Eureka Ergonomic Z60 Gaming Desk Review

Here at WorkWhileWalking, we’re commonly asked about which desk we’d recommend not for working, but for gaming. So we’ve begun to branch out with tests and reviews for some of the best gaming desks on the market today. While we’re going to focus primarily on ergonomic and/or standing gaming desks—it’s what we do!—we are also going to take a look at a few fixed-height desks intended for gamers. We are partial to standing desks, even for gaming, but we wanted to be thorough, and show gaming readers the breadth of desks and desktop products made for them. To that end, we recently acquired the Eureka Ergonomic Z60 Gaming Desk and put it to the test in our independent lab. Here’s what we found.

Eureka Ergonomic Gaming

Eureka Ergonomic manufactures a number of gaming desks and a handful of other gaming accessories and peripherals as well. The Z60 desk is one of the largest gaming desks that Eureka makes, and is among the more expensive, as well. Still, at under $350, it’s less than almost any standing desk.

Eureka Ergonomic generally offers their customers good value. Though based in China, Eureka’s manufacturing process is robotic, allowing for tight tolerances and consistent quality. And because all their major components are manufactured in-house, rather than purchased from third-parties, they can produce their products more economically than other companies, and their prices reflect that.

This is especially apparent in the standing desks from Eureka that we’ve seen, which usually beat other Chinese-manufactured desks in their price range, in terms of quality. In the fixed-height gaming desk market, however, there’s a lot more competition, and without precision components like motors and electronic controllers, fixed-height desks have less to distinguish them from each other at each price point than standing desks. So the Z60 is a well-made desk, but is it better than other desks in a head-to-head comparison?

Well, the answer to that depends on what you want to get out of a gaming desk. If aesthetics are a top priority, then this desk fits the bill nicely.

The Gaming Aesthetic

Eureka Ergonomic’s gaming desk line practically screams GAMER. Every design decision has been made to improve the cool-factor. The Z60’s biggest, coolest feature has to be the RGB lighting that runs along the desktop edges. With 8 lighting options (6 color choices and 2 rotating color patterns), you’re sure to find something that matches up with any LEDs you might have in your PC case or on your peripheral devices. The RGB lighting can definitely tie your whole setup together into one seamless “battlestation.”

Of course, the lights aren’t the only feature designed with the gaming aesthetic in mind. The desktop boasts a lightly textured carbon-fiber pattern that looks great and feels nice under your fingertips. The desktop and the feet of the desk have plastic “side armor” that give the desk an interesting look (and some pieces house the LEDs). Even functional pieces, like the leg braces, have an aesthetic flair. They are bright red, as opposed to the black of all the other steel components, so they have an eye-catching contrast. Finally, the desk comes with an oversized mousepad, which definitely adds to the desk’s overall look. It’s black, with red accents, and covered by a large scorpion logo in red and white. Pretty cool looking.

Ease of Assembly

The instructions included with the Z60 had clear diagrams that were pretty easy to follow, making assembly simple, if not quick. If you’ve ever assembled furniture (or anything, really) before, you know that clear diagrams go a lot further than poorly translated instructions from an overseas manufacturer. We recently posted our unboxing and assembly of the Z60, so we encourage you to take a look at it to get a sense of the process.

As with the Eureka Ergonomic Z1-S, which we reviewed earlier, there are a lot of parts, and nothing is pre-assembled. On the other hand, everything you need is included in the box, including a Phillips-head screwdriver. You need to give yourself about an hour for assembly, and will need a fairly large space to work in, preferably with a rug or carpet to avoid damage to the floor or the desk.

Functionality

The Eureka Z60 Gaming Desk is pretty stable, despite its width and 2-leg design. The red leg braces that supplement the Z-shaped legs add stability to the design without the risk of banged knees. The legs are set wide enough apart, though, that there is a little side-to-side wiggle if it is jostled from that direction. As it is a fixed-height desk, the ergonomics of the desk are sub-par. There is no way to adjust the desk to specific user needs. Still, even tall users can sit comfortably at the desk.

Gamers are stereotyped for their bad posture. They slouch, and over time this can lead to postural syndrome, characterized by “rounded shoulders, a hyper-extended neck, and a hunched back.” To improve your ergonomic situation, and break this mold, a good chair will be important, and a monitor arm could be called for. If you can adjust your body and screen to the right heights, you can avoid postural syndrome due to your gaming hobby. (Regular exercise helps too.) Still, this is one reason that we advocate using a standing desk for gaming.

One other place that could be improved upon in the Z60, as in other Eureka gaming desks we’ve reviewed, is in cable management. Oddly enough, some of Eureka’s gaming desks do have built-in cable management, and those desks are less expensive than the Z60. Some other gaming desks, like the Arozzi Arena, also come with a cable management solution built in. Gaming computers are among the most sophisticated setups, and the hobby often calls for a large number of peripheral devices. There are grommet holes in the back of the desk for wires to pass through, but after that, they just dangle free.

