Overdue keyboard + mouse update

porina · October 30, 2016

Let's start with the mouse. I'm using a MS Laser Mouse 6000. It says "Manufactured August 2005" on the bottom. It is still working fine but I wonder if I'm missing out on something newer. I like a fairly simple body shape and about the only big requirement is having a left-side button and a wheel. I also have an exclusion: it MUST NOT have any DPI adjustment button near the wheel. I had a Logitech in the past which had this, and I kept hitting it by accident during intensive gaming. I have no need to change DPI ever so this was a negative feature. Unfortunately it seems this is still a common affliction in gaming mice. If the button could be remapped to do something else, I wouldn't mind.

The keyboard... the last two keyboards I've used are some cheap Logitech washable chiclet style one, which is ok but not backlit which would be handy. Currently I'm using an Element Gaming mechanical keyboard with Red-type switches, and I hate it. I don't know if it is the switches or the decoder in it, or both. I suspect I do like a membrane keyboard over a mechanical one. This particular keyboard also has a rather major design flaw. When nkey rollover is enabled, if you type two letters quickly but definitely one after the other, it reverses the order. This really screws with my typing. This I work around by switching to 6-key rollover mode which doesn't do it, but it seems to reset to nkey randomly without warning. Oh, the keyboard must be in full UK layout, not just a US one with different lettering on a couple of keys.

So... looking for ideas at the moment. Keyboard wise I'm looking at Logitech Prodigy. I haven't verified the UK one is a proper UK layout yet. I did a similar exercise in the past, and know the Corsair range do the right layout, but they're only mechanical... it is so annoying the stock product images only ever show the US version so I have to hunt down user photos.

porina · November 2, 2016

I got the Logitech Prodigy G213 after all. Connected and using it now. I can confirm the key layout is proper UK layout, not the relabelled US rubbish. Much prefer the feel over my last keyboard. The biggest negative, and I knew this when ordering it, is the integrated wrist rest. I'm not a fan of that and it will take some getting used to. Also the software you have to download to customise the lighting is a bit rubbish. Still, worth it for typing improvement already.

Next is to look at a mouse...

porina · November 8, 2016

Having used the keyboard for a while now, I really do like the feel and I don't mind the wrist rest, although I still prefer if it wasn't there.

I just got the matching G403 mouse to go with it. The DPI switch thing can effectively be disabled and I've now set it to a single speed. The front of the mouse a bit higher up, sloping down less than my old one which I think will take a bit of getting used to. The button placement and feel are ok.