[SOLVED] I want to USE my Asus ROG G751JT keyboard into a Custom Built Gaming Desktop PC

[1hand3d]

Hello people of the internet. 😀

I am no tech guru nor have I ever attempted to build anything before that is worth mentioning, basically I am a 'nab' - as the gaming community refers to people who lack the knowledge of how to do something properly.

I have a conundrum: I am one handed which means that the conventional desktop setup - keyboard and mouse - will not work seamlessly for me. Some might ask, "why not just buy another gaming laptop?" And my response to that question will be, "$3,600 + for a decent rig able of computing the latest AAA titles in 2k at ultra settings and sometimes in VR, will not be a justifiable purchase."

Think about it, $3,600 + to be able to use it for the next three years - if God permits - without ever being able to upgrade it internally? Nah. Then someone might ask, "why not just do an eGPU setup to remove any restraints that the future tech might place on the current preexisting build?" Again, no. I want to be able to go into my system and put in new parts or remove antiquated hardware as the evolutionary cycle of technology transcends what we currently know and understand to be possible, hence my conundrum. :/

The entire basis of this thread is to establish whether or not it would be possible to use a G751JT keyboard in a custom build desktop gaming PC?

I have not started looking at any hardware parts as yet, and that will only happen if, and only if I can use my laptops keyboard and track-pad as a substitute for the conventional mice and keyboard configuration.

Thanks in advance for any and all answers that lead or do not lead to the knowledge of the desired outcome.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Hey 1hand3d, let me first say I think it's great you're not giving up on gaming and trying to adapt. It show's how determined gamers can be.

That said, my one confusion is why you're sticking with the laptop KB? I could see it if you could somehow as well use it's touch pad, but from the pics I've seen in searching for that KB, it's shown without touchpad. So basically I'm wondering how you're managing look, aim, and shoot?

I've always felt more comfortable with KB/M vs gamepad, but there's some modified Xbox One gamepads made for one handed use by an engineer named Ben Heck. They're not cheap at $350, but about 1/10 the laptop price you mentioned. https://www.benheck.com/xb1s_controllers/

I've also looked at some gaming keypads, some of which are called one handed, but they require mouse, so the advertising is misleading, The better ones can also cost $300 or more.

I also just found a brand called Evil that makes one handed gamepads for quite a bit less.
https://www.evilcontrollers.com/store?cat=158

There may be others as well. Ben Heck says most of the people that email him say motorcycle accidents are the main reason they need a one handed controller.

 

[1hand3d]

Hey 1hand3d, let me first say I think it's great you're not giving up on gaming and trying to adapt. It show's how determined gamers can be.

That said, my one confusion is why you're sticking with the laptop KB? I could see it if you could somehow as well use it's touch pad, but from the pics I've seen in searching for that KB, it's shown without touchpad. So basically I'm wondering how you're managing look, aim, and shoot?

I've always felt more comfortable with KB/M vs gamepad, but there's some modified Xbox One gamepads made for one handed use by an engineer named Ben Heck. They're not cheap at $350, but about 1/10 the laptop price you mentioned. https://www.benheck.com/xb1s_controllers/

I've also looked at some gaming keypads, some of which are called one handed, but they require mouse, so the advertising is misleading, The better ones can also cost $300 or more.

I also just found a brand called Evil that makes one handed gamepads for quite a bit less.
https://www.evilcontrollers.com/store?cat=158

There may be others as well. Ben Heck says most of the people that email him say motorcycle accidents are the main reason they need a one handed controller.

Thanks for the reply Frag Maniac and also for leading me to a doable alternative. I must say that I never knew about these one handed game pads, though personally I always thought about devising some workaround for one-handed gamers such as myself, myself. Weird huh , but great minds think for themselves.

I'm glad that there are alternatives for those of us who are limited to only one working thumb. That being said, this solution would be more aimed at driving, mmo, rpg titles, not multiplayer fps' as I am more into, with the keyboard/trackpad configuration having the edge on split second reaction timing.

I play A LOT of Battlefield games (mostly 3) so to not have that ability to custom key-bind multiple functions to one key is really the deal breaker for me. However, I am going to invest in one of these one-handed gaming pads because I intend to start a YouTube channel just to show others like me, that you can still game and be competitive regardless of your physical limitations, and just for visuals (the smoothness offered by the thumb-sticks in contrast to the track-pad will be a vast improvement when trying provide a cinematic experience to viewers ) so there is that with the additional benefit of being able to apply smoother acceleration/braking in driving titles as opposed to either 100% or 0% throttle/braking that I have to endure when using my keyboard.

