For the modern gamer — often spending hours sitting at a desk for work or school — coming home and spending several more hours sitting in front of a computer is a pain. It might be fun, but it will destroy the back, tire the neck, and wear the body down. At the same time, a standing desk isn't very relaxing for those post-workout, past-midnight gaming sessions we also love. Where is the middle ground? That middle ground comes with height adjustable gaming desks, which provide flexibility for gamers.

Another problem solved with these desks is awkwardness of wrist and arm height when playing a game with a keyboard and mouse. Adjusting desk height by just a few inches can reduce strain on the wrists by a measurable amount. This, combined with one of the best gaming chairs and the ability to stand outlined above, makes for a healthy environment for gaming if you have one of the best adjustable height gaming desks.

The FlexiSpot E7 Pro Plus Standing Desk is a standard height adjustable desk that works wonders for gaming. You'll see it listed among our best gaming desks due to its sturdy design and high-quality height-adjustment mechanism. When you're ready to lower or raise the desk, things stay smooth and don't rattle as you would expect them to. This is especially useful for your delicate equipment, hard drives, etc. Naturally, it depends a bit on the surface where the desk's feet are supported, so test it out before you get carried away, but you'll likely be happy with it. This lack of wobble also works when you aren't moving it, too. It's just an overall stable desk.

Gamers are going to love the USB charge ports that can keep everything from your phone to your gaming headset charged to full in a convenient manner. There are also a ton of customization options in terms of appearance and material that you want your desk to be in. Everything from the legs to the surface is your choice. When you do get the parts, though, do be aware that everything together will be a bit on the heavy side. It contributes to the stability of the system, but can also be a bit of a pain if you aren't expecting it. Even so, this is a very solid choice.

The EUREKA ERGONOMIC Standing Desk is ready to be the desk that holds your gaming battle station together, while also giving you extreme flexibility in height. Convert from a 29-inch sitting position to a 48-inch standing position in under 20 seconds. At only 40 dB, you'll feel confident using the dual motor lift system any time of the day. Ever ready for any of your gaming needs, the EUREKA ERGONOMIC Standing Desk has room for every device you'll need, including slots for your phone and tablet. Special attention is put on making the gaming keyboard and mouse tray very comfortable. It can rotate and have the angle adjusted easily and has its own separate height adjustment, so all body sizes can get a comfortable grip on the controls.

One interesting thing to note about the EUREKA ERGONOMIC Standing Desk is its three options for construction. Naturally, one is best suited for making it an adjustable height gaming desk, but the other modes of construction make it ideal for audiophiles and gamers that love the monitor overload feel. Of course, getting the desk built is one of the trickier parts of the process, with customers rating the construction ease at about 3.7. Take that as you will, the construction is solid and the slots, wire storage holes, and adjustable nature make it a natural choice for gamers.

The L-shaped FEZIBO electric standing desk is one of the top-rated adjustable height desks you can buy and does wonders in your corner desk nook. Using a three-motor system, the FEZIBO Triple Motor L-Shaped Electric Standing Desk raises and lowers your computer equipment smoothly and at a decent speed. While many of the color choices go for a "rustic" appeal, you'll be delighted to see a very modern digital control panel on the side. Not only can you raise and lower the whole system via the panel's buttons, but you can also preset designated heights. This means that you can tap your "sitting" position while your desk is in standing mode, go to the bathroom or grab a snack, and come back to a sitting desk. Just make sure your chair isn't in the way!

Related: The Best Left-Handed Gaming Mice

During construction, you are able to build your FEZIBO Triple Motor L-Shaped Electric Standing Desk in either direction; with the short arm of the "L" facing either to the right or the left. This gives great flexibility, even to left-handed gamers. The only difficulty you might find, however, is during construction. If you don't have enough weight to put behind your screwing arm (or a power tool) you may find that the guide holes for the screws are a bit on the small side. In one way, this is a good thing as it will keep the screws firmly buried in place, but it could possibly be annoying.

