The Secretlab Magnus Evo is a stylish, smartly-built gaming desk that sets itself apart with genuinely useful PC-focused features, good build quality, and an intuitive assembly process. The overall level of quality here is high, which is understandable given the $750 starting price and Secretlab's reputation of producing high-end gaming chairs and the two prior Magnus desks. The key this time is a streamlined design, bringing the motorized sit/stand functionality and integrated power from the Magnus Pro to a slightly lower price point – along with a simpler and more capacious cable tray and static magnetic zones along the rear edge and front corners of the desk.
Secretlab Magnus Evo – Design and Features
Like the Magnus Pro that precedes it, the Magnus Evo is made from a combination of MDF and steel, with a stable inverted-T base, thick legs with integrated electric motors, and a wide (59-inch or 70-inch) desktop that's 25 inches deep and 0.8 inches thick. Unlike the Magnus Pro, which featured a flip-up edge with an integrated cable gully, the rear edge of the desk is fixed and made from steel, allowing you to conveniently whack down magnetic accessories or securely install friction-fit mounts. The desk's height ranges from 28 to 46 inches, can handle a maximum weight of 265 pounds, and can raise or lower around six inches in five seconds. It's a similar spec sheet to the Ikea Idåsen, Herman Miller Nevi, Flexispot EQ4, and Corsair Platform:6 sit/stand desks I've tested for Eurogamer, and I'm willing to bet the Magnus Evo's core components will prove equally reliable given the mature state of electric motors in 2025.
However, the Evo's controls are a step ahead of anything else I've tested, as they look integrated into the desktop rather than being affixed to the underside. As with most other contemporary electric sit/stand desks, you get a height read-out (to the nearest tenth of a centimeter) and the ability to save and recall three preset heights (presumably one each for sitting, standing and cleaning). The touch controls are easy to accidentally brush with a finger, but thankfully there is a quick on/off switch here to disable them when not in use. Moving the desk up and down is smooth and relatively quiet, and the desk only starts to feel a touch unsteady when it's approaching its highest setting. The motors also automatically reverse course if they begin to meet resistance, so I didn't worry about the desk causing any damage to limbs, pets, or nearby objects.
Where the Magnus Evo differs more substantially with (most) of those aforementioned desks is the focus on gaming features. There's no RGB here, thankfully, with Secretlab instead opting for an integrated power plug and a capacious metal basket to keep all of your cables hidden. The whole power delivery system is smartly designed, with the desk's power coming from a cable integrated into the left or right foot, running up to the motors and also to a full-size outlet on the same side. (You can choose which side during assembly, with the default left-side installation giving you a plug on the rear of the desk, while the right-side installation has a plug on the front.) My UK unit came with a pleasantly hefty plug, normally only found with 1200W+ PC power supplies, and can handle 2500W at 12A - though the spec sheet reveals a more modest 1440W at 12A in the US and Japan, or 2000W at 10A in Australia and New Zealand. From here, the angled port has a straight shot to the cable tray, which is large to conceal a hefty 12-port UK power strip and can be pulled down to a 30-degree angle for setup, then pushed back up to its magnetic attachment point.
I found the cable tray much easier to use than that of the Corsair Platform:6, which tends to annoyingly grab cables due to its high back, though I think it might struggle to accommodate a full set of 12 power cables and whatever other peripheral or speaker cables that might one day live there. The Corsair Platform:6 also required the installation of a horizontal bar above the desk surface for its monitor mount, limiting compatibility with third-party mounts substantially, so I'm happy to see Secretlab embracing a more traditional mounting solution here.
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