Tips for Buying the Right Gaming Peripherals

Seeing a Ferrari car or a Lamborghini with cheap wheels just puts a sore to anyone’s thumb. This goes true for cheap gaming peripherals on a high-end computer.

While it’s true that anyone could settle with budget peripherals, chances are you’d be missing a whole lot of fun. This is why you have to be on point on your purchase.

It’s not going to be easy to pick the right one, especially with all the different brands claiming to be the best at your disposal. But what if I tell you it’s not that hard to make a decision? Below are effective tips for buying the right gaming peripherals that you can use right away.

In this article, we will cover the following gaming peripherals and tips on how to choose the right one for you:

• Gaming Chair
• Monitor
• Headset
• Keyboard
• Mouse

Things to Keep in Mind Before Browsing Gaming Peripherals

The Games You Play

The first thing that you need to consider before you pick a gaming peripheral is to look at the types of games you play. These aren’t just designed for the sake of being unique but rather, it’s designed to fit one’s preference and game style.

We covered an in-depth discussion on each gaming peripheral below so make sure you check them out carefully. We specifically talked about the features of each peripheral and how it could benefit you.

Wired or Wireless?

If you are going to look at the majority of gaming peripherals, most of them are wired and there’s a reason for that. In the past, wired peripherals respond faster than wireless.

But through the years of development and advancement, wireless devices today respond as fast, if not close, to a wired device.

It’s almost a thing of the past now. Today, choosing between the two is subjective and you won’t go wrong whichever path you take.

If portability is something that really matters, then wireless gaming peripherals will most certainly be the better choice.

Personal Preference

Before you make a decision, it’s best that this should be in line with your needs.

If possible, choose one not because a lot of your friends are using it or because most gamers in the gaming community are crazy about it. Rather, you should choose because it offers the convenience and purpose you need.

Remember, even the smallest mistake could make or break your experience here so take your chances seriously and you’ll never have a bad purchase.

Gaming Chair

Gaming chairs are among the most important gaming peripherals out there as they offer more than just comfort. With the right gaming chair, you’d see improvements in your focus, experience, and gameplay.

Here are among the key features that you should look into when choosing a gaming chair:

Consider your Weight

Before you gather a list of gaming chairs, make sure you check the weight limit of the chair. These have varying limits of weight and choosing one should be according to your weight. Not only that you can guarantee the best fit but you also avoid the worry of breaking it.

There are gaming chairs designed for heavier people and this won’t be as comfortable for smaller- and average-sized gamers.

Height

Considering the height of the chair is as important as checking the weight limit of a gaming chair. This goes true for all gamers.

If you’re a 6-foot tall gamer, then you want something you can comfortably recline in. Go get a gaming chair that offers full back support or at least supports your lower back when browsing through gaming chairs.

Materials and Cushion

Don’t forget that the right material and cushion can make or break your comfort and sitting experience.

If you look at budget gaming chairs today, most of them sacrifice either the cushions or quality of the covering material, but the best gaming chairs sacrifice neither. Instead, both cushions and covering material are at premium grade.

Monitor

A lot of gamers just go with what they can afford. While there’s nothing wrong with it – given that you are on a tight budget, spending a few more to get what you need can make a huge difference.

Here are few of the most important things that you need to bear in mind before choosing a monitor.

G-Sync or Freesync?

G-Sync technology is for NVIDIA graphics card users while FreeSync technology is for AMD graphics card users. The idea behind using these kinds of technology aims to synchronize the refresh rate of the monitor with what the graphics card is capable of processing.

Using these will make games run smoother and more realistic compared to regular 60Hz monitors. What’s more, you also get no screen tearing with most G-Sync and Freesync monitors.

Refresh Rate

Most monitors have a refresh rate of 60Hz.

While it’s perfectly fine to use a 60Hz refresh rate monitor if you’re an average or casual gamer, competitive FPS gamers would want a monitor with at least 144Hz refresh rate.

The difference between 60Hz and 144Hz is night and day, and the smoothness of the gameplay is what puts competitive FPS gamers at an advantage.

Response Time

There are monitors with 5ms response time and monitors with 1ms response time.

Casual and average gamers are perfectly fine with monitors with 5ms response time but these numbers just won’t do for competitive FPS gamers. The 4-millisecond difference may be small but they could easily see and tell the difference. In fact, it could make or break a firefighting scenario.

So unless you’re a hardcore competitive FPS gamer, a monitor with at least 5ms of response time should be fine.

TN or IPS?

Choosing between a TN or IPS panel is like choosing between a car and a motorcycle – it’s subjective.

Most TN panels have fast response times (usually 1ms) and refresh images more than 60 times a second (up to 240Hz, so far). This means they are perfect for competitive gamers to give them the edge when playing games. If you prefer faster responses over graphics quality, then get a TN monitor.

Keep in mind that among the downsides of TN panel monitors include poor viewing angles and color reproductions that are either bad or washed out. Nonetheless, they perform best in what they are intended for.

IPS panel monitors, on the other hand, are monitors that show outstanding color reproduction and up to 178 degrees of viewing angles. However, because of how great graphics and colors are displayed, they have slower response times

These types of monitors are perfect for gamers who prefer graphics over performance or gamers who do content creation on the sides.

Headset

Choosing the right gaming headset is an essential addition for both casual and competitive gamers.

Gaming headsets give gamers a more immersive experience when playing games. By using the right gaming headset, a gamer can easily pinpoint where enemies are coming from or where gunshots were fired from.

