Gaming Peripherals

[Plaayer]

Are gaming peripherals really worth it? Are there even any benefits to get anything labeled "gaming?" My mouse is dying and I'm hesitant to get something that I won't like. What peripherals (mouse, mousepad, and keyboard) do you guys use and would you recommend it?

 

Here are some things that I was thinking about getting:

Mouse:

Razer Deathadder

Razer Naga Hex (I don't like the green, but if they come out w/ a plain black, this is a possibility.)

Steelseries Sensei Fnatic (I like the color scheme on this, not on the regular Sensei)

Logitech G400

Logitech G9x (This looks really big. Is it?

Corsair M60

Corsair M90 (Reading around, most said the drivers suck.)

 

Mouse Pad:

Razer Sphex

Razer Kabuto

Steelseries QcK Mini

-Hard vs. Soft/Cloth mousepads and are there any benefits to each?

 

Keyboard:

Logitech G110

Razer Blackwidow Stealth

~~Slight chance of getting these:

Corsair Vengence K90

Razer Blackwidow Ultimate Stealth

-Mechanical vs. Rubber Dome key switches? Benefits of each?

[npsgaming]

Generally speaking the term "gaming" when added to anything means little. EXCEPT in peripherals. I am extremely pleased with my "gaming gear" and it makes a world of difference. I used to use a plain 300dpi optical mouse and standard keyboard for gaming and couldn't figure out how guys were making such smooth movements until I got my first gaming mouse. I got a Razer Diamondback (when it came out back in the day) and after that I swore I would never use a standard again.

 

Gaming Mice:

A gaming mouse offers a level of sensitivity, precision, and control that you will not get with any store bought microsoft mouse. If you are an MMO player you may like the Razer Naga (on your list). If you don't play many MMO's or RPGs you may find the number of buttons frustrating. I am a huge FPS player and I love my Razer Mamba. For versatile gaming I recommend:

Razer: Mamba, Deathadder, or Lachesis. Logitech also have some good mice (I have never used one but my brother does and he loves them).

 

Mousepad: With a super mouse you should consider a decent surface. The Razer Sphex(you listed) or if you want overkill the Ironclad. Both are good and there its about budget and styling really. Soft mousepads absorb more of the optical/laser light which usually equates to greater control and more fluid movement. A hard surface will allow for quick, precise, sensitive movements. Less light is absorbed and more is reflected back into the sensor which leads to shorter hand movements with greater results. (this also ties to the laser DPI used. higher DPI=less movement for greater results and more sensitive) I have my mouse on a desk so I don't actually use a surface/pad. I found them distracting and hard to control unlike the desk.

 

Keyboard: I use a Razer Lycosa and find it quite appropriate. The keys are showing their age a bit now (the rubberized coating on them is slowly wearing off) but its a few years old. If you can afford a mechanical keyboard do it! From my understanding instead of a rubber membrane controlling keystrokes (where it requires more pressure and there is chance for a mis-registered keystroke) a mechanical keyboard uses real metal keys and springs with contact plate switches. This results in less pressure needed for a stroke and greater accuracy with each stroke. The Razer mechanical keyboards are fantastic from what I hear. I am looking at getting one soon. Again Logitech makes some fine gear. Their gaming keyboards are also good and my brother swears by em.

 

Also not on your list but you should consider is a gaming headset. Something with 5.1+ surround is great. When playing Battlefield 3 I can hear someone walking behind me accurately and it has saved me more than once.

[FEBRUARY]

EDIT: Did the old post in >3 minutes yesterday morning before school. I'm going to post a more helpful response now.

 

Here are some of my recommendations based on what I've heard from other people, and my personal experiences. Note that some of these products are top of the line, and you may not need these if you're not doing some serious gaming.

 

Mice - Razer Deathadder -- Deathadder is the choice for most people as it is very accessible and has a cheap price point. Great mouse for the money.

 

SteelSeries Xai -- Great mouse but a little on the pricey side. Now discontinued (I believe?), but a lot of people still prefer this mouse. It is on the small side, so if you have large hands I wouldn't recommend this mouse.

 

Zowie EC1 -- Great mouse for someone with fairly large hands. Comparable to a Deathadder.

 

 

Mouse pad - This is a tough one. Buying a mouse pad also depends on the mouse you buy. Most new mice are laser, but if you happen to buy an optical mouse, the type of mouse pad you buy needs to be different. Laser mice have better response on a cloth mouse pad, but optical mice have better response on a hard surface. It's all personal preference, but I'd highly suggest going the cloth way, and if you are, there's definitely some size variants you have to choose from.

