Let's talk PC gaming peripherals

I have been spending time with some Mchose products, and though there is value in their keyboards and mice, I would lean to saving to get a Keychron. It is hard man, maybe it is because I don't like typing on HE switches, and it is not a typist instrument, but both Mchose and Keychron do have higher-end products that are HE which is very much useable and even in some instances better than the typical (and premium) mechanical switch. I make so many typing mistakes on HE... For gaming, it is advantageous, but I don't use the 'cheating' mechanics.

To give a quick example, this keyboard is really good:


I have one. It is a better buy than the Turbo, which Wootware priced more expensive, and well, the GT is the one above in any case. Then you have this.


Personally, or at least in my opinion, that is the one to get. It is also wireless, and you don't need +1000Hz polling on a keyboard. Some will disagree.

This is all premium talk. There are are more accessible 'gaming' keyboards in the R1 000 price region. Though at that point I would avoid HE, and get a good mechanical. HE isn't going to make you a better competitive gamer. For that you need practice and patience. On Wootware you can get a AJAZZ AK820 at R750, and that is a good buy. Keychron keyboards also tend to scale well.

10 years ago I would save up to buy something that I want, today everything is on a tight budget. How the times have changed. At least I don't upgrade regularly. Every keyboard I had lasted more than 5 years. Mice is another story all-together since they are prone to degrade over time. Being handy with a soldering iron, and being able to get 'all-purpose' skates and switches does solve this on the maintenance end. My Philips SHP9500 and M-Audio Super DAC are now over a decade old. Even though having 'gaming' headsets, I only really use them when I LAN.
 
Anyone here using IEM to play games. IF, yes, what do you use.

I liked watching Crinacle's reviews, but he is a audiophile so very criticle. Though this video is a good watch, he doesn't touch on IEMs here though.


He is right about gaming headsets being terrible. Though I think the new Blackshark V3 Pro's is okay'ish.

Sad that the the original HyperX Cloud II's isn't being made anymore. Cough, Takstar. The same with the Cooler Master MH751, and that was a good and proper stereo pair at an incredible price.

I have no idea what gamers use as in-ears. Everytime I see a in-ear tailored to gaming I question its validity. I would have thought that a Sennheiser CX 80S pair is enough. What soundstage do you get with in-ears in any case? Yes, you can have spatial separation, but you need open-backs to allow acoustic sound travel.
 
I see everyone's number 1 retailer is now stocking GameSir. Did they previously stock GameSir??? Dunno, but this is a good price,

www.evetech.co.za

GameSir G7 Pro Wired Xbox Controller - Black

GameSir G7 Pro wired controller in black for Xbox, PC and Android with TMR sticks, Hall Effect triggers and 1000Hz polling. Evetech South Africa.
www.evetech.co.za www.evetech.co.za

That is the Tri-mode (and XBOX) version. You get the GameSir tuned impulse triggers (which are not the best) at 500 Hz or lower. I think that is the only caveat, and having spent some time with one I know that the reported issues have been resolved with newer versions. GameSir also enhanced the latencies with their most recent update.

They also stock the GameSir G7 Pro Wuchang Edition, which is a 'true' wireless controller, but eh, the Tri-mode is more than enough. You do, however, get 1000 Hz on the impulse triggers. Who needs impulse triggers? From what I know going by online sentiment, FlyDigi does it better with the Vader 5 variants. People tend to like Sony's adaptive trigger way more, and you are not getting that here. I have only seen Vader 4 controllers available here, or at least at this time.

R 1 499 is not bad.
 
So I took that chance and got the Mchose Ace 68 Air on Takealot. Got the white one. I had my doubts about that price... So, I received the keyboard and it turned out to be the real deal. That said, I heard some people did not get what they had ordered.

The good:

- It is the legitimate keyboard (and updated).
- It has an incredible polling rate and responsiveness.
- For what I paid I think it is the best priced HE.

The bad:

- It did not ship with either the Kailh Magnetic God Switch (?) or the Mount Tai Magnetic Switch. Uhm, yeah... The switches aren't as advertised.

I have that strange idea that its price 'reduction' could be due to the switch change. This keyboard does have two revisions, and there is now also version 2 (newly released).