This also goes true if you’re more inclined towards playing VR games.

But what key points should one look at when choosing a gaming headset? Let’s dig into the good stuff below.

Comfort

Remember that you’ll be wearing these things for hours so you want one that’s comfortable for extended gaming sessions. An ideal pick would be one that has large pads and has good noise cancellation to keep you fully immersed in the game when playing.

LED

While LED lights aren’t really necessary and don’t really give you an advantage in-game, it’s still a great pick if you wish to pair it with your keyboard and mouse RGB theme.

Virtual Surround Sound Effects

Most gaming headphones you would today already feature realistic music.

But just like playing on a 60Hz monitor after you’ve tried a 144Hz monitor for at least a day, more expensive gaming headphones (those that utilize Dolby Headphone technology) provide a more convincing virtual surround sound effect.

You can’t really tell the difference until you try one, so make sure you check these out before making a purchase.

Wired or Wireless?

It’s all about preference, really.

If you prefer convenience or you’re the minimalist type, a wireless headset will be perfect. But for most gamers, a wired gaming headset should do fine.

Keyboard

Keyboards are the most important gaming peripherals. You interact with these things every single time you use your computer.

When gaming, how responsive the keys could make or break your dungeon run or your evasion. So from a gaming perspective, it could be a life and death situation. Don’t cheap out when choosing a keyboard and always go for what best suit your game style.

Mechanical or Membrane?

There are two types of keyboards today:

• Mechanical Keyboard
• Membrane keyboard

Let’s start off with the membrane keyboards. These usually are very affordable and they tend to be light in weight.

For casual gamers, these are a perfect investment but for hardcore gamers, these are easily  punished and are bound to be replaced in the next 3 months. Membrane keyboards have mushy, rubber domes under the keys and they tend to be unresponsive at times, which is just inappropriate and inconvenient.

No matter if you are solely using one for typing purposes, the touch and experience will not be as satisfying as a mechanical keyboard.

Hardcore gamers will need a more durable keyboard – mechanical keyboards. These have physical switches under the keys instead of rubbers. Unlike the regular membrane keyboards, mechanical keyboards come in various key switches, called Cherry MX Keys.

These are colored differently to represent different feels and personalities:

	Actuation Force	Noise Level	Tactile	Best For
Cherry MX Black	60cN	Medium	No	Gaming (general)
Cherry MX Blue	50cN	High	Yes	Typist, MMO, MOBA, RTS
Cherry MX Brown	50cN	Medium	Yes	Typist, MMO, MOBA, RTS
Cherry MX Red	45cN	Medium	No	Gaming (FPS)
Cherry MX Silent	45cN	Low	No	Gaming (general)
Cherry MX Speed	45cN	Medium	No	Typing and Gaming

Custom Keycaps

What’s more about these keys is the fact that you can replace the out-of-the-box keys to custom keys.

There are various designs of keycaps you can choose from and it could be any key(s) you want. Most gamers choose to change the WASD keys to keys that aren’t slippery to maximize grip and reaction.

Macro Keys

Other mechanical keyboards have macro keys. These are keys that can be mapped to perform different keystrokes.

In most cases, macro keys benefit hardcore MMO gamers the most as it makes it easy for them to case various skills and combos.

Backlit LEDs

Premium keyboards are backlit using colored LEDs. While most keyboards today are backlit, only premium gaming keyboards give you the opportunity to change the key colors individually.

Most gamers will find this convenient as it makes it easier to see the keys. Instead of relying solely on your muscle memory, or the distance from your fingers to the keys, you have a visually colored keyboard, giving you the upper hand to make faster reactions and on point responses.

Mouse

Like most gaming peripherals, the right mouse could make or break your experience when gaming.

Types of Grip

The fact that it can give you the upper hand when gaming is the reason why you have to be on point with your purchase. Gaming mice are made to cater to the following types of grip:

• Claw Grip
• Palm Grip
• Fingertip Grip

Your mouse selection should be heavily based on how you hold a mouse. To learn more about the three types of grip in detail, make sure you check this how to choose the best gaming mouse link.

Design and Ergonomics

You may find different types of gaming mouse today but all of them are ergonomically designed and optimized for specific users.

Despite having different styles, you still get a premium feel, nonetheless. Aside from ergonomics, a lot of premium gaming mouse also features extra buttons to give you the edge and convenience of casting complex combos and spells.

DPI

The DPI or Dots Per Inch button on a mouse lets you adjust the sensitivity of the mouse in set increments.

This comes in handy if you own a large monitor or a 4K resolution monitor. By adjusting the DPI to a higher setting, you can do larger jumps on the screen with little effort. On the contrary, setting the DPI to a lower setting lets you aim better in-game.

Be familiar with the DPI settings of the mouse along with the design and know what grip type it’s best suited for. All these things matter when buying a mouse so make sure you look into these things carefully.

Wired or Wireless?

No matter which type you end up with, either should be just fine.

In the past years, people prefer wired since they are more responsive than wireless. But today, there are a lot of wireless gaming mouse you would find that responses just as fast as, if not very close to, wired gaming mouse.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, while buying different gaming peripherals is subjective, it’s going to be in line with the following:

• Budget
• Preference
• Extras vs Needs

No matter what type of gaming peripheral you end up getting, it should at least fit your budget and offer the features you primarily need. But with so many products today, chances are that choosing the best one shouldn’t be hard.

While this most likely boils down to personal preference, do you think buying the RGB feature is something gamers should consider getting? Tell us what you think down the comment section below.