Thread: Hottest Gaming Gear

Are you tired of other gamers having an unfair advantage? Sure, skill and reaction time are a huge part of FPS gaming, but hardware can make the difference between being a good gamer, and a great gamer...

I thought I would make a post showing off some of the hottest peripherals you can currently buy for PC gaming.

Gaming Mice

Razer Mamba
http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-mice/razer-mamba

Microsoft Habu (Made by Razer)
http://www.razerzone.com/Products/Ga...-Gaming-Mouse/

Razer Copperhead
http://www.razerzone.com/Products/Ga...-Gaming-Mouse/

Razer DeathAdder
http://www.razerzone.com/Products/Ga...-Gaming-Mouse/

Razer Lachesis
http://www.razerzone.com/index.php?m...products_id=72

Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mi.../3053&cl=us,en

Logitech G7 Cordless
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/pr...ONTENTID=10716

Logitech G5 Laser Mouse
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mi...s/359&cl=us,en

Logitech MX518 Optical
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mi...s/187&cl=us,en

Ideazon Reaper Gaming Mouse
http://www.ideazon.com/us/products/r...amingmouse.asp

Steel Series Ikari (optical and laser)
http://www.steelseries.com/news/pres...al_gaming_mice

Gaming Keyboards

Razer Lycosa
http://www.razerzone.com/index.php?m...products_id=76

Microsoft Reclusa (Made by Razer)
http://www.razerzone.com/Products/Ga...ming-Keyboard/

Razer Tarantula
http://www.razerzone.com/Products/Ga...ming-Keyboard/

Logitech G15
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/ke...s/180&cl=us,en

Logitech G11
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/ke...s/285&cl=us,en

Saitek Eclipse
http://www.saitekusa.com/usa/prod/eclispekey.htm

Ideazon ZBoard
http://www.ideazon.com/us/products/z...ngkeyboard.asp

Timberwolf FPS Keyboard
http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/input/7a67/

Belkin n52te(Powered By Razer)
http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...duct_Id=390404

Ideazon Merc
http://www.ideazon.com/us/products/m...ngkeyboard.asp

Gaming Headphones

SENNHEISER PC166
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16826106164

Razer Barracuda
http://www.razerzone.com/Products/Ga...ng-Headphones/

Steel Series 5H v2 USB
http://www.steelseries.com/int/products/audio/5hv2-usb

Steel Series 5H v2
http://www.steelseries.com/int/products/audio/5hv2

Plantronics Audio 550 USB
http://www.plantronics.com/north_ame...32/prod5500015

Medusa 5.1 Pro Gamer Edition V2
http://www.medusa-usa.com/medusa-51-...-v2-p-896.html

Medusa 5.1 Home Edition
http://www.medusa-usa.com/medusa-51-...ion-p-876.html

Creative Fatl1ty Pro Series
http://www.creative.com/products/pro...&product=15196

McStrange's Note on 5.1 headsets: Be careful and research what you are getting into with a 5.1 headsets. They do a good job of directional positioning but often have sub-par sound quality. The pair of 5.1 I purchased had 0 bass in the rear channels and the center sounded tiny and far away with little bass as well. Yes I could tell the direction, but it was very distracting due to the poor sound output.
A good quality headset from the likes of SENNHEISER, cuppled with a good soundcard like the X-FI series will give similar positional detail with far greater sound quality.

Mouse Surfaces

Steel Series 5L
http://www.steelseries.com/int/produ...5l/information

Steel Series SX
http://www.steelseries.com/int/produ...sx/information

Fatil1ty Gaming Pad
http://www.fatal1ty.com/products/accessories/#fatpad

Razer Mantis
http://www.razerzone.com/Products/Ga...se-Mat/#Frame3

Razer eXactMat
http://www.razerzone.com/index.php?m...&products_id=3

Func ARCHETYPE
http://www.func.net/products/archetype/index.html

Func F-SERIES
http://www.func.net/products/fseries/index.html

Func 1030
http://www.func.net/products/1030/index.html

Sound Cards

Razer Barracuda AC-1
http://www.razerzone.com/index.php?m...products_id=41

Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
http://www.soundblaster.com/products...&product=15853

Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro Series
http://www.soundblaster.com/products...&product=15854

Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion Series
http://www.soundblaster.com/products...&product=16559

Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum
http://www.soundblaster.com/products...&product=14065

NIC Cards

Killer NIC
http://www.killernic.com/products/nic.aspx

Killer K1
http://www.killernic.com/products/k1.aspx

Gaming Routers

D-Link Gamer Lounge 4300
http://games.dlink.com/products/?pid=370

Linksys Wireless-N Gigabit Gaming Router
http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satel...=3266539789B03


I have had good luck with Razer products over the past year. I recently purchased the Razer Tarantual Keyboard, and I am thus far impressed with the performance. I also use the Razer Barracuda headset and a Razer Copperhead Laser mouse. They are all top notch products. I have owned serveral Logitech products in the past as well, including the MX510 and MX518 mice and several Logitech headsets. I love my Razer Copperhead mouse, but that Microsoft Habu looks pretty darn sweet.

Remember, sometimes you have to pay big to play big. Obvously some of these products are in the higher price range, but know that they are out there on the market. Read up on them. Do some research. Don't go making any decisions because some "guy" on a forum told you to. Get the peripherals that are right for you. Get the edge over your opponents. Make the step from goodness... to greatness...

And as always, if you are going to shop... shop newegg.com.

Oh, and even though it isn't a full keyboard, you may want to look at the Belkin Nostromo n52 speedpad (http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...duct_Id=157024). It's a left-handed sort of mini keyboard with a d-pad and sort of spacebar for the thumb, and basically makes hunting for controls much less of a hassle, especially in fps games. I just bought one on sale, and I've managed to map all of the 2142 controls relatively easily.

This is the 2nd post I have seenw with people recommending them. Are they really worth it? The only time I played on a Nostromo, it felt like a cheap piece of crap. I guess that functionality and build quality are 2 different categories.

Let me look up some online reviews. If it scores good enough from some of the mainstream review sites, I will put it up here...

List has been updated with Sound Cards, NIC Cards, and Gaming Routers. I will start researching some high quality gamepads and post another update in a couple weeks.

I also thought about Video cards, but I am afraid that will change so often, the list will become obsolete in no time.

In order to keep this post at a 1 page minimum, I will be removing older posts of suggestions and comments... sorry.

how about deal sites, there are a couple listed in this thread:

http://208.113.198.183/index.php?topic=13797.0

i know a buncha folks got the g5 mouse when i found it for 25$ at dell so it might be a good addition, or maybe separate sticky

As well as the deal sites, how about some monitors too?

we hashed out some nice ones in this thread:
http://www.texasteamplayers.com/index.php?topic=13039.0

The <a href=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824116375> Viewsonic VX922</a> is the best 4:3 ratio LCD available. ~$250
The <a href=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001096> Samsung 226BW</a> looks to be the best 16:10 widescreen ratio LCD available. ~$300

and we could add to that small list as cheaper/better options become available

700?? how about this 24 inch Samsung; <a href=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001234&CMP=EMC-IGNEFL062107&ATT=N82E16824001234> SAMSUNG 245BW Black high glossy 24" 5ms DVI Widescreen</a> - $499 after rebate - thats a smoking hot price and faster response as well...

You can find a bunch of the 24 inch widescreens for under 600 dollars - and as I ahve said, once you go widescreen you will never buy another 4:3 monitor again...