Peripherals Recommendations

[wowcraftify]

Hi, I'm looking for some new peripherals to complete my rig, I currently have a Microsoft Sidewinder x4, a Perixx MX-2000, Steelseries QcK mini & a Sennheiser PC330. There's nothing wrong with these at all it's just that at the time I was looking for cheap, reliable gaming peripherals & these are the result of that. I was looking at the following options:

Mouse (I have quite small hands)-
Corsair M65/95 (I play both MMO & FPS)
Razer Deathadder 2013
Something else that has the shape of my Perixx is preferable if anyone could recommend any.

Keyboard (I like the satisfying click sound from typists keys so I was looking at something with cherry mx blues but I don't really mind.)-
Razer Blackwidow Ultimate
Corsair K95
CM Storm Quickfire Ultimate/Pro

Mousemat (not sure if I need to upgrade but any suggestions would be nice)

Headset (I want a stereo headset not usb and mic quality is my priority but would love surround sound)

Sound Card (I was looking at an Asus Xonar DGX as a possibility, thoughts?)

 

[Grimezy]

I can only really help with the mouse and keyboard queries.

I have the M65, brilliant mouse, lots of features and great to use. Only issue is it's just a tad too short and it is quite an odd size. I'm completely used to it now but I tried a deathadder in PC world and it felt so nice to hold compared to my M65 (they were out of stock in the deathadder though unless I went for like the £80 one). Saying that, I love my M65 and it is very solid indeed. The deathadder may have been a bit too relaxed for me as it seemed very ergonomic.

As for keyboards, I've heard the Quickfire's are good. I looked at the K95 myself but they're Cherry red keys aren't they? If it's just for gaming I would say you are best to go for Red's over Blue's. Blue's may sound great to start with but they do feel a bit flimsy whereas with Red's you get a good thuddy click noise and they're epic to game on. If it's in your budget, check out the Aivia Osmium, very very solid board. If I was going to the extreme I would also look at the Ducky Shine II's, I would have bought them but a wrist rest was critical for me!

 

[wowcraftify]

thanks, I play with a palm grip and a very high sensitivity because I'm lazy and cba to move my hand much other than bend my wrist a bit so the deathadder appealed to me a lot, a friend of mine bought an m65 and he loves it but I wasn't sure if it was right for me. Also thanks for the heads up about the blue switches, from what I'd heard/interpreted I imagined them to feel spongy and be silent (not sure why :S) maybe I'll look for something with brown switches seeing as it looks like the middle ground between the two.

 

[Pseudo Nym]

Headset (I want a stereo headset not usb and mic quality is my priority but would love surround sound)

What sort of budget are you talking? Headsets are about the only thing I have some degree of experience with so I'll try and help but there are many great manufacturers and models I could recommend but I'd need a price range. If you have a large budget I have a few recommendations I can provide, but even so my knowledge isn't all that.
Beyerdynamic MMX 300: At £300 I doubt very much you'd be getting these but they're so good I'd be silly not to at least recommend them. Fantastic stereo sound and extremely durable and reliable. They have a USB sound card but I don't think you need to use it.
Sennheiser PC363D: If you can bear to use a USB sound card these have phenomenal sound and can produce 7.1 virtual surround if that tickles your fancy. Cheaper than the Beyers at £200 or so but given your comment about USB stuff maybe the PC350's are more your thing. Cheaper still, no 7.1 surround but fantastic headphones nonetheless.
Razers are a good brand, although I couldnt recommend a particular model. If you've got tons of cash to burn maybe a pair of Astro headphones would suit you nicely as well, although you'd probably have to invest in one of their mixamps as well. I hope I've been at least a little helpful :S. Good luck either way, and good gaming to you.

 

[tom_gr7]

I have a CM Storm Quickfire TK with red switches and its pretty ace, nice to type on and awesome to game on

There are loads of Cm Storm mech Kb's now, so check them out. I didn't like the corsair kb's, just didn't like the style. The Razer blackwidows are very nice, come with blues always but cost far too much in my opinion.

 

[kruppsy]

I have a CM Storm Quickfire TK with red switches and its pretty ace, nice to type on and awesome to game on

Im glad you said that tom, im thinking about treating myself to this at xmas, worth buying then? no downsides?

 

[tom_gr7]

Im glad you said that tom, im thinking about treating myself to this at xmas, worth buying then? no downsides?

The TK version is just a bit smaller, ideal if like me you only have a small desk. Pretty sure you can get it with blues, reds, or browns. I really like it, no complaints other than the missus says its noisy. - I'm not bothered though I quite like the sound. I originally wanted a KB like the Storm Ultimate clicky but it wasn't released or even announced when i was looking, so the TK it was. Overall, no complaints and more than happy. The reds are very light though!

 

[kruppsy]

The TK version is just a bit smaller, ideal if like me you only have a small desk. Pretty sure you can get it with blues, reds, or browns. I really like it, no complaints other than the missus says its noisy. - I'm not bothered though I quite like the sound. I originally wanted a KB like the Storm Ultimate clicky but it wasn't released or even announced when i was looking, so the TK it was. Overall, no complaints and more than happy. The reds are very light though!

So they do click then? I was looking for a silent switch but with nice feel, is that more the Brown? Yea my desk is small, so sounds good to me, think I just need a bit more research on which switch then. Cheers for that tho mate.