The original version has the Esports edition, and there is the Ultra Esports edition. I would assume that this is the Esports edition, but I am unsure whether this is true Kailh Magnetic God Switches unless it is custom (or a clone). It is a red HE.

There is a table comparing the two editions on the product page:

www.mchose.store

MCHOSE Ace 68 Air Hall Effect Magnetic Switch Gaming Keyboard

MCHOSE Ace 68 Air features magnetic switches with 0.1ms latency, 0.005mm RT accuracy, 8K polling, 128K scan rate, hot-swappable keys, full macro functions, and north-facing RGB in a compact 68% layout.
www.mchose.store www.mchose.store

As can be seen, all the promotion covers the Ultra Esports edition. Is it a dealbreaker? The price was low, and eh, it is good.

I tested this keyboard against my Ace 68 GT, and remarkably the Air has better latency, and I did run the GT at 8K. I haven't tested the responsiveness since you need to play an actual game. Then there is the Turbo, and it schits on both the GT and Air when it comes to my real world testing. Just know that both the GT and Turbo are considerbly more expensive than the Air. The only reason to get the GT is to have a HE that comes close to a mechanical in typing, but the Super also does that well.

Currently I am typing this on the Air, and haven't experienced any miss triggers when typing. The keyboard came with the latest update and I know people complained about miss triggering on the spacebar.

All in all. For me this was a sub-R1000 magnetic that behaves the same as any HE in the R1500-R2000 price range. It is also very stable, and stability is an issue with budget HE keyboards. The switches are a non-issue in my opinion, except that the Mount Tai switches are in its own league compared to this. I have typed on an ATK mid-range HE keyboard, and this one beats that hands down. My worst experience with an HE was a Redragon Fizz, and that was terrible.

I see they are already back to being listed above R1000 on Takealot, and the white version is sold out. You can get the Ultra Esports edition at Wootware which has Mount Tai switches, and I think it is priced around R1500 which is not bad. It is also black.

To be honest, I was expecting to be disappointed. I and Takealot don't have the best relationship when it comes to strange deals.

Anyhow, won't be needing a new keyboard until the year 2035.
 
Fulcrum29 said:

Crazy. These people are 'premium' mousepad makers, so premium specialists. I don't want to know where these two products will be priced at. Will it be good though?
Click to expand...

Alledgedly this is what the keyboard will be priced at,

HPdMRq3WMAAziVt


well, I am not their target audience.
 
EthanMH said:
Is the turbo a better keyboard than the Keychron K2? Ignoring the wireless. I probably don’t need that.
Click to expand...
For gaming I would say, yes. For an allrounder, go with the K2.

I have a GT, and somebody else here is using the Super. The GT is a sublime allrounder and I have no idea how Mchose got the HE so good at that price point though these aren't budget keyboards. Both the GT and Super are around R2 500.

For now I can't speak to reliability. There are reasons to go Keychron over Mchose at this price point. Though I have had a positive experience.

You won't be using 16K.

When I have to do long typing, I use a mechanical keyboard. My accuracy on HE is not good.
 
Just ordered this keyboard for the office as it's nice and quiet and has even better battery life than my G98 Pro from MCHOSE (on paper).

1786617847302.png

I'll be replacing the branded space bar with the plain one that ships in the box.
 
netstrider said:
Just ordered this keyboard for the office as it's nice and quiet and has even better battery life than my G98 Pro from MCHOSE (on paper).

View attachment 1929389

I'll be replacing the branded space bar with the plain one that ships in the box.
Click to expand...

The UT98 got good reviews. I have a standard G98 V2 that I use during long typing sessions. For me, it type slightly better than the Aula S75 Pro, but it is a big board.

I have no idea how the U98 compares to the G98 V2. Mchose rolled out so many new revisions last month. Flagship is now the God 60. The K99 V2 and G98 V2 are now both upgraded to the V3. Their Ace 68 Air is upgraded to the Air 2, and their Ace 68 is upgraded to V2. A whole lot more. Their mice series, that are all clones, are revised to new versions. Their V9 Pro headset is upgraded to the Pro 2. Though in the latter's case I don't think there is much between the Pro and the Pro 2.

ATK is also on a roll. ATK has some really good hardware now, but they are slowly starting to increase their pricing.

