I’m a professional RTS player (in hiatus) turned Product Evangelist at Razer. I play competitive RTS such as Dawn of War and World in Conflict in tournaments such as WCG and CPL. I also play other games (albeit not professionally) like Counter-Strike, Defense of the Ancients, WoW (and currently act as the lead guitarist for the Razer in-house “Rock Band”). I’ve gone through my fair share of keyboards, mice, headphones, etc., so I’d like to think my experiences put me in the category of ‘guru’ when it comes to choosing the right gear. And you can imagine how cool it actually is for me to have access to the best gaming gear there is working for Razer now.

But, don’t worry. I’m not here to tell you to buy Razer (despite me being their product evangelist, now isn’t that ironic?), I’m here to debunk the myths that gaming-grade gear is just some ol’ bullshit the guys in the suits thought up to sell more mice.

The world of sports is full of technology developed to ‘Enhance’ performance. They won’t make you run faster, or guarantee you a goal, and the average Joe wouldn’t know any better except maybe to show off to their friends, but they do ‘enhance’ your game when you need to give the best you’ve got. Would you call competition grade running shoes from Nike ‘Just another shoe’? Nope, there’s engineering built in there. And this is the same concept and scenario for gaming-grade peripherals.

Gaming-grade peripherals are a must if you are thinking of playing at a higher level other than your average comp-stomp. Having a 400dpi mouse in single-player is alright…no one would ever know you lost against A.I. anyway. But once you begin competing with actual, real people – aside from your inherent fragging skills, gaming peripherals do enhance your performance. That’s how Razer came about – we realized that our regular office mouse just wasn’t cutting it. Gamers were just using whatever technology that was available, rather than having the option to choose what works for us best.

And it’s not just for gamers. Gaming hardware is a definite improvement compared to your mass-produced S$10 mice. Maybe it’s not something an accountant would use – but graphic and industrial designers for example would definitely see the difference in using gaming-grade mice. What’s the use of having a 24-inch screen if you have to drag your mouse all the way to the edge of your table?

Choosing your gaming gear shouldn’t really be so complicated. To be honest, the first thing a gamer needs to decide on is how they like a mouse to feel on his hand. You’ll be using it for extended periods of time, so you have to actually use something you’re comfortable with; size, contour, buttons and placement. Everyone uses their mouse differently (it’s kind of like kung-fu really) – some palm it, some use their fingertips, and some have a claw grip. For example, I prefer the Razer Deathadder’s shape over the Copperhead, but other people might feel otherwise.

Next thing on the list to look out for are the number of buttons. Beware though! The rule “the more the merrier” does not always apply here. A lot of mice come with buttons that are unreachable or in some way hard to click, so having a look at the mouse itself is mandatory. Basically, choose the weapon you prefer wielding, and not let the weapon choose you.

Once that’s out of the way, the technology inside gaming mice is essentially a DPI and polling rate race. You need a mouse that has a high-enough DPI, but DPI is a very flexible option, higher doesn’t always mean better. Most players who play fast-paced FPSes like Counter-Strike need a high DPI for quick movements and reaction time, while some prefer a lower DPI to have more control and precision. And of course, for mats, you definitely need one. There’s no point using a high-grade laser mouse only to track it on last year’s GameAxis copy (no offense!). A good mousepad allows your mice to track properly by having the optimum textured surface.

The technology built into gaming-grade gear is quite revolutionary when you think of how far we’ve come since the old dust ball mice. The next time someone tells you that his $20 keyboard and mouse combo is enough to put you to your digital grave, know that he may be right. But, also know you’ll have the best in technology to give you the edge, and if all else fails, you’ll still look more ‘pro’ with your gaming gear.

Christopher Mitchell
Product Evangelist, Razer