Does Gear Matter?

[johngo90]

Over my many years of gaming I have been constantly upgrading pieces of my setup slowly but surely. I used to have the attitude that your mouse, keyboard, monitor, and other peripherals of that sort didn't have much impact on how good you can get at a game... but I am slowly realizing that it has a huge factor now.

 

I play cs:go and LoL as my main games and I've found that with every upgrade to my hardware I've gotten better.

 

I purchased a blackwidow (my first mechanical keyboard) and noticed how much easier it was in cs:go to move and get a response from your keys.

 

I purchased a Logitech G502 and noticed how much more consistent the mouse was over any other mouse I had previously used.

 

I purchased a 144hz gaming monitor and my god... my mind was blasted by how much smoother everything was..

 

Each upgrade helped with my gaming experience and allowed me to maximize my potential in each game. I think gear helps a tremendous amount in terms of gaming. 

 

I want to know your opinions. Does gear matter? 

 

EDIT: Maybe post a piece of hardware you bought that really brought your game up to a higher level

[Virgule]

short answer : yes

long answer : yes, to a point

 

edit

I may have misunderstood the question. I thought you meant "does gear matter for enjoying the overall experience". If the question is "does better gear improve the player's skills", I'd say : "very slightly"

[flibberdipper]

I'm better with my M40 and an old membrane keyboard. So, I got another even older membrane keyboard, and it's one of the nicer ones too.

[Pelop17]

Over my many years of gaming I have been constantly upgrading pieces of my setup slowly but surely. I used to have the attitude that your mouse, keyboard, monitor, and other peripherals of that sort didn't have much impact on how good you can get at a game... but I am slowly realizing that it has a huge factor now.

 

I play cs:go and LoL as my main games and I've found that with every upgrade to my hardware I've gotten better.

 

I purchased a blackwidow (my first mechanical keyboard) and noticed how much easier it was in cs:go to move and get a response from your keys.

 

I purchased a Logitech G502 and noticed how much more consistent the mouse was over any other mouse I had previously used.

 

I purchased a 144hz gaming monitor and my god... my mind was blasted by how much smoother everything was..

 

Each upgrade helped with my gaming experience and allowed me to maximize my potential in each game. I think gear helps a tremendous amount in terms of gaming. 

 

I want to know your opinions. Does gear matter? 

SKILLS ARE WHAT  MAKE A GAMER A TRUTHLY GAMER

[ZetZet]

SKILLS ARE WHAT  MAKE A GAMER A TRUTHLY GAMER

gear is what brings an average gamer closer to good gamers.,

 

 

ofc it helps.

[MF Patrick]

At a pub level it plays close to no difference.

 

It doesn't matter what monitor/mouse/keyboard you have when you are just an average pub player.

And this goes mainly for CS:GO.

I think people should get good at the game first and then invest in expensive gear.

I started to play CS with a mouse ball. And I was good with that one as well.

I could play with that mouse today and still be the top fragger in the top3 ranks in CS:GO.

This is mainly because MM players are terrible but that's another story.

 

So my answer is, the gear matters but only if you are good.

If you are just an average pub player it has close to no impact.

[Brandonsr]

I would argue a keyboard does not matter as much as a decent mouse.

 

I only bought my keyboard for typing, I could careless about gaming capabilities and I can't see how it would increase your skills. It's a different story when it comes to mice, I like a higher dpi, as well as accuracy.

 

In short: Good gear helps make a smoother experience, but it isn't necessary.

[Klerk]

It helps to have a good gear but it is not too important. Some people are also less affected by having good gear. I remember playing CS 1.3 on ball mouses back in the day. It all comes down to personal preference. I personally be ok sacrificing having 7ms on a monitor since I prefer ips panels. I also prefer an optical than a laser mouse. I only care about comfort on keyboards.

[LogicalDrm]

Yes it helps, but not to make you from noob to pro. If you start gaming with lower tier gear, you will eventually got to point where you can clearly see how that gear is keeping your skills from showing. For me it was point when I went from wireless to wired on both mouse and KB. Also going from really old TFT with 12ms to modern LCD with alleged 2ms was big jump. Then there was going from integrated audio to audio card and the whole 3D sound world. But currently I don't think that paying more than 60e for mice (I need some features) and about same for membrane keyboard (again, features) is really worth it. For audio gear I can understand the need for higher end stuff. I wouldn't even think getting anything lower quality than my HD-555. I could even think getting new pair of gaming branded headset when Siberia V2 die.