 

[Grimezy]

So they do click then? I was looking for a silent switch but with nice feel, is that more the Brown? Yea my desk is small, so sounds good to me, think I just need a bit more research on which switch then. Cheers for that tho mate.

Yea reds are massively noisy, mine's noisier than blue's are as I'm not the lightest of typists. The advantage of reds is they will pretty much activate the moment your finger touches them, so if you can type quickly without 'bottom'ing out' then they're ideal. If you're like me and have to bash the keyboard then they will be noisy.

Reds are perfect for gaming though as they feel less like a switch in the sense that normal keyboards are like you're either pressing it or you're not. Red's have very smooth movement down the switch which I feel gives you a bit more feeling in-game. Blues and browns have to reach a certain point where they click and that's when the key actually activates which is why most people recommend reds or blacks for their non-tactile feel.

If you do a lot of typing though blues/browns would be preferable. My cherry reds aren't the best to type on but I mainly use my home desktop for gaming anyway

 

[kruppsy]

What do black switches bring to the table? sorry, i should be googling this.

 

[tom_gr7]

So they do click then? I was looking for a silent switch but with nice feel, is that more the Brown? Yea my desk is small, so sounds good to me, think I just need a bit more research on which switch then. Cheers for that tho mate.

reds dont click, well they like tap as you fully depress the key switch.

Have a read of this guide, will explain it better than me lol.

This video might be useful too clicky its probably worth watching most of his mechanical kb videos.

 

[Grimezy]

What do black switches bring to the table? sorry, i should be googling this.

Blacks are Red switches but tougher to press down. I believe blacks came first but people complained they were a bit tough to type on at times so reds were released to fill the gap. Having used a Cherry Black board in PC World, I don't see anything wrong with them and I very almost bought one. Like I said, I'm a fairly heavy typer though. Basically it can be pretty easy to accidentally hit keys on a Cherry Red board as they're so sensitive whereas Black keys are quite sturdy and require more force. Nothing sweat-breaking though, they're generally the closest comparison to a normal rubber switch board out of the 4 main Cherry Switches so will be the most familiar to you.

 

[kruppsy]

Sounds like the black switches may be the way to go having glanced over that guide. CM do a Storm Quickfire Rapid with the black so Im very much leaning towards this at the moment. Thanks for your help tom....and Grimez

 

[wowcraftify]

After reading through all these posts about switches I've learnt quite a bit, might buy a KB with red switches then. Also my budget is irrelevant, as long as it costs less than my graphics card I don't mind.

 

[tom_gr7]

Sounds like the black switches may be the way to go having glanced over that guide. CM do a Storm Quickfire Rapid with the black so Im very much leaning towards this at the moment. Thanks for your help tom....and Grimez

I'm not a fan of the black keys, just felt a bit heavy compared to the reds. Which are nice n light, fast typing and feels sweet gaming.

 

[Grimezy]

I'm not a fan of the black keys, just felt a bit heavy compared to the reds. Which are nice n light, fast typing and feels sweet gaming.

I would agree with this. Black keys are great if you want a standard feeling keyboard that you're familiar with. Mechanical keyboards are sturdier anyway no matter which switch you get.

HOWEVER, if you're going to fork out £80+ on a keyboard I'd want something that feels completely different to what I'm used to. Which would either be the Reds for the awesomeness of gaming or Blue's for the clicky noise. I've heard negative things about browns so would probably avoid them.

There's nothing wrong with Black keys, just that they're a bit dull and trying to justify that sort of money (especially to somebody who doesn't understand your computing hobby!) is very difficult on a keyboard that feels almost identical to a rubber switch one.

 

[kruppsy]

I'm not a fan of the black keys, just felt a bit heavy compared to the reds. Which are nice n light, fast typing and feels sweet gaming.

I would agree with this. Black keys are great if you want a standard feeling keyboard that you're familiar with. Mechanical keyboards are sturdier anyway no matter which switch you get.

HOWEVER, if you're going to fork out £80+ on a keyboard I'd want something that feels completely different to what I'm used to. Which would either be the Reds for the awesomeness of gaming or Blue's for the clicky noise. I've heard negative things about browns so would probably avoid them.

There's nothing wrong with Black keys, just that they're a bit dull and trying to justify that sort of money (especially to somebody who doesn't understand your computing hobby!) is very difficult on a keyboard that feels almost identical to a rubber switch one.

Think I'll need me a test drive, does PC World have these boards on stands to try?

 

[Grimezy]

I had never been into a PC World with a PC Gaming stand for about a year of going into 3 or 4 different stores. Then I started looking for my own and my local PC World had set up a PC Gaming stand with about 6-7 keyboards with mice and about 5 headsets available to test out. They weren't plugged into anything but you got the general idea of feel.

I had never tried Red's before I bought them despite trying Blue's and Blacks and I have no regrets with my choice No matter how much reading you do about something it all comes down to personal preference

 

[kruppsy]

No matter how much reading you do about something it all comes down to personal preference

Thats what Im thinking, I'll look for some to try out. Worst comes to the worst, I order one from Amazon and give it a go. They have a good returns policy, 30 day no quibble. Handy.

 

[tom_gr7]

Think I'll need me a test drive, does PC World have these boards on stands to try?

Large PC world/Currys do tend to have a few different models on display.