EDIT: The U98 uses Outemu Silent Peach V3


The non-silent one uses Icy Creamsicle (Kailh/Kaihua).
 
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Fulcrum29 said:
The UT98 got good reviews. I have a standard G98 V2 that I use during long typing sessions. For me, it type slightly better than the Aula S75 Pro, but it is a big board.

I have no idea how the U98 compares to the G98 V2. Mchose rolled out so many new revisions last month. Flagship is now the God 60. The K99 V2 and G98 V2 are now both upgraded to the V3. Their Ace 68 Air is upgraded to the Air 2, and their Ace 68 is upgraded to V2. A whole lot more. Their mice series, that are all clones, are revised to new versions. Their V9 Pro headset is upgraded to the Pro 2. Though in the latter's case I don't think there is much between the Pro and the Pro 2.

ATK is also on a roll. ATK has some really good hardware now, but they are slowly starting to increase their pricing.

EDIT: The U98 uses Outemu Silent Peach V3


The non-silent one uses Icy Creamsicle (Kailh/Kaihua).
Click to expand...
Yeah most new boards are HE/Magnetic lately and I don't know if I have any need for that so I'm hesitant to jump in, but I will probably get one at some point to see for myself.

Hoping to slowly start a collection, even if just 1 board every year or two.
 
netstrider said:
Yeah most new boards are HE/Magnetic lately and I don't know if I have any need for that so I'm hesitant to jump in, but I will probably get one at some point to see for myself.

Hoping to slowly start a collection, even if just 1 board every year or two.
Click to expand...
For productivity, HE switches aren't good. Some have tried to make them better, but it does not measure up to mechanical, well, not at the same price level. And... It does not make everyone a better gamer.

Sure, it all scales. Not all mechanical keyboards are good, but you can today get good value at the +R850 range.

Now we have maglev switches. It will take a while to see adoption grow. AFAIK there isn't any 'budget' maglev option at this time.

What I can say is, HE today is a lot better than it was a year ago. The implementation is improving. Maglev looks interesting, and it also doesn't have any pins.
 
Fulcrum29 said:
For productivity, HE switches aren't good. Some have tried to make them better, but it does not measure up to mechanical, well, not at the same price level. And... It does not make everyone a better gamer.

Sure, it all scales. Not all mechanical keyboards are good, but you can today get good value at the +R850 range.

Now we have maglev switches. It will take a while to see adoption grow. AFAIK there isn't any 'budget' maglev option at this time.

What I can say is, HE today is a lot better than it was a year ago. The implementation is improving. Maglev looks interesting, and it also doesn't have any pins.
Click to expand...
I'll be honest. I don't buy it for gaming. Bonus if it works better but mostly I buy it for how it feels, sounds, and looks.

Next one would probably have to be something without a numpad as I have yet to get one of those 75, 80, 65 etc.
 
netstrider said:
I'll be honest. I don't buy it for gaming. Bonus if it works better but mostly I buy it for how it feels, sounds, and looks.

Next one would probably have to be something without a numpad as I have yet to get one of those 75, 80, 65 etc.
Click to expand...

Then wait until maglev keyboards become more common. HE isn't meant to be productivity orientated, it is way too sensitive. Yes, that sensitivity can be user optimised, but still. Maglev will see more success.

Hipyo Tech reviewed the Unimag keyboards.

I think the most premium maglev keyboard at this time is the Flux,

fluxkeyboard.com

Flux Keyboard

Introducing Flux Keyboard. <h2>Any Software<br><br>Any Language<br><br>Any Style</h2> <a href="https://fluxkeyboard.com/product/flux-keyboard/"> Order Now </a> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>Engineering Prototype shown</em></p> <h4>Sign up for updates</h4> <h2 style="text-align...
fluxkeyboard.com fluxkeyboard.com

but it is +$500, yeah.

I think maglev is where it will be at, soon. Look, there are good HE keyboards, but the good ones aren't inexpensive. Still I am very happy with my Mchose Ace 68 GT, but it competes with the Keychron K2 at the same price point. It is a hard weigh between the two and I think in the long-term the K2 is probably the better buy as I said previously. Not long until all the brands have maglev options.
 
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