What to look for in peripherals

Gazeley · May 27, 2020

My mouse has occasional spasms and my headsets looking a bit beaten up. I normally buy the cheapest but not dodgy thing I can find on amazon, and don’t really know what to look for in peripherals. My Aukey keyboard’s doing fine, but recommendations on what to look for there would also be welcome.
I looked at the Razer Kraken headsets and couldn’t really tell which was better the Kraken or Kraken X. What mid range mouse and headset would you recommend? (£30-55ish)

homeap5 · May 27, 2020

Peripherals are really not something that anyone can recommend. It's up to you. If you type a lot and using keyboard for work - mechanical keyboard, even expensive, will be good choice. But if you're using computer only for games, it's really waste of money. If you play a lot of games and you're good at it, buying gaming mouse may be a good choice. If you listening lot of music, buying good speakers and amplifier may be good for you. You may consider buying internal hdd hotswap bays if you're using lot of drives and/or help people with their computers (and if you have pc case that can support it). Razer Kraken - who knows, maybe it will be good for you, maybe not. It's always a risk.

General rule is - if you're looking for cheap products, you must be very rich.

3rrant · May 27, 2020

10 minutes ago, Gazeley said:

My mouse has occasional spasms and my headsets looking a bit beaten up. I normally buy the cheapest but not dodgy thing I can find on amazon, and don’t really know what to look for in peripherals. My Aukey keyboard’s doing fine, but recommendations on what to look for there would also be welcome.
I looked at the Razer Kraken headsets and couldn’t really tell which was better the Kraken or Kraken X. What mid range mouse and headset would you recommend? (£30-55ish)

Please don't get the Kraken or any Razer product in general for real.. they all break like cardboards and are hugely overpriced for what they offer.

For headsets, I used to go with cheap headsets as well for many years and they all didn't last more than a single year so five years ago I decided to try to step up and grabbed a Sennheiser PC350 Special at something like 159€. I still use them daily and they are still perfect, even if I (unwillingly) tried to kill them many times in the past 5 years. I really suggest you to spend more on them if you want things that last.

For mouse, that's really hard to suggest because it depends on which size and shape you're comfortable with and if you want or need extra function buttons. I personally use a Corsair Sabre and can also suggest the Scimitar and Ironclaw from the same manifacturer. Or go with a Logitech which are really good as well, also in headsets.

kb5zue · May 27, 2020

As for a mouse, that is really a personal decision. Just make sure that you can try it out first to check the fit of your hand. There are a lot of different makes and models out there and all of them usually have an assortment of buttons on the side. And then there is always a corded mouse as well as a cordless mouse. I would suggest spending a few minutes in a Staples or Best Buy just to kill a few minutes to try one on for size. Of course, don't spend your money there, just checking the fit. They usually have an assortment of Logitech mice to also look at but when it comes time for your purchase, you can do that online at places like Newegg, Amazon, etc.

When it comes to a keyboard, basically the same information applies but with the addition of RGB lighting and stuff. And then there is always the mechanical and membrane types of keyboards. Will you be using your keyboard mainly for gaming or for more industrious types of work like school or work. Keyboards are not a one time fits all sort of thing so you might want to try and "feel" them out as well. My recent keyboard purchase was a Corsair K68 RGB. I use my keyboard for both work and games and it appears to be doing just fine. It is a mechanical keyboard and I like the tactile feel of the keys when typing. My previous keyboard was a Logitech membrane and it didn't survive more than about a year or so.

Either way, good luck with your search.