SecretLab's Magnus Pro is a height adjustable gaming desk that does the control panel right and gives you plenty of options for improvements. While the whole desk is quite cool and includes things you might not have known you wanted — including a power supply column tucked in the desk's leg — the Magnus control panel is sleek, elegant, and easy to use. With a crisp display showing what height your Magnus Pro is at and the option to have the device "remember" your favorite heights, you'll get to utilize your gaming desk to the fullest degree without having to think about it.

Where the Magnus Pro gets interesting is all the extras you can tack on. There are magnetic cable control panels, fastening straps, an admittedly cool-looking RGB strip, a monitor arm specifically designed for the desk, mounts, hangers, and the rest. You can even get Cloud9, Valorant, or select other gaming-themed logos etched into your desk. The rough part? All of these come at a price, and you may not be willing to pay for them. Select your add-ons wisely, though, and this will easily become the gaming desk of your dreams.

The SHW Electric Height Adjustable Mobile Rolling Standing Desk Workstation allows you to take your PC, laptop, or other gaming system with you around the house. Sure, you could use a portable gaming console, but when you want power you know you need to bring the best. There's a trade-off, in that you'll have less desktop space than our other choices for best height adjustable gaming desk. Being able to easily move your gear from one room to another or even just out of the way in your smaller room makes up for it handily though. In other words, this desk is situational, so check it out if it fits your needs.

Where the SHW shines is its less visible components. Under the desks is a metal wire organizer to help you avoid snagging wires (and losing expensive equipment) as you roll it about. There's also a drawer tray for holding small accessories and a hanger to put your headset on. Due to being made of steel, the SHW Electric Height Adjustable Mobile Rolling Standing Desk Workstation is a bit heavy at just under 60 pounds. So, it is a bit on the heavy side, but this does lend it extra stability.

When looking at the best budget gaming desks, the FlexiSpot E1 Standard Standing Desk came out as the best height adjustable gaming desk. It uses high-quality materials, including the possibility of a unique and sustainable bamboo top, and has great flexibility for the price. What's interesting is how much you can customize a FlexiSpot desk when you order from their site. If you get too excited, you'll run the risk of racking up the numbers on your final price, but you can still maintain the desk to be as "budget" as you want it to be.

The FlexiSpot E1 Standard Standing Desk is a fine addition to your gaming setup. You'll appreciate the max load of well over 100 pounds and a large adjustment range of over 20 inches for the price. This means you'll be able to safely carry your desktop case in addition to your monitor and keyboard without worry of failure. You'll likely even have enough weight (in addition to space and budget) to throw on budget PC speakers as well.

How to choose a good height adjustable gaming desk

On your quest to get the best height adjustable gaming desk, you will naturally find yourself following a lot of the same great advice we gave for choosing a good gaming desk. Advice here included:

• Picking a gaming desk made of a sturdy, solid base material (such as steel) and high-quality plastic or wood topping and exteriors.
• Choosing a tabletop shape (rectangle, concave rectangle, or L-shape) that fits your lifestyle and desk usage best.
• Looking for "gamer features," those hard-to-generalize, but easy-to-feel design qualities (such as RGB, hooks, and other nods to gaming life) that make gaming desks pop out in comparison to the rest.

When getting the best height adjustable gaming desk we continue to recommend considering those factors, but to also consider more. Considering your height, the motor quality, and the maximum load of a height adjustable gaming desk will make all the difference in the world once you've made your purchase.

Your Height

The best height adjustable gaming desks will accommodate your height in both a standing and sitting position. Most manufacturers will clearly label the adjustable height differences, labeling the shortest possible height and the tallest for the given gaming desk.

