what's on my desk, 2025 edition

and also what's under it

After the Magnus Pro review , some people asked about some of the gear that I use (I'm definetly not making it up, trust me), so I thought it would be a good idea to make a post going through the stuff on my desk I use daily (and give myself an excuse to take and edit some more pics).

Desk

I won't explain my desk choice, as I wrote about it last week, it is the Secretlab Magnus Pro (150cm x 70 cm), with the pc mount and a monitor arm. Would you kindly read my review ?

Chair

Honestly, I don't love the look of gaming chairs. Looks like someone took a car seat and slapped some wheels on it, so office chairs it is.
I borrowed a Steelcase Leap 2 from work (seriously, I borrowed it), and I will definitely get something similar at some point. It's super comfortable, has a very neutral design, and most importantly, my back doesn't hurt after sitting in it for hours.
We also own a Hawthorne Soji, and it is very similar to the Steelcase but it does feel cheaper (it is indeed way cheaper).

PC

Let's talk about my PC, which usually would be the centrepiece of any setup. I don't have a cutting-edge rig; I am firm believer of running things into the ground before buying new stuff.
The price of GPUs skyrocketing on 2020 (tdlr: thanks cryptobros and aibros), helped me in keeping my OG 1080 from retirement (hey, just like our generation, you will work till you drop).

Other than that, I rebuilt most of my pc on 2022, as I was moving a lot due to work, and I wanted a smaller computer that would be lighter and easier to move. It might not be a very powerful machine, but it's more than enough for the games I play. And when it needs an upgrade, I have plans to turn it into a home server (I foresee that this will turn into a series of blog posts of my tech problems)

Full specs:

• CPU: Ryzen 5 5600
• GPU: Gigabyte 1080 Windforce 8GB
• CPU cooler: Noctua NH-U1S
• RAM: 32gb 3200 Teamgroup T-Create
• Motherboard: Asus Rog Strix B550
• Power supply: Cooler Master V750 SFX
• Case: NZXT H210i
• SSD: Samsung EVO 970 500GB + Seagate Barracuda 3.5 HDD 2TB
• OS: Win 11, but I just have switched from Debian 12
• Other: sleeved black cables from Cablemod

It is not the fanciest, but it is a stable system that gets the job done.

Monitor

I was on the hunt for a new monitor a few months ago, and I had two main requirements: high refresh rates (144Hz+) and a built-in KVM switch. Switching between my work PC and personal rig frequently meant having two of each peripheral (keyboard, mouse, webcam...) just wasn’t going to cut it. Plus, I wanted to keep my budget under 500 CAD, which narrowed down my options significantly.

After some research, I settled on the Gigabyte M27QA KVM. I found a fantastic deal at a local shop for 450 CAD, and I’m really glad I went with it.

I'm no screen snob, but I need some resemblance of color accuracy for work, which this screen has. Maybe you won't be able to use it for high end photo editing workflows, but then, you shouldn't buy a gaming focused screen. But having okay colors, with high refresh rates, its a great panel for the price.

Plus, the KVM switch is a must for anyone that needs to connect more than one PC to one screen. It might sound stupid, but it has been a game changer for me, not having to switch the screen input manually, and being able to use the same peripherals for both pc's.

Overall, for the price and features, especially that high refresh rate and KVM switch, I'm very satisfied with my choice.

Monitor light

My desk was in a dark and gloomy place at some point in 2021 (who wasn't, honestly), and getting some nice lighting in was very annoying to do, without getting screen glare, so I decided to try one of this monitor lights that the internet seems to be so divided on.

I went for the cheapest option I could find, no fancy controller or anything, and honestly? I loved it. It’s the Quntis L205-QU, and it still works perfectly. At less than 50 CAD (around 35 USD) on Amazon right now, if you’re in need of some illumination, I’d definitely recommend checking it out.

Webcam

The Logitech C920x is probably the most common webcam out there, and honestly, I don’t need anything more to handle work meetings or catch up with friends and family. Maybe at some point I will look into a fancier webcam, or into hooking my dslr into the pc, but for now, it just works.

Keyboard

This will be its own blog post at some point, as I might have picked up a mechanical keyboard addiction the past 2 years, and it is indeed a deep rabbit hole.
My current keyboard is actually, my first keyboard, but it has undergone a lot of plastic surgery. It is a rehoused Ducky One 2 Mini (brown Cherry switches) in a Tofu 60 redux case with PBTfans Neon R2 keycaps.
It's a 60% keyboard, so no arrow keys, function keys, or other "superfluous" keys here (controversial take, I know). Oh, and one of the fancy aviator USB-C cables from KBD fans too.

Mouse

After around four years with the Logitech MX Master 3, it was definitely time for an upgrade—my mouse was starting to look more like a dead rat! I wanted something lighter because, as nice as the MX Master is, it feels like a sack of potatoes in comparison.

So, after some research (which wasn't as extensive as I usually do), I decided to go with the Pulsar Xlite V3 L. This super light mouse is quite ergonomic, especially for those of us with larger hands. It also has a super fancy sensor, and apparently, great performance for competitive FPS players, , but I wouldn't know about that—the most competitive thing I do is play TFT, so take that with a grain of salt.
So far, it has been great, but I want to use it for longer before I give my final verdict.

Audio

I survived with some no-name earphones for a long time (I'm not exactly an audio nerd), but recently, I picked up the Moondrop Chu 2 IEMs, and I’m really happy with them for the price. They sound great and have been a solid upgrade.
That said, I still plan on getting some wireless headphones, since I've used the HyperX Cloud flight for years and years, and I still miss the freedom of no cables, so update coming soon !

Microphone

Sick of having always crappy quality from using the headset mic, I bought the cheapest USB microphone I could find on amazon. So far, the Fifine K669B has been working well for my uses, which are talking to family and friends on discord.
Maybe in the future I will update to a real audio setup with an XLR mic and an audio interface. For the time being, I might get a low profile arm to clear some space on the desk.

Misc

For games that are unplayable with a mouse and keyboard (like FPS games, he he he), I rely on the Xbox wireless controller. This generation, I ended up getting an Xbox, so my controllers are used on both my PC and the console, depending on what I'm playing and where.

I also picked up an ESR 2-in-1 charger stand, which was pretty cheap compared to other options. I don’t need fast charging, but it looks nice with my iPhone on it. So far it has not caught fire, so positive review for me.

Well, that's mostly all of my tech that exists around my desk in September 2024. If you got this far, you probably have a lot of free time on your hands, so you might as well subscribe to the newsletter.

Planning to add one more monitor & put the microphone on a low profile arm, other than that I'm pretty happy with it.