With the summer bonus money on my bank account, and no plans on travelling abroad, I decided to make a shopping list! Here's all these things I've been meaning to get, but never got around to actually buying. I might need your advice on some of the items!
A new keyboard
I've been looking to get more into StarCraft2 lately (thank you Day[9] Daily #269), so some of the stuff on my list will be gaming gear. Gotta have the right setup, right? Here's the bad boy I've been gaming with for years:
Ahh... The Windows Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000... We go way back.
I checked out various keyboard threads on TL.net to decide on a worthy successor to my Comfort Curve. Most threads suggest a mechanical keyboard, the brands Filco, Leopold, and DasKeyboard being most popular. I decided on the Filco Majestouch-2 Tenkeyless with Cherry MX Brown switches.
Tenkeyless is an experiment for me, as I've always had keyboards with num pads. However, I never use the num pad, so this should give me more space to experiment with different keyboard - mouse positions. Including shipping, I had to shell out 150 euros for this keyboard.
A new headset
Let's get the gaming accessories out of the way first! I've had the same Sennheiser headset for as long as I can remember. And it's still as good as new! Here's a pic:
My trusty Sennheiser.
However, when I'm wearing the headset, the earbuds are actually pressing against my ears. This really starts to hurt after an hour or two. So I'm getting myself a new headset! I'm very open to suggestions on this one. Based on the threads here on TL.net, here are the headsets I'm considering:
The SteelSeries Siberia V2. This headset seems to be highly recommended here on TL.net. Costs about 95 euros including shipping.
The Sennheiser PC 360 G4ME. I can get an amazing deal on this for 110 euros.
The Razer Carcharias. Would go great with my Deathadder mouse. Costs about 90 euros incl. shipping.
As I said, suggestions are welcome. I'm looking to spend around 100 euros on this.
A mouse bungee
The mouse cord is pretty much my mortal enemy. At one point I thought I had defeated it by buying a wireless mouse (Logitech Performance Mouse MX). However, I did not like the heaviness of the wireless mouse, and when my new Deathadder arrived, my mortal enemy had returned.
The mouse bungee is a simple yet elegant tool for eliminating mouse cord tugging.
The ultimate weapon in the war on mouse cord tugging.
So I browsed the web for a store that would sell these bungees. Guess what? They are out of stock everywhere, and are not being supplied anymore. I found out that MouseBungee and Razer have teamed up to create a new version of the MouseBungee. This was announced on 1 october, but so far no sign of these mouse bungees in the Razer store.
Any tips on how to get my hands on one of these mouse bungees are greatly appreciated.
A new desk chair
I'm absolutely tired of my current desk chair. I ordered it online at IKEA. Well there's a lesson: never order a desk chair online. It just doesn't fit my posture very well. I cannot manage to sit up straight in this thing. Oh yeah, and it is wiggly and it squeaks. Here's a picture of the monstrosity:
Ugh...
I would love to buy a great desk chair, but those are damn expensive and easily cost upwards of 500 euros. I'm afraid I'll be buying my next desk chair at IKEA again.. This time however, I'll make sure I go down there myself and sit in those chairs for thirty minutes before I consider buying one. I'll probably buy one of the chairs in the spoiler below.
The Joakim model. Looks quite comfy, costs 150 euros.
The Klemens model. Very simple, costs 60 euros.
Any tips for affordable desk chairs are very welcome. IKEA quality just isn't great, but really don't want to spend more than 150 euros on this.
TeamLiquid ESPORTS shirts
Now that we've got the gaming setup covered, time to move on to the next item: fashion. When I saw this thread announcing the sale of these shirts, I knew I had to get one.
Don't tell me that isn't sexy... The shirt I mean.
I have my eye on a light blue one, and a black one. However, I don't own a credit card. Here in Europe credit cards aren't as commonly used as in the United States (read: hardly ever used), so many people decide not to get one and avoid the yearly fee. My brother does have one though, so I'm going to ask him to help me out on this one.
New black dress shoes
Continuing the fashion trend! I am an amateur singer (with aspirations for greatness, but more on that in another blog). I sing in many choirs and I give about 20 concerts each year. Dress code is most often completely black. So some time ago I bought me a very nice black suit, which I wear to all my concerts. However, the shoes I wear are a disgrace. Initially I wasn't going to put up a picture of these because I was too ashamed, but what the hell...
Double ugh...
Yeah.. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought these shoes five years ago. On the picture they might not even look that bad. But let me tell you: I have big feet. And when I wear these things, they look about twice as big. Especially when paired with my suit, in which I look very slender. I look like a giraffe with the feet of an elephant.
Time for a change of pace! I think I should be able to buy me a nice pair of dress shoes for about 150 euros. I'm going for a low Oxford model like the one in the spoiler.
