• Review

NTense Quest Gaming Desk review: Sleek and modern

The NTense Quest desk will fit in your gaming room or your home office with its simple yet effective modern style.

Jan Ole Peek

November 12, 2021 2:00 PM

2

I'm not generally a fan of moving into a new home, but it did provide the opportunity to re-arrange and organize my gaming setup and general work space. The timing worked out perfectly, as NTense offered to send me their NTense Quest desk to try out in my new office. My goal for this move was to create a more organized, less cluttered, work space, and the new desk had to hit a few marks to accomplish this. At first glance, the NTense Quest is sleek and simple, but it has a few hidden qualities that are quite appealing. Let's have a look at how it all came together.

No engineering degree required

The NTense Quest arrived at my front door in a single large box that was well packaged and easy to unpack. It is recommended to have two people assembling this desk, but I was able to manage well on my own. The single-piece table-top is quite heavy but supported by the two solid metal legs. Assembly was straight-forward, with well-written instructions that were a level above typical IKEA standards. Every piece fit together easily with the included tools, except for the shelf that is meant to keep your CPU off the floor. It is up to you to choose which side you want to place this shelf on, and because of that, there are no pre-drilled holes, which was a bit of a surprise. Frankly, it would have been nice to have two shelves included, so I wouldn't have to decide. This also would have been useful for those of us with multiple computers or additional devices that could be stored below the desk.

Once assembled, the NTense Quest feels solid and sturdy. The table-top's surface is smooth and easy to clean in case of any spills. I use this desk mainly for work, so I didn't even bother with any type of surface for a mouse. It's not required, as the texture of the desk is just right for optical mice and day-to-day use. My one concern about the design of this desk is that it feels fairly back-heavy. The curved front design is great for getting up close to your screens and offers great ergonomic advantages, but this design leaves the back of the desk feeling unstable even with a single ultra-wide monitor. The legs are designed to prevent tipping over to the back, but I still feel more comfortable placing the desk against a wall, especially if you're planning on using more than two monitors.

Looks good anywhere

The NTense Quest's understated modern design fits pretty much anywhere in your house, whether that's the gaming room in the basement, or the home office in the den. There are no frills or unnecessary features on this desk. It comes with four placement options for the included cup holder and headphone hook. You can choose to mount them on either side of the desk, or on the front just beside the curved center of the table-top. Unfortunately, neither the headphone hook nor the cup holder are particularly useful. The cup holder is far too small for the average North American can or bottle and is currently acting as a pen holder for me. The headphone hook is serviceable, but doesn't provide a lot of grip to ensure your headphones don't slide off. In the end, I removed both of these attachments from the desk.

The table-top is nearly 60 inches wide, offering lots of space for monitors, consoles, and any kind of accessories you might have. With the CPU tower easily placed below the desk, it keeps the top nice and clear. The only thing standing in the way of a modern, almost minimalistic work environment using this desk is the multitude of cables I have to contend with on a regular basis. If you know me, you know that I am not a fan of trying to manage cables, and I frequently express my frustration with the mess that is created by all the devices I use. Fortunately, the NTense Quest has a simple yet effective solution to this problem.

Get those cables outta here

At the rear of the table is a channel that runs the length of the entire desk, allowing you to hide cables out of sight. This solution is far more convenient and sturdy than others that I have seen. It is a simple channel that is not only wide enough for power adapters, but also allows you to drop all your cables into it without having to organize them too much. Two rounded notches help guide cables down the back of the desk. This is a great solution for those of us who want to hide cables but don't want to go through the trouble of actually organizing them.

Along both legs are holes to attach further cable management clips to them. Bizarrely, these clips need to be screwed into the legs, rendering them practically useless. Who wants to get out the screwdriver every time a cable has to be moved? This design choice was a bit of a head-scratcher, as the idea of having cable clips along the legs makes a lot of sense. It's just the implementation that falls short.

Overall, the NTense Quest has been a great addition for my home office, allowing me to keep my workspace clean and organized. Whether you're looking to fill your desk with peripherals, or use it as a centerpiece in the living room, this desk will do a good job. It provides good cable management features and while the optional attachments are forgettable, the desk delivers where it counts; a solid, spacious, and versatile table-top.

This review is based on a product sample provided by NTense. The NTense Quest Gaming Desk is available now for an MSRP of $239.99 USD.

Jan Ole Peek

Contributing Editor

Jan has been playing video games for nearly 30 years and been a passionate geek for the better part of his life. His current gaming schedule is dominating by simulations of all kinds, ranging from flight simulation, to racing, farming, and anything else that lets him live out fantasies without having to get up from his chair.