How Big Should a Gaming Desk Be?
You are planning to set up a great gaming station with the help of the best gaming desk you can afford.
You have your computer, a keyboard, monitors, gaming controllers, speakers, and everything in between.
However, you do need to fit all of these things on a gaming desk.
That said, how big should a gaming desk be?
To quickly summarize, it’s all about measuring the dimensions of the equipment you plan on using, knowing the placement of each component, and then figuring out how much desk space you will require to accommodate everything.
Gaming Desk Depth
The first aspect to keep in mind when choosing the ideal gaming desk is the depth of the desk.
It's time to ask, how deep should a gaming desk be?
This is important for a few reasons, and there are a myriad of things to consider in this regard.
In terms of depth, or in other words, how big the desk is from the front to back, you should aim for one that is around two to three feet deep, or even more.
Now, of course, this all depends on the size of your setup.
For one, we are going to assume that you are using flat-screen monitors, mainly because those old bulky CRT monitors are essentially extinct.
The reason why the depth of the desk is important to consider has to do with the ideal distance between your face and the monitor(s).
For the most part, with an average-size monitor, you want the monitor to be no more than 28 inches from your face, ideally around 2 feet (24 inches).
However, this will also depend on the size of the monitor.
If you are using several monitors side by side, or just have one massive monitor, you will need to increase the distance between you and the monitor(s).
The other aspect to consider is whether or not you plan on setting up a laptop in between you and the monitors.
If you are using a gaming laptop, not a tower, you will need to take this into account, and therefore have enough desk depth to accommodate the laptop.
On that same note, you will also need to take into account whether or not you are using a separate keyboard.
If you are using a tower, not a laptop, this shouldn’t be much of an issue, but if you plan on fitting a laptop and a gaming keyboard, you will have to make room for both.
Finally, take into account how good your eyesight is. If you have a bit of trouble seeing things at a distance, especially when it comes to fine details, you may want to have the monitors a bit closer to you.
A good investment to make is a gaming desk with a monitor shelf, as this can help save space, plus it will help raise the monitor up, so your neck is not bent downwards towards the monitor.
Keeping your neck straight is important, so having the monitor(s) at eye level should be a main concern.
You can also invest in a l-shaped gaming desk for even more space.
You might also want to read our guide, how much should a gaming desk cost me?
Desk Width/Length
The depth of the desk is another important factor, but the width or length of the desk is also vital to take into account.
Here, you can use width and length interchangeably, as we are just talking about the overall dimensions from the left side to the right side of the desk.
Now, the only real consideration to take into account here is the size of the monitors, and whether or not you require space to the sides of the monitors.
For instance, if you are using a monitor that is 31 inches wide, a desk that is just a few inches wider would technically suffice.
However, if you also plan on setting up some killer speakers, you will need to take them into account.
Some decent-sized speakers will add somewhere around a foot of space which you will need to make space for.
Moreover, many professional gaming setups use a series of monitors; some people may have up to 3 monitors.
Some will choose to set up the monitors side by side, perfectly in line with each other.
This means that if you have two monitors, each 30 inches wide, you’ll need a gaming desk that is 60 inches wide at the very least, and 90 inches for 3 monitors.
That said, for gaming setups, many people will choose to set up monitors in a peripheral manner. In other words, one straight monitor in the middle, with one on each side.
The side monitors, to create a peripheral vision effect, will be angled towards you from the middle.
This will be similar to those 3-panel bathroom mirrors which allow you to see the sides of your face.
What is important to note here is that setting up the monitors in this peripheral manner will require slightly less desk width than if they were all side by side and in line with each other.
The key, both for deciding the depth and width of your desk, is to know the dimensions and spatial requirements of the gaming equipment you plan on setting up on that same desk.
Conclusion
In theory, this is all quite simple. A gaming desk should be wide enough to accommodate any number of monitors you need, plus a speaker system.
In terms of depth, remember the ideal distance between your eyes and the monitors, as well as if you plan on having a separate laptop and/or keyboard in between you and the monitors.
If you consider all of these factors, you should have no problems choosing the ideal gaming desk size for your needs.
