Poll: Importance of keyboads and mouse

[Dys]

Having just spent my Kevin07 money on sexy new speakers and a screen, I began thinking about all the different aspects of my computer that I could upgrade, which lead me to the following thought.
I have a friend, who a while back splurged a whole lot of cash on getting a really expensive/fancy keyboard and mouse setup a while back for his computer, claiming that it, like every other aspect of his computer could be a bottleneck of his usage and as such he would much rather have and input that is ergonomic and comfortable.
Another friend more or less called him a 'showy' fag and likened him to to guys (and probably more often girls) spending insane amounts of money on fancy shoes with little benifet. Where I'm going with this is this is, do you think that it is worth spending a lot ($100+) on a keyboard/mouse setup?
Do you feel it affects the enjoyment of your gaming?
Does it affect how you play?

 

[SimuLord]

I use a stock Dell keyboard and optical mouse. It'd probably cause me an issue if I were playing competitively but for my personal gaming use I never have a problem with it. If anything I should probably get a better mousepad (the one I have, a tchotchke I got for free from Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, has the logo in white on a black pad and has a tendency to send my mouse pointer flying off at an odd angle because of the stupid color contrast messing with the laser. Just one more reason to hate those ripoff tax-prep companies). The mousepad's the weak link of my input setup.

 

[BonsaiK]

I think having ergonomic input makes sense if you're going to be at your computer for hours a day.

Having said that I always buy the cheapest crap imaginable. Maybe that's why I still suck so hard at Counter-Strike after playing it for 4 years.

 

[Tech Team FTW!]

Kevin decided I don't deserve a stimulus pacakage...

 

[S.H.A.R.P.]

I have had the same keyboard for about five years now. Keyboards aren't really critical for gaming, as long the keys aren't in fact spikes penetrating your finger tips you'll be fine.

A good mouse on the other hand, is very important. Once I spend a bit of money on a mouse (the Logitech MX518 cost about ?50,- at that time) my aim in games like Unreal Tournament improved dramatically! You don't need a fancy mouse, for me the MX518 is the ultimate mouse of all time. Good resolution, no unnecessary buttons, good handling, good weight, and nowadays a good price. I tried out some more expensive mice, but for some reason the cable broke (with about three of them...), so I just stuck with the MX518.

Here's a benchmark for mouses, both laser and optical [http://www.esreality.com/?a=longpost&id=1265679&page=1]. It's a bit old but the conclusions are still somewhat in effect.

do you think that it is worth spending a lot ($100+) on a keyboard/mouse setup? Mouse ?35.00, KB ?40.00 (or less), ?=$ effectively anyway, so I'd say no
Do you feel it affects the enjoyment of your gaming? A mouse certainly does, keyboard not so much
Does it affect how you play?Again, a mouse certainly does, keyboard not so much

 

[Nutcase]

Having just spent my Kevin07 money on sexy new speakers and a screen, I began thinking about all the different aspects of my computer that I could upgrade, which lead me to the following thought.
I have a friend, who a while back splurged a whole lot of cash on getting a really expensive/fancy keyboard and mouse setup a while back for his computer, claiming that it, like every other aspect of his computer could be a bottleneck of his usage and as such he would much rather have and input that is ergonomic and comfortable.
Another friend more or less called him a 'showy' fag and likened him to to guys (and probably more often girls) spending insane amounts of money on fancy shoes with little benifet. Where I'm going with this is this is, do you think that it is worth spending a lot ($100+) on a keyboard/mouse setup?

I spent around $150 on my keyboard ~5 years ago. About $100 on mouse+mat last year. Totally worth it, would buy again. For me, good input peripherals and display always come first, performance a distant second. Besides, the quality gear lasts for several systems, so the price is nothing averaged across all the systems.

I have been considering a ~$150-$250 new keyboard purchase for about a year now, but I'm not totally happy about the options yet, so I have been waiting for the market situation to improve. I'm going to have to import from Japan or Korea to get what I want. At those prices and with the hassle of importing, when I finally pull the trigger the board better be perfect for the next five years or so.

Do you feel it affects the enjoyment of your gaming?
Does it affect how you play?

Up to a point, mouse and mat do make the action gamer more accurate, obviously. It's worth it to get a mouse that fits *your* hand and type of grip. MX518's and cheaper Razers are particularly good value. I recommend a "gaming" mat too; the low end of the price range is fine, but the gaming mats are definitely better than office supply mats.

Keyboard doesn't seem to matter for gaming. "Gaming" keyboards are not very good for typing, either, and seem overpriced. So I recommend steering clear of them, and either getting a basic keyboard, or a specialty keyboard (often visually identical to a basic board) that is good for typing. Both in mice and keyboards, fluff features are a sure sign of crap gear. When pointing, clicking, and pressing keys feels good, you have good gear.

 

[Undo]

For long years I was more than happy with the cheapest mouse possible and a $8 keyboard. Until I tried a more expensive Logitech model which just blew me away. The ergonomics are great, I actually thought my thumb was slipping off the spacebar and missing it at first. And the clack-clack-clack isn't waking up my neighbors anymore.

Same with a good mouse. Which might have more impact on gaming but the ergonomics are more important to me. And money well spent.

 

[Erana]

One of the main advantages the PC has over consoles is control.
Mouse/keyboard are a lot better for pretty much any game genre except fighting games, I think.

That being said, I have a comfortable $90 mouse and the keyboard that came with the computer.
I don't spend a lot of money.

