The reason for starting this whole project? I finally made the switch from my Windows PC — which had been giving me grief for over a year — to a brand new M3 Ultra Mac Studio. As I was unplugging everything and replugging into the new machine, I realised just how bad my cables had gotten. Years of shoving new cables into a tray whenever I needed them had made the whole setup a disaster. So I ripped it all out and started completely from scratch, with one rule: everything had to come from Amazon.

Step 1: Get a Power Board Under Your Desk

The single biggest issue in most desk setups is a power board just sitting on the floor with cables going everywhere. Everything else in this guide is about getting that power board — and all of its cables — hidden under your desk.

Before you buy one, count every power-based accessory in your setup and add at least two to that number as a buffer. I learned this the hard way by buying a six-port board when I already had six peripherals. The brand Adam makes a solid one with six ports plus four USB-C slots, but I'd recommend going bigger if you can. Straight power boards are also significantly easier to manage under a desk than T-shaped or L-shaped ones. And always make sure yours has built-in surge protection.

Step 2: Mount It to the Underside of Your Desk

3M Adhesive Pads — Use These

Dead simple. Stick a few onto the back of your power board, press it firmly to the underside of your desk, and make sure to get your position right the first time. I've been using 3M branded ones for years and they're very reliable. At least three pads per board, more if you want extra confidence.

Duct Tape — Only for Two Situations

Duct tape is not the worst option if you're in a rush and just need the desk to look presentable for a day or two — think an open house inspection. Or if you have just one or two lightweight cables in a really awkward spot. Outside of those situations, skip it. It looks terrible, loses its grip over time, and the moment you need to add another cable you're either starting from scratch or making the mess worse.

Velcro Loops — Skip Entirely

These looked great on paper — more flexible than duct tape, reusable, easy to add cables to. The reality? Most of them fell off overnight. They just couldn't handle the weight of my cables. If I had to pick between Velcro loops and duct tape, I'd pick duct tape every single time.

Step 3: Route Your Cables

Wire Covers — Good but Restrictive

I picked up an extra-large kit from a brand called Shio, which comes with two in the box. The concept is solid: stick it underneath your desk, run cables through the channel, slide the cover in to keep them secure. In an ideal world I'd just buy ten of these and mount them in every direction under the desk.

The limitation is that your cables need to start and end somewhere the cover can accommodate. That makes layout a bit fiddly, and with a lot of cables you'll find yourself cramming. Still a solid accessory, just not the most flexible one.

Open Slotted Cable Raceway — My Favourite

This is the best cable routing accessory I tested. The open slots mean cables can enter and exit at any point along the raceway, not just at the ends, which makes routing dramatically more flexible. The catch is that these screw into the underside of your desk — but at this level of cable management, that's actually the preference. Screw-in solutions don't fail over time. The raceway also has more depth than wire covers, so it fits significantly more cable.

Step 4: Cable Management Trays — All Four Tested

If you want maximum flexibility to add or remove cables without any pain, a cable management tray is the answer. Here's how the four I tested compare.

The Final Setup: What I Actually Kept

The combination of the raceway and VIVO trays ended up being the sweet spot. Functional, clean, and easy to update whenever something new gets added.

Bonus Accessories: Quick-Fire Round

A handful of accessories that didn't fit neatly into the main setup but are worth having depending on your desk.