IKEA Enters the Gaming Market
In a semi-surprising collaboration, IKEA announced they would be bringing a line of gamer-focused items into their catalog next month! In partnership with Republic of Gamers (ROG), the megaretailer promises to deliver “a better gaming experience”.
While the items won’t be available until October 2021, we’ve already seen some pictures and descriptions of the available gear. Here are the items I plan on purchasing to level up my gaming area!
IKEA UPPSPEL Gaming Desk ($789)
I’ve been in the market for a few weeks and haven’t seen a good value on desks vs the price. Since upgrading to the Secret Lab chair a couple years ago, I was hoping their desk would be my next upgrade.
Unfortunately, their offering doesn’t allow you to easily adjust the height of the surface. IKEA delivers a similarly priced desk with full height control!
I didn’t realize how much I wanted this until I saw my embarrassingly low daily step count. Having the option to stand for part of the day is great for your overall health and allows you to customize the height for an ideal ergonomic setup.
Most “premium” desks of this size offer an adjustable height at two times the price. I can’t imagine the motors on the desk having much variance in this category, so IKEA gets an A+ for their price-to-value ratio here.
Speaking of size, there’s only a $50 difference between the normal-sized UPPSPEL and the large. Personally, I’ll be picking up the 70” desk to allow room for my ultrawide monitor and gaming consoles.
Next, the desk seems to be made from high-quality materials. You get a fiberboard top with powder-coated steel to ensure the desk maintains its new look and feel.
IKEA and ROG did a great job with the design as well. It has a clean look and is a nice solution for cable management.
Overall, the UPPSPELL avoids flashy RBG in favor of classic design, and high-quality essentials at a reasonable price. Gamers can even buy the underframe separately if they have their own tabletop!
The IKEA UPPSPEL gaming desk is a no-brainer for anyone looking to upgrade their battle station.
IKEA UPPSPEL CPU Stand ($29.99)
Keeping your desktop cool and clean is important if you want your rig to last as long as possible. This means maintaining good airflow and reducing the amount of dust that gets into the tower.
I keep my secondary desktop on the ground, which goes against both these principles for good maintenance. Luckily, this CPU stand solves those issues while making it easy to move around my office when I need to swap parts.
I hadn’t even heard of a CPU stand until this catalog, but it makes a lot of sense. This will prevent me from keeping two computers on my new desk and, hopefully, reduce the amount of dust getting picked up from the ground.
IKEA’s stand is similarly constructed from powder-coated steel. It’s unclear whether the casters on the bottom spin, but I would assume the designers thought to include rotating wheels.
At only $20, it’s a great addition if you’ve traditionally kept a PC on the ground.
IKEA UPPSPEL Drawer Unit on Casters ($169)
This is an honorable mention since I’ll be switching over from an L-desk that has built-in storage. There are a ton of these available on Amazon at a similar price, but it’s nice to pick up one that matches the desk.
One thing to note, it doesn’t look like this drawer has a lock, so this may be a dealbreaker for anyone who considers privacy a must-have. Otherwise, IKEA delivers a sleek drawer that reflects the overall feel of the collection
IKEA Gets Off to a Good Start
There are a few dozen products in the collection to start, but these are the ones that really stood out for me. The gaming chairs look okay, but it’s hard to say how comfortable they’ll be by just looking at the picture. Judging by the price, I don’t think the gaming chairs will have as much adjustability vs some of the top brands.
IKEA also put out some interesting-looking accessories, including a hand-shaped stand, a mouse bungee, and a cup holder. As expected, all the prices are competitive, but will likely only be worth it if you like the specific designs.
Overall, I’m glad IKEA made the jump into gaming and I’m hoping they continue to build out their available suite of products in the coming years!
What items are you most excited about from the IKEA gaming offerings? Do you have any recommendations for alternatives to these products? Join the conversation in the comments section, below!
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