I don't see why people say that; mice and keyboards are so uncomfortable and just...
Well, picture Yahzee's analogy of the cat flying a kite.

I'd go for PC gaming if I could have a nice rig and they'd support gamepads/controllers better.

 

[Abedeus]

Of course it does.

My super-sharp lazor mouse is great, with 5 buttons and smoothness. I'm also planning on getting a gaming keyboard with macro keys and so on. So yeah, it's worth it.

 

[Abedeus]

One of the main advantages the PC has over consoles is control.
Mouse/keyboard are a lot better for pretty much any game genre except fighting games, I think.

That being said, I have a comfortable $90 mouse and the keyboard that came with the computer.
I don't spend a lot of money.

I don't see why people say that; mice and keyboards are so uncomfortable and just...
Well, picture Yahzee's analogy of the cat flying a kite.

I'd go for PC gaming if I could have a nice rig and they'd support gamepads/controllers better.

And you are writing this on your Xbox?

Okay, I agree gamepads are more comfortable. But only for action games like Prince of Persia, Onimusha or Devil May Cry. I played Army of Two on my friend's Xbox 360, it was so hard to aim with those crappy pads, it took me an hour to adjust my hands to it.

 

[Captain_Caveman]

Gaming mice are SUPER important. As are mousepads (people always forget that a mouse is only as good as it's mousepad).

A good gaming mouse has a high poll rate & adjustable weighting w/ an on the fly DPI switch & a comfortable ergonomic design. IMO the Logitech G5 has been the bast gaming mouse made yet. The G9 is nice, but it's better for wrist gamers. G5 is a perfect mix of wrist & arm action. Then there are the Razer mice, which dont have great drivers but are still great mice. MS makes some OK mice, but they're not as good for the $ (unless u want the most gigantic mouse available, sidewinder).

The best gaming mice tend to be fabric or glass. The ideazon ones w/ the rubber w/ plastic sheet are pretty cheap and dont work great. Everglide & Razer make great pads.

Keyboards are important, to a lesser extent. A good split ergonomic, bulbous keyboard (like the old MS Natural Multimedia) I have found to be the best for ease of use & extended play. "Gaming keyboards" like the zBoard are more of a gimmick & don't work as well as their flat/even layout makes moving your WASD fingers around less natural.

 

[Captain_Caveman]

One of the main advantages the PC has over consoles is control.
Mouse/keyboard are a lot better for pretty much any game genre except fighting games, I think.

That being said, I have a comfortable $90 mouse and the keyboard that came with the computer.
I don't spend a lot of money.

I don't see why people say that; mice and keyboards are so uncomfortable and just...
Well, picture Yahzee's analogy of the cat flying a kite.

I'd go for PC gaming if I could have a nice rig and they'd support gamepads/controllers better.

Windows XP & Vista support the 360 gamepad natively(if u have a wired controller or the USB wireless interface).

But I will have to disagree with you, as far as FPS & RTS games go. I struggle w/ the controller as its much more imprecise. The PS2/3 controllers also have always given me hand-cramps during extended play. They're just too small. For platforms & fighters though, yes nothing beats controller (except joystick).

 

[Sevre]

Over all it depends on what games you play, having a decent mouse will give you that edge you need and a gaming keyboard is also pretty helpful.

 

[Dys]

I have had the same keyboard for about five years now. Keyboards aren't really critical for gaming, as long the keys aren't in fact spikes penetrating your finger tips you'll be fine.

A good mouse on the other hand, is very important. Once I spend a bit of money on a mouse (the Logitech MX518 cost about ?50,- at that time) my aim in games like Unreal Tournament improved dramatically! You don't need a fancy mouse, for me the MX518 is the ultimate mouse of all time. Good resolution, no unnecessary buttons, good handling, good weight, and nowadays a good price. I tried out some more expensive mice, but for some reason the cable broke (with about three of them...), so I just stuck with the MX518.

Here's a benchmark for mouses, both laser and optical [http://www.esreality.com/?a=longpost&id=1265679&page=1]. It's a bit old but the conclusions are still somewhat in effect.

do you think that it is worth spending a lot ($100+) on a keyboard/mouse setup? Mouse ?35.00, KB ?40.00 (or less), ?=$ effectively anyway, so I'd say no
Do you feel it affects the enjoyment of your gaming? A mouse certainly does, keyboard not so much
Does it affect how you play?Again, a mouse certainly does, keyboard not so much

I'm Australian, even if you ignore our insanely inflated computing prices, 40 pounds is still ~=$100. So you would very much come under the over $100

 

[sneak_copter]

I have no problems playing FPS's on my laptop with a touchpad and those tiny little keys.

Graphics take a slight hit, however, but meh.

 

[irishstormtrooper]

Since I've been playing games on consoles with a gamepad, so the keyboard and mouse actually make me play worse. It's more sensitive than I'm used to.

 

[Zac_Dai]

I spent money on a Razer Death Adder mouse and its probably the best investment I've ever made for my computer.

Its the perfection of comfort for me and I feel have the precision that I want in a FPS game.

I wouldn't ever go back to the basic logitech optical mouse I had before, so I feel getting the right setup is important.

 

[AfricanSwallow]

I'd say most stock computer keyboards are good enough, but a reasonable quality laser mouse is a worthwhile investment.


If you're one of those people that is a new addition to the glorious PC gaming master race, and is still using some ancient ball powered mouse.... upgrade immediately.