Stevie Bonifield’s Desk: What’s Inside?

Stevie Bonifield is a versatile news writer who dives into a variety of topics, from the FCC to AI shopping tools and Linux. Before joining the current team, Stevie contributed weekend news for a gaming publication and wrote reviews, features, and guides for a tech magazine, along with stories for several other outlets. Having been a fan of the site since high school, Stevie is thrilled to be part of the team now.

When not writing, Stevie enjoys gaming, reading, and tabletop roleplaying games, proudly embracing their inner nerd.

Let’s start with the essentials. Where’s your workspace located?
My desk is set up in my bedroom. I share an apartment with a roommate, so we both work from our rooms to minimize distractions. I actually prefer not having a separate office; it simplifies decorating and managing just one space. I recently relocated to New Jersey from Pittsburgh, PA, so I’m still in the process of getting everything organized.

Could you share details about your desk and chair?
I’m using a VIVO 3-stage adjustable desk paired with a VIVO 60-inch desktop and a Haworth Breck chair. I just got them last month, so I’m still getting used to them, but I’m enjoying them so far.

This desk is a standing model, which is a first for me. I chose it to accommodate my height since most desks are too tall for me. It can lower to 24 inches, which is great. The standing feature is a nice bonus, even though I didn’t buy it specifically for that. My cable management under the desk still needs some tidying up, but I have a VIVO clamp-on cable management net to help with that for now.

The Haworth Breck is a straightforward chair, but it fits my needs well, especially with its height range. Finding decent desk chairs that go low enough for me is a challenge, and this one has a minimum seat height of around 15 inches with adjustable seat depth, which I appreciate. I do wish it had a headrest, though.

What tech devices are part of your setup?
My setup is a bit chaotic since I have three different computers running across two monitors.

My gaming PC is currently on the floor under my desk, but it’s temporarily out of commission due to a hardware issue. My RAM seems to be malfunctioning, which is unfortunate given the current pricing situation. Most of the system is still functional, though! It features an AMD Ryzen 7 7700X CPU, an AMD Radeon RX 6600 GPU, an Asus ROG Strix B650-A motherboard, and a pair of 16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5 RAM sticks that apparently need replacing after less than a year.

This PC also runs Linux; it’s currently on Fedora 41 with the Cinnamon desktop environment, but I plan to upgrade to Fedora 43 and switch to KDE Plasma soon.

Attached to the side of my desk are my work and personal laptops, both M4 MacBook Airs. They’re connected to my left monitor, a 27-inch 1440p Viewsonic Omni (VX2728J-2K). My gaming PC connects to both monitors, and I primarily play on the right monitor due to its superior color accuracy, which is a 27-inch 1440p Asus ROG Strix gaming monitor (XG27ACS).

Neither monitor is particularly fancy, but they meet my needs. I’d recommend the ROG monitor more, although I’m not a fan of the buttons being on the back, as I need to switch input modes to connect to my Mac. During work hours, I usually have my work laptop on the left monitor and my Linux PC on the right. I chose my keyboard and mouse for their ease of use across all my devices.

I’ve reviewed many keyboards, but ironically, the one I’m currently using is the Nuphy Halo75 V2 with Nuphy’s Mint switches, which I haven’t reviewed. It feels and sounds great, works smoothly with macOS, and allows me to switch between my laptops and PC with a quick shortcut. The battery life could be better, but I keep the RGB lighting on, which likely drains it faster. Overall, I really like the design and sound quality of the Halo75 — it’s one of the few keyboards I’m satisfied with right out of the box.

My mouse is one of my favorite devices right now. I’ve tested some excellent gaming mice, but my daily driver is the Razer Orochi V2, which I snagged for $35 on sale earlier this year. It’s not overly fancy, but its size and feel are perfect for me. Most gaming mice feel too large, but the Orochi seems designed for my hand. Like my keyboard, it can switch between Bluetooth and a 2.4GHz dongle. Despite its budget-friendly price, it’s a fantastic mouse.

Underneath, I’m using a Matrix Blizzard mousepad that I found on Amazon, though it might be sold out now. I wanted something with a bit of design but not too distracting, and this one fits the bill. I wish it were a tad thicker, but it’s more interesting than a plain black mousepad, which works for me.

I have two controllers on my desk: a standard Xbox controller for my Mac and a wired Razer Wolverine V2 for my gaming PC. I’m not usually a fan of wired controllers, but I really enjoy the Wolverine. The clicky buttons on Razer controllers are satisfying, and they consistently perform well. My favorite mobile controller is also from Razer, the Kishi Ultra.

For headphones, I prefer my AirPods Pro 3. The active noise cancellation and spatial audio are fantastic for watching shows and movies on my laptop, plus they help me focus while working. I don’t like wearing earbuds all the time, so I also keep a basic pair of on-ear Sony headphones, the WH-CH250, around. They’re not the best in terms of audio quality, but they’re super affordable.