[Ryukrieger]

In my opinion, it's not as much as gears make you better, it's about gears being uncomfortable.

Example here, I can beat my friend who has a nearly $200 wired mouse and keyboard (combined price) using a cheap-o $50 standard wireless Mouse Keyboard bundle which I've been using for over a year in most games.

So, what matters, in my opinion: Your skills, if you're comfortable playing with your stuffs.

If you screw up and think "Ah, I shouldn't have done that", your gears are fine, if you screw up and think "They keyboard/mouse didn't listen to me!" (and make sure that's the case), then your peripherals don't suit you.

Personally, though, if I had an extra budget for them, I'll go with anything that I feel most comfortable using. In term of peripherals, I put Keyboard and Mouse as the least important, next is headset/headphone, monitor is next, I'm quite fine with 60Hz for now. So that's me, I put peripherals below every other part of the computer when it comes to gaming experiences, they're basically an afterthought... although of course, being less important doesn't mean I'd put any less thoughts in choosing, that would be... er... terrible.

[n0ah1897]

I think it makes a big difference, but it all depends on what you were using before. I didn't notice a huge "skill" increase when I upgraded from my membrane keyboard to a mechanical keyboard, but going from an uncomfortable, $5 mouse from 2001 to a nice and weighty G9x, I got a lot better in games. My accuracy increased immensely. I wouldn't say that super expensive gaming branded gear makes you better though. It's mostly finding what fits you best. Obviously having quality components inside a mouse or keyboard is key to a better experience, but only up to a point. You don't need to spend $200 on gear if you want to get better, but when you do get that better gear it can be very helpful.

[Deserter15]

Personally, a descent mouse is very important.  I used to have a wireless laser mouse which I thought was good at the time.  I switched to a 1600 dpi optical mouse which I thought was ungodly fast and I could click on heads so much faster and more accurate.  Then I got a 5200 dpi laser mouse which made things so much easier.  It helps if you can click on the opponents head before they can click on yours.

[Villain]

When it comes to gear it isn't really about how new or fancy it is, it's just about what you are comfortable with. There are still pro players that use old hardware just because it's what they prefer using. The only piece of hardware that could be considered undeniably helpful to gaming ability would be higher refresh rate monitors. I don't know very many people that prefer 60hz over 120/144hz in counter-strike, but even that won't have drastic effects on your ability.

[Yoinkerman]

I don't know if it makes you any better at games, but it can sure feel better playing them if you have gear you like. I recently switched back to a m310 from a R.A.T M because the rat seemed to have little deceleration issues that made using it in a fast paced environment feel just a little off.

[soapyy]

With gear it comes down to personal preference and how comfortable  you are w/ your gear. For me a mech keyboard was a huge deal for playing Starcraft to switch to a nice mech keyboard, and when I got a decent mouse that fit me very well and i was comfortable with I played better. So yes, it can help but don't spend money just because someone says its good spend it when if you know you will actually like the product and it fits you

[Diederik_Gr]

You need to be at a point where you have solid gear and are comfortable with using it, how high you set the standard is entirely up to you.

I really need to replace my $5 mouse, it looks so odd sitting right next to my K70. The sensor isn't that great as well.

[unidentical]

If my keys are binding up then ya that's a problem, so long as I have good kit that isn't actually interfering with my ability to perform actions, then I'm pretty happy.

[ComradeHX]

Depends on the game.

 

If it's turn based strategy, it's pretty much irrelevant.

 

FPS and MOBA -> it's everything.

[That Norwegian Guy]

I still game on a 60hz monitor with a single GPU and frequently go 30:0 k/d as Lerk in Natural Selection 2, 15:2 in War Thunder, and I think my highest run in Titanfall was a 26 kill streak.

 

There are different skills involved in gaming, by upgrading to more cutting edge equipment you are augmenting some, but unfortunately dulling some others.

 

Anticipation for example. (Predicting enemy behavior and motion of physical objects at speed) It's probably my best FPS skill (behind situational awareness and micromanagement) precisely because I haven't gone up to 120+hz in all my years. If I had a 144hz monitor and enough GPU horsepower to run at that frame rate or better, I wouldn't need it so much anymore, and I would resign to pure reaction eventually. But then, I would get used to the 144hz monitor and react better.

 

Swings and roundabouts.

[Imabigmac]

A $200 keyboard wont make you a super star nor will a $100 mouse - a monitor well actually that may give you an advantage. If it makes a difference to you then great but most people won't be affected greatly. However it always nice to be playing on a clean keyboard that isn't covered in dried milk and lacks sticky keys.