Do you play with a high or low keyboard setup?

roymarthyup

1442 Posts

September 15 2011 08:39 GMT

I never knew this was an issue till I went to a MLG. My god everyone was playing on the standard desks which is nothing like my own desk at home.

I never noticed this before but now in streams i see pro players at the GSL booths or in their houses playing with the keyboard so high compared to how i have it. I never realized before that it was so different from my home setup.

At home my computer desk has a pull out keyboard area and when i pull it out the keyboard is pretty much half an inch over my left leg, and the mouse is maybe 4 inches above my right leg (because the area has a higher area for the mouse)

How do people play with high keyboard setups my god it seems like this is the standard. I tried getting my other desk which seems like more of a normal desk that most people use and my APM plummets and my mechanics / micro ability plummets when i am using these high keyboard setups.

Also i feel slight pain in my wrist if i play using the high setup for 5+ hours, but i can play for 10 hours and feel no wrist pain when im using a low setup.

I wonder... with those wrist injuries is it possible to reduce the risk of injury if your setup is a low one?

When im playing at home my keyboard placement is almost exactly like this (but my desk allows it to be possible)
.
[image loading]

And my mouse is maybe 3 inches lower than that picture.

GoStyle

United Kingdom95 Posts

September 15 2011 08:42 GMT

you should consider re-learning on a "normal" desk if you want to attend a lot of LANs. Those pull out draws will be near impossible to get at a LAN, and if u compromise and have it on ur lap that wouldnt be so stable

dbddbddb

Singapore969 Posts

September 15 2011 08:46 GMT

i dont think its that hard to get used to. i switched to a pc with a mechanical keyboard after 2years+ of using a laptop at home

Disarray

United States1164 Posts

September 15 2011 08:49 GMT

On September 15 2011 17:42 GoStyle wrote:
you should consider re-learning on a "normal" desk if you want to attend a lot of LANs. Those pull out draws will be near impossible to get at a LAN, and if u compromise and have it on ur lap that wouldnt be so stable

I was very surprised to see how many Pro-Quake3 players played with keyboards on their lap, and their mouse/mousepad practically sideways right above it on the table, seems fucking weird but players like Cooler Bio and Death did it exclusively.

fer

Canada375 Posts

September 15 2011 08:52 GMT

If I had a keyboard, I would most certainly play with a low keyboard setup. But right now I'm using my laptop's keyboard, so I had to readjust from my UT playing days. </3

DoofUndance

Netherlands22 Posts

September 15 2011 09:06 GMT

You must adjust the arm-rest thing (what's the right word?) of you chair just a high as the desk itself. This way your elbow can rest on it. Most people have their desks way too high or their chairs too low. If your elbow can't rest, you can get sick injuries. Those pull out things suck bigtime and aren't made to work at for many hours.

XenoX101

Australia729 Posts

September 15 2011 09:14 GMT

Actually a lower keyboard will cause your wrists to bend more because they are being arched up from your arms rather than being level with them. If you're desk is too high you should raise your chair so that your arms are level with the desk as seen in this ergonomics picture, imitating the picture as best as possible would be your best bet to playing ergonomically.

[image loading]

BlueLobster

Singapore205 Posts

September 15 2011 09:26 GMT

Thanks for this picture. I just realise my position has been all wrong!

god_forbids

United States111 Posts

September 15 2011 10:58 GMT

Not so fast. The 90-degree mantra is actually a very outdated way of looking at sitting posture. It's mostly a fashion designed to make you look sharp and "at the ready", as if standing, but it's terrible for your spine. Here's a link to one of the research papers on the subject, a short summary (read the comments too) and a fun infographic about sitting. Here's what you should be aiming for:

[image loading]

Might be hard to achieve all the time, especially while working/gaming, but your back will thank you in the long run. You might want to look for some slightly tilted seats (image search "kneeling chair" or "kneeling bench") to help with the posture on the left.

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