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My favorite peripheral device: Battlefield 2142 Logitech G5 Edition
How I got the mouse: It was DigitalLife 2006, and EA had an exhibit with Battlefield 2142 which allowed people to play test the game before the release. There were prizes given for winning a match once every hour, which were a copy of Battlefield 2142, a T-Shirt and a Battlefield 2142 Logitech G5 Edition . My friends and I were playing Battlefield 2 at the time and thought that we would snatch up the prizes easily. We were trying our hardest to win, and I won one of these matches. The next day, all my friends won these prizes, so we were playing the game on one server that EA had released before the game came out.
Experience with the mouse: I was using a generic Microsoft mouse at the time, with just two buttons and a wheel, and it was uncomfortable using it. When I got home, I unwrapped the G5 out of the box, and plugged it into the computer. The contours of the mouse fit my hand perfectly, as I have big hands, and the mouse buttons were just at the tip of my fingers. The mouse was so smooth that I did not need to use a mouse pad; the mouse surface was my desk. The first thing I tested with my G5 mouse was the game BF2142, and the experience was one that I never had before. The option to change sensitivity is important, and this allowed me to change the turning rate, which allowed me to kill opponents more accurately.
The next thing I tested the mouse with is Starcraft: Brood War, and I noticed my improvement slightly, because of the change in sensitivity. This allowed me to move my mouse much more quickly to 1200dpi, instead of the default 800dpi that was in my old mouse; I didn't feel like changing my mouse settings in the game, as my sister used to yell at me for changing the settings, and having me to change it back each time we were playing was annoying.
For general usage, the ability to change add/subtract weights is very important because I tend to add more weights for web browsing, and take it off during gaming. The addition of weights allowed me to relax, and move slowly, thus adding to the experience of surfing the internet. The back button was perfectly placed between the contours and the palm; I tend to use my thumb whenever possible. The scrolling wheel was smoother than my old mouse, and the wheel could go left and right, which allowed me to not use the arrow keys.
Playing around with the software allowed customization of settings that were critical. Changing the sensitivity settings to three other options allowed my gaming to be much more efficient. Binding the back button to Ventrilo instead of using the keyboard provided a way to speak to my teammates instead of using two hands. The interface for the software was clean and efficient, thus there were no challenges into changing the settings.
There were no problems with my mouse, since the quality of my mouse was very high. My baby cousin kept dropping the mouse because he didn't know what he was doing, but there were no defects.
Currently, I use a cheap Labtec mouse because I left my G5 at home. The quality of this mouse is very different, as I despise the Labtec because it has uncomfortable buttons, the contours and the feelings of the thumb area are terrible and the mouse is small, having to change my mouse grips. This mouse sometimes moves on its own, and this gets annoying at times.
Everytime I go back home, the first thing I do is turn on my computer, go check TeamLiquid to see if there were any matches played/results, check box scores for sports, and sometimes play Starcraft with my G5.
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My favorite peripheral is definitely my Lycosa keyboard. I started with a Deathadder, which is definitely my second favorite peripheral. Naturally in order to maintain stylistic unity, I had to get a Lycosa.
While other gaming companies think that style means throwing some LEDs and "sleek" styling in, they end up looking geekier than they do elegant. However, the Lycosa with its trademark razor thin profile and glossy finish is the very definition of elegance. The backlighting is uniform, bright enough to see, subtle enough not to blind.
Where other keyboard makers think that gaming means adding some macro buttons to their standard keyboard, the Lycosa knows that the true measure of quality is the little touches. The smooth rubber titillates the fingers and insures that they stay right where you need them in the heat of the moment.
The real quality is in the buttons. The Lycosa's keys respond with a light touch and a firm click. They strike a perfect balance. They are easy enough to press when you need to, saving your wrists a lot of strain in the long run. However the satisfying tactile response means that you won't press a lot of keys you don't need to.
Perhaps most importantly it works. Its an understated quality but one that I appreciate.
I used to think a keyboard was a keyboard. Now I know the difference.
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Valhalla18444 Posts
Contest is now closed! Thanks to everyone who participated in this, you guys put some swell effort here in exchange for the chance at some swag. Really appreciate it
Winners will be announced March 5th!
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My favorite gaming peripheral is the Logitech Playstation 2 USB headset even though it's been at least two years since I last touched my PS2, that headset remains with me. After playing Socom 1&2 for about 5 hours a day (sometimes marathons would last 12-15 hours) for about 4 years straight, you can probably guess that I'm pretty accustumed to my headset. Well, that would be an understatement. Since I am an avid Skype and Ventrilo user, a headset is absolutely necessary. After my first headset broke, my friend convinced me to get a headset that was similar to his. It was big, bulky, covered both ears, and I would actually strain on my neck after a long gaming session. I immediately returned them and went back to my bread and butter: the Logitech PS2 headset.
