With over a dozen halls full of mainstream furniture, the big Aerocool/ThunderX3 stand in hall 3 of the IMM show in Cologne really grabs your attention. Alongside the brand new RGB chairs, the products that stood out the most was a new range of gaming desks.
The market for desks is clearly huge. The market for specialised gaming desks is largely unexplored. If you're employed in an office, then you'll be spending an average of 55% of your working day at your desk. Gamers even more so. Given how much time we spend sitting at them, maybe the addition of a little RGB bling could be a good thing.
The design process for desks is a little behind that for gaming chairs over at Aerocool, but they are still expecting to have high-street-ready versions by Computex in June. There were 3 models on show at the IMM furniture event in Cologne and we got up close and personal with all the models.
P7-GD120 RGB Gaming Desk
The ‘120’ in the name indicates that it is 1.2 metres long. It also has a gas lift system that lets you control the height of the desk – from 75cm to 117cm. There is no confirmed pricing at this stage, but you’d expect it to be in the £500 to £600 range – it’s an etchable acrylic surface.
P7-GD160 RGB Gaming Desk
Same table/technology, but 1.6 metres long and a little more expensive. You can remove this temporary cover and have the whole desk illuminated, but Aerocool are likely to supply a special surface that works with a wide range of gaming peripherals.
PC Concept Desk
This is a modular product with tempered glass surface and enough space inside to allow for the building of a full gaming PC – with a motherboard up to E-ATX size. While we were shooting the desk, Aerocool gaming furniture guru, Jürgen Urbantat decided to demonstrate the ‘Business Class, lay flat' function of the Aerocool chairs (to the crowd's delight and the customer's surprise). For a more detailed look at the desk and its features – check the video!
All 3 come with a remote control – just like the new Aerocool RGB chairs. Unlike the chairs, it seems that the desks will be mains powered. The main reason for the difference is that chairs need to move around and a cable would be very limiting.
KitGuru says: if you've used a table with a full width gaming surface, you'll know the kind of freedom can offer. If the ventilation is taken care of and the street price competitive, the PC Concept Desk certainly seems appealing for professionals as well as gamers.