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So over the years I've gone through a HEAP of gaming gear, just for curiosity's sake, testing friends' gear, winning gear at LAN's/comps etc.
I've played a LOT of games at a high level having won competitions in: Cs 1.6, Quake 3/CPMA/Live, CS:S, CoD:4
As well as playing WC3 and SC2 at a high level, a few MMO's and just general gaming.
I've been to countless lans and seen all kinda of weird/wacky/common/stupid mouse keyboard mousepad sound setups and i figured that if anyone wants some advice about these things I could offer some help. Who am I to offer help? well youve seen my explanation of how i've formed these opinions, if you dont think im qualified...dont read on.
MOUSEPAD:
The first thing that i find REALLY funny is color. EVERY SINGLE person with some weird color scheme cloth mousepad ends up getting it STAINED AND DIRTY. its unavoidable. So my first tip here is that your white fnatic evrglide titan, EG/ SK /SC2 Themed/Wow themed mosuepads are horrible. unless you liek looking at festy lookign stained crap all the time.
As far as the surface of the mousepad: I prefer cloth. the other main options are metal, glass or plastic. Plastic i just dont like the feel of. Metal and Glass however are usually very smooth frictionless surfaces and I would always use these if not for one problem. . . They get COLD. i play a palm grip, my forearm and sometiems fingers touch the pad and its cold! its just offputting IMO and this is the reason I dont like these pads. maybe if you claw grip and have your wrist off the surface these mousepads would be the best. I personally prefer glass over metal, plus glass mousepads look baller. just one note of caution, if you use an optical mouse get a BLACK glass surface as many friends complain optical doesnt track great on the white frosted.
As far as size, imo the bigger the better, but people might have space contraints on their desk. But my advice is to go large  ESPECIALY if youre a FPS player. My recommendation for Mousepad is the simple black (can get it as dirty as you want and wont show it) large Steelseries QCK+, I dont liek the razer mousepads with their weird texture. If you want a glass mousepad (stainless, last forever, but cold.), grab the steelseries large glass one, i think its called the I 2.
MOUSE:
I hear this a lot: "FPS players use high sensitivity because they need to flick fast and RTS players use lower to Mid so they can be precise as they dont have to move as fast."
and this is WRONG.
GOOD fps players use LOW sensitivity. This is because you can get more precision at low sens. now you may ask the obvious question: "what abotu moving the mouse fast to shoot people fast?" . What good fps gamers do is move their whole forearm around to get the big flicks, then plant their wrist down when they need the precision. This way you get the precision of the low sens, whilst still being able to move the mouse fast. The thing you need to note here is this requires a larger mousepad.
Now im sure some hero will be like "BUT MY BEEST FREND PLAYS CEVO P AND SHIAT AND HE PLAY ON LIKE A GAZILLION SNESITIVTY" - Good for your friend, chances are he would be better on a lower sens, but hey some people might be better on high sens. Go look at esports teams like EG and fnatic and sk and mym and such and check out their FPS players configs. i guarantee a VAST majority will play on low sens.
As far as DPI goes the fancy gazillion million trillion dpi advertised on these mice is CRAP. A majority of ood FPS players will use 400 dpi, some up at 800 and pretty much none over 1800. dont fall for the DPI crap.
I WAY prefer the right hand ergonomic mice. I hate the gizmoish, weird, has a gazillion buttons but breaks in ten days (razer) mice.
Newer is not generally better, optical is not worse than laser.
My tips:
1) Microsoft Intellimouse 3.0 (1.1 is fine too)
This is CHEAP, STURDY (one of my friends had his so long that he wore through the plastic) right handed, comfortable, good weight mouse. At a Lan this is the most common mouse you'll see from the good fpsers.
2) Logitech MX518
Pretty much same as above. some may find it more comfortable, i personally find the microsoft more comfortable which is why i put it at #1.
3) Razer Deathadder.
