Dual monitors are great for productivity, but not so great for your desk space. A lot of monitors ship with bulky monitor stands by default that can consume most of the usable space on a small or mid-sized desk, leaving little space for a keyboard, mouse, and other accessories. Swapping out the OEM stand for a great monitor arm can be a solution, but not all of them are made equal. After assembling and using the StarTech Dual Monitor Arm, I've found that it's a premium — albeit expensive — option that can compete with the best of the market.

At over $200, the StarTech Dual Monitor Arm costs more than one of the Samsung monitors I paired with it. That puts it in the higher-end sector of the monitor arm market, but there are plenty of premium features to match the price tag. Most notably, the gas spring-assisted monitor arms make adjusting the height of the monitors a tool-free experience. If you want to free up space on a great office desk and value quick and easy adjustments, the StarTech Dual Monitor Arm is an excellent choice, even at its premium price point.

About this review: StarTech sent me the Dual Monitor Mount for review. The company did not have input in this article, and did not see its contents before publishing.

Pricing and availability

The StarTech Dual Monitor Arm retails for $210 and can be purchased at Amazon or StarTech's website. The mount can be clamped to a desk with either a clamp or through a grommet hole, and mounting parts for both options are both included. It can hold monitors up to 32 inches, with individual weights of up to 17.6 pounds each. StarTech sells a few different types of dual monitor arms, and you can find this one specifically by looking for the ARMDUALPIVOT product code.

Specs

What I like

The design is both sleek and offers solid functionality

The StarTech Dual Monitor Arm balances form and function in a great way, which is why it is one of the better monitor arms available. The base of the monitor arm is fairly large, but seems very stable. I mounted the Dual Monitor Arm on the FlexiSpot E7 Pro standing desk via the included desk clamp, which was easy to adjust with only an Allen key. StarTech also includes a grommet hole mount that can be used to secure the Dual Monitor Arm with a hole in your desk if you prefer. I've used monitor arms with smaller bases before, but I'll take the larger footprint in exchange for stability here.

Overall, the design is sleek thanks to an aluminum black matte finish and fairly thin monitor arms. They come in two pieces, which allows for a wider range of vertical and horizontal adjustments. While a side view of the monitor arms reveals that there's a lot going on, everything except the main mounting pole should be hidden by your monitors. It also includes a few channels and holes for cable management.

It's easy to assemble, despite mediocre instructions

Surprisingly, there isn't much to the assembly of the StarTech Dual Monitor Arm. You have to attach the base to your desk, and then screw in the central mounting pole. After that, you attach pole arm mounts, the tool holders, and the monitor arms. There are two VESA mounting plates included, with holes for either 75mm x 75mm or 100mm x 100mm monitors. You can screw the VESA plates onto the monitors before attaching them to the Dual Monitor Arm, since there's a clever clip mechanism that makes sliding on the monitors with the VESA plates pre-installed simple.

Since the monitor arms are separate, you can actually stack two monitors (either standard or ultra-wide) on top of each other. The StarTech Dual Monitor Arm supports monitors of up to 32 inches with weights of up to 17.6 pounds each.

It's true that the installation process is simple, but I found that the instructions were unnecessarily confusing. It was easier for me to just figure out how to assemble the Dual Monitor Arm myself rather than follow the booklet of instructions. The biggest point of confusion was the steps and warnings related to the gas springs, which I'll elaborate more on later.

I also seemed to get a faulty screw on my review unit, as it deformed when I tried to screw it in place. This seems like a fluke, but it's worth mentioning. StarTech offers a five-year warranty, so if something like this happens to you, it should be covered.

The gas springs are a game-changer, once you get used to them

Using the StarTech Dual Monitor Arm was my first experience with gas spring-assisted monitor arms, and they're simply a game-changer. I've never used a monitor arm that was easier to adjust than the StarTech Dual Monitor Arm for this reason. After you've got the gas springs adjusted for the first time, adjusting the height of your monitor is as simple as grabbing the screen and lifting it up or down. When you let go, the arms will stay secured in place.

Quite a lot of monitor arms can be adjusted without tools, but many of those options require a significant amount of force and the experience is clunky. That's true of the Insignia Dual Screen Desktop Mount, which was a pain to adjust after the initial setup. The StarTech Dual Monitor Arm couldn't be more different. The initial setup is a bit tricky, but refinements down the line are painless.

What I don't like

Setting up the gas springs for the very first time is tricky

I've used my fair share of monitor arms in the past, but it took me a while to get the hang of the StarTech Dual Monitor Arm's gas springs. The instructions really did nothing to explain how they work, so getting them to work properly was just trial and error. When you first install the monitor arms, the gas springs have no security or hold to them. You can move the arms up or down, but the springs will just shoot the arms back up after you let go.

There's a bolt on the back of each monitor arm that can be adjusted with a larger, included Allen key. You want to turn it counterclockwise to tighten the gas springs, and this will make the arms hold in place when you release them. It's so simple when you understand how it works, but StarTech's instruction manual only includes one confusing image that isn't much help.

Should you buy the StarTech Dual Monitor Arm?

You should buy the StarTech Dual Monitor Arm if:

• You want a mount with great build quality that can hold two 32-inch monitors
• You want the ability to stack two standard or ultra-wide monitors
• You want one-touch, tool-less adjustments

You should NOT buy the StarTech Dual Monitor Arm if:

• You're on a budget
• You would do fine with a basic monitor arm
• You only need to mount one monitor

Not everyone needs a monitor arm with the premium feature set and price tag of the StarTech Dual Monitor Arm. However, for those that value things like design, build quality, and versatility, the StarTech Dual Monitor Arm is a great option. There are a few parts of the experience that could be better, but you'll get through those in the installation process. After that, the day-to-day experience using the StarTech Dual Monitor arm is pretty painless.