So THANK YOU for putting me onto Ben Heck , maybe he might be able to custom build me a case to hook up my keyboard/track-pad and connect it to the desktop build via a USB connection.

*Begins to pray in my prayer closet*

 

[Frag Maniac]

Don't forget the Evil brand one handed gamepads that I edited into my post, which sell for quite a bit less. I saw a Brit do a video review of one on a shooter game and he was doing quite well. Better than the average gamepad user I would say.

I've heard of trackballs and touchpads, but by "trackpad" I assume you mean the pads that laptops have? I'm still a bit confused how you set all that up. Maybe if you could show a pic of how you have it arranged, or are you saying those are the peripherals you plan to use and need advice on setting it all up?

If so, I would advise maybe checking a local PC parts store that sells used parts, or online there's places that sell older model laptop parts. What I'm thinking is cannibalizing the entire KB/trackpad face plate of the same model laptop, or use the one they came from if it's good.

Then you could either mount it straight to your desk with standoffs, mount it on a thin piece of plastic (here in the US TAP Plastics is great for that), or even rent a jigsaw and make a cutout and use L brackets to mount the cut piece below the surface to facilitate a flush mount.

The possibilities are endless, but mounting it onto thin piece of plastic would allow the most flexibility and be fairly cheap to do. TAP Plastics also has various sizes of adhesive backed rubber feet as well. That way the unit would stay in place like a desktop KB. You could also use taller fasteners in the back if you want to slant the angle of the KB.

Of course it goes without saying you'd need to, or have an expert like Ben Heck, get all the wiring hooked up right as well. He normally works with console controllers, but I wouldn't be surprised if he could easily figure out how to hack trackpad and KB wiring from a laptop into a desktop if that's what you're doing.

 

[1hand3d]

Don't forget the Evil brand one handed gamepads that I edited into my post, which sell for quite a bit less. I saw a Brit do a video review of one on a shooter game and he was doing quite well. Better than the average gamepad user I would say.

I've heard of trackballs and touchpads, but by "trackpad" I assume you mean the pads that laptops have? I'm still a bit confused how you set all that up. Maybe if you could show a pic of how you have it arranged, or are you saying those are the peripherals you plan to use and need advice on setting it all up?

If so, I would advise maybe checking a local PC parts store that sells used parts, or online there's places that sell older model laptop parts. What I'm thinking is cannibalizing the entire KB/trackpad face plate of the same model laptop, or use the one they came from if it's good.

Then you could either mount it straight to your desk with standoffs, mount it on a thin piece of plastic (here in the US TAP Plastics is great for that), or even rent a jigsaw and make a cutout and use L brackets to mount the cut piece below the surface to facilitate a flush mount.

The possibilities are endless, but mounting it onto thin piece of plastic would allow the most flexibility and be fairly cheap to do. TAP Plastics also has various sizes of adhesive backed rubber feet as well. That way the unit would stay in place like a desktop KB. You could also use taller fasteners in the back if you want to slant the angle of the KB.

Of course it goes without saying you'd need to, or have an expert like Ben Heck, get all the wiring hooked up right as well. He normally works with console controllers, but I wouldn't be surprised if he could easily figure out how to hack trackpad and KB wiring from a laptop into a desktop if that's what you're doing.

Hey Frag Maniac, thanks for taking the time to respond and all your help and advice. Much appreciated. Evil brand one handed controllers are good but I like Bens setup more, I don't mind the cost; it seems like a solid build that will withstand my brutal punishment. And what I've learnt through all of this is, never count out people who lack physical capabilities, they might just surprise you.

Yes you assumed correctly, I did in fact mean the track-pad the laptop has and that it is indeed the peripherals I intend to utilize (hopefully) with my setup. I'm in contact with Ben as we speak and he's certain that he can do what I'm asking, he basically said " it's just hacking, " what a guy!

I really like the idea of cutting out a part of my desk and using L brackets to create a flush setup, that's what I always wanted, but in the interest of comfort and flexibility I think using items purchased from TAP Plastics like you mentioned, might be the better option. Thanks again.

