Which desk size for dual monitor streaming setup?

[MeedCEM]

Hello everybody,

 

long time lurker here - usually in the Tech News and New Builds & Planning sections though.

I hope this kind of thread belongs here, please let me know if not and where I should post. A TL;DR will be at the bottom of this post.

 

With new hardware on the horizon I'm planning an upgrade to my entire streaming setup. Since new hardware isn't out just yet, I took some time to do some "home improvements" to my designated streaming room in preparation for Ryzen 4000/Ampere and after finishing the painting process last week I am now shopping for desks. Up until now I used an old-prebuilt PC, a 24" 1080p monitor and a laptop as my secondary screen. I will upgrade my entire setup, so here's everything that has to fit on the desk: 2x 27" screens, 1x stream deck, 2x key lights clamped to the backside of the desk, 1x boom arm for mic, 1x PC (most likely going to be ITX/mATX like the Phanteks Shift Air or Phanteks Evolv mATX - worst case would be a Phanteks Evolv X ATX case, but nothing like a Corsair 1000D; a fairly standard ATX mid-tower case at most) and obviously keyboard and mouse. Also: I'm a very tidy (borderline OCD) kind of person, so I won't need room for anything else on the desk - no food, dishes, water bottles, note pads, smart phone or anything like that.

 

There is a place in my room that I would really love to put the desk in, however the maximum desk size would be 180cm / 70.9in in width (I don't want to get a custom desk, and 180cm is a very common desk size here in Europe). The monitors are 61cm each and since the secondary monitor will be angled a bit I expect a maximum width of 120cm/47.2in at max. Which would leave me with 60cm/23.6in for the PC. The key lights, and mic arm will be mounted to the back of the desk and won't take up any space; the stream deck sits in front of my secondary monitor next to my keyboard. So in theory this should be plenty of room, right?

 

Do you think it would be worth it to rearrange some things in my room and go with a 200cm/78.7in desk in another position in my room (that I wouldn't like quite as much, but it's not a deal breaker or anything, just personal preference when it comes to interior design, I guess) or am I overthinking things here? In your experience is there anything I missing in the equation above or something that might annoy me over time?

 

I attached a horrible painting of the layout of the room. As you might be able to see from the side view, the room has a sloping roof - which isn't a huge problem, but I wouldn't be able to mount a greenscreen on the ceiling for example if I went with the 200cm/78.7in desk. The sun also shines right through the window during sunset and hits the wall where the 200cm/78.7 desk would sit; again: not a huge deal, blackout curtains can handle it. I just thought I'd mention it. 

 

I'm sorry this post got out of hand and a bit long. Thanks for reading this if you did and I'd appreciate any input and recommendations from your experience. By now you might've figured out that I'd love to hear that I'm okay with 180cm/70.9 and I can go ahead just like I initially planned - but if you think that I'd be much better off with an additional 20cm/8in and it's worth to rearrange things for please let me know.

 

 

TL;DR: Is a 180cm/70.9in desk sufficient for a dual monitor setup (2x 27") with the PC on the table as well or would it be worth to go for a 200cm/78.7in desk (in a spot that I don't like as much as the one for the slightly smaller desk)

 

Edited July 22, 2020 by MeedCEM
Forgot layout - proportions are completely out of whack, don't worry about it.

[Mateyyy]

Just going by the TL;DR so sorry if I missed any important details, but I've got two 24" monitors, a Define R6 (which is a pretty big mid-tower) and still some breathing room on a 200cm desk, any by breathing room I mean enough that if I'd be on a 180cm desk I'd still most likely be just fine.

If you've got a similar or smaller case than mine and aren't planning on using ultrawides, I think 180cm will be plenty.

[MeedCEM]

10 minutes ago, Mateyyy said:

Just going by the TL;DR so sorry if I missed any important details, but I've got two 24" monitors, a Define R6 (which is a pretty big mid-tower) and still some breathing room on a 200cm desk, any by breathing room I mean enough that if I'd be on a 180cm desk I'd still most likely be just fine.

