Gaming mice + keyboards: do they really make a difference?

[magellan]

My nephew is big into gaming hardware now (mice, keyboard, headsets).

How noticeable are the faster polling rates and greater DPI over a standard mouse? Does anyone here actually use the on-the-fly adjustable DPI of modern gaming mice for gaming or anything else? Do the PTFE mouse feet provide a noticeable difference over the old teflon mouse feet?

Personally I'm happy with my ancient logitech UltraX.

For gaming keyboards he insists on mechanical keyboards (yet not N-key rollover which I don't even think he knows what that is). What makes a mechanical keyboard better than an old membrane style keyboard? The only thing I noticed about the ancient IBM and keytronics mechanical keyboards was that they're louder.

 

[bmwbaxter]

I use my adjustable DPI for changing my sensitivity for games with sniping. I will reasonably snappy mouse normally but for sniping I drop it down so I have more control.

Teflon is just the du pont brand name for PTFE, it is literally the same thing.

Gaming keyboard are normally more customizable than a generic dell keyboard. So you can select the switches that you like best and will often have macro keys for key bindings.

I love my wireless headset cause it prevents me from being yanked back like a dog on a leash when I have to much to drink and get up to get a snack without taking the headset off.

All that being said for the most part they make almost no difference. The main limiting factor for how good you will be is based on your skill level and how much time you put into it. My biggest improvement in league of legends was when they moved the servers to Chicago and my ping dropped from 110 - 150ms to 20ms.

 

[Culbrelai]

I went from a modern USB Cooler Master mechanical keyboard (forget which, it was a CM storm something or other) to a PS/2 Model M from 1987 with no noticeable difference. The model m is actually a more enjoyable typing experience =P and does fine for gaming.

I really don't think keyboards matter much. Better off using money for fancy peripherals on hardware with more real gains.

 

[magellan]

I use my adjustable DPI for changing my sensitivity for games with sniping. I will reasonably snappy mouse normally but for sniping I drop it down so I have more control.

Teflon is just the du pont brand name for PTFE, it is literally the same thing.

Gaming keyboard are normally more customizable than a generic dell keyboard. So you can select the switches that you like best and will often have macro keys for key bindings.

I love my wireless headset cause it prevents me from being yanked back like a dog on a leash when I have to much to drink and get up to get a snack without taking the headset off.

All that being said for the most part they make almost no difference. The main limiting factor for how good you will be is based on your skill level and how much time you put into it. My biggest improvement in league of legends was when they moved the servers to Chicago and my ping dropped from 110 - 150ms to 20ms.

For keyboards:
What is the point of the replaceable keycaps? Can changing out the keyboard switches could make a difference in latency? Can the contact be made quicker with gaming keyboards? Or maybe a faster MCU is used to scan the keyboard matrix?

For Mice:
Does the higher polling frequency make a difference? I think the Razer series now has a mouse that has an 8000Hz. polling frequency.

 

[bmwbaxter]

For keyboards:
What is the point of the replaceable keycaps? Can changing out the keyboard switches could make a difference in latency? Can the contact be made quicker with gaming keyboards? Or maybe a faster MCU is used to scan the keyboard matrix?

For Mice:
Does the higher polling frequency make a difference? I think the Razer series now has a mouse that has an 8000Hz. polling frequency.

no real point in replaceable caps except being able to replace them if they break or remove them for cleaning.
Different switches have different activation forces, travel distance and feel, so it is mostly down to preference.
A higher polling rate in theory means a more accurate tracking of movement. But unless you are a pro there is likely a limit on how much it helps. For mice I find the size and shape to be the most important so it fits comfortably and natural feeling.

 

[Mr.Guvernment]

If it says gaming = you are paying more for marketing really.

most mice, you will not notice much over the standard DPI levels and most pro gamers use low DPI settings anyways and adjust in game.

You can see some settings for pro players
https://prosettings.net/cs-go-pro-settings-gear-list/

You will see most pro gamers are below 1000 DPI anyways.

