Help Upgrading Peripherals (And which order to do so)

[ILikeAMD]

So I recently built my gaming rig, and I have some money left over, so I've decided it's time to upgrade my peripherals, and would like you guys' help in choosing the right ones.

So I have about £140 to spend; right now I have a "gaming" membrane keyboard which came in a kit with my mouse. My headphones are some Skullcandy 2XLs and my microphone is some £2 one from some local store which, surprisingly, has lasted me 3 years and has an okay sound quality.

I have one of those keyboard trays on my desk, 60 cm long, so I only really have about 14 cm (around 5.5 inches) of mouse movement space at the most. So if I need a mouse mat it needs to fit that.

And finally, I have a palm grip on the mouse and prefer bulkier, longer mice.

If anyone has any suggestions I would very much appreciate it, to clarify I need a Mouse, Keyboard, Headphones, don't really care about the mic.

 

[hang-the-9]

What to replace with what is up to you. Figure out what you want to change, try out some newer parts in stores. Keyboards and mice are very personal picks, you can only guess what you may like in person if you have not tried several keyboard types already. For a mouse mat, I actually like the long ones like what Corsair has that goes under the keybaord as well, I use it for working on laptops on as well, and it has enough grip to keep parts from rolling around on the desk. If by the keyboard and mouse combo you have the CM Devistator, you may like the MX Brown switches or possibly the Reds.

 

[ssddx]

what order you replace them with is up to you...

personally i'd replace mouse, keyboard then headphones in that order. unless you're big into talking online mic is optional. just pick up a cheap mousepad, those arent expensive.

what do you not like about your current mouse and keyboard? there is no need to go mechanical over membrane.. both styles are good depending on your preferences.

 

[ILikeAMD]

what order you replace them with is up to you...

personally i'd replace mouse, keyboard then headphones in that order. unless you're big into talking online mic is optional. just pick up a cheap mousepad, those arent expensive.

what do you not like about your current mouse and keyboard? there is no need to go mechanical over membrane.. both styles are good depending on your preferences.

I've tried a mech keyboard before - I bought the Corsair Strafe RGB with MX Reds, but it came with a really annoying metallic springy sound which is apparently a common issue with mechanical keyboards, so I sent it back and just stuck with my cheap membrane keyboard and spent the extra money on my PC.

What I dislike about membrane keyboards is how they tend to fail after a year or so, have useless lighting as it doesn't go through the keys, and although mine boasts "19 key anti-ghosting", in some combinations of keys, like SPACE + W + 4, the 4 does not register.

I liked the reds but I bottomed them out every time, and I haven't tried any of the others. I'm mainly going on other people's opinions because I don't know anywhere I can go and try the switches out.

As for the mouse I have no other frame of reference, I have no idea what other mice are like but from what I've heard they are more precise, more comfortable, and the extra buttons are useful.

 

[ssddx]

instead of rubber domes, mechanicals have springs. its not an issue, its design. rubber dome based switches can feel spongey while mechanicals are very exact and precise feeling. neither are necessarily better feeling, its all preference.

backlighting quality depends on how it is done. the good backlighting has an led under every key while the cheap backlighting just has a few spread around underneath. both types of products can be found.

what you are complaining about is called key rollover. true nkro (n-key roll over or infinite combination of keys rollover) avoids this problem completely. or, any board with 6kro or 8kro is likely more than good enough. if a keyboard needs to specifically state it has insert#here anti ghosting keys then it mostly is all marketing bs. well designed matrixes can do any combination well not just certain ones.

reds and blacks are linear. they are basically keys on springs. browns have tactile feedback to them so are nicer for typing. blues are generally a typing only switch given they have both key letoff and an audible click.

