There are many moving parts to consider when putting together a desktop configuration, Whether you are working from home or even if you just want to create a little nook where you can comfortably use your laptop.
From your desk to your office chair to your monitor and all the little accessories that make a workspace truly yours, it’s easy to get bogged down with all the decisions you’ll need to make. Although most people tend to put a lot of thought into choosing the best laptop for your workflow or one of the best monitors For much-needed extra screen real estate, there’s one thing we often overlook completely: lighting.
This is a bit strange since we all know that the The right lighting can make a big difference. in other parts of our home, but when it comes to our home offices, lighting is often an afterthought. Perhaps this is because we have spent our entire budget on a powerful PC or one of the best MacBooks, and the little we have left goes towards giving our home workspaces a touch of style or perhaps some extra comfort. Although it doesn’t have to be that way.
In the past, I equipped my own home office with several of the best smart lights so I can easily control them with my phone or my voice. For example, on my desktop right now, I have I attached a light strip on the back of my monitor to help avoid unnecessary eye strain. While diagonal lighting has served me well over the years, I decided to do something different with my latest desktop setup.
Instead of having a light strip behind my monitor, this time I decided to add a monitor light bar to the top of my screen to get some additional lighting on my desk. If you’re looking for a quick and inexpensive upgrade to your own desk setup, you might want to consider doing the same, as this setup has already made a big difference for me while working. That is how.
A different approach to desk lighting
Typically, when someone lights a home office, they might place a small lamp on their desk or perhaps a tall floor lamp in the corner and rely on overhead lighting for most of their light. I personally have one light on each side of the room, although I do get some natural light from the window behind my desk.
Since I’m always looking for new devices to try, I decided it was finally time to try using a monitor light bar. You see, I’ve had my eye on the BenQ ScreenBar ($110, Amazon) for a while. However, it was hard to justify spending over $100 on a light that may or may not work with my desk setup. However, after some searching online, I found a cheaper option that was less than half the price.
The Diirglus Computer Monitor Light Bar ($50, Amazon) is about the same size as the more expensive BenQ, plus it comes with a dial for adjustment. However, if you don’t mind reaching around to adjust the lighting, you can get one without the dial for around $30.
Besides its cheaper price, one of my favorite things about this monitor light bar so far is that it runs on USB-C instead of a proprietary power plug. This means you can use any USB-C cable you want to power it, giving you a little more flexibility when installing it on top of your monitor. Also, if your monitor has built-in USB ports, you can use one of them since the light only requires 5 volts of power. When configured like this, you have fewer cables to manage as you can easily hide the power cable behind your monitor.
Front and center in a new desktop setup
I mainly use a ultrawide monitor during most of my daily work so I can have two full size windows side by side. So I decided to put together a new desktop setup to test my new monitor light bar. Given its smaller size, I chose a 27-inch monitor so there wouldn’t be too much extra space on either side. I also wanted to try working out in my living room for a change, since sometimes my home office can feel a little cramped.
Installing the monitor light bar was very easy since, like many of the best webcams, it has a support clamp that keeps it in place on top of the monitor. For better ergonomics, I decided to use the same monitor stand that I have a mini PC connected to the back of In my office. However, since I’m not using a dark desk this time, I opted for the white version of the monitor stand to achieve that classic two-tone, black and white look.
The monitor I’m using for this setup is actually an older one that I had previously mounted on my office wall to display my digital dashboard. Since it is, after all, an older monitor, it doesn’t have a USB-C port, which is why I’m using the Razer USB C dock ($120, Amazon). It’s been great so far and I really like how I can route all the cables under my monitor stand for a cleaner look.
You may have noticed that I am not using my new ThinkPad laptop in this configuration. This is because its USB-C ports are on the left and the Razer USB C Dock’s main cable simply isn’t long enough unless you flip it over, but then the ports would be upside down. I managed to fix this problem by purchasing a USB-C extension cable, but this setup gave me the opportunity to use my Chromebook Duo 3 like a laptop instead of like a tablet. Plus, it’s always good to see what new features Google is working on in Chrome OS.
Overall though, I’m happy with how everything turned out and, you know me, I’ll never turn down the opportunity to put together a new desktop setup.
Tap or mark: the choice is yours
Although it was a little more expensive, I’m glad I went with the wireless version of this monitor light bar as it gives me more options. On the device, there are touch buttons on the right side that allow you to turn the light on or off, adjust its brightness, or switch between three different color modes.
By briefly pressing the button on the left, you can toggle between white light (6000K), mixed light (4200K) or warm light (3000K), while a long press of this same button allows you to adjust the brightness of the bar of monitor light. Meanwhile, the button on the right is a simple on/off switch.
Since I opted for the more expensive wireless version of this monitor light bar, it also comes with a dial that has adhesive on the bottom so it sticks to your desk. Turning the dial clockwise increases the brightness of the light, while turning it counterclockwise decreases the brightness. There is also a button on the top that allows you to toggle between lighting modes.
While I love the look of the dial, it runs on a CR2450 watch battery instead of a rechargeable one. Because of this, I’ve been using it sparingly, but according to Diirglus, it should last up to a year before needing to be replaced.
Making my nights a little brighter
Even during the day, with the blinds open and natural light streaming in, this monitor light bar still manages to cast a nice glow on my monitor, my computer underneath, and the rest of my desk as well. However, it is at night when it really shines.
I know I’m not supposed to work at night, but as a night owl, I find that’s when I come up with many of my best ideas. Until now, however, I often found myself working in a room with all the lights on or in a dark room bathed in the glow of my monitor, neither of which are ideal.
However, with this new setup, I found that working at night is much more pleasant since the monitor’s light bar can put out just the right amount of light on my desk. I don’t have to worry about keeping others in my house awake with the bright lights emanating from my office nor do I have to work in near total darkness.
As you can see in the image above, the monitor light bar shines from the top of my monitor and illuminates the screen along with the front half of my desk. This is good for when you don’t have a backlit keyboard but still want to be able to see a key from time to time. There is also not much overflow and the rest of the room where this desk is installed remains dark while my workspace is fully lit.
The affordable accessory you didn’t know you needed
Now that I’ve had the chance to try out a monitor light bar, I wouldn’t mind spending more on one from BenQ with more features. For example, the company’s most expensive, the ScreenBar Halo ($179, Amazon), also has a light on the back to give you the best of both worlds. Its monitor and desktop are illuminated in the front, while it has some partial lighting in the back to make working on your desktop computer even easier on the eyes. Still, for $50, I’m glad I took a chance on this less expensive monitor light bar first to see if I liked it.
If you want to upgrade your desk setup a bit or maybe you just want a little more light on your desk while working at night like I did, it might be worth getting one. For those with larger monitors, like my office’s ultrawide, you can always use two, although other companies sell monitors that are a little wider if you don’t want to deal with multiple cables.
As I always say, the best desktop setups are constantly evolving, especially when new devices and gadgets come out to add to them. I’ve always liked having a webcam above my monitor, but after trying this monitor light bar, I may need to reconsider as I found it to be a much more pleasant experience when working at night.
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