Looking for a new wireless keyboard and mouse (I will be gaming, my wife will not)

[mchaggis79]

Just as the title says we're looking to get a new wireless keyboard and mouse cause my wife is sick of the wires cluttering up our desk. I'd like to keep it around $150 for both, but if something is really good and will last for many years to come I wouldn't mind spending a bit more. I play games on my computer, not like MMOs, but games like warframe and other games you can find on consoles. I don't really want a keyboard that lights up cause i feel like that's just a waste of electricity, but that's neither here nor there. So I'd like mechanical buttons, but I don't want my wife to hate it when she's just doing her normal computer stuff like online browsing and shopping.

 

[Synphul]

The best bet might be to start off with the more important aspects such as feel of the keys. Have either of you used a mechanical keyboard? If not and if no place local has any to try you might look into a 'tester kit' from wasd keyboards. If the link doesn't work it may take a bit of google-fu.
http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/sampler-kit.html

It includes a number of different switch types (red, blue, brown etc). It's hard to suggest since much of it is personal preference. I like brown switches, they have a slight tactile 'bump' when you press down but aren't 'clicky' like blue switches. Some require more pressure than others. Even 'non clicky' mechanical switches make a bit more noise than standard membrane keys so going mechanical will likely mean at least a little extra typing noise. Can't really get around that.

Typically wireless aren't recommended for gaming, they can be laggy and if/when the batteries start to go weak the responsiveness can vary.

It's not mechanical but there's the razer turret kb/mouse combo (attached mousepad) which is wireless. If you don't mind the red clicky switches, or the fact it's wired there's the steelseries apex m500 which does have backlighting but I believe can be turned off. The corsair k70 are pretty popular but again wired. Wireless mechanical options are few and far between.

If looking for more basic but high quality mechanical keyboards with slight variations and more customization possibilities, it might be worth checking out wasd, das keyboard, ducky shine. They usually run around $100-150 or so but I think most are wired.

 

[mchaggis79]

Yea after looking at everything I told my wife to just accept the fact or desk is going to have wires everywhere. I'm just gonna have to organize them better. I remember looking at the corsair and ducky shine and thought those were nice.

My whole reason for getting a mechanical is cause our regular keyboard makes my wrists hurt after awhile of typing or gaming and because I guess they can last a long time. Think I'll check out best buy or something after work and see what I like. I'm thinking browns might be the way to go, but I guess it'll come down to personal preference once I try one.

 

[Synphul]

There's nothing wrong with other colored keys, the variety really does come down to personal preference. Kailh also offer mechanical switches. They may not be exactly like cherry mx but so far they've been pretty solid. Got a tesoro excalibur with the kailh switches for a family member around 9mo ago when they were on sale on amazon. At the moment they have the standard excalibur on sale for around $70.

The way you describe it sounds like your keyboard is on top of your desk with your monitor as opposed to on a keyboard tray positioned a bit lower. I wonder if position isn't part of what's making your wrists a bit sore? Something to consider in part of your approach to fatigue.

In terms of mice, you might try to find out if they're optical or laser. Usually optical are preferred for gaming, laser mice on soft/cloth pads tend to vary in their tracking/movement. Not to say laser aren't usable, I game now and then and use a laser mouse (I'm sure there were gasps somewhere in the gaming community lol). Games like skyrim (which appears similar to warframe, I've never played that one), far cry, call of duty, crysis. A few rpgs but most are fps types. I'm no esports champion gamer or anything, works well enough for the way I play. I don't notice myself missing shots or anything because of it.

Hopefully you can try out the keyboards and things with your wife so she can weigh in. Usually if momma ain't happy ain't no one happy Good luck on your search.