Thermaltake Gaming Desk Pegboard (Medium) review

Of all the various trinkets and doodads that find their way across my desk and into my loving arms, rarely is there one that tidies my workspace. But that's what this Thermaltake pegboard does, and it does so in a rather simple but stylish way.

Smart and sturdy: that's how I'd describe this pegboard. But that's if I were comparing pegboard to pegboard, in a world where gaming desk pegboards were commonplace. We don't live in such a world, however. In this one, the average person has nary even seen a desk pegboard in the wild, let alone owned one.

So, much better that we first clarify exactly what this thing does and whether it's better to have one (in general) than not have one (in general). Here goes.

It's a plate—a piece of your finest powder-coated steel—chock full of holes to fit various storage and organisation accessories. It's essentially a DIY-er's space-saving shelving unit. But one that looks a little trendy in this gamer space. We see big ones behind used on gaming desks such as the Corsair Platform: 6 and Decztop Bifrost Elite.

The Thermaltake pegboard is one that you can fit on your non-pegboardy desk to get in on some of that peggy action, letting you hook and balance all kinds of things hopefully not-so-precariously vertically up the side of your desk.

So, how's it stack up? Well, first things first, I've had no complaints at all about sturdiness and build quality. It's only staying stuck to my desk because of its clamping mechanism, but I've honestly pushed and shook it quite hard and it doesn't move an inch. The steel is plenty strong, too.

It's only really with the single-peg accessories (the hooks) that "flimsy" comes to mind, because without two fixed points it can, of course, turn a little. But that's just the nature of single-peg pegboard accessories in general.

It was easy to set up, of course, being just a twisty-clampy ordeal. And once it's set up, it does look rather smart. I have mine on the left-hand side of my desk, which also gives my desk a little more of a boxed-in, cosy feel.

How about function? On that front, I've been quite pleased with it, but I'd have liked some different accessories to ship with it. I'm not sure whether I'm an oddball in this respect, but I have zero use for hooks or pin magnets. There's nothing small and magnetic that I want to attach, and no standalone cables I want easily available. That leaves me with a headphone holder and two controller holders for this Medium version. I only really need one controller holder, so that's just two useful accessories that come with it (for my use case, anyway).

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

What I'd have really liked is either a pen holder or a flat platform for me to display something, possibly even whatever book I happen to be reading at the moment. (I did actually rest a book on the controller holder for a while, but it was a little precarious.)

The large version of the pegboard, which is $10 extra and 52 x 42 cm, comes with just such useful accessories. In addition to some hooks and magnets (ugh), it also comes with one headset holder, two pen holders, and one storage shelf. But no controller holders in this one, for some reason. I had to go for the Medium because my desk has metal supports underneath that limited my clamping room, but I'd have probably gone Large if I could.

The main annoyance for me is that there doesn't seem to be an ideal package, whether small, medium, or large. What would be ideal? Well, IMO, that would be one controller holder, one headset holder, a pen holder, and a long platform, plus maybe a shorter display platform. And sure, throw in some hooks and pin magnets—why not? There's no version that comes with all of these things, though, and that's my only gripe.

On the plus side, it looks like the holes are spaced about an inch apart, so you might be lucky fitting third-party accessories to it, given a lot of them have similar peghole spacing.

And that brings us to the crux of it: Thermaltake's marketing this as a "gaming desk pegboard", but don't for a second assume that it's the only desk-clamp pegboard on the market and that this is a gaming-specific niche. Just search "desk clamp pegboard" on Amazon and you'll come up with a range of options, including some with incredibly similar accessories.

Saying that, though, the price does seem about right for this Thermaltake one. In fact, it's significantly cheaper than many third-party options from brands I've never heard of.

Where does that leave us, then? Well, it's not a particularly unique product and it comes with a frustratingly thin variety of accessories, but it's reasonably priced, comes from a known gaming brand, and feels like a sturdy, quality product.

My suggestion: If you're looking for a pleasant way to save some desk space and display your gubbins, and if you're willing to look out for some cheap third-party accessories, go for it. But if you want a wide variety of accessories in the box, this pegboard unfortunately isn't it.