vd Brink Home Automations

Home automations: Home Assistant, ESPHome, Node-RED and more.

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Home office: Desk setup hardware

On this page you can read which hardware products I use on a daily basis in my home office. These products make my life easier and makes me happy to work with!

Final result
Final desk setup.

Overview | Mood board | Virtual design with AI | Room decoration | Desk setup hardware | Accessories

Table of Contents

NOTE: Links on this page can be affiliate links. You pay the same price AND support my blog.

Amazon shop list

The products on this page which are also for sale on Amazon are listed on Amazon US and Amazon NL.
Not all products are also available on Amazon, and excluded from the lists, like:

  • Desk
  • Laptop case

Desk

I had a fixed desk made of wood plates. Now I want a standing desk, so I don’t sit all day long.

YOUP02 Cognac Walnut

My wishlist for my new desk was clear:

  • Walnut top
  • 180 - 200 cm wide
  • 80 cm deep
  • Electric standing/sit desk
  • Minimal 2 programmable preset heights
  • Black legs
  • Minimal wires visible


It took some time to find the perfect desk. There are so many companies who sell such desks.

I eventually chose between:

I eventually bought the YOUP02 from www.goedkoopinrichten.nl:

YOUP02 Cognac Walnut

If you’re looking for more info about desk choices, you can take a look also at Reddit - StandingDesk.

Laptop

The laptop I use is a powerful Apple MacBook M4 Pro 16 inch for high performance daily tasks and perfect for on-the-go. MacBooks are more powerful and have much longer battery life compare to Windows laptops.

Apple MacBook M4 Pro

Laptop charger

I use a Xiaomi 120W USB-c charger to charge my laptop.

Xiaomi 120W USB-c charger

Laptop stand

To make the desk clean, I have my laptop upright with a black vertical laptop stand. This way I can also easily detach it and replace it with my personal laptop.

Vertical laptop stand

Alternative solutions:

Laptop case

To avoid outside light reflections and distractions from the silver laptop on my desk I put a black case around my laptop. I chose to have all items below my monitor and on my desk in black.

Macbook 16' case

Monitor

The monitor is a Philips 49” curved screen with a resolution of 5120 x 1440. With an aspect ratio of 32:9 and curving of 1800R. It’s the size of two 27” next to each other.

This is one of my best purchases ever! I still love it every day. The big advantage compared to two separate 27” screens is that you can split your application windows however you like at any given moment. Sometimes into three equal app windows, or one big window in the middle and smaller ones on the sides.

Philips 49 inch monitor

The model I have is the Philips P Line 498P9Z/00 (model from 2021). It’s now replaced with even better screens with the same sizes.

Philips 49 inch curved monitor

Alternative:

  • Philips 49” curved monitor - 49B2U5900C (Amazon NL)
  • Philips 49” curved monitor - Evnia 49M2C8900L (Amazon US)

Monitor cable

The Philips monitor has a single DisplayPort 1.4 and 3x HDMI 2.0 ports.

To get the maximum resolution of 5120 x 1440 with 165 Hz, I use a single DisplayPort cable.

Monitor arm

To keep a clean desk, I was looking for a monitor arm that holds the screen stable, not wobbly, and is attached to the desk. Now the monitor “floats” above the desk. It should also easily hold the weight of the 12 kg 49” screen. It hides the wires and doesn’t stick out on the back, otherwise I would have to move the desk away from the wall and lose space. I can easily pull and push the screen back and forward.

I end up with the ACT AC8340 It’s made of strong metal and can hold up to 20 kg, match all my requirements and cost not too much.

ACT AC8340

Monitor light

monitor light

Keyboard

For a keyboard, I want a wireless, silent, smooth typing, with big shift and return button, volume buttons and a numpad.

The Logitech MX Keys S (Qwerty) was a logical choice, it’s much more than what’s on my wishlist. It can easily switch between three devices, it lights up when you come closer, charging via USB-C.