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On March 02 2009 22:43 AtlaS wrote: My favorite gaming peripheral is the Logitech Playstation 2 USB headset even though it's been at least two years since I last touched my PS2, that headset remains with me. After playing Socom 1&2 for about 5 hours a day (sometimes marathons would last 12-15 hours) for about 4 years straight, you can probably guess that I'm pretty accustumed to my headset. Well, that would be an understatement. Since I am an avid Skype and Ventrilo user, a headset is absolutely necessary. After my first headset broke, my friend convinced me to get a headset that was similar to his. It was big, bulky, covered both ears, and I would actually strain on my neck after a long gaming session. I immediately returned them and went back to my bread and butter: the Logitech PS2 headset. Owned by the bell
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Valhalla18444 Posts
Update: The winners have been chosen! I've been asked to gather contact & shipping information from the following people:
kefkalives + Show Spoiler +On February 19 2009 19:44 kefkalives wrote:Well. I'll try! Ode to a Microsoft Keyboard.Oh Microsoft internet keyboard. You were the center of my starcraft universe Bold, fat and plastic, with keys that would only ever irritate; Like that sleep button i pressed while playing on abyss, What the fuck was that about? Who designed that piece of shit, making me dead my computer whilst in tense one on one action. And yet i nurtured you. Ofcourse, in sadistic fashion i shaped you after my own motives Carving your surface with knife Throwing keys away so that i may play better. So many fond memories are tied to what you let me have The friends i met and typed to, You, and you alone were the messenger. You would always remind me of the past My rat would crawl about on you, shedding hair into your depths and even urinating Yet i still loved you like i loved that rat. And the hair that i would clean out of my microsoft keyboard Years after that rat had died, would bring me another reminder that he was alive. Now the keyboard sits under my desk, replaced by shiny new plastic keyboarding experiences. But the fun i had painting, defacing and modifying you Will always be buried in my mind Like that poor rat i had to bury in the yard.
Hammy + Show Spoiler +On February 19 2009 21:18 Hammy wrote:People get all hyped up when they want a new mouse. I know a bunch of people who bought a copperhead or a diamondback for two reasons: it's razer and it shines (but of course they won't say that ). And nowadays, what says you're a real gamer more than a Razer mouse? Well i'm the kind of guy who likes to buy stuff based exclusively on how much my needs correspond to the specs. Don't get me wrong, I think razer makes awesome mice, but I do feel they are slightly overpriced and just have too many things I know i'd never use. So when I was shopping for a mouse what was I looking for? -A small mouse (I'm used to a Fingerstyle Grip on my mouse) -A comfortable mouse (As in, a mouse I'M comfortable with) -A mouse with at least 1200dpi sensitivity (With 800dpi I already had my mouse on max speed on windows and I wanted it to be faster) -At least three buttons and a scroll -A wired mouse (Faster response apparently, and it's just a hassle to change batteries) -Not too expensive (I wouldn't spend 100Euro on a mouse) Now the price wasn't such a big issue, but what I don't like about more expensive gear is that they tend to toss in gadgets which i'm just not interested in (like mouse memory, dynamic dpi switching, 7 buttons, cable holders, gold plated usb ports etc...). It's not that these additions can't be useful, it's just that I haven't got any use for them. So basically when I buy a more expensive mouse I get stuff I don't even want. I guess you're all thinking: this guy needs a G1 or a Logitech mini-optical. Well I considered going for one of those, but I really wanted a more sensitive mouse (they're both at 800dpi) so I decided they were out. Now you must be getting bored so i'll spare the details, but i tried out a bunch of mice, some good but overpriced, some just overpriced, and some great but didn't exactly fit my needs (too large or low dpi etc...). In the end (I might be flamed to hell here) I settled for a Genius mouse! In the past I hadn't had the best experience with this brand but I just couldn't "not" try this mouse out. It was a perfect fit. I'm talking about the Genius Ergo300 Mini Wired Mouse. http://www.elive.co.nz/genius-ergo300-wiredmouse-dv0683.phpThis mouse is equipped with 1200 dpi optical lens technology, it's small, comfortable and light. I had tried out some cheaper laser technologies and those were just terrible. They kept on skipping pixels and stuff. With this optical mouse the tracking is good and smooth. Basically this mouse had everything I needed. The only additionnal gadget (they all have one...) is the horizontal scrolling, which I don't use, but whatever, it's not like that gadget made the price skyrocket anyways. So to sum up, I needed a simple, relatively sensitive mouse so I got just that, and nothing more, and i'm really happy they still make simple mice for users who don't need a 4000dpi, gold plated, LED lit, titanium reinforced mouse I'd say the razer mouse I hesitated most to buy is the salmosa but I just wasn't sure what more it could bring compared to the mouse i have now. And it was over double the price, so I decided pretty quickly. I think that razer should consider more mice for the fingerstyle gamers out there, and we sure are plenty. In case this thread turns into a "What mouse should I buy?" I should mention that since I've only had this mouse for a few months I can't really comment on how sturdy it is. If it ever breaks down I'll be sure to edit this post.