 

What I use, as well as most professional gamers - SteelSeries QcK Heavy -- This mouse pad is HUGE. If you don't need something this big don't spend $30 dollars on it. However, I use a deathadder, and the responsiveness out of it increased when I went from a plastic mouse pad to this. Great mouse pad.

 

Anything in the QcK lineup will be a great choice. Great quality mouse pads. However, some people like to choose Razer, so I'll throw in a couple products for the fanboys.

 

Razer Goliathus

 

Razer Megasoma

 

Both have some great reviews. I haven't used either, so I won't comment on if it's good or not.

 

 

 

Keyboards -

 

The main choice of keyboard for gamers now is a mechanical keyboard. Mechanical keyboards are more responsive then dome-key keyboards.

 

However, most mechanical keyboards are a bit pricey.

 

Razer Lycosa -- non-mechanical but still a great all around keyboard. Might be worth it saving ~$30 for the Zowie Celeritas though.

 

Zowie Celeritas -- Mechanical keyboard, cheap price point but excellent build quality. I used one at a "gaming house" near where I live. Great feel.

 

Now to what you said, the Razer Blackwidow, and the Razer Blackwidow Ultimate. If you want to spend the extra cash for the ultimate, go ahead, but IMHO backlit keys aren't worth it. They enable a cool factor, but don't really have a purpose if you know where the keys are on a keyboard. I don't like these keyboards however, there are some better options.

 

SteelSeries Shift 7G -- Great all around keyboard but a bit on the pricey side.

 

 

Notice I haven't posted anything Logitech. I have never used a Logitech product, so I don't know about build quality/ease of access etc. I'm not going to speculate on reviews if I've never used a Logitech product.

Edited February 15, 2012 by FEBRUARY

[Wingless]

I'm running a Razer Tarantula (discontinued, indestructible and awesome), a Copperhead mouse, and one of Razer's hard-top, semi-slick mousepads, and I'm pretty damned happy with the whole lot. We have a few people in the SWTOR guild that use the Razer mouse with 349823748237489327 buttons (Naga?), and so far, they are liking it a lot.

 

Fun fact - I used to play everything from FPS to strat games with a trackball, and was pretty damned good.

[Darkwing Duck]

If you're looking at a mouse, honestly look past razer before you make a decision. Companies like steelseries and zowie make good mice as well.

 

A great mouse pad is the Steelseries QcK heavy, its 17x15" and its thick so you wont feel it on uneven surfaces.

 

use cloth unless your using optical mice

 

keyboard go with anything mechanical, SS shift, razer blackwidow etc

 

Feb makes an excellent point! Personally I do not love razer peripherals. In my opinion they are just 'OK'. Steel Series, Zowie, and Logitech are all great brands for mice.

 

As far as a mouse surface goes, I wouldn't necessarily go with cloth. I believe that is all on personal preference. Some people like soft surfaces, whereas myself I enjoy a hard mouse surface. One thing I will accredit to razer is they make amazing mouse pads. I have a Razer ProPad and it is by far the best mouse pad I have ever had.

 

With regards to keyboards, and I cant stress this enough. DO NOT SPEND OVER 14$ on a keyboard unless its mechanical. In my personal opinion you want to get Cherry Brown(Silent) or Cherry Blue(Nice clicky sound) switches for a gaming keyboard. Cherry Black switches are a little to high in tensile feedback in my personal opinion. Here is a beautiful guide explaining the different type of mechanical switches: http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/mechanical-keyboard-guide

 

As a final note, The razer blackwidow is a horrible mechanical keyboard. It does not support full n-key rollover as well it does not support anti-ghosting. If you want a nice mechanical keyboard I would go with a dasKeyboard, steelseries(is ok), zowie, or Newegg has a brand of Rosewill mechanical keyboards that have a Filco board underneath(which btw is an amazing company/board).

[FEBRUARY]

Edited original post look back.

Edited February 15, 2012 by ^TheRumor^

[^TheRumor^]

Razer Lachesis 5600 + Razer Destructor + Razer BlackWidow Ultimate

 

Best combination i've ever owned.

[Plaayer]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I've decided to go with the Razer Deathadder paired with a QcK mini, as a 9x8 surface is pretty much all I can fit on this desk and is plenty. For a keyboard, I've decided to get something with MX Brown keyswitches, probably the Blackwidow Stealth (haven't decided if I want backlighting or not).