Logitech MX Keys S

MX Keys S
YouTube product video about the Logitech MX Keys

Chair

The chair I use is an old model from Ikea but still sits pretty comfortable.

Alternative:

Mouse

The mouse I use is a basic wireless soft-click and scroll one. Simple but perfect for years! Works with a single AA battery.

Basic soft-click mouse

Desk pad

I use a very large mouse pad underneath my keyboard and mouse. The top material is soft with a smooth surface for the perfect sliding with the mouse. The bottom material is made of rubber to keep it in place.

I use a full black one without any art distractions on it.

Desk pad

The size of my pad is 400 x 900 x 3 mm. They are available in many different sizes and with different border colors. I have the all-black version.

Alternative:

Camera

I chose a basic camera (years ago) for the features:

  • HD USB camera with a lens cover
  • 30 fps
  • Light correction
  • Good sound and microphone quality (now I use a separate microphone)
  • A mount with contra weight to place on top of a monitor

Logitech C920 HD Pro Webcam

Back in the days, the Logitech C920 HD Pro Webcam was a perfect match for me, and it still works fine. But it can be upgraded to a newer one with a 4K resolution with auto follow feature. I’m open for any good suggestions!

Microphone

For an affordable basic microphone, I’ve chosen the Razer Seiren Mini black - USB condenser microphone.

Razer Seiren Mini black

ANC over ear headset

For my new office I looked for a newer and improved over ear headset. The development of ANC is improving every year and my daily used three-year-old headset could get an upgrade. I want to go for the overall best option, the Sony WH, but the price is very high for a headset. This keeps me looking further. I heard and read good stories about the QCY H3 and when I found out the improved 2026 version H3S was released, I went for this one! In the past I had already good experience with the QCY in-earbuds for on-the-go.

QCY H3S over ear headset   QCY H3S physic buttons   QCY H3S foldable with case
  • Dual device connect - possibility to connect at the same time to two devices (laptop and phone)
  • Soft top - no hard plastic pressure on your head
  • QCY app - to set custom sound settings and the level of noise cancellation
  • Bluetooth 6 - long battery life
  • Physic buttons - to control ANC/sound/calls
  • 5 modes Adaptive ANC Noise cancellation (Adaptive/Crowded/Commute/Indoor/Anti-Wind)
  • Foldable headset with a hard case for traveling


Just read the reviews!

Available in Black/White/Gray:


Alternative:
I’m also a fan of the Sony WH range, but the price is 10x the price of the QCY, but it isn’t 10x better. For now, I stick to the QCY.

Headphone stand

A basic plastic headphone stand.

headphone stand

QCY H3S over ear headset on stand

Alternative:

Accessories

Check this page for all accessories.

Future improvements

There are always things to improve. Sometimes it take some time until you find the perfect product which meets all your wishes, or at least most of them. I have also some of them on my list.

If you know where I can get one of below products, please let me know!

Clock

I’m still looking for a matching wall clock. This is the kind of clock I want, very minimalistic, without numbers or gold and in the walnut color.

wall clock

Alternative:

Docking station

I’m looking for a docking station that can connect my (work/private) laptop to the monitor and other peripherals as well with a single cable.

It must also match minimal these requirements:

  • Main Monitor 49” 5K @ 180Hz
  • Future Second monitor 4K @ 60Hz
  • Power 60W+
  • Network connection
  • USB peripherals
  • Wake up MacBook

I found the ultimate one, the CalDigit TS5, it’s only very expensive.

CalDigit TS5 docking station

If you have good suggestions for a docking station which match my requirements, please share it with me!

Camera

A newer 4K camera with auto zoom and auto follow feature would be a nice upgrade. Then everybody can see me sharp and sparkly!

Do you have good upgrade suggestions for my office? Please share it as comment on my posts.

Overview | Mood board | Virtual design with AI | Room decoration | Desk setup hardware | Accessories

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