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EDIT, 7/22/2019: If you read this review, I'm dumb and the lights work completely as intended. With some time under my belt with the desk though, some things I notice now I didn't the first few days. Mostly minor stuff; but I always admire individuals who take the time to give a thorough review of a product they purchased, and that I should do the same.1.) So it's a gaming "desk", not a gaming "desktop". I say this, because although I do intend to build my own rig, I'm using my gaming laptop right now. This desk is not ideal for laptops and is definitely meant for a laptop. I say this, because where the keyboard lies/your forearms, there's a downward angle, on top of the top 1/2 of the middle desk and the bottom are not level. Top is wood, bottom is plastic, with a nice chrome finish at the edge. With that being said, I assume most people use their laptops in the middle of their desks, not super close, not super far away. The mat they provide is definitely helpful, but I actually had to grab my old regular sized mouse pad and put it on the wooded top half, because as I said it's not flush. Not a *huge* deal, but I feel like it should be mentioned.2.) There's black, square plastic inserts to cover the holes where you screwed in the bolts. The 2 that sit at the bottom of the middle of the desk will not fit flush into the desk. And it wasn't just a defective insert, I tried multiple. It's the measurements in the desk. The mat is fitting, and it covers them, but obviously, when you purchase something you want everything to work, and regarding my 1st comment, you want to know specifically what you're buying; especially at over $250.3.) The plastic doesn't feel cheap, (the 2 sides of the desk), but they don't feel premium like the middle. Also, the 2 pieces that connect the large, main pieces of the full piece aren't completely flush. This isn't something you assemble by the way. It isn't very noticeable at all, but I've gotten in the habit of being thorough on Amazon.4.) The last one is potentially me not doing enough research, but I assumed I'd have more desk room. I knew the size and dimensions of the desk, (a bit smaller than my previous one which I was happy about), but it's all of the up's and down's and shapes created in the plastic that really limit your desk space. The enclosed border is nice, and has the lighting which I get and is understandable. But the lights in the front, considering they take up I would say 4-5 inches of *flush* desktop space, I would say the latter is more important for desktop users than the flashy lights. Would of been totally fine just on the sides.Obviously you can still put stuff on the part with the lights (left and right side, bottom of desk adjacent to your elbows), but it's kind of annoying personally, in the sense that it doesn't really feel like it's legitimate space, or qualifies as *usable desk space*.NOW, with that being said, its been 1 month and 1 day since I got the desk, and I went from 3-4 stars. Don't let me nitpicking deter you; I would recommend this desk to anyone, IF they aren't looking for a large amount of usable desk space. It's a gaming desk obviously, so I'm sure the majority will be okay. The things I mentioned are small, but I felt worth mentioning.Quick rundown of some of the positives that I found out with it for a month:-Thought the cupholder was too small for any cup, any normal kitchen glass should fit. Definitely nifty.-The pull out hangars are a really cool tack on the desk, and although my beats just hang there, I could see myself utilize them to a much higher degree in the future, and I'm sure people who've purchased this desk do.-The cord box is awesome, as well as the holes inserted to clean up all the mess. Obviously meant just for cords, but it's a decent size, and although it has an unorthodox build quality due to it's intended function, it's honestly a decent sized cubbie , probably 7-8x4-5? (Inches)Don't use the inverted thing that you'll be kneeing 20 times per gaming session. leave the grips on cuz they look cool, and to cover up the holes.8.5/10, 32 days with desk;Highlight would be the quality of the desk itself (diesregarding the plastic sides which I discussed). The desk is heavy, sturdy, and a fantastic size for gaming use, as well as the little things that really make it feel like a gaming desk, and albeit small, do have legitimate uses.I got the desk for $229.00 for taking out an Amazon credit card, because hey why not? 50 bucks off.Assembly was easy, with some bolts left over; not sure if I missed something, or it was intentional. I actually plan to check tomorrow.Desk is very heavy, and solid. Looks nice, don't put the dumb stickers on though.Some things that I like:The overall look of the desk; with the plastic sides, the back middle of the desk having a nice design to it, the front middle of the desk, being plastic but finalizing the border with a chrome finish. It's just a good looking desk overall.Durability/Solid piece of furniture; This thing is heavy, and is a much appreciated upgrade compared to my old desk. Super sturdy overall.Craftsmanship; You can tell someone took at the very least, a considerable amount of time designing this desk.Utility; Although small, the handles that come out on both sides prove useful. I only use the right side, as the other side is where I walk to leave my computer area and on top of not needing a 2nd one, I'd be afraid I'd get caught on it and break it.Cup holder is nice as well; Although the majority of people drink hugely oversized drinks, and I'm not completely innocent of this, I do my best not to. Cup holder, while plastic, is sturdy, and held a nice sized full glass of milk just fine.I'd appreciate it even more if I didn't already have a full size gaming mouse pad before, but I still do. It's nice, and compliments the overall aesthetic of the desk very well.Some things I'm not a huge fan of;The price; it's not ridiculous, at $279, but if I didn't get it for $229, I'm not *entirely* sure I would of went through with the purchase. I might've, and I'm not saying it's not worth $279, but I'm just cheap. The desk has the quality of the base price, this is probably more of a personal issue.The decline of where they keyboard should lie; unbeknownst to me, which I take fault for, where the keyboard sits, there's a decline, which I'm sure is beneficial to gamers. Well... When you're on a laptop, it's a bit of a pain. Also, even disregarding that it's a bit annoying you're forced to kind of have your mouse on the decline, or on the level ground up a bit.Talking about angles, while the lights are (somewhat) nice (I'll get back to that), the angles that they're tilted at at the front of the desk makes you lose more desk space which is a bit frustrating, due to it being somewhat already lacking, with the choices for the outer ledges, the front lights (mentioned), the cord hider's on BOTH sides, the decline in the middle of the desk (mentioned), and on top of all that, the 2 plastic sides connect with the middle piece, and they aren't at all flush. Not annoyingly so, it's just that you can't comfortably set anything that would normally need to be placed on a symmetrical surface.The lights;... While very cool; they don't function properly. Now, this might be a bigger deal to some people, it doesn't really bother me much at all. When I first set the desk up, I turned off my room lights, turned on the desk lights, went through all of them, was happy and sat with the constantly changing one for a few minutes, then held the button to turn them off.Thought all was good, until I tried to turn them back on again. When I said I think it isn't as big of a deal to me as it would be for others, well, that wouldn't be true if they didn't work at all, but they do. I *thought* after just one time they were busted and were done, but I messed with some stuff, and for some reason, I just have to unplug and plug the USB cable back in and it's good.Like I said, that might annoy some people. For me, not so much. I do use them, but not on a daily basis, and while it would be nice for them to work as fully intended, I'm not going to disassemble my entire desk, etc etc for the lights. They all still work completely normally, just have to unplug, plug.With all that, you'd probably think I hate this desk. I don't, I love it. I'd change some stuff for sure, but it's great, honestly. I just try to return the favor with in-depth comments on items because I REALLY appreciate the people who do the same; so I try to list everything.You won't be disappointed, and I went through a LOT of desks on amazon, like all of them.One more thing to add; not really sure what the angled plastic piece at the end of the desk going towards you is for, but for me, along with more TAKING UP DESK SPACE, it's just an annoying thing I kick a couple times a week. Planning on taking it off I think, really have no idea why it's there? Considering the stickers that came with the desk, I'm assuming aesthetics.Hope that helps guys