 

[Frag Maniac]

You're very welcome. Yeah Ben seems like an interesting guy. I watched his entire video on how he modifies the Xbox One controllers for one handed use. He's quite good at configuring and routing wires, and soldering and de-soldering. He makes a lot of the custom parts he uses with a 3D printer, and he'll often give advice on how to do basic things like de-soldering, all while seeming quite happy and making jokes. You can tell by how beat up his hands are that he does this stuff a lot.

Anyway, let us know how things work out, and if you can, make a short gameplay video once you get it all set up and get used to using it. I'm sure it would help others with your needs. If you need any help at all at video capture, compression, editing, or uploading, don't hesitate to ask. I've been doing it for some time and have learned some valuable tricks along the way.

BTW, Tap Plastics also offers a lot of services other than just cutting the raw material you select to size. They will also make bends, holes, smooth corners with a torch, and even glue up entire assemblies if you send them a blueprint of your design. So if that kind of project is beyond the scope of what Ben has tools for, he could draw you a design with dimensions, and they could build it, or Ben could work with them direct.

 

[1hand3d]

You're very welcome. Yeah Ben seems like an interesting guy. I watched his entire video on how he modifies the Xbox One controllers for one handed use. He's quite good at configuring and routing wires, and soldering and de-soldering. He makes a lot of the custom parts he uses with a 3D printer, and he'll often give advice on how to do basic things like de-soldering, all while seeming quite happy and making jokes. You can tell by how beat up his hands are that he does this stuff a lot.

Anyway, let us know how things work out, and if you can, make a short gameplay video once you get it all set up and get used to using it. I'm sure it would help others with your needs. If you need any help at all at video capture, compression, editing, or uploading, don't hesitate to ask. I've been doing it for some time and have learned some valuable tricks along the way.

BTW, Tap Plastics also offers a lot of services other than just cutting the raw material you select to size. They will also make bends, holes, smooth corners with a torch, and even glue up entire assemblies if you send them a blueprint of your design. So if that kind of project is beyond the scope of what Ben has tools for, he could draw you a design with dimensions, and they could build it, or Ben could work with them direct.

Many thanks again Frag Maniac, you've lent a machete to my intellectual thicket. Ben will definitely be handling all my modding needs from here onward - as I also need some work done on a PC steering wheel I intend to purchase - and I will work in tandem with Tap Plastics to forge my custom gaming RGB desk and other things such as my custom liquid loops with rigid hosing that will need professional bending and other aesthetics. I'm planning to go all out so it may be a while before the entire setup is complete as where I am currently living (my home country), it'll be $2.7169 of my currency to every US dollar I have to spend - but that just means I'll carefully plan everything, so no worries.

I will definitely be making some gameplay videos and I'll even throw in a tour of my setup once it is complete so hopefully others like me can have some inspiration to propel themselves forward.

Now that you mentioned it, I actually wouldn't mind some tips on video capture, compression, editing, and uploading. I am currently using GeForce Experience Shadowplay to record, and in order to save space I've been using medium settings at 60FPS with a bit rate of 21mbps. I read on forums that YouTube encoder diminishes your quality and that the settings I'm using won't take a noticeable hit from the encoder. That's one of the reasons why I opted for a lower quality. Let me just state for the record, "I am a nab at this" but I do do my due diligence, but I just cannot find that sweet spot so I've ruined many great Battlefield moments because the quality that they were recorded in is abysmal. I say that but I'm still going to edit them as best I can using After Effects and upload them, but for future recordings the quality definitely needs to improve.

With that in mind, today I upped it to 50mbps and I immediately noticed the difference, however the file size is exponentially larger and I only have 1TB of HDD space that is in RAID 0 and most of my applications and other games are stored on this one internal HDD. I know I need to invest in an external for recording because reading and writing to the same HDD simultaneously shortens the life and also the recording may become choppy at times. I know all of this yet I must record those sweet moments for my channel. Sigh. The rock and a hard place.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Yeah you want to go 50Mb with ShadowPlay (which I use too). Even at that the video it makes depending on how detailed the game is, can look slightly pixelated in spots even before compressing. I did a lengthy 114 video tutorial on how to get through Ghost Recon Wildlands on Extreme with no HUD or upgrades for instance. That game has a lot of foliage detail, so it's easy prey for pixelation, especially while driving at speed.

One thing that helps greatly to save file space is to only use Instant Replay mode, where the gameplay is cached via a small file. Then when you KNOW there's up to 20 min of gameplay worth keeping, you just hit Alt+F10 and it saves that 20 min to an actual video file. I understand this can still mean gigabytes worth of file size, but it's a whole lot better than trial and error recordings that pile up for you to sort through later.

Of course this can become a problem in mp matches that last more than 20 min, but most I find are over before then. I even did a video tutorial on The Evil Within on Akumu (one hit you're dead) with no upgrades, and there were many chapters that were well over 20 min. In sp play you can just pause (Esc) the game a bit before 20 min (I used my countdown timer on my watch).

Then I'd wait for the cache to finish being written to file. Time is about 1min on a WD Black HDD, or you can go to the folder the file is being written and wait until it turns to an actual video thumbnail. The reason for waiting is ShadowPlay will not cache without stutter while it's writing a cache to video file, at least not on a 8700k. This however allowed me to make anywhere from 20 something videos to 40 something minute videos, with no visual indication it had even been paused. However it helps if you are still when pausing and choose carefully where you pause (nothing floating through the air onscreen, no moving objects, NPCs, etc).

On drives, I opted some time ago to buy a WD Black 6TB drive, and I'm so glad I did. I have 3 1TB drives I install my games on, 2 being WD Blacks, as well as a 500GB 970 EVO I have 4 games on so far. I have games stored on 1/3 of the 6TB drive, and also use it to write ShadowPlay files to. However even though it has lots of space, I only ever use Instant Replay to save space. I also use it to store raw and compressed videos until I upload them to YouTube. I was doing one province at a time in GRW, so there would be up to 6 videos at a time until they were on their site.

Which brings me to the pains of YouTube. It used to be you could trick YT into using it's higher bitrate for 1440p uploads by merely resizing a 1920x1080 video to 2048x1152 before uploading. That no longer works, it now has to be an actual 1440p video. Let me first say the reason for doing this is YT uses a whopping 3-4 times the bitrate for a 1440p vid as it does for a 1080p vid, even though at 78% more pixels, it's less than 1 times more the content.

I resisted for sometime trying to resize to 1440p, thinking it would just make the video too blurry, but having WAY higher bitrate for YT's conversion encoding more than makes up for it. I'm sure there's other options, but I edit, compress, and resize with Avidemux. I used to use VirtuialDub, but since it's too finicky about what codec you use, Avidemux is the next best thing for me. Here's why, Avidemux has an ABR compression option (Average Bitrate). Most editors these days just use VBR (Variable Bitrate), which looks way worse than CBR (Constant Bitrate). It's two pass instead of one, but the first pass is fairly quick as it just calculates where to put the most bitrate. ABR is not only better than CBR, it can to a degree make some of the slight pixelation of ShadowPlay's 50Mb go away. Also, if you don't use fancy effects (I use fade in or out, which it does, that's about it), then a streamlined program is going to be quicker at compressing than a full blown editor with all the bells and whistles. For some odd reason the resizer can't be set via the up/down arrows next to the pixel number shown, but highlighting the number and typing in the new one works fine.

YT recommends 30,000 bitrate for 1440p content, which is what I used for GRW. I got away with only 20,000 on The Evil Within though, and it looks fine. Like I said, it depends how detailed the game's graphics are. For any recent BF game you'll want to use 30,000. If you decide to try Avidemux (free btw), I'll give any help you need on using it.

Below are two comparisons of GRW vids, both captured at 1080p. One is left at 1080p, the other resized to 1440p, both using same compression bitrate. You can clearly see the 1440p one if you view it on 1440p (not Auto) looks much better. This is proof that YT cannot make use of anything more than their recommended bitrate for 1080p (12,000). It's all about the resolution and giving it the recommended bitrate, no more. I just hope you have a faster upload speed than me, because my paltry 5Mb makes uploading the slowest part of my video making process.

Note if you have enough graphics power to play the game you're capturing at 1440p with decent settings (especially max textures), and a 1440p display, it will definitely help being able to capture the whole 1440p worth of pixels vs just resizing. The only caveat there is ShadowPlay's max bitrate for 1440p is still the same 50Mb it uses for 1080p, while at 4K, it's 130Mb, which is less than 3 times that of 1080's max, yet 4K is 4 times the pixels. They have their math off. It should be more like 50, 90, 200.

GRW The Drug Lord's Ride at 1080p
[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUkL0uj3EAU"][/video]

GRW The Drug Lord's Ride at 1440p
[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNRdWGjnOk4"][/video]