Published on May 29th, 2018 | by James Wright
Varidesk Pro Plus 36” Review
Summary: The Varidesk Pro Plus 36” provides a very simple solution for gamers to stand with this Transformer like standing desk
4.5
A simple solution
The Varidesk Pro Plus 36” (or 91.44cm in Metric) is the perfect solution to turn your existing desk into a standing desk. So by placing the Varidesk Pro Plus 36” on your desk, it gives you access to a standing desk in a matter of seconds that allows you to raise the level of your computer in order to potentially reduce the risk of medical conditions that can be associated by sitting inactive at a desk for long periods of time… or one too many long gaming sessions.
Some studies have noted that standing desks may lower your weight gain and blood pressure which in turn reduces the risk of heart disease, including preventing back problems as you are not hunched over your keyboard that for us mere humans is not a natural position. Given the amount of time that gamers use their PC and to prevent medical complications later in life, the Varidesk Pro Plus 36” might be the solution for many of us. With this in mind, it’s also ideal to mix and match your sitting and standing periods which this product easily allows.
In terms of design, the Varidesk Pro Plus 36” is quite an innovative product that has two tiers with the top level for your monitor and the lower level for your keyboard and mouse. Best of all, the Varidesk Pro Plus 36” is powerless and in order to raise your desk, there are two levers on the side that when pressed, allows you to raise or lower the height of this product. As its spring lifted, it’s a very smooth process and dissipates the weight so it’s almost like a feather…depending on how heavy your monitor is. With this in mind, the Varidesk Pro Plus 36” has 11 different height settings.
Unboxing Photos
Installation is almost non-existent and once you have unpacked the Varidesk Pro Plus 36” from the box, you simply place it where you want it to be on your existing desk with some help from another person. Once you have placed it, you then position your monitor or monitors (two) and your keyboard and mouse. The only tricky part of the installation is that you may need to adjust the cabling behind your desk to ensure that when the Varidesk Pro Plus 36” is fully raised, these cables are not stretched or disconnected in the process. Also be careful to ensure that there is nothing under this product when lowered either, given the weight of it.
As mentioned earlier in this review, gamers will be pleased to know that the Varidesk Pro Plus 36” supports dual monitors or my situation, our Samsung C49HG90 49in QLED Ultra-Widescreen 144Hz Gaming Monitor which weighs 15kg and has a 48.9” (124.2cm) screen which is a behemoth in itself. The Varidesk Pro Plus 36” holds up to 35lbs or 15.88kg so we just squeezed in with the Samsung C49HG90 49in QLED Ultra-Widescreen 144Hz Gaming Monitor. I also tested the Varidesk Pro Plus 36” with a “normal” monitor and you can definitely feel the difference in weight when raising it which is like a feather.
Raised at its fullest height, I was surprised at how stable the Varidesk Pro Plus 36” was, even while playing games like Overwatch, Paladins, StarCraft II and Star Wars Battlefront II. Sure, when the action heats up, there is a slight movement of the Varidesk but is not that noticeable. If you’re using a gamepad, this is a moot point. So while it doesn’t beat a gaming chair, it does allow you to stand and continue gaming which is where this product shines.
The lower tier of the product does allow you to have a full-sized keyboard and for the two mouse that we tested on the surface, we needed a mouse pad. The only issue that we found may be a problem is that certain gaming mouse pads may not be suited, depending in the size. Also when the Varidesk is not raised, there is a slight lip on your desk which is quite small. Lastly, the Varidesk Pro Plus 36” comes with reusable cable wraps to help keep tidy those unruly cables and even a coaster for your drinks plus a brochure on Varidesk’s other products.
Final Thoughts?
If you’re looking for a simple solution of turning your existing desk into a standing desk, the Varidesk Pro Plus 36” successfully meets this brief and comes with a cost of $550AUD (May 2018). The installation process is very easy and I had it up and running in around 10 minutes, even with cleaning up the cabling behind the computer. Unfortunately I do suffer from neck pain which is another place where I hold my stress and whether this was incidental or not, I did find that this pain gradually reduced as I used the Varidesk Pro Plus 36”.
More importantly, it actually felt good standing and not just sitting in my desk which I do way too long and thanks to my Fitbit, I did use this as a prompt to spend more time standing. All in all, the Varidesk Pro Plus #36 is a well-designed product that is not cumbersome or complicated but rather a perfect synergy of upgrading your existing desk into one that can easily be raised and hopefully prevent any medical complications down the track.
For more information, please visit the Varidesk website.