It is amazing to see how gaming furniture has improved in recent years. For a long time, searching for gaming furniture led to overly ridiculous concepts or items that felt incredibly cheap, but many brands are looking to change this. Among these, Toronto-based Blacklyte Inc. has emerged as a contender with its flagship Atlas Desk. Designed to cater to gamers and professionals alike, the Blacklyte Atlas Desk boasts features such as motorized height adjustment, integrated RGB lighting and robust cable management. While it commands a hefty premium, there is no denying that the Blacklyte Atlas Desk is a statement piece worthy of your time.
Constructed with a fully steel frame and topped with a leatherette mouse pad that magnetically attaches to the surface, the Blacklyte Atlas Desk exudes a modern, industrial aesthetic. The desk is built to last, with motorized legs that remain stable even at full height, making it suitable for both sitting and standing configurations. I was amazed at how solid the desk feels while in use. Coming in two boxes and taking about an hour to fully put together, this is a piece of furniture built to last and withstand years of use.
However, that level of construction means the Atlas Desk weighs nearly 30 kilograms (66 pounds). This desk is heavy, requiring two people for assembly and setup, and even moving it around the office may need some help, or you could end up scratching your floors. Thankfully, once it is all set up, it is easy to access everything needed for daily use, and it can adapt to many different work or gaming situations.
I will say, while I loved how the desk looked when it was all set up, I did have some concerns with how it is shipped. While many desks at this price point come in multiple boxes ready for assembly, I was shocked to find the magnetic mat came pre-installed, meaning it was exposed to potential issues during shipping.
“Designed to cater to gamers and professionals alike, the Blacklyte Atlas Desk boasts features such as motorized height adjustment, integrated RGB lighting and robust cable management.”
While it was not a major issue and only resulted in the mat being slightly rippled—something that could be smoothed out with some heavy books and time—for a desk of this level, this is something that could have been easily avoided by having the mat shipped separately or with some sort of protection in place. This is a desk that screams “show me off,” but that is harder when the main surface has marks that take away from the overall feel.
Once the desk is fully set up and ready to go, I was pleasantly surprised by how robust every aspect of the Atlas was. While I have tested a few motorized desks in the past few years, with offerings from Flexispot being a highlight, the attention to detail in the height mechanism of the Atlas desk was great to see. With a range of 600 mm to 1,250 mm, it accommodates users of varying heights and allows seamless transitions between sitting and standing positions.
The desk includes two memory presets for quick adjustments—a feature particularly useful for households with multiple users. The motor moves incredibly smoothly, and I was amazed at how stable it was in general. The motorized legs operate quietly and efficiently, with minimal wobble even at maximum height. A collision detection system adds an extra layer of safety by stopping movement if an obstruction is detected. However, this system only activates under significant resistance, raising concerns about its effectiveness in preventing minor accidents.
Since this is a gaming desk, the expectation is to see some form of RGB included, and thankfully for all those who like to see their space glowing in LED light at all times, Blacklyte did not disappoint. The Atlas Desk features customizable LED strips along its front edge and sides, as well as two gem-style corner lights that add to the overall look of the desk. These lights can cycle through multiple colours and modes, adding a vibrant aesthetic to any gaming or work environment, with dedicated buttons on the front of the desk allowing you to easily change, or turn them off, when needed.
I will say I loved how Blacklyte implemented the lighting on the Atlas desk, but it may not be for everyone, especially those in an office environment. The front light strip is exceptionally bright—so much so that it can become distracting during use. While it’s possible to turn off individual lights, there’s no option to adjust their brightness on the desk directly, at least without using the app.
This is another area that is inconsistent and one that took a bit of effort to get working. The app you can download directly from the company’s website, on paper, offers a range of features that make the Atlas desk much more interesting. It allows you to connect to select games and have the desk work in conjunction with them, and it also allows you to adjust settings like height and lighting, including brightness. The only issue is, the app feels a bit rough around the edges currently.
It looks good, but the download was reported as a virus when I first tried, and while it did work the second time, it took a while for the app to actually connect to the desk. I had to plug the USB into a few different ports to get it all working correctly. Once it was all hooked up, it provided a range of settings and was honestly a good addition to how the desk works, but I hope to see Blacklyte fix some of these lingering issues, as it is far too complex for something that should realistically be a simple process.
Thankfully, beyond the app situation, the rest of the Atlas desk feels well-thought-out and incredibly intuitive. Its “Wire Wrangler Tray,” located at the back of the desk, offers ample space for hiding cables and power strips. This tray helps maintain a clean workspace while ensuring easy access to essential connections. It is larger than the one on the Secretlab Magnus desk and provides plenty of space for power bars and other cables or devices you want to keep out of the way.
Even better still is how the Atlas desk manages the power cable it uses. Blacklyte has a fantastic placement so that the power cord to the wall is at the bottom of the left leg, meaning you don’t need to worry about cords dangling just to power the desk. What is even better is that you can use the routing power cable in conjunction with a power bar in the wire tray to keep the overall area clean and avoid the annoyance of cable mess. This helps the overall look of the Atlas desk and avoids the needless clutter that often comes from standing desks, especially ones that can change modes with the click of a button.
I was very impressed with what Blacklyte brought to the table, app issues notwithstanding, but at $999 (approximately $1,299 CAD), the Blacklyte Atlas Desk positions itself as a premium offering in the gaming furniture market. While its features are impressive—especially its sturdy construction and advanced cable management—other options offer similar features at a much lower price.
Granted, many of these options do not bring the “gamer aesthetic” or the same level of refinement, but for many, these features may not justify the steep premium on an already expensive offering like a standing desk. That being said, there is a lot to like about this desk, and as the company irons out the issues, it could become an easy-to-recommend option, especially for gamers.
The Blacklyte Atlas Desk is an ambitious entry into the high-end gaming furniture market. It excels in areas like build quality, cable management, and height adjustability, while offering aesthetic appeal through RGB lighting. For gamers or professionals seeking a stylish yet functional desk—and who are willing to overlook its shortcomings—the Atlas Desk could be a worthwhile investment. But for those prioritizing value or seeking perfection in every detail, exploring other options may prove more satisfying.