GoKawiilIt’s sadly all too rare these days for me to test a product with a feature that genuinely surprises me with just how useful it is. Recently, though, I came across one in the Boulies MagVida gaming desk. I was surprised not only by how useful it is but also by the fact that I’d never seen it before. As you might have guessed from the desk’s name, the company used magnets to help keep your desk tidy and organized. But even aside from that feature, the desk has a lot going for it.
What makes a good gaming desk
To be considered a good gaming desk, or even one of the best standing desks, it needs to nail the basics. The first is that it needs to be solid. There are few things more annoying in this world than a wobbly desk. I have ADHD, so I’m constantly readjusting and repositioning myself at my desk, and feeling it wobble every time I do is unacceptable.
The MagVida is one of the sturdiest desks I’ve used. I’ve not detected any wobble, even when my kids are running around and bumping into it. And it feels truly solid under my arms while I’m working or gaming. Boulies says the desk can support over 260 pounds, and I don’t doubt it.
It also needs to be large enough to accommodate all my stuff, including my 49-inch gaming monitor. The MagVida is certainly not the largest desk around — it only comes in one size of 55 by 27 inches — but I still found it to be more than large enough for everything I need.
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The last basic feature to look for in a standing gaming desk is how quietly and smoothly it raises and lowers. My previous desk, made by Autonomous, worked just fine, but it was a bit loud when raising and lowering. The MagVida is much quieter. You can still hear it in a quiet environment, but with headphones on or in a communal office space, you’ll likely never notice it moving.
How the MagVida desk stands out
The MagVida adds something that is amazingly simple and incredibly useful, all while keeping the price at a reasonable $699: magnets. There are some gaming desks out there that try to throw in every imaginable feature and charge a whole lot of money for it. Sure, many of the features are genuinely useful, like the integrated powerful supply in the Secret Lab Magnus Pro. But some, like the integrated drink cooler and warmer on the LivTab CyberOne, are cool but arguably not actually too useful, especially when they take up valuable desk space.
Magnets, however, are one of those technologies that truly border on magic in how simple yet effective they are. Nearly the entire underside of the MagVida desk is magnetic, and Boulies has built a whole range of accessories to take advantage of it.
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