-orb + Show Spoiler +On February 20 2009 05:56 -orb- wrote: My favorite gaming peripheral is my Razer Tarantula. You see, many people on the teamliquid forums have debates on what the best keyboard for starcraft is. Many people seem to think the infamous Korean DT-35 is the best simply because almost all the professionals use it. Some people think that any generic cheap keyboard is good.
Personally, I much prefer the Tarantula. Before I had the Tarantula, I had tried a number of other gaming keyboards, such as the Saitek Eclipse II, the Logitech G15, and a couple of less well known ones. None of these compare to the Tarantula. The Tarantula is the perfect simple keyboard. Sure, it doesn't have a fancy LCD screen, but I have dual monitors, so there's really no need for that anyways. It has a large number of features that are very important to me. The layout, for example, is much more intuitive than most regular keyboards. When I first got the Tarantula I was a bit confused and it took a little while to get used to, but once I did I much prefer it. The F keys are slim, which makes it very easy to distinguish them with your fingers from the number keys when you are moving your hand quickly. The Delete key is double-sized, with a very nice layout above the arrow keys, which moves the Insert key over by the scroll lock, print screen, and pause/break key. The lack of a completely useless context menu key next to the right control moves the right control to the left, which allows the arrow keys to be moved to the left, which locks the layout together and makes the keyboard smaller than it would be otherwise.
Also, the wide array of non-standard keys on the sides of the keyboard make a lot of things way easier. On the right side are various media keys. One to open your favorite (customizable) music program, the general playback keys (play, stop, next and previous track), a shuffle toggle key, a volume up/down key, and even a mute key. These keys are so unbelievably useful because they work even when you are not in the music program. This means that when I'm listening to music while playing starcraft, I can skip a track, lower the volume, stop the music, etc. On the left side of the keyboard are a couple more useful keys. There is a home key, a snooze key, and some picture-based media keys: a rotate button (very useful when dealing with photos that could be sideways), a zoom in/out button, and a 100% button to bring a picture to its full size. I do a lot of graphic design so this is pretty helpful to me.
Another additional feature is the macro keys. While I can not use the macro keys for games like starcraft, they are very useful in a game like World of Warcraft. I also like using them to type out various things I get tired of typing out over and over, such as a username I use everywhere, or some command in a game like executing my config files in counter-strike source. One of the great things about the Tarantula is that every single key is customizable. You can change any individual key however you want, not just the macro keys.
I love my Razer Tarantula. One of the most important parts of it is the way the keys move. Unlike cheap keyboards with tall keys, the Tarantula keys are relatively slim and low to the keyboard, and when you press them they are very easy to press and move in a very smooth motion, but they are not too light as to accidentally hit a key you do not want to hit.
My Razer Tarantula is perfect in every way I can think of. I even penned over the PROFILE button so that my keyboard is constantly reminding me of how PRO I am.
My Razer Tarantula is easly my favorite peripheral. Thank you Razer, for making such an absolutely amazing product.
Congrats to the chosen winners, and thanks to everyone who participated. Market research is an immensely important part of figuring out exactly how Razer can make products that actually suit the gamer's needs, instead of telling gamers what they need like some other companies
Another contest will be coming pretty soon with a bigger pool of prizes, updates on that when I get 'em.
You know FakeSteve was gonna hook TL up with swag
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Congrats to the guys who won.
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United States17042 Posts
Very nice. Congrats to the winners, and thanks for the contest Fakesteve.
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Great! They look sweet! Thanks for the free contest, this is really cool.
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Congrats to the winners, gw fakesteve
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16927 Posts
Congrats and thanks for the opportunity
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is awesome32251 Posts
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congrats to those who won!
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ooh damn kefkalives one is the best lol
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HOLY CRAP I WON
THANK YOU SO MUCHHHHHHHHH
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
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OMG I WON?! BEST DAY EVER ^____^
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lucky guys
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