If you just like me prefer a clean and minimalistic desk setup for your creative workflow that’s built with functionality and productivity in mind, here’s an enticing layout that has recently caught my attention. It includes a sleek IKEA desk and swivel chair, two Dell U2717D Monitors, Edifier R2000DB Speakers, a dual monitor arm, desk mat, wireless keyboard, and a mouse.
Even though it’s just a basic setup, it offers plenty of room for some additional extra peripherals alongside more than enough screen real estate for almost any creative project, so that you can easily customize it in the way that fits your personal style and professional needs. What I like the most, though, is that you can use this desk setup as a reference and build yours from there. The combinations are virtually limitless and hopefully, it won’t drain your savings account.
Optionally, you could add a color grading control surface or swap the included wireless keyboard with a dedicated one specifically designed for video editing. As for the pair of monitors, this setup offers two Dell U2717D units mounted on a VIVO Dual Monitor Arm. Of course, you could still use the original stands that come with the monitors as a mounting option, but the dual monitor arm improves the overall aesthetics of the desk setup by making it look a bit more slick and stylish IMHO.
The Dell U2717D monitors boast an In-Plane Switching (IPS) panel that provides 2560 x 1440 resolution, 1000:1 contrast ratio, an 8 ms response time along with 99%sRGB coverage, excellent viewing angles, and vivid color reproduction. You can easily connect these monitors to your workstation by utilizing the available HDMI, DisplayPort, or Mini-DisplayPort. They also sport 7.3mm bezels that seem to be perfect for this particular dual monitor setup.
The Edifier R2000DB Speakers, on the other hand, are another excellent addition to this desk setup as they offer astonishing clear sound with minimal distortion due to the built-in Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and Dynamic Range Control (DRC). The R2000DB comes with a wireless remote for further convenience as well as Bluetooth connectivity. Optionally, you can use the side panel on the speaker to adjust bass, treble and master volume. The included optical inputs are another nice touch to the functionality of this stunning pair of speakers.
The IKEA Signum Cable Management Rack mounted underneath hides most of the clutter and saves you the hassle of dealing with redundant cables scattered all over the place whereas the Satechi Desk Mat gives you a plenty of room for your basic peripherals and allows you to easily shift your attention to either monitor. Here’s the full list of the items that you’re going to need to build the ultimate dual monitor desk setup as its creator David Zhang calls it.
- Dell U2717D Monitor x2 (Amazon US)
- VIVO Dual Monitor Arm (Amazon US)
- Edifier R2000DB Speakers (Amazon US)
- Satechi Desk Mat (Amazon US)
- Logitech K810 Keyboard (Amazon US)
- Logitech G602 Mouse (Amazon US)
- IKEA Signum Cable Management Rack (Amazon US)
- Ikea Bekant Desk Sit/Stand, Black-Brown, White (Amazon US)
- Volmar Swivel chair with headrest/armrests – (IKEA US)
For me, this dual monitor desk setup could give any creative professional a lot of desk space and more than enough screen real estate for a wide variety of projects plus it’s can be easily customized further thus providing an excellent baseline that could help you to build your own desk tailored towards your specific creative needs and requirements. All credit goes to David Zhang for building this setup and sharing all the necessary information with the community.
[source: David Zhang]
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No number pad on the keyboard makes it nearly useless for production work, but maybe I’m old school=)
Not again! White on white, a window on the side, in the age of 43″ 4k monitor, the side by side of the 1990’s! No acoustic dampeming and one again the windows. The perfect picture and the worst setup.