 

[Woomack]

I see it like in most cases, the keyboard doesn't matter. You need one that is comfortable for you and has a quite good key reaction. I like blue mechanical switches but all mechanical keyboards are loud and this is very annoying when you type a lot.
Mentioned Logitech UltraX was great. The last generation was already on membranes and later they stopped production. I wonder why as there are a lot of people asking for it.

Regarding mice. This is more complicated as for specific games, you may need more/less DPI and macros. I'm using the Corsair Scimitar mouse, just because there are not many mice with 12+ programmable buttons and this one is quite comfortable to use for longer (for me at least). I had 2 of them. The first had some problems after 3+ years.

When I hear stories about Razer and RMA, then I don't even want to touch this brand. At work, I have Razer fans who replace mice or keyboards once per year because of various issues. Friends who had Razer, were sharing similar 1-year life stories. I don't know if it's just a matter of luck or the quality is so low.

I see that Logitech has a whole new line of products with good specs. I got G604 for a laptop a while ago. It was for half price so I thought I will try. Works great and can configure all that I need.

 

[BugFreak]

Nope, no difference. I picked up the eVGA gaming style mouse and keyboard and still suck at video games.

The main difference I've noticed is the speed I can type without it skipping clicks. I'd imagine any good keyboard would have that ability though. The other benefit might be all the macro buttons gaming style keyboard/mice have but I really don't use those.

 

[mackerel]

Mice makes more of a difference to me at higher DPI compared to lower. Increasing it in software (Windows) is like gain, and lowers precision. It's a small difference, but not no difference. However, I don't go above 250 Hz polling rate. Some games don't cope well with it and actually drop fps at higher polling rates. Like they're overwhelmed with the data coming in. Also the difference in theory is between average 2ms polling latency down to 0.5ms. I'm not good enough for a 1.5ms difference to make any difference.

Keyboards makes little difference to me. Gaming ones typically are supposed to have anti-ghosting (more key presses at the same time and still register correctly) but I've never played a game that required enough simultaneous presses for that to matter.

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When I hear stories about Razer and RMA, then I don't even want to touch this brand. At work, I have Razer fans who replace mice or keyboards once per year because of various issues. Friends who had Razer, were sharing similar 1-year life stories. I don't know if it's just a matter of luck or the quality is so low.

I see that Logitech has a whole new line of products with good specs. I got G604 for a laptop a while ago. It was for half price so I thought I will try. Works great and can configure all that I need.

I recently switched to a Razer from Logitech. I don't know what Logitech are doing but the mouse buttons start misbehaving around 2-3 years. They're great while it works. I moved to a Razer model with optical switches which should never bounce. I even have MS Laser mice from 2005 that still work fine (if you don't need gaming features) so this is a weakness for Logitech, and I wont buy their mice again unless I hear it has been resolved.

 

[wagex]

All these things make a slight difference, but none of them are going to make him a better player... I been playing Call of Duty for what 20 years now? I can beat my kids with a controller when they are all on pc using mouse/kb and ive only ever played on mouse/kb I suck with a controller. heck I can beat them with a $3 ebay heart shaped mouse using race car pedals for locomotion. lol ( ages 5 8 and 13)

 

[EarthDog]

Short answer is No.

Keyboard key type is more of a preference than a requirement. Activation distance, feel, noise, etc are all a part of it.

As far as the mouse, It's nice to have different DPI settings But these things can be adjusted in game settings as well. For the competitive, it's great to have that flexibility, but if you can't aim in the first place, these tools won't help much.

 

[Nebulous]

I like a customizable mouse, but the keyboard isn't important so long as it works. I like to adjust the DPI on the mouse according to the game I play so I have more control in movements/shooting, etc. I purchased several "gaming" keyboards because they were cheap. I never used the macro keys and I don't use the WASD keys because of my big arse mitts, my sausage like fingers hit the keys besides them and I screw up movements. I setup my movement keys using the arrow keys. I then move the keyboard over to my left so I can use the arrow keys for moving up/down/left/right. Yeah I know it's a weird config, but I've been gaming like this for years and I'm very comfortable.

