Desk/Computer Table Recommendations?

We threw most of the old desk/furniture we had in our old apartment and only brought some stuff with us to the new house a while back.
I still like to get a table and or desk.
Is amazon/walmart the best place for something like this?
This is what im looking at

I use to have a big desk but that i no longer have. Seems like the first one the L shape desk seem to have very good reviews… looks pretty nice to.
The other 2 look like plastic table but lot of good reviews. Would you say something like that would be good for putting a computer and things there?
Kind of don’t want to go and get those regular desks as they look pretty plain and are pretty heavy.

Since the OP is looking for advice, let’s move this to IMHO.

Colibri
General Questions Moderator

There are a number of factors. What kind of computer to you have? Do you want multiple monitors? Do you want a printer on the same desk? Do you want a keyboard drawer? Do you need a writing space, file drawers, shelves? When you can answer those, you’ll know what you’re looking for.

What Greg Charles said.

That being said, I got this last year and have been very happy with it. I use it with my laptop and an external monitor, keyboard, and trackball.

I don’t know if it matters to you, but the 2 folding tables are not likely to be at keyboard/mouse height. I get sore hands if I type or mouse on a normal height table for long. Something with a keyboard/mouse tray is better.

This desk & hutch combo is what I use. Sturdy with plenty of storage.

I really, really like this! Wish I had a place to put it in MY house! :slight_smile:

Is the primary feature you’re looking for affordability or transportability?

You can build a sturdy, simple table with some 1x8 boards, 2x2s, and some L-brackets very easily for far less than $100 and it will look a lot better than a plastic folding table.

I had a really old computer desk that i used back then but no longer have it as its very old and we threw it away. It was also incredibly heavy so we threw it away.

I had never heard of an L shape desk until recently and saw a few of these on amazon/walmart and also saw some other desk when searching desk or computer desk.

  1. http://www.amazon.com/Walker-Edison-3-Piece-Contemporary-Multi/dp/B00166DUSG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413639644&sr=8-2&keywords=l+shape+desk

  2. Robot or human?

  3. Robot or human?

  4. Robot or human?

  5. Robot or human?

  6. Robot or human?
    Questions i have on these desk and which one to get.

  7. When i looked at the desks, my initial thought was the l shape desk looked really good. It looks very pleasing and also got lot of good reviews. Has anyone here owned an l shape desk and if so was it like this or was it a wooden l shape desk? The negative thing about this desk seem to be they have that thing for the keyboard for you to put on and people say you can’t put a mouse there and only keyboard. Possible to have this on it when setting it up? I had a computer desk a long time ago where it had one of those keyboard things and i hated it. I always preferred to keep the keyboard on the same table surface as the monitor, same with mouse. But would the issue with this desk be its kinda small? The thing is i want to have my keyboard, mouse and monitor on it. I will be having a 20’ or 24’ monitor on it… and maybe in the future have 2 monitors but at the moment just one. Also i won’t be here that much at this home for a while but i like to have a desk here when i come here every on and off. I travel quite a bit from usa to outside usa and most of my time is spent outside usa. Does this table look like its really small where the monitor and your eyes are going to be pretty close? I dont like having my eyes very close to the monitor but it seems like this desk from where i would be sitting at to the monitor would seem very close.

  8. Is desk 1 and desk 2 basically the same thing? I guess a personal preference but does anyone know why the black desk seems to get so much good reviews? My initial thought is it would be plain looking and the silver/glass probably looks the best.

  9. Anything different with desk 3 from desk 1 or 2? Only thing is its a bit cheaper but doesn’t have many reviews as the first 2.

  10. Would desk 4 be probably a bad idea? It seems to be just a folding table but some people mention they use it for many things and you could pretty much use it anyway you like. Reason i like this is b/c it seems like you could fold it easily and move it to anywhere around the house without an issue. But are these tables safe for laptops? I read someone mention static or something like that so not sure if that is an issue or not. Also i like this as it seems like when im no longer here, someone here can use this desk to put whatever they want. Could be used for picnic or just putting many things in general. Seems to have quite a bit good of reviews.

  11. Is buying either of the 2 last desks probably a bad idea? I personally like the 5th desk much more because it doesn’t have that keyboard thing attached to it like the 6th desk. The desk does look pretty small in pictures but for some reason it seems like a good distance from where i would be sitting to the monitor itself compared to the l shaped desks. Desk 6 i really don’t like these desk as again they have that keyboard thing.

Yes very long post. Also i like to mention that i don’t want a big desk as where isn’t that much space to put it so i don’t want those big ikea desks. I just want something that is not big, easy to set up and look pretty decent and also where i could put monitor, keyboard, mouse where the table doesn’t look cramped up. Thanks.