Sturdy, higher DPI than the two above (not making it better, but it might have its advantages if you have a huge screen) good drivers, a tad moe expensive.
IMO these 3 are the clear cut kings of gaming mice, and the funny thing is that theyre relatively cheaper too.
If you really need an ambidexterous one go for a Steelseries Xai. steelseries in general make good mice, none of them you can go way wrong with, so if you want ambidexterous, check them out.
STAY AWAY:
Logitech G5/G9 (die so easy, not best tracking)
all other razer mice except diamond back and coperhead. (razer seem to market all this fancy crap: high dpi, on the fly sens swapping, a million buttons, a huge pricetag, breaks so easy, faulty tracking (especially imperator). Ive had myself and friends have so much bad luck with their new mice i will never buy a razer mouse except the deathadder (which for some reason is really good in contrast to their other crap))
Headset:
Im no audiophile, I dont believe you need the most expensive headset. As long as its a good enough headset to tell where people are, the bass isnt too much. the MAIN consideration is COMFORT.
Steelseries IMO have great headsets. (you really want a mic if youre a gamer.)
My two picks for headsets:
1) Steelseries Siberia V2
SOOOOO comfy, retractable headset is really useful, and you look like a BALLER also relatively cheap (can get for 65)
2) Steelseries 7H
Not as comfy as siberia, doesnt look as baller, more expensive but these are only real differences imo. A very close 1st/2nd and I will likely always use a steelseries headset from now on
Notable mentions:
Razer carachias is decent, comfy, a bit pricey for what it is (like a lot of razer stuff)
Logitech and plantronics make some good cheaper alternatives, ive had a few break early and a few last ages so a bit of a crapshoot i think, but if youre in the low end market i would go these cheaper alternatives, they arent THAT much worse.
KEYBOARD:
Im going to be a bit controversial and say that a lot of "gaming" expensive keyboards are the same as cheap 10$ ones, but have a brand name on them and look a bit nicer.
So if you really arent into showing off your gear and dont care about looks just pick up something cheap.
Only consideration is that some cheapy keyboard have a limit on simultaneous presses which poses a problem in some FPS games (IE when youre playing CSS and youre holding crouch, W, A and TAB)
If you want something a bit nicer looking or with a few gizmos (I admit some of them are nice, backlights in particular, i find myself using the USB hubs fairly often) i would say:
If you want a mechanical go a filco majestouch. Dont ever get a glossy razer one, they dont stay glossy long.
Im going to go against what a lot of people say and argue that logitech make some great keyboards.
Ive had my G11 for EVER , I've never actually heard of peoples G11/15/19 etc breaking. The downside is you pay a fair bit for these.
Really its my belief that you cant really go wrong with keyboards, so just buy what tickles your fancy unless you really want mechanical.
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Steelseries headsets are good-ok, but spending a little more on audiotechnicas a700 or hd555 would be smart money spent.
Everything else is spot on. But if you dont like a specific mouse from logi/razer/steelseries, look at the others of course.
I used to use huge mice for a long time, but then I got a cheap kinzu and now I can't imagine going back to playing while holding a brick
edit: also if you have a mouse wire that hangs/snags/move around the slightest, an awesome investment would be a mouse bungee. It's well well worth it
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I was enjoying the post until I came on your statement that the Logitech g5 is bad.
I have owned the Logitech mice for as long as I can remember and I have not had a single complaint. I currently own the G5 and while not as crazy good as MX500.
http://www.kongtechnology.com/2009/02/16/looking-for-a-good-mouse/
I literally cannot stress how great these mice are for FPS and any other application you can put them to.
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As far as DPI goes the fancy gazillion million trillion dpi advertised on these mice is CRAP. A majority of ood FPS players will use 400 dpi, some up at 800 and pretty much none over 1800. dont fall for the DPI crap.
