Over the years I have been given the privilege and opportunity to review a number of gaming desks, from the likes of Sandberg with the Fighting Desk 2, AKRacing, and Arozzi just to name a few. So my expectations are high and I have a good understanding now of what makes or breaks what we want or might want for a gaming desk. For this review I am going to take a look at my first big product from Genesis, there Genesis Holm 510 RGB Gaming Desk.
Now you could be setting there scratching your head as to what makes a GOOD Gaming Desk? Would it be how easy is it to build? That answer is certainly a NO, as why would it, yes it could be easy or it could be a pain in the rear end. What forms a good gaming desk is simple, Build Quality, Finish, Design and Functionality, as you will be sitting at your new desk for a good number of hours gaming, streaming, podcasting, working from home or anything else you can think of.
FIRST OFF PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
| Height | 75 cm | |
| Length | 160 cm | |
| Width | 75 cm | |
| USB Version | 3.0 | |
| Construction | Built-in USB Hub, Built-in wireless charger, Headphone holder, Cupholder, Speaker shelf, Organizer cables | |
| Functions | The wireless charger, Hub USB | |
| Number of USB ports | 3 | |
| Material | Steel, MDF | |
| Colour | Black | |
| Illumination | Yes |
You will not be able to find this desk in any shop, but if you did it is easy to see what the desk will look like and all the core features, which is great for POS (Point of Sale).
THE EASY BUILD, JUST FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE.
The build was rather easy, I even filmed myself building the desk as well just for the fun of it.
The build took around 20 to 30mins with little to no problems apart from not having any help. All the parts you need come in sperate pouches all marked with a letter, you simply follow the instruction manual that comes with it, and you should have no issues.
Once the desk has been built, you can decide where to place the cup holder, headset holder and speaker mounts. As I am a right-hand user I prefer my headset on the left and my drinks on the right.
As you can see from the image of the headset below, I have attached it to the side of the desk, for the cup-holder, I have attached that the edge of the desk. Side and Edge positions are available for both. Should Genesis offer more positions to attach these too? Personally no, unless they offered a different way to attach them to the desk.
I can think of a way to make them better, they could be designed in the same way as the speaker mounts are attached, making them versatile, allowing the gamer to place them any place they fancy. So how are the speaker mounts attached? see image below
The speaker mounts are basically set into a position that you can choose, then all you have to do is tighten the bolt underneath and it is affixed to the desk. This is fantastic, as you can personally choose the best possible placement for the speaker mounts, based on your monitor layout. There is one issue with the design, the way you have to affix it to the desk, they simply use a clamping knob with nothing to protect the end from doing damage to the underside of the desk. They should have used a rubber/ metal plate or something to offer more grip and protection.
The final section to add to the desk is the cable management tray see the image below;
This is easy to fit and very basic, however, some monitor stands like mine might cause an issue. I had to put the monitor stand on first then work around the mounting section to get the cable management tray in place.
Build done, First Thoughts Now
The only thing I have not discussed yet are the features, so to start let us discuss the RGB lighting. This is a simple strip light, placed on a bit of flimsy plastic and attached to the full length of the back of the gaming desk. You get a remote control, which will allow you to control the brightness, speed, colours and animations. The final result, well to me its looks cheap and nasty, yes it does give a nice glow behind the desk when up against a wall, but during the day it is almost useless. The way the strip light has been stuck to the desk is unprofessional, it is not straight, hidden, they could have done much better by designing a square clear tubing system and placed the strips light within that. Maybe adding RGB lighting to the sides of the desk and front, this way, you have a good reason to show off your RGB system.
Other features include a 3 x 3.0 USB Hub on top of the desk and a wireless charger for your phone, both placed in convenient positions, one of the left the other on the right both towards the rear of the desk. I found both of these very handy, one for changing my phone during the day and the second to input USB devices closer and free up USB ports on my base unit. How do you power them, well you can either put them both through to your base unit, which I would whole heartily advise for the USB Hub. For the phone charger, I would use a spare USB port on your Extension block if you have one, if not go buy one you will not regret it, here is a link to a good one which is only £12.99 on Amazon. (None Affiliated Link)
The finish of the actual desktop is great thanks to its size, it is HUGE and the carbon fibre design. You can place up to two monitors around 32″ on the desk or up to 3 using monitor arms these of coarse are dependant on the size of the monitors. I use two MSI 27inch curved monitors and they look great.
The carbon fibre finish gives the desktop protection from surface scratches, saying that I still recommend using a HUGE mouse mat to fill your keyboard/ mouse area, just to give you peace of mind, plus you do need a mouse mat. With mine, I use a HUGE mouse mat from Genesis the Carbon 500 Ultra Blaze which is 2.5mm deep, 450mm wide and 1100 long a perfect fit. Then on top of that, I use the Razer Chroma Extended Chroma mouse mat, to go with my Razer Huntsman Elite keyboard and the Razer Naga Chroma Trinity.
One thing I found lacking with the build was branding, the small Genesis logos on top is ok, but a huge missed opportunity to add the Genesis logo to the legs should have been jumped on. Even the HOLM 510 logo is very dark on an already very dark leg, these choices make no sense and should have been thought out a little more before approval.
Overall though the desk is very stable, and offers up some good features. There are some issues as I have said in my review, RGB lighting needs to be looked at, branding is another that needs more focus. Speaker bolts need to have a guard between the bolt and the underside of the table for protection and maybe offer up a new way to place your headset stand and cup holder.
I personally found the legs a little thin for my liking, as I would have liked a wider bottom and 100% better branding.
In use, though this desk performed admirably, I was able to place my screens well, cable manage all my devices, charge my phone, place my headset in a good place and have a drink safe and close by at all times.
So now let us answer the core main things you want from a gaming desk — Build Quality, Finish, Design and Functionality
Build Quality – Lacking in some areas like RGB and how the speakers attach under the desk
Design – Overall it’s good, but there is a need for improvements, RGB, Speaker Stands, and Branding
Functionality – With a HUB, Phone Charger, Cup Holder, Headset Stand, speaker mounts and cable management this desk offers up a lot.
Finish – It is stable when in use, massive area to use, built well, but the improvements would make the finish a lot better.
The Genesis HOLM 510 RGB Gaming Desk has suggested retail price of $319, which is £229 where to purchase is beyond me as I can not find a retail outlet.
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