I’ve never really had much need for a desk, let alone a gaming one. Consoles have always been hooked up to my TV, and until last year, all my PC needs were serviced by my laptop. Then I bought and upgraded a budget gaming PC. To get it out of the way of the eyesight of my other half, I stole her desk and moved it to our box room. It was small, real small, so when Genesis sent me their Holm 300 RGB gaming desk, I couldn’t believe my luck. But how does it differ from a bog-standard one? Let us take a look.
Assembly
Assembly is always the daunting part of building any flatpack furniture. Are you left with spare parts because they put too many in or did you forget something? Why don’t these Korean instructions make any sense, there is no part K? The usual. But I’m happy to say, building the Holm 300 was pretty straight forward.
Everything came well packaged, although the mess left by the polystyrene packaging was nothing to be desired. And removing everything you could clearly see that everything was well labelled with stickers, and the screws all divided into different pouches. A real helping hand from Genesis.
Following the instructions, it seemed simple enough and could probably be done by one person, but I recruited the help of my partner. We started by piecing together the monitor stand, then the frame, before adding the desktop and attaching all the mounts. The instructions were easy to follow, and the holes were pre-drilled with screw inserts stuck in, making it a real doddle to fix together.
In less than half an hour, we had a fully functional gaming desk. It really was a quick and easy job. Can’t remember the last time I had such an easy ride building flat-pack furniture. The only thing you have to be careful off is to keep the USB cables for the RGB lighting, USB Hub and Wireless Charger out of the way as you piece it all together.
Build Quality and Design
Once built, it was time to put the Holm 300 to the test. On first glance, it looked well thought out. A large surface area, with an upper level for my monitor to sit on. Great since my Element Gaming one isn’t VESA mountable. At the back of the desk, on the left is a USB 3.0 hub, with a Wireless Charging plate on the right. Next to the charging plate you then have a double controller stand. Some nice additional storage.
Either side of you, there is a cupholder and a headphone rest. And these are switchable so no matter what your preference, you can mix them up. Sadly, that’s the only thing that is customisable, because you can’t switch around the Hub and the Charger, even though both pop out. Because the hole for the hub is smaller than the other. The charging stand also means I can’t rest my speakers evenly on either side, a pain if you have OCD. But you could get rid, or just bring your speakers forward as I did.
Underneath you then have a cable tidy tray at the back, another tray at the front which is where I assume I put my snacks and not forgetting the RGB light. Because if it ain’t RGB, it ain’t gaming. It really does look quite the spectacle. Especially with the carbon fibre effect finish that the desk has. My only issue is there is a lump on the desk where something has found itself trapped underneath as the wooden top has been covered.
But overall, it feels nice and solid. No wobbling or swaying, which is something in my house because almost every floor and wall is uneven. It’s like going into a fun house. The mounts all feel sturdy, and the important bit, the cup holder, can hold almost any beverage, even a large bottle of Doombar or one of those large cup drinks you get at the local cinema.
Functionality
The main function of the desk is to be a desk. And it does that very well. It’s a nice, large sturdy surface that you can easily fit plenty of stuff on, and still have space for more. The shelf for the screen is removable, as are the headphone rest and cup holder which can also be switched around. The controller mount is removable too, but I do use controllers from time to time so it’s handy to have there, just a shame it isn’t further over because it prevents me having my speakers how I’d like. Still, it’s a useful addition.
The best bits possibly though are the in-built USB 3.0 hub and wireless charging station. These are features most desks don’t come with, and normally you’d have to buy a USB hub separately or charge your phone using a wire which then takes up valuable slot space. So to have both inbuilt, not only adds additional ports but also frees up a fair amount of space too.
The shelving underneath is also a major benefit as it allows for better cable management and storage for other essentials at the front. Although mine could still do with a tidy at the back as I just bundled it all in to get everything set up. It is a really well thought out design that offers a fair bit of flexibility and a bunch of features that you didn’t realise you needed until you begin to use them.
As I’ve mentioned above though, I would much prefer being able to swap over the placement of the hub and wireless charger, as well as the controller mount. So by no means is it perfect, but the fact all these features have been included is a major plus. And is the reason why the Holm 300 RGB scores so highly in the Functionality section.
Value for Money
It’s again that tough time as we trawl the internet trying to find how Genesis stack up compared to their competitors. Sadly, as usual, their products aren’t widely available in the UK right now. But, that doesn’t mean we haven’t managed to find them at all. A quick search found several retailers online who offered the Holm 300 RGB gaming desk for between £140-170, after some quick currency conversions.
If we take the middle of that value anyway, we’re looking at around £155 on average. Not a bad price for a ‘gaming desk’ as it goes. A quick Google search threw up a couple of basic ones, some had built-in USB hubs, although the old 2.0 models, not 3.0, but other than an RGB stip they were pretty basic. Four legs, a solid surface, nothing more. They cost around the lower range of the Holm 300 at about £145 on average. So it’s all looking groovy as it stands.
Then we move on to check out some of the bigger name brands, like X-Rocker. Their desks are widely available, and all look very nice. Albeit a very different style compared to this one. Still, they had some nice RGB lighting and a USB port, but no wireless charger and no mounts, even from the more expensive models where they begin to install touch controls. But these all start at around £185, which is £15 more than the top end for the Holkm 300 and with fewer features.
So it looks like if Genesis can get their desk in supply over in the UK, they’d have a solid product that is well-priced to compete with the bigger brands. And not just that, they offer more for less. But, with all this COVID-19 stuff at the moment, how long it could be before that happens is unknown.
Holm 300 RGB overall thoughts
The Holm 300 RGB has been my first ‘gaming’ desk, and I don’t think I could go back to a bog-standard one after using it. It looks fantastic, although could have a bit more customisability, is packed full of features and compared to the competition, blows them out of the water. By no means is it perfect, there are certainly tweaks here and there that could be improved upon. But, they are just that, minor tweaks. There are certainly no major issues. You won’t go far wrong getting one of these yourself, it might just be a bit of time before you’re able to here in the UK.
The Genesis Holm 300 RGB gaming desk is not currently available in the UK. But you can find out more information like specifications, and when they may be more readily available on the Genesis website. Click HERE to head there now. Whilst you wait to buy one though, why not read more of our hardware reviews by clicking HERE.