Lastly, I have a Razer Seiren V3 Chroma mic mounted on a clamp-on arm at the side of my desk. I’ve been using the Seiren for a couple of years for gaming and playing Dungeons & Dragons with my online group. While the audio quality could be better, it’s a significant upgrade over most built-in headphone mics, and I’ve never encountered any bugs or issues with it. Notably, it works seamlessly on Linux without any tweaks.

That’s a great laptop holder you have at the side of your desk. What is it?
I just got that last month, and it’s one of my favorite additions to my setup. It’s a double-decker laptop mount I found for around $30 on Amazon, and it clamps onto the side of my desk without needing screws.

I wanted to free up some desk space, and this allows me to keep both laptops nearby yet out of the way. I also used a command strip to attach a USB-C hub to the back of the laptop tray, making it easy to switch between my personal and work laptops on my external monitor by just moving the USB-C and charging cables.

Great wall decorations! Tell us about your Elmville map and what surrounds it.
The wall across from my desk is visible during webcam calls, so I’ve decorated it with some of my favorite items. I’m a huge fan of Dimension 20 on Dropout, so I immediately picked up one of the Elmville maps when they released them. For those unfamiliar, Elmville is the main setting for Fantasy High, one of the standout shows on Dropout.

The smaller horizontal picture below the map is a page from Dropout’s 2025 Dimension 20 calendar that I got at their Madison Square Garden show last January. It depicts a scene from season 2 of Fantasy High, and I thought the artist did a fantastic job, so I framed it. To the right above that is a print I picked up from an art convention; it’s not from any specific show or movie, but the design really resonated with me.

The two smaller prints above the map are also from art conventions and created by the same artist, Natasha Tara Petrović. The purple one features some cool Mothman art — I have a soft spot for cryptids and spooky themes. The blue one is a Dark Souls print that makes the game look cozier than it actually is.

Lastly, I have some Nanoleaf Elements tiles lighting up that wall. These are the first smart lights I’ve ever bought, and they’re pretty cool, especially with their mellow wood look. I have them set to shift colors and brightness throughout the day.

You clearly have a passion for Star Wars and other sci-fi/fantasy worlds, judging by the toys over your bookcase and the figures on that shelf. Are you a serious fan or just a casual enjoyer of the genre?
I’m a massive Star Wars fan. One of my earliest memories is watching The Phantom Menace on VHS, and I’ve loved the franchise ever since. Obi-Wan is my favorite character, which is evident in my workspace.

The lightsaber above my bookcase is Obi-Wan’s from The Phantom Menace. I’ve had it since kindergarten or first grade, so it’s a bit worn. Next to it is a special edition Obi-Wan Funko Pop. Above my desk, I have a Lego model of Obi-Wan’s Jedi starfighter from Attack of the Clones.

On the shelf below, I’ve squeezed in the Dungeons & Dragons series minifigures I’ve collected (I’m just a few shy of the full set). These shelves turned out smaller than I expected, so I plan to add more to avoid overcrowding. I think Lego did a great job with these D&D minifigures, and I’d love to see them create more D&D sets. My favorite from this series is the dragonborn paladin.

The other Funko Pop next to Obi-Wan is Vi from Arcane, which is an incredible show and one of my personal favorites. I’m not a huge Funko Pop collector, but I’ll grab them occasionally if it’s a character I really like.

I’d say I’m a serious sci-fi and fantasy fan, though I tend to connect with specific series or books. For instance, I have most of the old Jedi Apprentice books on one of the lower shelves in my bookcase. They’re getting hard to find, but I loved them as a kid, so I’m trying to collect them again.

On the fantasy side, I enjoy epic tales like Lord of the Rings, but I also appreciate some YA books, especially The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson. Right now, I’m reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree, the third book in his Legends & Lattes series. Both are fantastic, though they have very different tones.

You also have a rock collection!
I do! Like a goldfish, it has grown to fill the size of its container, and now it can grow no more. I’ve always been interested in geology, and I’ve had some of the rocks and minerals in that case since childhood.

I have various quartz, a geode, some copper, chalcopyrite, amazonite, dravite, moissanite, a sliver of obsidian, a lump of basalt, some feldspar and sedimentary rocks, and several smaller tumbled stones. There’s also a chunk of petrified wood in the back that I found in a streambed. My favorites are the chunk of amber in the front and the bismuth above it — I love how bismuth crystals form that neat geometric shape.

Anything else you’d like to add?
While I don’t use it for work, my Kobo Clara BW e-reader is almost always on my desk. My bookcases are pretty much full (and a bit small — I plan to replace them eventually), so I’ve been reading more ebooks over the past year.

I switched from a Kindle to a Kobo several months ago and have been loving the experience. The display and user interface on the Clara are superior to their Kindle counterparts, and you have more freedom to add books from outside Kobo’s store and back up your library on other devices. My Kobo is now part of my everyday carry, although in hindsight, I wish I’d opted for a model with a color display.