Which Keyboard and Mouse do you use?

Kenadian

Staff member
Site Admin
You heretic, hardcore flight sims are all that matters :p
lol I couldn't agree more which is why I'm likely going to throw $100 Kickstarters way (you know why).

I just figured that if I'm going to run a Gaming Community I should experience Gaming. That's one of the biggest reasons I joined Reddit/Competitive Battlefield and will also be the reason I purchase a console in the next 12 - 16 months.
 

mondo

Hardcore
Forgot about that, mouse mats. I've got a razer goliathus mat which does the trick.

I go through keyboards like dirty underwear which I've never really understood, except for that original $5.00 dell I had that I used for 7 or 8 years starting when I met all you assholes circa 2002. It was awesome.
I still use one at work. They're completely bomb proof and great to type on. If they did one with backlights and a few more options but exactly the same keyboard I'd seriously consider getting it. That said, I can't recommend more the Corsair K70 keyboard I bought recently. They price tag is hefty but its the nicest keyboard I've used, build quality is...its made of aluminium and it can be cleaned properly. My big problem with the old G10 I had was you drop something in that keyboard, its not coming out.
 

Kenadian

Staff member
Site Admin
So I'm right in saying a high dpi isn't all that important?
I thought so too until last night when I hopped on Reddit Mumble. One of the Top Level Comp Players (pogles) uses 2000 DPI. Apparently you do a 360 in under 3" of mouse travel at that resolution.

This guys been Comp since Counter Strike so if he uses DPI that high then there certainly must be others.

I myself can't stand anything above 600 DPI.

Again using Battlefield 3 as my benchmark, there are a number of people who have 2 main DPI's mapped so they can switch sensitivity on the fly to suit the role better. For instance, infantry tends to play better at a lower resolution whereas vehicles (Tanks, IFV's; turreted) tend to play better at a higher resolution.

I haven't set things up this way permanently but I can say it does make it easier to switch role's at least in BF3.
 

little P

Super Mod
I've seen one mouse that has a "sniper" button on the side that flicks the dpi to the lowest setting when you hold it down to help aiming :eek:

I haven't got the budget for all this fancy stuff, but I'm looking at a Roccat Kova+ and Zalman ZM-K400G. I like the backlighting of the keyboard, and the "shift" feature of the mouse, as one of the things I liked about a logitech mouse I had once was the extra buttons on the side. This has loads with the shift function which I'm keen on. Plus I like the fact it looks like a Lambourghini Aventador :icon_redface:

Not that I could spend that much on one, but a mechanical keyboard would royally piss my wife off as I'm tapping away on it all day with my writing, and I don't think I'm anywhere near the point where a couple of milliseconds will make the difference between me dying or the other guy in a firefight. I'd need a good few seconds, maybe minutes :p

This is just another area of pc gaming I'm re-discovering, and it's fascinating :)
 

Wapwap

Staff member
Admin
My mouse is a Razer Mamba 2012. Been using it for 1.5 years now and still works like a charm (using it wired instead of wireless). Can recommend that one.

My keyboard is an IBM model M (KB-9910) non-clicky keyboard. Been actually using that thing for almost 10 years now. Nice sturdy smash-plank.

As for mouse mats; i've got the Razer Goliathus Fragged Control Edition, which is a cloth pad. If you're looking for a mat, pick that one.
 

JohnnyK

Hardcore
I thought so too until last night when I hopped on Reddit Mumble. One of the Top Level Comp Players (pogles) uses 2000 DPI. Apparently you do a 360 in under 3" of mouse travel at that resolution.
This guys been Comp since Counter Strike so if he uses DPI that high then there certainly must be others.
I myself can't stand anything above 600 DPI.
But that is not how it works - how fast you turn depends on your dpi and sensitivity settings.

I use 1600dpi in my BF3 profile. I also use really really low mouse sensitivity in the game (GstInput.MouseSensitivity 0.051047 in Documents\Battlefield 3\settings\PROF_SAVE_profile)

That means it takes me nearly the full width of my mousemat (Razer Goliathus, that's I think around 45cm) to do a 360° turn. But with much higher precision than at low dpi settings.

You need to try that - up your dpi significantly but lower your sensitivity ingame. Google for more info.
 

Kenadian

Staff member
Site Admin
But that is not how it works - how fast you turn depends on your dpi and sensitivity settings.

I use 1600dpi in my BF3 profile. I also use really really low mouse sensitivity in the game (GstInput.MouseSensitivity 0.051047 in Documents\Battlefield 3\settings\PROF_SAVE_profile)

That means it takes me nearly the full width of my mousemat (Razer Goliathus, that's I think around 45cm) to do a 360° turn. But with much higher precision than at low dpi settings.

You need to try that - up your dpi significantly but lower your sensitivity ingame. Google for more info.
Yes I know that Johnny, forgive me for not stating the obvious.
 

