PERIPHERALS
72 OCTOBER 2019|COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE 380
to find out which are the absolutebest.
Theymight cater to different needs –some
are office aids, others are gaming accessories,
and acouple aim to fill even more specific
niches –but as the mouse and keyboard are
the parts of aPCsetup you interact with
most often, it’s worth doing the research to
ensure you can get them just right.
WORKAND PLAY
The line between serious productivity
peripherals and gaming accessories isn’t
always as clear as some manufacturers like to
think. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong
with using, say, an office keyboard to play
games, or using agaming mouse to put
spreadsheets together.Inother words, keep
an open mind when approaching new
peripherals, as many can be perfectly
capable across multiple disciplines.
That said, there will definitely be qualities
that make acertain mouse and keyboard
better suited to certain tasks or situations.
Forexample,welovemechanical keyboards
fortheir responsiveness and reliability in
both games and long typing sessions, but
some might produce aloud clicking sound.
This gives plenty of audible feedback,
which typists will appreciate, but when
playing games it can be distracting.
Likewise,gaming-focused keyboards
might have features that are only useful
when playing, such as the ability to disable
the Windows key; acommon, and always
welcome,method of ensuring you don’t
accidentally bring up the Start menu in the
middle of an action sequence.
ERGONOMIC PROSPERITY
Regardless of its intended uses, your next
mouse and keyboard should be carefully
designed to maximise comfort and, if possible,
maintain good health foryour hands and
wrists. With keyboards, this can be as simple
as including aset of height-adjusting legs,
or having adetachable wrist rest that’s
easier on your joints.
With mice,it’s alittle more complicated, as
theycan come in much more distinct shapes
and sizes than keyboards. It’s ultimately a
balancing act: mice need to be big enough to
support your hand, with the best ones
accommodating fordifferent gripping
techniques, while not being so huge that you
have to stretch to reach all the buttons.
IT’SUNDERSTANDABLETHAT,having
spent hundreds of pounds on aPCand
monitor,not everyone will be keen to drop
even more cash on abetter set of peripherals,
especially if their chosen system comes with
amouse and keyboard in abox.
This reticence,however,isfolly.Wecan
tell, from years of experience,that the vast
majority of bundled peripheral sets are utterly
rubbish: shoddily and lazily constructed, with
little to no regard forthings like ergonomics
or even basic comfort. As forthe seemingly
cheap and cheerful mice and keyboards you
can get from certain high-street retailers,
these are often better than bundled fare but
still tend to be overly basic, whether in terms
of features, build quality or both.
The farmore savvy move is to invest in a
pair of peripherals that are nicer to use,look
better on your desk, will last longer without
breaking and can be more closely configured
to do exactly what you want. We’ve gathered
14 such devices –seven mice,seven keyboards
–intothis roundup,and have tested each one
Thereare definitely qualities thatmakeacertain mouse
and keyboardbetter suited to certain tasks or situations