--

as far as mice are concerned, its a big question of preference.

i personally like mice with a fairly large size and wide with a few more buttons than normal but without too many where it is complex. i prefer my scroll wheels to be clicky. the razer deathadder ends up fitting my hands very well and the number of buttons works for me (it has an extra 2). other mice with slightly more buttons would work for me as well (the g502 for example) but did not fit my hand shape and grip style how i like.

i do not care for mmo-mice although some people love the functions on them. keep in mind that to get used to them requires more than just a few days of practice.

i honestly did really like the overall size of the g502 and button placement but it was not wide enough for me and i did not care for the scroll wheel. otherwise it would have been as good or better than what i use now.

corsair, gigabyte, roccat, razer, logitech all have products worth looking at. i would avoid the matcatz r.a.t. products as they break.

led mice are the easiest to work with. laser are nice but they *do* track if you lift them up. wireless can be used as well despite what anyone will say but dead batteries do happen so a standby mouse is needed. i used to game competitively on a wireless laser mouse so do not believe what people say about them being inferior as long as we are talking about quality products not junk $5 budget specials.. its more personal preference than anything.

--

as far as mousepads are concerned, i refuse to spend any good money on them. any more than $20 on an xxl pad is too much. i've gotten away with standard mousepads for years when i was competitive and it never made a difference. your call though, preference

 

[ILikeAMD]

instead of rubber domes, mechanicals have springs. its not an issue, its design. rubber dome based switches can feel spongey while mechanicals are very exact and precise feeling. neither are necessarily better feeling, its all preference.

backlighting quality depends on how it is done. the good backlighting has an led under every key while the cheap backlighting just has a few spread around underneath. both types of products can be found.

what you are complaining about is called key rollover. true nkro (n-key roll over or infinite combination of keys rollover) avoids this problem completely. or, any board with 6kro or 8kro is likely more than good enough. if a keyboard needs to specifically state it has insert#here anti ghosting keys then it mostly is all marketing bs. well designed matrixes can do any combination well not just certain ones.

reds and blacks are linear. they are basically keys on springs. browns have tactile feedback to them so are nicer for typing. blues are generally a typing only switch given they have both key letoff and an audible click.

--

as far as mice are concerned, its a big question of preference.

i personally like mice with a fairly large size and wide with a few more buttons than normal but without too many where it is complex. i prefer my scroll wheels to be clicky. the razer deathadder ends up fitting my hands very well and the number of buttons works for me (it has an extra 2). other mice with slightly more buttons would work for me as well (the g502 for example) but did not fit my hand shape and grip style how i like.

i do not care for mmo-mice although some people love the functions on them. keep in mind that to get used to them requires more than just a few days of practice.

i honestly did really like the overall size of the g502 and button placement but it was not wide enough for me and i did not care for the scroll wheel. otherwise it would have been as good or better than what i use now.

corsair, gigabyte, roccat, razer, logitech all have products worth looking at. i would avoid the matcatz r.a.t. products as they break.

led mice are the easiest to work with. laser are nice but they *do* track if you lift them up. wireless can be used as well despite what anyone will say but dead batteries do happen so a standby mouse is needed. i used to game competitively on a wireless laser mouse so do not believe what people say about them being inferior as long as we are talking about quality products not junk $5 budget specials.. its more personal preference than anything.

--

as far as mousepads are concerned, i refuse to spend any good money on them. any more than $20 on an xxl pad is too much. i've gotten away with standard mousepads for years when i was competitive and it never made a difference. your call though, preference

Thanks for all the info.

What I meant with the keyboard is that after the key comes back up there is a distinct "ping" sound which resonates for about half a second afterwards, without any sound coming through my headphones this is really noticeable. I've heard multiple people online say it's due to the Steel Backplate separating the keys from the PCB board, some people say putting mats underneath it reduces this noise.

 

[ssddx]

likely reverberation of the spring or of the plate due to the force of the key snapping to position this is natural due to how the switches work. could the steel plate amplify this sound? maybe.

i've had a cherry mx blue for a few months and an ibm m (likely the loudest mechanical ever built) and both have reverb when the key is released.

of course how much reverb you get depends on how hard and how fast you press and release the keys. i'm not sure there is really much you can do if you dont like that kind of sound except use dome keyboards. all mechanicals have some sort of high pitched noise. heck, membranes do as well though its not so high pitched and more of a squishy or thunking sound