Minimal White Gaming Setup Vol. 2: 6 More Picks for a Desk That Stays Quiet
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Vol. 1 covered the things you look at: keyboard, mouse, mat, lighting. This second pass is mostly about the things you put things on. A minimal desk rarely stops looking minimal because someone bought the wrong keyboard. It stops because the headset ended up lying on the mat, the monitor sat too low so a stack of books went underneath it, and the speakers that came with the desk were black.
The other reason to start here is that risers and stands cost less than almost anything else on this site. Most of the six picks below sit at the low end, and the monitor riser in particular changes the ergonomics of a desk more than peripherals costing several times as much.
One thing carried over from Vol. 1: buy from as few manufacturers as you can. Whites don’t match across brands, and a slightly warm white next to a slightly blue one is more noticeable on a bare desk than any amount of clutter would be. If you’re mixing brands anyway, put the mismatched pieces at opposite ends of the desk rather than side by side.
These picks are chosen based on their specs and color: this is the combination we’d expect to look good together. Treat it as a starting point for your own setup.
DIERYA DK81E 75% Hot-Swappable Mechanical Keyboard (White)
A 75% layout rather than the full size board from Vol. 1, which buys back the desk space a minimal setup is supposed to have. Gasket mount and hot-swap sockets at this price are the reason it made the list over cheaper white boards. Worth noting it's wired, so it trades the Vol. 1 keyboard's clean desk for a cable.
Check price at AmazonSOLAKAKA SM600 Tri-Mode Wireless Gaming Mouse (White)
Bluetooth, 2.4GHz and USB-C wired in one mouse, so a second machine doesn't mean a second receiver cluttering the desk.
Check price at AmazonTEAMIX 20 inch Wood Monitor Stand Riser (White)
The pick that changes the most for the least money. Raising the monitor fixes the neck angle the Ergonomics guide keeps going on about, and the space underneath becomes where the keyboard lives when the desk isn't in use. White painted wood rather than white plastic, which ages better next to a white keyboard.
Check price at AmazonCurved Headphone Stand with Storage Tray (White)
A headset left on the desk is the single most common thing wrecking an otherwise clean surface, and it takes up more room than anything else on this list. The tray in the base is for the small items that would otherwise be loose next to it. Deliberately not one of the RGB headset stands, which would undo the point of the theme.
Check price at AmazonCreative Pebble 2.0 USB Desktop Speakers (White)
Small angled spheres instead of rectangular boxes, which is why these show up on minimal desks far more often than better sounding speakers do. USB powered, so there's one cable each and no power brick.
Check price at AmazonPU Leather Desk Mat, Non-Slip Desk Pad (White)
A plain surface rather than the topographic print from Vol. 1, for anyone who found that too busy. Leather-look PU wipes clean, which matters more on a white mat than on any other color, and it's the cheapest item here.
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