Axcess Jesse Dress Shoes. Picture found in some random webshop. This pair is fairly cheap at 75 euros.
New formal black shirt
In order to complete my concert outfit, I'm going to need a nice shirt. I already have two black shirts, but neither of them fits. One is too small, the other too big. Here's a picture of me in my black shirt:
I'm the guy on the right looking super serious.
As you can see, sleeves too short and overal just a baggy fit. I'm gonna need to get one of those slim fit shirts. I want one with a nice fabric as well, so I can feel good wearing it. I'll probably shell out about 80 euros for a new shirt.
A voice recorder
I've had singing lessons for about two years now, and until recently I had never heard myself on a recording. If only I thought of recording myself earlier! It's like playing StarCraft without ever watching a replay of your own games. It took me half an hour of singing into my crappy Sennheiser headset to realise several great flaws in my singing technique which otherwise would've taken me a long time to discover.
So now I am looking for some type of recording equipment which I can use to record myself and my singing lessons. I have absolutely no clue on what to get though. I found portable voice recorders ranging from 30 to 300 euros, but I have no idea what kind of specifications I'm looking for. The only requirement is that I need to be able to put it on a table next to my piano and it should be able to record my voice (high pitch, alto voice) and piano accompaniment in good quality.
In the spoilers you'll find some pictures on what I imagine I should be getting. Pictures found on http://www.voicerecordershop.nl/, where I will probably be buying my voice recorder.
The Roland R-05 Portable Recorder. Description seems to fit my needs. Costs 200 euros.
The Olympus VN-8500PC Voice Recorder. A cheaper model, but I am afraid the sound quality will be terrible. Costs 69 euros.
I'm sure some of you have experience with recording equipment. Please, help me out on this one! I was thinking of spending about 100 euros on this one, but I am afraid I will have to go as high as 200 euros to get the specifications I want.
Other stuff
Well, there isn't really any other stuff. Nor do I have money for other stuff. It feels great to have a shopping list like this. Working is a lot more fun when you know exactly what you're working towards! At the end of the summer I'll hopefully be completely set for a new year of studying and singing.
In closing: please help me decide which items to get! I greatly appreciate any tips or advice you guys might have.
I actually always keep my mice and headset cords tied as they are in the box, maybe undo one ring around at most, since I use a laptop, that way the cord is never more than 18 inches long tops and plugs just right into the side of my laptop anyways, never gets in the way.
As for the keyboard, jesus christ I'd go insane if I didn't have a numpad. Not sure how you guys do it, I just stick to my Dell SK-8115 keyboard.
I'd actually really like your chair if it had armrests still... My chair is amazing but not so ergonomic.
It's like a $3,000+ chair new (see here), but I bought it at a garage sale for $20. It's quite beat up and battered but I cleaned it up decently. I would have just sold it or something but it's beat up to the point where it's not so worthy. The bottom of it broke as well, so I took the bottom off and replaced it with the bottom of an old shitty computer chair I had. Now it raises/lowers and rolls, as it didn't before. =D But yeah, it's terribly bad to sit in for hours and hours on a computer.
I agree with Zlasher, can't live without my numpad, plus I bought my razer tarantula a few years ago, and I can't bring myself to buy a new keyboard when this one is in near perfect condition and I spent $100 on to begin with. Never tried mechanical keyboard, but I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
As for the headsets, from personal experience I would not buy the razer. I was a very big razer supporter because of my diamondback limited edition - I love it and have had it for like 7 years now, still works great. Mentioned my tarantula above, also solid. When I ventured into the world on razer headsets, I wanted to kill myself. I honestly can't remember the name of the headset because they don't make it anymore, but I know it retailed for about $100, and it was a piece of shit. Luckily I bought them at best buy and took a chance with buying the insurance (best $14 I've ever spent). For various reasons, I had to return FIVE different pairs of headsets. Two of them were due to the microphone just completely not working, one pair had one side die, and another one just died completely. In comparison, I have the Siberia v2, and it is absolutely fantastic. I ended up getting an awesome deal thanks to some RMA issues, but I would recommend the v2 to anyone asking what headset they should buy.
On June 17 2011 08:50 Zlasher wrote: As for the keyboard, jesus christ I'd go insane if I didn't have a numpad. Not sure how you guys do it, I just stick to my Dell SK-8115 keyboard.
I believe you can buy the mechanical keypad separately...keyboard enthusiasts probably all have one but for the common user I can see how its a trade-off (comfort vs convenience) I personally need my keypad as well. Typing into an excel spreadsheet with the standard number keys is a headache.
For the headset, in terms of comfort and sound quality, I don't think it gets better than the corsair HS1A. Being analog the sound will depend on the digital to analog conversion of your soundboard. They also have the USB version which is called HS1 I believe. The steelseries is quite a decent choice as far as the reviews have been on TL. I just thought 100 euros sounded quite pricy. Giving you a second choice here. I would go with the HS1A over the v2's anyday, but thats just me.