The mouse has to be large so it fits my hand. I'm currently on my 2nd Asus GX950 mouse. Excellent mouse and super comfy. For a headset I'm using a Sennheiser HD518 with the 3foot cable. I had the 7 footer and I kept getting tangled in it. I've got a wireless set of cans, but haven't even tried it. Impulse buy to check it out, lol.

To me the "Gaming" moniker is more of a gimmick to get more money. I'm in the market for a new desk, and I've noticed the "Gaming" desk is more pricier then a regular desk and both do the same exact thing. I'm willing to pay a few more bux for a solid Ikea desk over a "gaming" desk. I don't need racing stripes or rainbow LED effects on my desk. What exactly do those do anyways? Make the desk move faster?

 

[Janus67]

As others have said, 'gaming' products tend to offer RGB (blech) and some additional customization that standard keyboard and mice you get out of the Dell box do not.

When I played high-level competitive first person shooter (Team Fortress Classic and some counter-strike) and later World of Warcraft raids in the early to mid-00s the extra buttons and custom macro support were huge for me to have more options at my literal fingertips so I didn't have to type out things, throw a flag, drop ammo, etc.

Nowadays I'm much more casual, but it's nice to have. I rarely ever messed with variable dpi as I'd have to think about switching it around. But extra buttons are nice.

Regarding mechanical versus membrane keyboard I wrote a review/breakdown here several years ago. There are numerous resources for this nowadays as well. At the end of the day it is a preference and such. I find typing on a mechanical feels much better than a membrane keyboard, for example. And there's a ton of options when it comes to switch types, whether they are linear, tactile, or have sound as well as the force required to press the keys.

 

[magellan]

Short answer is No.

Keyboard key type is more of a preference than a requirement. Activation distance, feel, noise, etc are all a part of it.

As far as the mouse, It's nice to have different DPI settings But these things can be adjusted in game settings as well. For the competitive, it's great to have that flexibility, but if you can't aim in the first place, these tools won't help much.

But Earthdog you can't adjust the mouse sensitivity of any game while you're playing it. With the modern gaming mice you can adjust your DPI on the fly, you could say, decrease the DPI for a long distance sniper shot then increase the DPI for close in shotgun work.

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I remember long ago playing some on-line FPS (possibly battlefield) and some guy was talking about having either a keyboard macro or a mouse macro that dumped all his grenades at once -- in a 360° pattern. It was his kamikaze button if he was in an unwinnable situation. I was never sure if he was just bullsh!ttin' me. But is that the kind of thing you can do with mouse/keyboard macros? You can run a sequence of mouse/keyboard button/key presses by pressing a single button/key?

 

[Janus67]

Yep that's one thing you can do. I doubt it was battlefield, but could have been team fortress or team fortress 2 with the demo man and his pipe launcher?

 

[EarthDog]

But Earthdog you can't adjust the mouse sensitivity of any game while you're playing it. With the modern gaming mice you can adjust your DPI on the fly, you could say, decrease the DPI for a long distance sniper shot then increase the DPI for close in shotgun work.

Well aware. Just saying it can be done. I know PUBG allows sens options by scope, lol. Most others aren't like that though. Also, my mouse has a 'sniper' button for an instant dpi drop. There are several ways to skin that cat is the point.

You can run a sequence of mouse/keyboard button/key presses by pressing a single button/key?

That's what a macro is... yep.

 

[magellan]

Yep that's one thing you can do. I doubt it was battlefield, but could have been team fortress or team fortress 2 with the demo man and his pipe launcher?

Now that I think about it, I think it was the old team fortress.

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I was reading the specs on some new high perf. gaming mouse. It has a 32-bit ARM processor along with some sort of on-board memory for saving profiles (and macros I guess). Is the on-board memory on these mice some sort of flash memory?

 

[EarthDog]

Yep. You can read about that on their specs page, typically.

 

[magellan]

Earthdog do you think your gaming mouse makes a difference in your in-game performance?
Would on-the-fly DPI adjustment be useful in games other than FPS or third-person-shooters? Maybe RTS's (if there are any games from that genre around anymore)?

 

[EarthDog]

With all of the buttons and such yes. The dpi and such, probably not a lot. I dont play competitively though.