Unfortunately, just picking the desk with the widest height range won't necessarily mean the desk has a good height for you. Instead, you should determine what heights you want ahead of time and pick a height adjustable gaming desk to match. You'll want your height adjustable gaming desk to cover both your ideal standing gaming desk height and your ideal sitting gaming desk height:

To determine a good height for a standing gaming desk, stand up and begin to type on an imaginary keyboard and use an imaginary mouse in the sky. (Holding a real wireless mouse might help with this if your imagination isn't too strong.) Don't focus too much on this task, just lets things settle naturally. Then, after a few moments, check where your hands have settled. Your keyboard hand and mouse hand should be roughly equal in height. This is your ideal top height. However, when purchasing your height adjustable gaming desk, be sure to get one that has a maximum height of at least a few inches higher than your ideal to allow for adjustments. This is even more important if you are still growing.

You can determine the best height for a sitting gaming desk by measuring the height of your current favorite. If you don't have one, or are dissatisfied, try sitting in your most comfortable gaming chair. Sit with your feet flat on the ground and your back straight, using perfect posture. Then, place your hands on your knees and note the height of your elbows. While it isn't perfect, this is a good place to start. Again, you'll want a desk that can go a few inches lower (at the very least) than this idealized height, so you can easily adjust for comfort later.

Motors Matter

It's important that we can raise the height of our gaming desks easily and smoothly. This helps us avoid being forced to take gaming equipment off the top of the desk, or worse yet, breaking that sweet OLED monitor that cost us a pretty penny from careless maneuvering.

Enter, the motor.

The best height adjustable gaming desks use one or more electric motors (L-shaped height adjustable gaming desks typically have triple-motor designs) to move up and down. Look for how the motors are controlled. Is there a control panel built-in to the desk or a remote control? Do you put in an exact height or merely tap "up" and "down" keys to slightly adjust the height?

Finally, be sure to check reviews for keywords like "janky," "rumble," or "vibrate" as these are signs that the desk's motors are of low quality. The best height adjustable gaming desks have movements that are described as "smooth" but not slow.

Maximum Load

Obviously, a desk's maximum load tells you how much you can put on top of it. That much is clear, but there are some more things you need to think about when it comes to the maximum load of a height adjustable gaming desk. For these desks, it refers to how much can be safely placed on the surface and how much the motor can lift.

For one, maximum load truly only applies when the desk is on solid ground. Desks placed on soft carpeting that they can sink into a bit (and can wobble on) have lower effective maximum loads. This is even more true when using a desk in standing position. As the tabletop rises, so does its center of gravity, exacerbating any existing balance issues. Therefore, it is more important than ever to avoid soft rugs and thick carpeting when using a height adjustable gaming desk. Always stand the legs of your raised-height desk on a level surface.

This detour gets us to the essential question: How much maximum load does a height adjustable gaming desk need? Probably less than you think, provided the desk is going to reside on an appropriate surface. Impressive loads of 300+ pounds sound good but few modern pieces of equipment weigh enough to cause serious concern. Take a look:

• The massive 49-inch Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 (one of our favorite gaming monitors, by the way) takes up some serious desk real estate but weighs a mere 32 pounds.
• Even the best mechanical keyboards — which tend to be a bit bulkier than standard keyboards — are lightweight. For example, the ASUS ROG Azoth is only 2.58 pounds.
• Perhaps more telling than anything is how much other things weigh. The average physics textbook is around 4.5 pounds, meaning a stack of four or five textbooks on your desk corner probably weighs as much as your average monitor.

The conclusion? Maximum load is important, but suffers pretty quickly from diminishing returns.

FAQ

Q: Are adjustable desks good for gaming?

Adjustable desks are good for gaming because they help relieve gamers from the stress of long periods of sitting. Long-term sitting can negatively affect blood flow, sleep, spinal pressure, and many other body factors. Being able to move about freely with the legs during exciting game moments may actually be able to increase game excitement as well.

Q: What is the difference between a gaming desk and an office desk?

On the surface, there is not a large difference between a gaming desk and an office desk. They both provide surfaces for screens, keyboards, mice, and other accessories. Many office desks can serve as gaming desks and vice versa. What separates gaming desks as a niche are features like headset hooks and a battle station aesthetic.