February 2015 – Gaming PC Keyboard, Mice and Monitor Suggestions
Welcome to the peripheral suggestions for February 2015. This article is written as an aside to the February 2015 $600, $1000 and $1500 builds of the month. Those PC builds include the hardware you need to setup up the base PC, but over and above that if you don’t already own a keyboard, mouse and monitor, then your build would be useless. Furthermore, you will also need an operating system to run as the backbone to seamlessly run your hardware with your software / games, so there are also suggestions for OS’s included below.
By all means this is not a comprehensive list or meant to be the best of the best, but they are some of the best in the respective “higher end”, “mid-range” & “basic” peripheral (keyboard, mouse or monitor) categories for gaming specific builds.
Jump to –
- Higher End Gaming PC Peripherals
- Mid-Range PC Peripherals
- Basic PC Peripherals
- Gaming PC Operating System Options
Higher End Gaming PC Peripherals – February 2015
The “higher end” peripherals are meant to showcase some of the more popular higher end / gaming specific peripheral hardware that one may consider to have the top of the line gaming peripherals. Keep in mind, these are not the most expensive gaming hardware peripherals one can buy, but a collection of the higher quality hardware for gamers.
The keyboard below is the Razer BlackWidow Chroma Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, with fully programmable keys and 5 additional gaming keys with on the fly macro recording. mechanical keys with distinct tactile feel and fast response and more [learn more at razerzone.com]. The included mouse is the Logitech G502 Proteus Core – a very comfortable mouse with 11 large programmable buttons and easily one of the best mice out there [learn more at gaming.logitech.com].
The high end monitor chosen this month is the high resolution (2560X1440) Tempest X270OC monitor, a 27 inch IPS monitor that supports overclocking to rates as high as 120Hz. This is a perfect choice for a higher end gaming pc (such as the $1500 build) – The Tempest specifications can be read over at [overlordcomputer.com].
| Hardware Link | Price | Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keyboard | Razer BlackWidow Chroma Mechanical Gaming Keyboard | $164.95 |  |
| Mouse | Logitech G502 Proteus Core Tunable Gaming Mouse with Fully Customizable Surface, Weight and Balance Tuning (910-004074) | $68.99 |  |
| Monitor 2560×1440 | Tempest X270OC – IPS 27″ WQHD 2560×1440 Display, 120Hz Capable, 16:9, DVI, 100×100 VESA | $450.00 |  |
Mid-Range PC Peripherals – February 2015
The mid-range category is perfect for those that want to have great gaming peripherals, but not necessarily the most expensive. This month both the keyboard and mouse have have seen changes.
The keyboard chosen is the SteelSeries Apex, which has a ton of programmable controls with four independent custom lighting zones. There is also a tactile anchoring on the W key, additional arrow keys and an extra large space bar. [Learn more at steelseries.com].
This month I chose to switch the mouse up a little and went with the Corsair Vengeance M65, which has highly accurate tracking with an 8200 DPI laser sensor, selectable response times and a very soft touch [Learn more at corsair.com].
The monitor included is the ASUS VG248QE, which is a popular 24-inch 1920X1080 and very fast response times, definitely a great pick for any caliber of gamer.
| Hardware Link | Price | Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keyboard | SteelSeries Apex Gaming Keyboard | $81.99 |  |
| Mouse | Corsair Vengeance M65 Performance FPS Gaming Mouse, Gunmetal Black (CH-9000022-NA) | $51.99 |  |
| Monitor (1920×1080) | ASUS VG248QE 24-inch LED-lit Monitor 144Hz refresh rate 1ms pixel response time & 3D capable | $279.99 |  |
Basic PC Peripherals – February 2015
If you are starting out from scratch and have absolutely no peripherals for your new gaming pc build on a budget, then things can get quite pricy very quickly. The “basic” peripherals are meant to showcase some of the most popular basic peripherals that are not exactly gaming specific, but are definitely quality pc hardware that will work quite well. Just because these are labelled “basic” doesn’t mean they are cheap or not good, just cheaper and not always gaming specific.
The included keyboard this month is the Corsair Raptor K30 Gaming Keyboard. The Corsair Raptor K30 has adjustable backlighting, programmable G-keys and anti ghosting keys to give it the prefect feel for gaming [Learn more at corsair.com]. The chosen mouse is a basic affordable, comfortable ambidextrous gaming mouse call the ROCCAT LUA Gaming Mouse, which has some of the customizations of a gaming mouse (DPI button, precise scroll wheel, button customization), yet won’t break the bank [Learn more at roccat.org].
The monitor you see below is actually really good even though it is categorized into the budget category – the BenQ RL2455HM 24-inch with 1920×1080 resolution and quick 1ms response times [Learn more at gaming.benq.com].
| Hardware Link | Price | Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keyboard | Corsair Gaming Keyboard (Raptor K30) | $59.99 |  |
| Mouse | ROCCAT LUA Tri-Button Gaming Mouse, Black | $26.99 |  |
| Monitor (1920×1080) | BenQ Gaming Monitor RL2455HM (24-Inch LED) | $206.29 |  |
Operating System Options
If you don’t already have an operating system for your new gaming pc build, then you’re going to have to either invest in purchasing a standard OS such as Windows 7 or 8. Otherwise, there are some free alternatives that you could consider.
The following are some operating systems you can consider installing upon putting your Gaming PC build together. The first two will cost you and are either Windows 7 or 8.1 – I have no opinions here so I’ll leave the purchase of these up to the discretion of yourself. I have also included two other operating systems that are both currently free. Ubuntu is a Linux based operating system. The last OS is SteamOS, which is also a Linux OS being developed by Valve Corporation and is being made to be used for a Steam Machine game console. The official release of SteamOS has not been announced, however you can try out the beta.
| OS Link | Price | Image | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows 8.1 | Windows 8.1 System Builder OEM DVD 64-Bit | $92.00 |  |
| Windows 7 | Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit, System Builder OEM DVD 1 Pack (New Packaging) | $95.88 |  |
| Ubuntu | Ubuntu – Desktop | Free |  |
| SteamOS | SteamOS WebpageSteamOS Beta – Download Page | Free |  |
Comments 2
Hey Corey. I was just wondering what your recommendations are for headphones. Over the ear preferably. Either a headset or just headphones. Also your preference in mic? Thanks for all the time and effort you put into this. Thanks, and keep up the hard work. 🙂
Author
Hello Jesse,
I apologize, as I must have totally missed your comment when you posted. Generally speaking I’m not too picky when it comes to headphones and I know there are those individuals / audiophile individuals who could probably give you a better answer, but I’ll try.
If I were to purchase a new pair right now, I’d probably go with something that has a bit of quality, but is reasonably priced – Such as the Razer Kraken Pro.
If I had more money and really cared about my audio, I may perhaps consider something like the Steel Series H, assuming it would be used mostly for gaming.
Right now I actually use an older Soundblaster headset that hasn’t failed me yet for gaming, otherwise honestly I’ll just use a pair of apple headphones.
Hope this helps!