In today’s world, building a set up around our PCs have become just as tedious as building a nice looking home theatre. Accomplishing take-home work and leisure activities on our home computers, after all, take up much of our waking time when we’re at home; so why not make it a comfortable space to both work and play in.
You can argue that you can use your laptop on the dining table or, better yet, on the bed. They’re both just as functional. However, these spaces aren’t really made for long hours of working or playing on. Dining chairs are certainly going to present you with back and neck problems if you stay on them for a long period. Your bed, on the other hand, always poses the threat of making you fall asleep leaving you with unfinished work or angry Fortnite teammates. For these reasons, having a dedicated desk for tasks that need to be tackled on a computer is still the most sensible thing.
I’ve compiled several of the most important things to consider. Whether you have a laptop or a desktop PC, these simple tips will make your teammates, neck, and back thank you.
The Desk
Perhaps one of the most overlooked parts of the home PC set up is the desk. There are plenty of desks out there that has both the surface area and the load capacity for all the things that you need. However, not all desks have the ergonomics that you specifically need.
For one thing, the height of the desk is an important aspect that we usually forget to incorporate in our desk purchase decision. Luckily, progressive companies have realized this and made standing desks a thing.
The important point here is to keep you from hunching your back too much just to view your screen. This is often the case when you’re working on your laptop but, poor monitor placement can do this to you as well. Adjusting the height of the desk itself to a comfortable level, therefore, does wonders for your neck and back.
Standing desks are a great way to deal with this problem but if a secondary desk isn't an option especially in a home with limited floor area, a pneumatically adjustable height desk might be the next best thing. These desks transform from your normal sitting desk to a standing desk with just the push of a button.
If, however, that’s not your cup of tea, you can opt for a monitor or laptop stand. These small contraptions can raise or lower your screen height depending on your needs.
The Chair
You’ll be spending a lot of time sitting in front of your desk set up so you better invest in a good ergonomic chair with proper materials.
There are plenty of styles to choose from. There are high-backs, mid-backs, and other forms of back support. These are a matter of preference.
However, whatever you do, always choose a pneumatic adjustable chair. Your preference can vary from time to time so having the ability to change that is something you’d want handy.
If you like fresh air in your computer space, you probably use the fan a lot. For these types of situations, it’s better to have a mesh or canvas chair. Leather or faux leather chairs tend to retain heat so you’ll be sweating even in a well-ventilated room. If you prefer your space to be air-conditioned, then these materials should work well.
Lighting
Nowadays, we stare at too many screens. From the computer at work to our smartphone on our commute, our eyes are constantly exposed to a tremendous amount of light. Improper lighting when we’re using these devices can really do damage to our eyes. Because of this, lighting on your desk set up must also be given enough attention.
For most people, a simple task lamp can do the job well. Having a light on focused on your screen is enough to keep your eyes from getting fried by your screen. However, there are a few products that can do this job much better.
BenQ’s ScreenBar e-reading LED, for example, is a task light that can be clamped directly onto your screen. This ensures maximum lighting on the screen while avoiding shining the light directly onto your eyes.
Some desk set up aficionados also swears by having LED light strips installed for both mood lighting and just overall aesthetic design. Whether it has a huge effect on productivity and enjoyment of your computer is something that I'll leave up to you. It helps that these strips aren't expensive at all.
I/O
Having a comfortable way to interact with your computer is one of the most important things to ensure. Two of the most important in this category are the monitor and keyboards.
Monitor
Whether you’re a desktop PC or a laptop user, your experience with your computer will definitely go a long way if you use a decent monitor with it. The generally larger screens of dedicated monitors and the overall better panel and technology used on well-priced dedicated monitors just can’t be matched. Sure, some laptops have 4K OLED and HDR-enabled panels now but the size is surely still a bit lacking. For heavy multitasking and content consumption, even these specs might not be enough.
It’s easy enough to do for laptop users because of the new USB-C standard. For older notebooks, there are HDMI ports that are easily accessible too.
Your desk set up preferably should have at least a 1080p monitor. Anything lower than that and you’ll be able to see individual pixels even without looking for them. This would be like a regression to 90s era tech which is not good for both working with and watching on.
Keyboard
Getting a nice quality keyboard is also a huge step towards making your experience with your computer a lot more comfortable. If you haven’t used a mechanical keyboard before, you should try it. It makes such a difference when you’re typing. The satisfying sound and key travel of each keypress just make you want to punch in a few more letters in rapid succession. It’s a bit noisy though, so steer clear if you’d like to type in silence.