Have fun. Having a shopping list preset is a very good idea. I on the other hand did not have the conscience to do so and spent a heck of a lot of money on all kinds of products..at least they were all excellent. GL
I've never used it, but like someone else said, just put the cord under a book or something and leave some slack between the book and the mouse. $20 saved.
Why on earth do you need a mouse bungie? Just tuck a bit of it under the monitor stand or a rock or something...
Never had any problems with cord as long as you don't just let it hang off the desk.
Even with the cord taped down at the edge of my table, there is always a slight tug to the left or right. It drives me crazy at times when I can't find the perfect way to put my mouse cord to minimize the tug.
I'd actually really like your chair if it had armrests still... My chair is amazing but not so ergonomic.
It's like a $3,000+ chair new (see here), but I bought it at a garage sale for $20. It's quite beat up and battered but I cleaned it up decently. I would have just sold it or something but it's beat up to the point where it's not so worthy. The bottom of it broke as well, so I took the bottom off and replaced it with the bottom of an old shitty computer chair I had. Now it raises/lowers and rolls, as it didn't before. =D But yeah, it's terribly bad to sit in for hours and hours on a computer.
Wow, I could not imagine playing StarCraft in that chair! I need to sit up straight. My chair actually did come with armrests, but I detached them because the chair would not fit under my desk.
I agree with Zlasher, can't live without my numpad, plus I bought my razer tarantula a few years ago, and I can't bring myself to buy a new keyboard when this one is in near perfect condition and I spent $100 on to begin with. Never tried mechanical keyboard, but I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
As for the headsets, from personal experience I would not buy the razer. I was a very big razer supporter because of my diamondback limited edition - I love it and have had it for like 7 years now, still works great. Mentioned my tarantula above, also solid. When I ventured into the world on razer headsets, I wanted to kill myself. I honestly can't remember the name of the headset because they don't make it anymore, but I know it retailed for about $100, and it was a piece of shit. Luckily I bought them at best buy and took a chance with buying the insurance (best $14 I've ever spent). For various reasons, I had to return FIVE different pairs of headsets. Two of them were due to the microphone just completely not working, one pair had one side die, and another one just died completely. In comparison, I have the Siberia v2, and it is absolutely fantastic. I ended up getting an awesome deal thanks to some RMA issues, but I would recommend the v2 to anyone asking what headset they should buy.
Good luck on your shopping
I actually tried using the num pad at times, but I just type faster using the regular number keys. Never learned to use the num pad. If I do for some reason miss it, I'll order a seperate numpad and plug it in when it's number crunch time.
And a +1 for the Siberia V2s, and a -1 for the Razer ones. Thanks for that. I wasn't leaning towards the Razer anyway. I need to decide whether I want the closed earcups (noise canceling) of the Siberia V2 or the open earcups (cool ears) of the Sennheiser.
quick question: can u upload ur sound recordings to youtube? o o;
The sound quality is just too terrible. I'm doing a mini-recital this sunday, I'll ask one of my fans (aka mom) to film me and upload that. If you're just curious as to what a male alto voice sounds like, here's a great recording of Bach's 'Erbarme dich' from the St. Matthew Passion:
On June 17 2011 08:50 Zlasher wrote: As for the keyboard, jesus christ I'd go insane if I didn't have a numpad. Not sure how you guys do it, I just stick to my Dell SK-8115 keyboard.
I believe you can buy the mechanical keypad separately...keyboard enthusiasts probably all have one but for the common user I can see how its a trade-off (comfort vs convenience) I personally need my keypad as well. Typing into an excel spreadsheet with the standard number keys is a headache.
For the headset, in terms of comfort and sound quality, I don't think it gets better than the corsair HS1A. Being analog the sound will depend on the digital to analog conversion of your soundboard. They also have the USB version which is called HS1 I believe. The steelseries is quite a decent choice as far as the reviews have been on TL. I just thought 100 euros sounded quite pricy. Giving you a second choice here. I would go with the HS1A over the v2's anyday, but thats just me.
Have fun. Having a shopping list preset is a very good idea. I on the other hand did not have the conscience to do so and spent a heck of a lot of money on all kinds of products..at least they were all excellent. GL
Thanks for the tip! I'll read some reviews on the HS1A before I make my decision.
I've never used it, but like someone else said, just put the cord under a book or something and leave some slack between the book and the mouse. $20 saved.
That's actually just an expensive mouse cord holder. But thanks for the tip, I might actually consider getting one until their mouse bungee hits the stores.
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I personally need my keypad as well. Typing into an excel spreadsheet with the standard number keys is a headache.
