Choosing a gaming chair: what to look for

Gaming chair, office chair or racing seat

• Gaming chair: an office chair styled like a car seat, with a high back, raised side bolsters and often separate neck and lumbar cushions. You use it at your desk, for PC gaming and work.
• Ergonomic chair: in recent years gaming brands also make office-style chairs, such as the ASUS ROG Destrier Ergo. Without raised sides, it is easier to change position.
• Racing seat or cockpit: a frame with a seat and mounts for a racing wheel and pedals, such as the Playseat Challenge X or the Playseat Evolution. You set it up in front of your TV or screen for racing games. It is not a desk chair.

Does the chair fit your height and weight?

This is the most important choice. Many chairs come in more than one size: DXRacer has the Drifting L and Drifting XL, for example, and Andaseat makes an XL version of the Kaiser. Makers give a maximum weight for each chair and often the body height it is meant for. Check those first, and when in doubt take the larger size.

Also look at the seat width between the raised sides. A narrow seat feels snug. Some people like that, but it leaves little room to shift around.

Adjustment

• Armrests: makers call them 2D, 3D or 4D. 4D armrests go up and down, slide forward and back, move in and out and swivel. The more directions, the better you can match them to your desk.
• Backrest: almost every gaming chair reclines, some far enough to lie back. A tilt you can lock in any position is handy if you also play leaning back with a controller.
• Seat height and gas lift: the gas lift sets how high you sit. Many makers state its class. Class 4 is the heaviest.
• Neck and lumbar support: many chairs have separate cushions. On the Andaseat Kaiser 3 the neck cushion attaches with magnets, so it does not slide down.

Cover: faux leather, fabric or mesh

• Faux leather (PU or EPU, for example on the DXRacer Drifting and the noblechairs EPIC): looks sleek and wipes clean easily, but gets warmer over long sessions.
• Fabric (for example the noblechairs ICON TX and the Corsair TC100 Relaxed): breathes better and stays cooler, but stains are harder to remove.
• Mesh: an open weave, mostly on office-style chairs. This is the coolest.

What does a gaming chair cost?

Prices vary a lot. In our listings, well-known brands start at around 200 euros, such as the Andaseat Luna and the Corsair TC100 Relaxed. Many popular models from DXRacer, noblechairs and Andaseat cost around 300 to 500 euros. Ergonomic chairs and big cockpits can cost much more. The same chair often costs tens of euros more at one shop than at another, so compare the prices on the chair’s page.

Racing seats for sim racing

If you play racing games with a wheel, a cockpit works better than a desk. The wheel and pedals stay put and do not slide away when you brake. Playseat makes foldable models such as the Challenge X, which you put away after playing, and models for heavier direct-drive wheels, such as the Challenge DD. Check that your wheel and pedals fit the cockpit. The maker lists which brands fit.