Desk Accessories For Gamers That Level Up Your Battlestation

If you’re looking to take your gaming setup to the next level, we have a list of super functional accessories that will do exactly that.

You already know about the essential stuff like mechanical keyboards, gaming mice, and high refresh rate monitors. But what about the accessories?!

Getting your accessories dialed in can make your gaming experience so much more enjoyable. All the accessories we cover in this article will solve real problems for gamers. As a gamer myself, I use almost all of the solutions we cover below!

10 Most Useful Gaming Accessories

Here are some of the best gaming accessories that will actually improve the functionality of your desk setup overall. If you like minimalism, check out our guide to minimal gaming desk setups.

1) Reclaim Desk Space with Monitor Arms

Aftermarket monitor arms replace your factory monitor stand with a desk-mounted stand that is much more space efficient.

Instead of a huge factory stand taking up a significant amount of space directly under your monitor, monitor arms only require a small clamping area that can be offset to one side of your desk.

The result of using a monitor stand is a huge boost in space, and a boost in desk aesthetics as well. In our article on the benefits of monitor arm mounts, we touch on the following advantages:

• Get more desk space
• Improve desk aesthetics
• Dial in the perfect monitor height
• Place your monitor anywhere
• Easily adjust the monitor’s position and angle

2) Grab An XL Graphic Desk Mat

All gamers know that a larger mousepad results in a better gaming experience. You get seemingly borderless movement with your mouse.

Turns out, there is a better solution: extra large desk mats. These huge desk mats cover a much larger area of your desk. At a minimum, they cover both your keyboard and your mouse.

Desk mats have a bunch of advantages compared to mousepads.

• More desk protection
• Increased wrist comfort
• Dampens keyboard noise
• Keeps keyboard in place
• Uninterrupted mousepad

So you get a good list of benefits when you switch from a mousepad to a desk mat. For the best gaming experience, go with a desk mat from brands like Corsair or Steelseries.

3) Use The Elgato Stream Deck For Shortcuts

Many people hear “Stream Deck” and dismiss it as it sounds like it’s only for streamers. I’ll tell you firsthand, I’ve never streamed and I could not live without my Elgato Stream Deck.

It’s basically a shortcut machine on steroids! I use it for opening programs, programming complex keyboard shortcuts to a single button, arranging windows, controlling smart lights, and so much more.

We have dedicated articles on how non-streamers can use the Stream Deck, and how to get the most out of the Stream Deck.

Each button has a customizable backlit LCD icon which allows you to have a visual reminder of what each shortcut does. If you have a bunch of small repetitive motions on your computer that slowly eat away your time, I would highly recommend grabbing one.

They come in three sizes, 6-button, 15-button, and 32-button. In my opinion, the 15-button version I have is perfect.

4) Headphone Stand or Hooks

If you just have your headphones sitting on your desk or in a drawer, you can give them a much better home.

Headphone stands and hooks give your headphones a dedicated home and make them easy to access at any time. They also let you put your fancy gaming headphones on display.

We have a dedicated article on the best 3D-printed headphone stands and hooks here. Here’s an image of my own Logitech G435 headphones on my printed headphone stand.

If you purchase a stand, I would highly recommend one with a weighted base or one that clamps to your table. That will give you a solid mount that doesn’t shift around when you want to grab your headphones.

5) An Ethernet Cable with Reach

If you experience WiFi latency and constant dropoffs from your router, it might be worth changing your connection type to one that is a bit more reliable. WiFi is also susceptible to all kinds of interference and the range drops dramatically from room to room.

The good old ethernet cable is much more solid as it comes with a super reliable connection and higher transfer speeds. To get the same out of a comparable WiFi router, you would have to spend a pretty penny.

The quality and stability of the connection you get with an ethernet cable for the price is really hard to beat. For example, this 50ft ethernet cable is under $15!

6) Breathable Mesh Office Chair

This might be a controversial opinion, but gaming chairs are a little gimmicky. They cost a ton, and are not super ergonomic. They especially suffer in those long gaming sessions because they are not well-ventilated.

I always recommend anyone who games at their desk to go with a breathable mesh back office chair instead. Here are all the benefits you’ll get when you go with a proper mesh back chair instead of a gaming chair.

• Better breathability with the mesh design.
• More comfortable as it better conforms to your body.
• Adjustable lumbar support is a common option.
• Less bulky & less weight making them less of a burden to move around.

If you want a deeper dive into gaming chairs vs office chairs, check out this article from BTOD.com. I would highly recommend searching the used market for a chair from Steelcase or Herman Miller. They are the best ergonomic chairs in the business that last a very long time.

I currently am using a Herman Miller Sayl that I found used off Facebook Marketplace!

7) Downsize Your Keyboard

A lot of the affordable keyboards out there are actually full-size keyboards. That means a lot of us gamers will have a full-size keyboard.

When it comes to gaming, these full-size keyboards can actually work against you. Using a full-size keyboard next to your mouse takes away valuable sliding range from your mouse.

Downsizing your keyboard means you can keep your hands in the same position while having a much more uninterrupted range of motion with your mouse.

The largest keyboard without the keypad is called a TKL (ten-key-less) keyboard. This keeps the function keys and your arrow keys. If you want to go even smaller there are 75%, & 60% keyboards too.

8) Dedicated USB Volume Knob

Whenever you’re in the middle of a game and the volume just gets too loud or too quiet, you usually have to go to your desktop and adjust the volume.

That can be a pretty annoying thing to do because your game has to change from full screen, to minimized, back to full screen. A lot can happen in a game during that time!

Using a dedicated USB volume control gives you the freedom to adjust the volume at any time without exiting the game! No more interruptions just so you can hear things clearly in-game!

I currently use a re-purposed control device that came with my BenQ IdeaCam to adjust my volume on the fly. It’s a real lifesaver.

9) Protect Your Battlestation with Coasters

If you’re into long gaming sessions or just want to enjoy a cold beverage at the same time, coasters are an absolute must.

They protect your desk from those horrible condensation rings and give all your drinks a dedicated home. Not only do they protect you from those condensation rings, but they also help reduce accidents!

Your desk deserves this type of love. Plus, coasters come in a ton of different styles at very low prices, so it’s a no-brainer to grab a set.

10) Dedicated Microphone & Boom Arm

If you use headphones with a dedicated microphone, you might not be giving your friends or audience the best audio experience.

Dedicated microphones are relatively affordable devices that can boost the clarity and quality of your voice pretty dramatically. They typically have better sensitivity than your headset microphone as well.

If your headphones have a mic arm that swivels into place, those joints are very prone to failing as well. A dedicated microphone on a boom arm does not have the same risk which means your investment will last much longer.

Check out this very popular microphone and boom stand combo: