Gaming Peripherals - Need help

[Deleted]

Looking for a bit of advice on gaming mice, keyboards and mousemats.

I'm heading off to University in about two weeks, and it's ocurred to me that my keyboard, mouse and mousemat basically suck. Which isn't good as I have a reasonable computer. One of the stands for my keyboard has broken and it's propped up on a pile of paper, the wireless mouse connection keeps cutting out every once in a while despite putting more and more new batteries into it, and the mousemat is some free piece of junk I got a while ago.

Basically, I have money, have a budget of about £100 and am looking to invest in some reasonable gaming peripherals. Not top of the line stuff by any means, but a little better than your generic keyboard/mouse. I'd be playing FPS games with them (Something which I've managed so far with this crap, so I don't feel I need to go top of the line to make a huge difference)

What I'm looking at is a combination of these:
The Razer Deathadder mouse
The Razer Lycosa keyboard

And some kind of mousemat. Amazon suggests that The Razor Goliathus is often bought in combination with this mouse and keyboard, but I know that the Goliathus mousemat series has a lot of different options.

So a couple of questions -
How does this sort of setup look? The reviews appear to be good, does anyone have experience with these products or competing producs of a similar price? Is the Razer stuff overhyped? I mean the reviews all seem good but you can never tell with branded things.

Also with regards to mousemats, if I was to get the Razer Deathadder linked, what sort of mousemat would I be looking at? Honestly I don't understand the difference between "hard" and "soft" mousemats and the impact it has upon certain mouse lasers, etc.

Cheers for any help/recommendations

[Deleted]

When it comes to mouse and keyboard the thing to do as a consumer is to get hands-on with the products. You (and basically only you) can choose the perfect mouse and keyboard combination for your needs. All we can do is recommend potent choices based on value, reliability and our personal preference.

I myself am using a cheap mechanical keyboard with a Logitech MX518. The keyboard is absolutely excellent for gaming; has nice rubber WASD keys, 11 gaming keys close to the WASD keys as well as a sturdy feel. However, the key design and placement (and to extent the rubber keys) make typing a pain. The MX518 has been my mouse of choice for a good 6-7 years now I believe. I had to change it a year ago though as the scroll was acting funky.

I have only really been hands-on with a Naga when it comes to the Razer line-up. Thing is, there are many who think their mice and keyboard are the greatest on the planet, but there are just as many who dislike them. As such, try to head down to a store that have them on display and try 'em out; grip, feel, buttons, etc.

[Dariela]

I only have experience with my Lachesis, but it never really worked right. Odd firmware issues that never really did get fully fixed it seems. Buttons like to lock up, or start going rapid-fire style on me.

That said, I plan to try out a Naga for my next mouse. I "replaced" my Lachesis with a Steel Series WoW mouse a little over a year ago... Yeah... Using the Lachesis as we speak... 3 dead buttons on the WoW mouse, and about half the paint.

[vesseblah]

One important question is: have you ever used/played with Razer mouse? Those are usually designed for people with small hands and might feel rather weird/uncomfortable. Mouse pad is something you can do without in a pinch, it just increases accuracy compared to plain wooden desk if you need pixel perfect movements, but is not at all required.

If you want options, one would be this:
Logitech G500 mouse + Logitech G110 keyboard. The mouse has few more buttons and work better for people with large paws, price is roughly the same.

[Deleted]

I've used the Razer Deathadder for either 1 or 2 years as of this month and I've slammed in on the table, dropped it on the floor put it in a backpack with heavy weight and it's working fine! It's cheap, has 5 buttons and comfy. I'd recommend it.

I also use a Razer Arctosa for keyboard that I got free from a friend. It works but I'd rather have a Razer Lycosa with rubber glowing keys.

I'm not that into mousepads but I just bought a soft matt for like £140 at GAME. I guess the Goliathus is probably cheaper and better.

Ofcourse stuff like this is all down to preference. If you have any buddys who own something you'll consider buying go to their house and try it out first.

[shoebox]

I myself am using a cheap mechanical keyboard with a Logitech MX518. The keyboard is absolutely excellent for gaming; has nice rubber WASD keys, 11 gaming keys close to the WASD keys as well as a sturdy feel. However, the key design and placement (and to extent the rubber keys) make typing a pain. The MX518 has been my mouse of choice for a good 6-7 years now I believe. I had to change it a year ago though as the scroll was acting funky.

This, i purchased a Logitech G19 keyboard, and i have to say it was the hardest thing to get used to ( i changed from a curved 10doller Logitech ergonomic keyboard), Tanking with the new keyboard was a bitch!!! lol. but now that im used to it,i love it. i also own a Gigabyte Ghost, it came with a free gtx 590 so i thought i might aswell buy that mouse and get a free graphic card with it. I dislike this mouse very much, i still havnt gotten used to it when it comes to FPS's, i just find it odd, its not the way i hold it, hand placement is fine, but i find it to sensitive at times, and when i reduce the DPI, i find it to low in sensitivity i miss my 10 dollar Logitech mouse.

what im trying to get at to anyway is, you have to try these products out before you purchase them, find friends that own these mice, or keyboards and give them a test run, otherwise your gonna purchase something that looks good, has good reviews, but for YOU it sucks.

[Deleted]

Unfortunately there's nowhere near me that I can really get hands on with stuff. I know that keyboards can be very different from one another, especially as I'll be needing to actually type essays and the like on a keyboard, so it's got to be comfortable to type wth as well as just the WASD and surrounding keys. Obviously shelling out so much money on a keyboard is something I can't take totally lightly, but all other keyboards I've had I've just bought without testing and in all honesty, I think I'll be able to get used to it even if it feels a bit different and alien at first.

My hands are huge. I've yet to find someone with a bigger handspan and width than me that isn't directly related to me! So fiddly little things like this have always posed a bit of a problem. That said, I usually have no issue using a small mouse as I tend to rest my wrist and full little finger on the table, using my other fingers and thumb to manipulate the mouse around inside my "cage" hand. Obviously having a super sensitive mouse is necessary for this and I've got used to a very high sensitivity. I've never played with a Razer mouse before, but I'm reasonably confident that adjusting shouldn't be too much of an issue.