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Six of the best gaming keyboard and mouse combos

Fingers on buttons, teams

Product round-up I would like to think my gaming skills make me invincible but if I ever do get pwned it’s always easiest to blame the hardware.

In the case of the keyboards and mice I’m reviewing, it might be difficult to put forward a convincing argument that they are to blame, as they are all developed to make the very best of my gaming talents, but often this comes at a preposterous price.

Successful gaming keyboards and mice should assist fluidity of movement and pack an arsenal of formidable macro tools while ensuring that every keystroke registers. During that four-hour stretch in the dungeon, it’s essential my keyboard can map dozens of macro keys to simplify complicated key combinations down to one keystroke or button press, and at this point I could write a PhD thesis on back-lighting and applets.

Mechanical key switches are the industry standard for gaming keyboards, however, it seems like a lot of money is being spent to prove this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. Non-mechanical feature-rich keyboards such as Steelseries Apex, the Mad Catz S.T.R.I.K.E.7 and Logitech G19s push the boat out with LCD screens and customisation instead of relying on mechanical keys.

Whether or not you enjoy the clickety clack of a Cherry MX blue, there are four essential categories to assess to make the right choice for your gaming peripherals: customisation, support, special features and aesthetics. I have endeavoured to take all of these into account when assessing the amount of gaming edge you get for your hard earned cash.

Corsair Vengeance K70

RH Numbers

After getting to grips with the whopping size of the Roccat Ryos MK Pro and swapping it out for the Corsair Vengeance K70, there was room for at least an extra two ferrets on my desk.

Corsair seems to have designed the Vengeance with restraint; this blood red glowing keyboard gives me all the basic gaming necessities in an impressively neat but robust package. The device relies on surprisingly flat mechanical keys, and you get the choice of Cherry MX Red Cherry MX Brown and Cherry MX Blue. I opted for the blue for decent resistance and a satisfying clickety clack.

The Vengeance K70’s most useful feature is its replacement of the the W, A, S, D, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 keys with red textured keys with deep depressions in the middle that are obviously created specifically for gaming purposes. That said, the Vengeance K70 is not going to cut it if you're going on a raid three times a week in an MMO. Also, it has no extra keys or software to program it with lovely hunter pet macros or any macros at all in fact. I could be pulling a Leeroy Jenkins given half a chance.

The keys were extremely impressive though. They were quick and responsive in FPS Titanfall and MOBA Heroes of the Storm, and the textured gaming key kept my cider-sweat-slickened digits in place. All in all, Corsair has impressed me with the K70’s simple elegant functionality.

Corsair Vengeance K70 gaming keyboard

Price £130
More info Corsair

Corsair Vengeance M65

The new Corsair Vengeance M65 is a brilliant but heavy claw / fingertip grip mouse. More durable than any Titanfall mech, this is a tank of a mouse. Sturdy build quality and soft texture make it ideal for lengthy gameplay if you are a fan of the claw grip.

Compared with the Vengeance M60, the M65 uses better core switches, a supposedly higher durability scroll wheel, and an unwieldy “blink at you’ll miss it“ 8200DPI Avago sensor. The snipe button was awesome, allowing me to make sensitive precise movements. Vents underneath the body are supposed to reduce any sweaty palm situations and a cool blue beam emits from beneath the wheel like something out of TRON. This is a great mouse but it’s not perfect, certainly the software that reprograms the DPI settings could be more intuitive.

These two updates to Corsair’s Gaming peripherals range may not be visibly different from their predecessors, but I can guarantee there are subtle and impressive changes. They do come at a cost, though.

Corsair Vengeance M65 gaming mouse

Price £58
More info Corsair

Next page: Logitech G19s

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