Every PC gamer knows the problem: You’re sitting in front of the computer in the evening, it’s dark and you’re comfortably playing the game of your choice. But suddenly the cell phone vibrates somewhere, while searching on the dark desk you first knock over your glass of water, then you finally find the phone somewhere. Because you just can’t see anything. Even the best keyboard illumination is of little help. If you don’t set the brightness of your monitor to full blast, you’ll catch eye cancer at night (as the saying goes). That’s why I started looking for a solution years ago. Ordinary desk lamps always annoyed me in the long run, because they took away the immersion, i.e. they took me out of the game to my desk.
Why it has to be dark – For gaming
Some of you might be wondering this now. I play story games mainly in the evening and then preferably with little light. This simply gives you the feeling of being absorbed in the game world. After all, it’s dark in the movie theater, and everyone would complain if there was even one light on. And that’s exactly why I like it better. How else am I supposed to immerse myself in the world of Fallout or Tomb Raider when my Groot character is constantly smiling and wiggling at me, illuminated by the lamps in the background?
But gaming is somehow also nothing without light.
The requirements for illuminated gaming
So I tried to find solutions for this problem a while ago:
The lighting should:
- emit only as little light as necessary
- illuminate the desk and the keyboard, but not more.
- In addition, it should be dimmable and not interfere with playing.
I tried bright luminous keyboards like the Logitech G700 Orion, LED backlighting and a desk lamp. However, all of these solutions were nothing to me. The desk lamp was too bright, the LED lighting above the monitor was too reflective on the monitor, and the keyboard just illuminates the keys, but nothing more.
The alternative
After I had given up the search for months, a colleague recently gave me the tip to have a look at the Screen Reading Bar from BENQ (LINK*). He uses it at home on his computer, because it is in the living room and in the evening the room should not be so brightly lit for the sake of comfort.
So it should fit, right? And what can I say? It fits! The lamp (left in the picture) is a dream. Unpacked and mounted above the monitor, it is powered via a USB port. In addition to the color temperature, the brightness can also be adjusted. Also, despite your position directly above the monitor, the lamp does not reflect at all! So I can see my snacks and drinks without being blinded or taken out of the immersion of the game. A dream!
The auto-dimming button also automatically ensures the right brightness by taking covenient measurements of the surroundings. For me, however, this function was usually a bit too bright and a bit too cold in color temperature. But that’s a matter of personal taste. Here is a video about the functions!
Conclusion
Finally a lighting at the desk, which does not disturb, dazzle or distract. And it comes from a renowned manufacturer, from whom I used to buy gaming monitors. Fits! Simply a great support for gaming, working or even reading. The only criticism is the glare on a white desk surface. Fully turned up, the light reflected from the desk top blinds me then but something. Dimmed down, however, it is very pleasant. In any case, I am thrilled. The lamp really relaxes the eyes and helps that I no longer throw anything in the dark :D. SO and now I have to move on, Shadow of the Tomb Raider doesn’t play through by itself.
How does it look like at your desk? Do you keep it dark or do you have other lighting in your room? Write me in the comments.
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