If you've got a similar or smaller case than mine and aren't planning on using ultrawides, I think 180cm will be plenty.

 

Thank you so much for your input, very helpful!

 

Case will most likely be ITX (Asus Z11 or pPhanteks Shift Air) at worst a Phanteks Evolv X (size wise the worst ).

 

no ultrawide- I was considering the PG35VQ, but it‘s just not ideal for streaming at that aspect ratio and too expensive  for a 70% competitive FPS player. 

Edited July 22, 2020 by MeedCEM

[Mateyyy]

9 minutes ago, MeedCEM said:

Thank you so much for your input, very helpful!

 

Case will most likely be ITX (Asus Z11 or pPhanteks Shift Air) at worst a Phanteks Evolv X (size wise the worst ).

 

no ultrawide- I was considering the PG35VQ, but it‘s just not ideal for streaming at that aspect ratio and too expensive  for a 70% competitive FPS player. 

Yeah the Evolv X seems to be slightly wider than the Define R6, but even with that you should be good I reckon.

Also wow that's one expensive monitor.

[IkeaGnome]

23 minutes ago, MeedCEM said:

 

Thank you so much for your input, very helpful!

 

Case will most likely be ITX (Asus Z11 or pPhanteks Shift Air) at worst a Phanteks Evolv X (size wise the worst ).

 

no ultrawide- I was considering the PG35VQ, but it‘s just not ideal for streaming at that aspect ratio and too expensive  for a 70% competitive FPS player. 

I'm using this desk, https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/956652/Realspace-Magellan-Performance-71-W-L/;jsessionid=0000llXBV6JTD0kz6ARWqdgtZgv:17h4h7aom, ends up being 180 CM. I do have 1 large monitor, an ultrawide, and a large case. I'm actually downsizing because of space. You should be fine, but with a massive tower on the right it got too cluttered for me. In reality, most of my clutter problem comes from the cable for the monitor on the left being too short to put my case closer to the edge of the desk.

For size reference

Spoiler

 

[MeedCEM]

13 minutes ago, Voluspa said:

-shortened-

Thank you, this actually helps a lot as well!

 

25 minutes ago, Mateyyy said:

Yeah the Evolv X seems to be slightly wider than the Define R6, but even with that you should be good I reckon.

Also wow that's one expensive monitor.

I agree, with the primary monitor in "the middle" and the secondary monitor's bezel sitting flush with the end of the desk I'm left with at least 60cm for the PC (second monitor will be angled anyways, so not quite as wide as the primary one).

In theory I should be fine, I just wanted to double check with you guys and was hoping for some input from experience on this.

(And yeah, I've been eyeing that monitor for a while and with Ampere on the horizon I'd actually be able to buy a card that can somewhat consistenly (hopefully) push those frames at that resolution. The price and aspect ratio for streaming kinda make it less attractive though. Still tempting  )

[IkeaGnome]

12 minutes ago, MeedCEM said:

Thank you, this actually helps a lot as well!

 

 

No problem. My larger monitor is a 34 ultra wide for size reference. You can see the couple different stages of desk uncluttering I went through. Tried monitor risers to keep more desk space, worked great for like a year then I wanted more again. Went to a VESA double arm. Holds the weight of those monitors excellently. I haven't had issues with them "falling forward" (face down towards the desk). That mount even held up to our 7.1 earthquake a year and a half ago. I kept the monitor risers because it's nice to put stuff there. There's a notch my phone fits in, but doesn't block my screen. I've updated since that picture. I have a boom arm and mic, but I don't have a good picture of my desk set up that way. I'm home in like 9 days and can get one then if you want to see kind of how that comes about. I know you mentioned streaming. Not sure of your mic set up. I could probably get away with a smaller desk, but it's an unused room in my house(already have a guest room), so it turned into a little bit of a man cave.