Our biggest gripe about the Z60 Gaming Desk, however, has to be the split desktop. We found this echoed a lot of times in other reviews of the desk online, too. The box that the Z60 is shipped in is only about half the width of the desk itself. This requires you to bolt together the two halves of the desktop during assembly, leaving a big seam down the exact center of the desk. We’re sure it cut down on shipping costs to design the desk to be shipped and assembled this way, but you have to ask yourself whether the tradeoff is really worth it.

On the one hand, the desk does come with the mousepad that will cover the seam from front to back. If you use the mousepad in the center of your desk, you won’t see much of the seam, and it won’t interfere with your use of the keyboard and mouse.

On the other hand, you have this big, wide desktop surface, which could be used for more than just gaming, if needed, and now there’s a crack right down the middle. Since writing on the mousepad is a great way to put holes in your paper, if you end up doing anything not digital at this desk, it will have to be awkwardly to the side. Also, many monitor arms you might want to mount to this desk to improve its ergonomics will also need to be positioned two or more inches off-center, to account for the bracket and bolts that secure the halves of the desk together.

Overall, gamers who use this desk exclusively for gaming and a few other computer-only tasks like internet browsing, might not find the two-part desktop a liability. If your gaming computer desk ever needs to be a work or school desk, as well, though, you might find the Z60’s design difficult to work around.

Durability

The Z60 has a metal frame that offers a stable experience for the user and should hold up indefinitely. As mentioned above, the wide-set legs of this desk do allow for a little side-to-side wiggle, but in general use you’re much more likely to be bumping the desk from the front, where you’re sitting, typing, mousing, etc.

The tabletop is standard laminated MDF. Since it comes in two pieces, it’s definitely not as strong as a single piece desktop would be. However, the two halves of the tabletop are bracketed together in both the front and the back, and it’s secured to the frame with eight bolts, and the stable frame keeps the desktop together.

You might worry about the durability of the side armor pieces, which are made of lightweight plastic, but they’re actually stronger than they look, and once they’re correctly attached to the desktop and the feet of the desk, day-to-day bumps and jostling won’t be an issue. Barring deliberate abuse or catastrophic impact, it will be fine.

As with the Z1-S, which has the same laminated surface, even casual contact with the desktop can leave behind clearly visible fingerprints. The reflective nature of the carbon fiber pattern helps them to stand out, and even just assembling the desk left ours with a number of smudges. However, the desktop can be wiped clean with a damp cloth. (Be careful that it is just damp, not wet—you don’t want excess moisture to get into the seams of the desk’s laminate).

Value

Since the Z60 Gaming Desk is a fixed-height desk, it doesn’t have any of the componentry, such as linear actuators, that goes into a standing desk, making it less expensive than most of the desks we review. However, even some standing desks are pretty close in price, like the $399 iMovR+Eureka i1, also manufactured by Eureka Ergonomic. On the other end, this desk’s “little brother,” the Z1-S, is just over half the price of the Z60.

Obviously you’re paying for the distinct gaming look that this desk offers. If you are in the market for a desk that is specifically for gaming, you’re probably interested in having it match or complement the style of your gaming PC and your peripherals, and that’s what the Z60 delivers. If your PC has LED lights in the case or fans, or if your mouse or keyboard have RGB lighting, having a desk that matches is just cool! It doesn’t blend in among other home décor; it stands out.

But other purpose-designed desks by both Eureka and other manufacturers offer similar style options for your gaming PC battlestation. If we compare it specifically to the Z1-S, we have to admit that you’re paying almost twice the price, but you’re really not getting “twice” the desk. The Z60 comes with a bigger mousepad than the Z1-S, but it doesn’t come with the other gaming accessories: the headset hook, the cupholder, and the controller rack. The desktop is 60″ wide, a nice upgrade from the 44.5″ of the Z1-S, but it’s got a big seam down the middle. Where it unequivocally outperforms the Z1-S is in the LED lighting department, with its many color choices; the Z1-S only has blue lights. In the end, it will have to be up to each individual gamer to decide whether these upgrades are enough to justify this higher price tag.

Bottom Line

The Eureka Ergonomic Z60 is a great desk for gaming. It takes some time to assemble, but it’s not a difficult process. It’s got a strong gaming aesthetic, but is large enough that you could potentially do other work at the desk as well, though the seam could make that awkward. Given our understanding of ergonomics and their importance to long-term health, we have to point out that the ergonomic options on this desk are lacking, and you’ll need to accessorize to have an ergonomic experience. However, if you’ve already decided to get a fixed-height desk, and want a nice wide desktop, then the Z60 could be a good choice for you.

This desk does come with a grommet design. Check out our article on grommet holes, with everything you need to know about the different ways to use them to enhance your workstation, what to look for in your grommet holes, and where to find the desks with the best ones.

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