You can also go for traditional chiclet keyboards, of course, if that’s your preference. They’re generally more silent but the key travel won’t be as satisfying as a mechanical keyboard.
You can argue that you can use your laptop on the dining table or, better yet, on the bed. They’re both just as functional. However, these spaces aren’t really made for long hours of working or playing on. Dining chairs are certainly going to present you with back and neck problems if you stay on them for a long period. Your bed, on the other hand, always poses the threat of making you fall asleep leaving you with unfinished work or angry Fortnite teammates. For these reasons, having a dedicated desk for tasks that need to be tackled on a computer is still the most sensible thing.
I’ve compiled several of the most important things to consider. Whether you have a laptop or a desktop PC, these simple tips will make your teammates, neck, and back thank you.
The Desk
Perhaps one of the most overlooked parts of the home PC set up is the desk. There are plenty of desks out there that has both the surface area and the load capacity for all the things that you need. However, not all desks have the ergonomics that you specifically need.
For one thing, the height of the desk is an important aspect that we usually forget to incorporate in our desk purchase decision. Luckily, progressive companies have realized this and made standing desks a thing.
The important point here is to keep you from hunching your back too much just to view your screen. This is often the case when you’re working on your laptop but, poor monitor placement can do this to you as well. Adjusting the height of the desk itself to a comfortable level, therefore, does wonders for your neck and back.
Standing desks are a great way to deal with this problem but if a secondary desk isn't an option especially in a home with limited floor area, a pneumatically adjustable height desk might be the next best thing. These desks transform from your normal sitting desk to a standing desk with just the push of a button.
If, however, that’s not your cup of tea, you can opt for a monitor or laptop stand. These small contraptions can raise or lower your screen height depending on your needs.
The Chair
You’ll be spending a lot of time sitting in front of your desk set up so you better invest in a good ergonomic chair with proper materials.
There are plenty of styles to choose from. There are high-backs, mid-backs, and other forms of back support. These are a matter of preference.
However, whatever you do, always choose a pneumatic adjustable chair. Your preference can vary from time to time so having the ability to change that is something you’d want handy.
If you like fresh air in your computer space, you probably use the fan a lot. For these types of situations, it’s better to have a mesh or canvas chair. Leather or faux leather chairs tend to retain heat so you’ll be sweating even in a well-ventilated room. If you prefer your space to be air-conditioned, then these materials should work well.
Lighting
Nowadays, we stare at too many screens. From the computer at work to our smartphone on our commute, our eyes are constantly exposed to a tremendous amount of light. Improper lighting when we’re using these devices can really do damage to our eyes. Because of this, lighting on your desk set up must also be given enough attention.
For most people, a simple task lamp can do the job well. Having a light on focused on your screen is enough to keep your eyes from getting fried by your screen. However, there are a few products that can do this job much better.
BenQ’s ScreenBar e-reading LED, for example, is a task light that can be clamped directly onto your screen. This ensures maximum lighting on the screen while avoiding shining the light directly onto your eyes.
Some desk set up aficionados also swears by having LED light strips installed for both mood lighting and just overall aesthetic design. Whether it has a huge effect on productivity and enjoyment of your computer is something that I'll leave up to you. It helps that these strips aren't expensive at all.
I/O
Having a comfortable way to interact with your computer is one of the most important things to ensure. Two of the most important in this category are the monitor and keyboards.
Monitor
Whether you’re a desktop PC or a laptop user, your experience with your computer will definitely go a long way if you use a decent monitor with it. The generally larger screens of dedicated monitors and the overall better panel and technology used on well-priced dedicated monitors just can’t be matched. Sure, some laptops have 4K OLED and HDR-enabled panels now but the size is surely still a bit lacking. For heavy multitasking and content consumption, even these specs might not be enough.
It’s easy enough to do for laptop users because of the new USB-C standard. For older notebooks, there are HDMI ports that are easily accessible too.
Your desk set up preferably should have at least a 1080p monitor. Anything lower than that and you’ll be able to see individual pixels even without looking for them. This would be like a regression to 90s era tech which is not good for both working with and watching on.
Keyboard
Getting a nice quality keyboard is also a huge step towards making your experience with your computer a lot more comfortable. If you haven’t used a mechanical keyboard before, you should try it. It makes such a difference when you’re typing. The satisfying sound and key travel of each keypress just make you want to punch in a few more letters in rapid succession. It’s a bit noisy though, so steer clear if you’d like to type in silence.
You can also go for traditional chiclet keyboards, of course, if that’s your preference. They’re generally more silent but the key travel won’t be as satisfying as a mechanical keyboard.