Eh there's absolutely no reason not to play with high dpi. Majority of FPS players play games on the xbox or old skool games like Unreal, quake or CS 1.6, where 400 dpi equals like 3000 anyway. This has been discussed many times, higher dpi is better, but higher dpi does not mean higher sensitivity, this is fact a lot of people tend to forget.
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On November 15 2010 15:03 meredoc wrote:I was enjoying the post until I came on your statement that the Logitech g5 is bad. I have owned the Logitech mice for as long as I can remember and I have not had a single complaint. I currently own the G5 and while not as crazy good as MX500. http://www.kongtechnology.com/2009/02/16/looking-for-a-good-mouse/I literally cannot stress how great these mice are for FPS and any other application you can put them to.
I Had a MIE 3.0, then won a G5, it brokein 4 months , liked the feel,so bought another, lasted 3 months, then back to my MIE while i waited to get a MX518. Ive had two friends break G9's. Maybe this is all coincidental but i really wont vouch for logitech mice beside the MX518 from my experiences
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On November 15 2010 15:12 drlame wrote:Show nested quote +As far as DPI goes the fancy gazillion million trillion dpi advertised on these mice is CRAP. A majority of ood FPS players will use 400 dpi, some up at 800 and pretty much none over 1800. dont fall for the DPI crap. Eh there's absolutely no reason not to play with high dpi. Majority of FPS players play games on the xbox or old skool games like Unreal, quake or CS 1.6, where 400 dpi equals like 3000 anyway. This has been discussed many times, higher dpi is better, but higher dpi does not mean higher sensitivity, this is fact a lot of people tend to forget.
Not really true lol: Heres an excerpt from the steelseries design team:
Let’s say you make a movement of exactly one inch, from left to right, with your mouse. With a 400 CPI sensor your PC would receive exactly 400 counts, and would move 400 pixels (the smallest visible movement) to the right (assuming you haven’t touched any mouse speed settings in windows). Now we do exactly the same movement with a 3.200 CPI sensor. With one inch of movement we move 3.200 pixels on the screen. This has nothing to do with precision – but has something to do with speed of movement. Your cursor (or crosshair) moves faster with 3.200 CPI, but the precision of the sensor is exactly the same as neither sensor skips a pixel. There is only one situation where a higher CPI count makes sense: if the speed on the screen is too slow, you want to have a sensor that is capable of more CPI, as everything that goes beyond it has to be calculated by software and then you LOSE precision.
Check out the entire article:http://www.fragyou.net/?page_id=24
great for dispelling stupid mosue myths
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On November 15 2010 15:03 meredoc wrote:I was enjoying the post until I came on your statement that the Logitech g5 is bad. I have owned the Logitech mice for as long as I can remember and I have not had a single complaint. I currently own the G5 and while not as crazy good as MX500. http://www.kongtechnology.com/2009/02/16/looking-for-a-good-mouse/I literally cannot stress how great these mice are for FPS and any other application you can put them to.
the g5 has been shown to have tracking issues. i play at ~8inches/180, and my g5 skips all the time at that sensitivity- hence me no longer using it in favor of the mx518, ms 3.0 and ikari. the average gamer plays at much higher sensitivity than pros, and as such dont notice these issues, so if youre in that crowd and like the ergonomics of the g5, then you wont have a problem with it.
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Personaly I find that the quality of the mouse does not effect my play, only how comfortable I am with it. As for the headset I recommend the logitech g35 as it is comfortable, has 7.1 and noise canceling, plus some buttons which are not that usefull but kinda cool. Very sturdy too.
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I've been using a Logitech K120 keyboard. Cheap, less than 20 bucks, and still able to find at most OfficeDepots, Targets, Walmarts and BestBuy(maybe).
Feels different than a normal keyboard. The keys are lowered a bit, I'd recommend giving a try since it still uses the traditional Insert-Page key setup with arrow keys and numpad. No fancy multimedia keys or curving of the keyboard. Capslocks even has the gap that the Dynex keyboard(also still common and usable) does not have for some reason.
