Posted in: Game Hardware, Games, Review, Secretlab, Video Games | Tagged: gaming desk, Review, Secretlab

We Review The Secretlab Magnus Gaming Desk & L-Shape Extension

An item that we really wanted to try out for a while was the Magnus Gaming Desk from Secretlab, but couldn't because of one little hitch. Most people can get away with just having a regular desk, but based on the work we do and some of the stuff I've personally accumulated over the years, it's practically become a requirement to have an L-Shaped desk. Which, sadly, the Magnus didn't offer… Until now! In late April the company released a new addition to the desk as there is now an attachable L-Shape Extension. Which they sent us for review. But how does the desk work out with the new extension and all of the accessories? I tore my entire home office apart just to build it for this review.

So first and foremost, let's get to the nitty-gritty of the work. Yes, you will need to buy the main desk to utilize the L-Shape, they are not sold as a package deal. Secretlab, as of when we're writing this, does not have a two-in-one package deal. The setup for this is that you first have to build the primary desk, which I did with a friend as you're basically required to make this a two-person job. It is possible to do this alone, but I don't recommend it. Especially since the desk has over 100 lbs. of parts for both units.

The primary desk was pretty easy to put together as it took about 30 minutes between the two of us from unboxing to final construction, as you can see all of the pieces above and below. One of the bonuses to Secretlab's system, which I've appreciated on their chairs over the years, is that they make putting things together about as hassle-free as they can. My old desk required four steps just to put a leg on it. This desk has the leg pre-built and only required two steps. Once the primary desk is built, you then start construction on the L-Shape, which is a little different than the previous one. As you can see from the finished image at the top, instead of having a Management Tray along the long end, it's across the short end. This is done to line up with the main desk and designed so that you can put the extension on either side. depending on what you need.

One of the moments in putting this together that made me laugh was this cardboard addition to the L-Shape kit. The extension only has three legs, so in order to make it work, you have to take a leg from the main table and put it on the extension. When you take the leg you need off, you add this to hold it up temporarily. Which I found truly entertaining that this piece of cardboard was holding up that much weight while we worked on adding the extension to the desk.

So let's go over some of the things about this desk once it was completed. First off, the desktop is a Magnetic Leatherette Desk Mat which you can get in one of several different patterns. Most of them are esports teams, so we went with the standard Secretlab look of black with red trimming. The desk has several accessories that can help make managing things easier, which attach in different ways. For the desk mat, we have these Magnetic Cable Anchors. These are powerful little suckers that attach to the top with powerful magnets and a hollowed-out strip to run a cable through.

As you can see here, I took my charging cables and ran them along the edge of one side. I can now pull these out for however much length I need, then push them back to hide the cord while still keeping them on my desk and within reach when needed. This is a genius design that can also be used along the sides of the table and the legs for whatever smaller cables you need.

Speaking of cable management, let's talk about the Management Tray. For both parts of the design, there is this tray in the back that allows for cables to be easily stored. Our desk came with a Nanoleaf MAGRGB lighting strip, which in my opinion is a necessity if you're going to own this desk. Aside from the fact that it will make the wall behind you look cool and light up the area a little, the key factor to this is that you have a light to see where everything is even in the dark when managing your cables.

I switched the lights to purple to illustrate that even with a darker color, you can easily access the tray and manage cables from above. You can see where certain cords have been wrapped up and tied off within. The tower has been secured and everything is running as it needs to be with easy access and little bunching. (Thanks in part to the Secretlab Cable Fastening Straps they provided.) And in case reaching from above isn't good enough, the desk comes with this easy access tray underneath where I decided to make sure I could get to the power strip with ease. I should point out that this Secretlab desk does NOT come with a power source! You will need to figure out how you're going about supplying the power, especially if you have items spread out or, in my case, everything is tied to a UPS generator that isn't really mobile.

Another accessory that came in handy, as you can see here, is these Magnetic Cable Sheaths. Much like the Cable Anchors above, these attach to the legs of the table to provide a place to both conceal and manage cables running down to the floor. With the exception of a couple of cords that were too short to put behind it with ease, this has taken the vast majority of everything running to my power source and hidden it off to the side. It's great camouflage and management that will make your desk area look cleaner.

When you put all of this together, you get an incredible look. This is a look at my incredibly too geeky for its own good desk after putting everything together. On my old desk you'd be seeing a number of wires still poking out, and while I can't do much for that one black wire in the background going to another room, everything else has been pretty well concealed and managed so that the desk looks pretty clean.

One more addition to the desk that should not be overlooked was this Magnetic Headphone Hanger. This is a small accessory you can purchase separately, but I wanted to point out that it's almost another requirement if you're a hardcore gamer. Here you can store the headset next to you so you can pull it and be ready to jump into a game at a moment's notice. It literally is just one piece that hooks onto the desk from underneath, with a leather pad on the top to protect it so it's not just getting worn away on a metal hook in case you don't use it for a minute. I thought this was a great addition and wish there was a controller version because not everyone is a keyboard cowboy, and not every game is WASD friendly.

Overall, this is one amazing addition to the Secretlab Magnus Gaming Desk. It provides more room that some of us need, fits onto the desk with ease, doesn't feel like a cheap accessory, and actually compliments the original design of the desk. The big thing that will be the dividing rod for people is the price, as an extension currently sells for $450. Which shouldn't come as a shock to anyone as you're essentially buying a second desk of the same make and model with a changed design to specifically work with the first one. If you already have the main desk, it's kind of a no-brainer if you need the added space. But it's also a hefty accessory! As far as it being a Secretlab product goes, it's great. Even if they didn't make it, this is a brilliant design. So it's up to you if it's worth the cost.

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