Kitlope

Hardcore
I still use one at work. They're completely bomb proof and great to type on. If they did one with backlights and a few more options but exactly the same keyboard I'd seriously consider getting it. That said, I can't recommend more the Corsair K70 keyboard I bought recently. They price tag is hefty but its the nicest keyboard I've used, build quality is...its made of aluminium and it can be cleaned properly. My big problem with the old G10 I had was you drop something in that keyboard, its not coming out.
One of the guys we play with at TLB (handle is Corsair) said the other night on ts that he has a boatload of them old dell keyboards at work, brand new in the shrink wrap. I'm going to be asking him if he will ship a couple out to me and I'll paypal him whatever it costs (probably not too much).

Thanks for the heads-up on the Corsair, I know a fella that we play with just purchased a new model and loves it. Something else to think about in case I get dicked around by the store when this Black Widow ultimately fails.
 

Kenadian

Staff member
Site Admin
Then why are you playing at 600dpi?
...because it gives me the best mouse feel across everything including Windows without having to screw around in settings every time.

I like a lower sensitivity in most everything hence the 600DPI.
 

JohnnyK

Hardcore
But you are most definitely hurting yourself with such a low dpi. Heck, run Logitech setpoint and have it change profiles depending on the app you are in. Thyt takes a few minutes to set up.

Or look here if you want just one profile for all areas:
http://assets.overclock.net.s3.amazonaws.com/a/a9/a96d5d55_vbattach123549.jpeg

1800dpi at speed 2 equals 600dpi at speed 6. Set it up like that and you are better off as your movement will be much smoother.

You talk about getting every small advantage you can for competitive play but purposely cripple yourself with low dpi - I just don't understand that.
 

Kenadian

Staff member
Site Admin
No Johnny I'm not hurting myself at all. I've tried every setting up to 5700 DPI and 600 is the best for me. Even at this DPI I still have my ingame sensitivity cranked all the way down so higher DPI only does more harm than good.

My movement is the smoothest it's ever been and at this sensitivity I'm now a threat at close, medium and long ranges whereas before it was pretty much medium range only.

I don't find higher DPI smoother at all, in fact I find it quite the opposite. It's just too sensitive so staying on target is a nightmare for me.
 

JohnnyK

Hardcore
d000kie just hit his head once too often on the headrest while getting reamed. ;-)

Generally higher mouse dpi is preferrable - you can always lower sensitivity while maintaining high precision.
 

Kenadian

Staff member
Site Admin
Generally higher mouse dpi is preferrable - you can always lower sensitivity while maintaining high precision.
No this is not true at all.

What Johnny fails to recognize is too high precision is not a good thing over distance. I've tried it his way on more than one occasion and have had terrible results with long range accuracy.

High precision is not a good thing especially when your target is on the move and really only a matter of pixels wide. Too much precision means you'll be compensating your overcompensation continually and may not get the kill.

...however, if you're used to it maybe it works for you. I personally never got used to higher DPI because I just didn't like the feel of it. Even with ingame sensitivity cranked all the way down, it felt too twitchy for me and resulted in continual overcompensation.

You'll need to try it for yourself. It is generally accepted that you don't need over 2000 DPI for anything.

...

There is no average that people use as it's all down to personal preference. There are a lot of gamers that prefer it Johnny's way, even Comp Gamers (although I only know one at Reddit) but an equal amount who prefer it similar to my settings.

While Johnny is correct in Higher DPI yields more accuracy, it's not as good as it sounds. Yes you can achieve pixel to pixel accuracy a bit better than with my settings but pixel to pixel accuracy does not work for everyone (myself included).

This is something you'll have to try for yourself and see what yields the most natural movement.
 
steele-series-merc-stealth-front-shot-whole-keyboard-800x600.jpg
I got me about a month ago a Steelseries Merc keyboard that has a side pad or fps buttons. Its not mechanical but does have some antighosting etc. I got it because I was always miss placing my fingers on the non-wad key and all the time accidentally pressing the wrong keys. That dont happen with this thing the key are fully customizable aswell though the included software can be tricky to get the hang of but once you do it aint bad. And the only other down side is that the number pad is non standard to accommodate the extra keys so it takes a tiny bit to get used to but other than that I love it. I got a refurb version off amazon for like $35, with no issues.
 

JohnnyK

Hardcore
See Duke, now I know why you are playing this way - thanks for expanding on your thoughts.
High precision is not a good thing especially when your target is on the move and really only a matter of pixels wide. Too much precision means you'll be compensating your overcompensation continually and may not get the kill.
This seems like an issue of muscle memory training. I doubt this is an issue after some training.
You'll need to try it for yourself. It is generally accepted that you don't need over 2000 DPI for anything.
That I agree with. I remember xFactor saying he uses 1800dpi; pretty sure a thread on reddit ended with most people somewhere betwewn 1500 and 2000.

Gaming mouse dpi is like megapixel with digital camera - there's no real correlation between a high number and high quality, but it's a number easily used in advertising.

The only things I strongly suggest are:
* more than 600 dpi :D
* comfortable
* thumb buttons
 

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