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you mentioned only mice that are good for fps.
the truth is unless you are using it for its awesome light-weight/feel (like logitech MO) having a mouse like the 3.0 or 1.1 is probably not ideal as you will probably have to sacrifice accuracy for increase sensitivity due to lower dpi.
The precision of tracking in mice is not as important in RTS as is the feel of the mouse and i would say at LEAST 800 dpi if you play over 1024x680 (unless you want RSI)
so in terms of mice for sc2:
you want something that's light, at least 800 dpi and preferrably cheap. this is why you will find lots of players with:
- logitech g1
- razer salmosa
- razer diamondback
- razer abyssus
- mx518 (some people have large hands/like bulky feel)
- LMO (so lightweight and people used to it from SC:BW)
the main thing is there is no 'best' mouse for rts since the majority of it comes down to FEEL (tracking takes back seat)
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took me some time to get my gaming gear whit my income (beeing a student).
but what i ended up whit is.
keyboard. logitech G15.
headset. logitech HS-800 Fatal1ty.
mouse/mouse pad. logitech MX518 whit steelseries large mousepad.
the mouse is great. its not expensive. preforms good and has a great feel to it.
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Lol at sensitivity comment for FPS, obviously you don't know much about it. I played 1.6 WCG and I know high level gamers that have high sensitivity, at the same time I know high level players that have mid-low. It is all about preference and nothing is right/wrong over there.
Logitech G5 is a good mouse, I happen to own one, among the many gaming mice that I own.
Other than that, everything else seems good.
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I went from intelli 3 -> death adder - > MX518
I still like the intelli 3 the best , Death Adder was horrible. MX518 is okayish.
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I want to throw in my hat for good cloth mousepads. The hard mousepads I had, either ate the teflon feet off my mouse, or the mouse managed to polish the surface of the mousepad and made it slick and the mouse started to stick when not in motion. I had to use a silicon spray can and apply it to the mousepad every few hours, to make it feel "new".
The Allsop Raindrop was the first cloth pad I was satisfied with. The mouse doesn't stick when starting to move. The friction in every direction is the same (unlike going over the carpet with the vacuum cleaner, where there's that one direction, where you have to push harder). The mouse pad can be washed with soap and water and the cloth doesn't come off the base material at the borders and corners.
The Steelseries QCK cloth and rubber base materials look suspiciously similar to the Allsop Raindrop mousepads, so I think Allsop is the manufacturer. It may be possible to save a few dollars because of that.
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i payd 20 euro's for the qck.
witch is a bit more cheap then the allsop raindrop. then again i havent used a raindrop before so cant tell if the quelty is the same.
and i must agree whit you about the hard mousepads.
cloth is a lot better.
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On November 16 2010 19:10 vohne wrote:
Lol at sensitivity comment for FPS, obviously you don't know much about it. I played 1.6 WCG and I know high level gamers that have high sensitivity, at the same time I know high level players that have mid-low. It is all about preference and nothing is right/wrong over there.
Logitech G5 is a good mouse, I happen to own one, among the many gaming mice that I own.
Other than that, everything else seems good.
your opinion.
fact is the huge majority of the best players use low. Not really debatable. As i said, some people might use high, but vast majority, of atleast the really good players, use low fps.
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I have a razer salmosa, i love the feel of it but it squeaks  stay away.
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I use a Zower G-TF mouse pad and i love this thing.
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now comming to the size of the mousepad.
i got the QCK in the biggest size.
now its good during fps. but i knowtest that i dont use that mutch space while playing sc2.
now whould you agree or are ther ppl who do use alot of space while playing starcraft (2).
i just like the large one becouse the chance that it moves is even smaler then the normal size.
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Hyrule18928 Posts
I'd like to add the Logitech Optical Mini to the suggested mouse list, and the Zowie Hammer to the headset list. Both are simple, high quality, and feel great.
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EPT
