 24" LCD, wide format printer and an 11x17 scanner.

 

[Dice144]

Wow I like your custom desk! Will have to post mine once I get home.

 

[alkemyst]

The main desk was a bit pricey...3'x6' stainless steel covered table. The rest is just premium 1x12" pine, MDF, some laminate and trim. Under the side desk to the right is shelves for stuff.

Being 3' deep you don't really see those shelves in this room. Same with my cables and UPS/support stuff...all well hidden.

 

[gorobei]

found these at a used office furniture store.
the main corner unit was $170.
the side unit was $110. (should have bought the matched pair as well)

both have a hand crank to raise and lower table height so they can be setup for a standing or drafting stool config. heavy steel legs, the trays are height and angle adjustable, and the tops are nice 1" thick solid wood(probably pine) with a(walnut?) veneer.
about the only thing i can complain about is that they could really use a cutout hole for cables on the corner unit(makes it a bitch to have the pc case underneath and get all 3 monitor cables reach)

while most used office furniture stores have mostly crap for selection, there are the occasional gems if you are willing to rummage through for an hour or two.

 

[corkyg]

"about the only thing i can complain about is that they could really use a cutout hole for cables on the corner unit. . ."

Easily remedied with a hole saw.

 

[cmdrdredd]

With some of the newer style mouse pads being gigantic I find it hard to change my current desk. I've had it for maybe 25 years now. It's made out of Oak so it's pretty sturdy and super heavy. Has just enough room for what I need to have on it. If I ever had to change it I don't know what I'd do with a gigantic mousepad and still fit my Keyboard on it. Seems many designs are going for minimalist look.

 

[VirtualLarry]

(Warning, LARGE images.)

http://larzon.dyndns.org:8080/DESK/IMG_0778.JPG

http://larzon.dyndns.org:8080/DESK/IMG_0779.JPG

http://larzon.dyndns.org:8080/DESK/IMG_0780.JPG

I have a few of these desks. The keyboard tray is fairly large, it fits my multimedia keyboard, and a mouse pad for a mouse. I haven't had any complaints, other than temps rise a bit when the PC is in the cubby-hole, unless I have enough intake fans on the case to draw in fresh air from the room. That's a 26" 1920x1200 16:10 LCD in the background.

 

[cmdrdredd]

That's a nice desk Larry but my Mousepad measures 10" x 16", and I use a full size mechanical keyboard with wrist resst which would measure 9.5" x 18.25" at the widest and longest points. Would that all fit on that drawer?

 

[VirtualLarry]

The keyboard tray is just shy of 30 and 1/2 inches long.
It extends 9 inches out of the desk.