Herman Miller's first gaming desk is clearly targeting Secretlab and Flexispot with its design, but it has a secret weapon that could justify its absurd price

Herman Miller, a brand known for making nice furniture that will upset your bank account, just revealed a best gaming desk contender. It's called the Coyl, a name that's pretty apt, seeing as it coils its red underside cable to make it a statement piece. That aside, though, I could have easily mistaken this ultra-premium $1,475 surface for something by Secretlab or Flexispot, even though it has one other perk that could help justify its painful price point.

As someone who's tested more than a few gaming desks, I reckon the Herman Miller Coyl's secret weapon will be its "precision" rotary dial. It stands in for the usual touch panel for height adjustment, a control method I wouldn't exactly describe as precise. I mean, the capacitive buttons on the SecretLab Magnus Pro and FlexiSpot E7 Plus are fine, but I do usually feel quite awkward just holding my finger on the plastic until things are where I need them.

The thing that's ultimately going to make or break Herman Miller's gaming desk dial is its responsiveness. The rotary movements will need to marry up to precision movements in a way that feels analogue, even though the knob will just translate turns to the same digital value as other panels.

Latest Videos From

Of course. I'm fully aware that regular PC players will just enjoy the dial-based controls for how sleek they'll potentially feel. I'm sort of in a different camp since I constantly switch desk height for everything from building rigs, old and new, to modding retro handhelds and testing arcade controls. If I can just spin the knob and feel everything levitate or lower like it's a non-digital mechanism, that's going to help my chaotic activities feel more fluid.

Let me come back to that aforementioned red coil, as its presence under the desk is important, too. This appears to be Herman Miller's answer to SecretLab's discrete power socket on the column, but swaps that out for a very visible wire leading to a six-gang extension within its felt-lined magnetic tray. The underside getup certainly looks the part, even if it's really suited for elegant plug arrangements rather than the multiple old Sega Genesis adapters and other nonsense I have crammed into my Mangus Pro right now.

On top, you can choose from the usual desk colorways: black, white, walnut, or ash. These are all familiar flavors provided by most brands, so you're not really getting anything aesthetically unique. While their primary objective is looking the part, I'm hoping Herman Miller's surfaces boast durability that can rival FlexiSpot's weirdly indestructible surfaces. The worst-case scenario is that the Coyl will be just as delicate as SecretLab's newer Magnus Evo, which will scratch if you look at it the wrong way.

Image 1 of 4

I've no doubts that the Herman Miller Coyl will look and feel premium, but I personally look for more in gaming desks. Rather than serving as just fancy furniture, they are tools that will bear the brunt of weekend-long sessions or even just trying to build or upgrade a gaming PC without causing collateral damage. In my eyes, the only way for the luxury brand to get away pricing its contender at $1,500 is to achieve a perfect score, and I'd honestly expect the surface to last a lifetime for that sort of money.

• Gaming desks at SecretLab
• Gaming desks at FlexiSpot

Putting together a full setup? Swing by the best gaming chairs for comfortable places to park your posterior.