I have one of the first desk you posted (my wife uses it). The keyboard tray is large enough for an ergonomic keyboard with enough space for a very small mousepad and mouse next to it. Using a normal keyboard there is enough space for a more normal sized mouse pad and mouse. The problem with using the desktop for the mouse and keyboard on many of those desks is that you need a chair that goes up very high if you don’t want to get carpal tunnel/work unergonomically. I should also point out that pretty much every desk that has a keyboard tray can be assembled without some or all of the parts of it, if that is what you want. I know on the Amazon one you linked as #1 you can simply not attach the keyboard tray if you don’t want it.

If you go for the Amazon one, I would get the chair at the same time. It looks like a good deal to me.

As for the mouse - have you considered a ball mouse. Basically the mouse stays put and you use your hand to move the top mounted ball. This is what I use and I think it is much better - no mat needed of course.

Moderator Note

I have merged your two threads together since they are about the same topic.

Try thrift shops that have used furniture. Specialized computer desks are pretty common, and are well-designed for that purpose (but ugly as hell, whether new or used).

By the way, I bought a used office chair, and it was murder on my back, for some unknown reason. Now I use a $5 stackable plastic chair from WalMart, with a cushion of my choice on the seat, and it works great. Light enough to lift every time I want to shift, so no need for rolling casters.

Thanks for the response.
Well i don’t have that much space where i want to put it. The l shaped desk looks great b/c it doesn’t look like it uses up much space and it also looks pretty good.
Would you say the l shape desk would be fine for the distance from the seat to the actual monitor? Would 2 monitors be fine? From looking at ppl who bought it online and the pictures, most of them have 1 computer monitor and i see a few that are 2 monitors but it kind of looks cramped. But that should still be fine right?
Yea i will disregard 5 and 6 as those look very close to the screen.
I seen quite a bit of desks in the stores. The issue is those either don’t look very good or they are too big or too small. I haven’t seen many desks that look like the 1st link for the l shape desk which is why i ask this.
As for the folding desk, there are pictures of ppl saying they used it for a sewing machine. So i figure if it works for sewing machine and looks good, im not sure why putting a monitior there isn’t a bad idea.

I have a two-level Ikea desk with a main desk level and then another narrower level about two feet higher. This is the type of desk.

I have a desktop mid-tower computer, running two monitors (24" and 22"). The tower sits on the floor at the right-hand side of the desk. The monitors have both been removed from their stands and are attached to the desk by their VESA mounts using this stand.

The desk level, in addition to keyboard and mouse, also has a small graphics tablet, a pair of small speakers, and two external hard drive enclosures, each containing two hard drives. The upper level of the desk is home to my cable modem, router, desktop NAS, and laser printer.

In the desk itself, i’ve drilled two 2-inch holes (about two-thirds of the way back, with one to the left and one to the right), and filled them with plastic grommets, which allows for much neater cable management. All of this gives me plenty of room to work, while still allowing easy access to all the equipment.

I find it’s extremely important to me to have mouse and keyboard at what was called typing height back in the days of typewriter. This is approximately 27.5 inches off the floor, while most standard desks are 29 to 30 inches off the floor. I also think it’s important to have a curved edge to the surface, so sharp corners aren’t cutting into your wrists.

This attention to ergonomics has served me well for 20 years of long, long hours at the computer with no serious aches.

My in-laws had this one or one so like it as to be indistinguishable. They moved recently and at their new place there wasn’t room, so they actually left the corner part out and just have the two straight pieces side by side. They liked it, and it seemed quite sturdy.

Consider laying out paper or something on the floor of the room you’re considering putting it (or whatever) in the shape / dimension of the desk you’re considering. That’ll let you get a visual for how it would feel in the room, and whether it would make the room too cramped.

I’m personally not one to use a keyboard tray, in fact I removed it from the desk at the last office I worked in. But I am also tall and long-waisted, so a regular desktop height is fine for me for typing and mousing.

Ball mouse like the one bob++ linked to: That’s a good solution if you don’t have a lot of space for mousing. My father in law had that one. I loathe trackball mouses (mice?) in general but I actually found another Logitech one where you control the ball with your thumb (good for right hand only, sadly).

The questions about storage are good ones. That glass desk doesn’t have any. The in-laws had separate shelves and file drawers in the room. Their printers were on a matching glass table.

Their desk had minimal cable-management assistance (no hooks or channels or whatever); my husband and I spent a couple of hours getting everything routed neatly with cable ties to keep them out of the way.

Morgyn, that desk looks pretty nifty (a drink holder, LOL!!!) but the legs are so slender - doesn’t it tend to vibrate / shimmy?

Something you did NOT mention is the flooring in the room. Carpet? If so, and you plan to use a chair with wheels, you’ll need a chair mat. Sadly, the commercially-available ones haven’t held up well for us - they crack after a few months use. My clever husband actually made one: plywood, with quarter-round on the edges, and adhesive floor tiles (woodtone). Looks great and it seems like it’ll hold up.

If you really want to splurge, there are some desks that can go from sitting to standing height.

Looks cool and only 1400 bucks!
This one even shows a desk used with a treadmill.
Still another option.