Best Gaming Devices?

[lamere]

Originally posted by: emilyek

Originally posted by: trOver
Razer copperhead, razer tarantula, and a 18"x12" mousepad!

That's exactly what I've got.

Although Tarantula + Death Adder might be the more up-to-date choice.

i have this setup.
to me, razer mice own anything else, especially the copperhead and death adder mice.

logitech mice wear out much too fast, the last 2 i had the left click buttons were/became defective after a short time, like 2 weeks.

never a logitech mouse for me again, i'll stick with the razers, they at least last

 

[newb54]

Originally posted by: emilyek

Originally posted by: trOver
Razer copperhead, razer tarantula, and a 18"x12" mousepad!

That's exactly what I've got.

Although Tarantula + Death Adder might be the more up-to-date choice.

I agree, I like the Death Adder better than the copperhead. Although I still use my MX518 because I am so used to it and have used it forever.

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: Ruger22C
QueBert, I'm having a hard time finding that on google. Can you point me in the right direction?

Edit: My mistake. I put "samsung", thanks.

The monitor is 16:10 ratio. How will that play out in games? Most now are 16:9.

they don't make 16:9 computer monitors, if you are a CRT person like me this is the best choice, you won't find the screen new anywhere, Craigslist & Ebay usually have some for about 300 each. If you're a gamer this sucker blows any LCD away by a huge margin. And DVD's look perfect on it.

If you don't mind buying something used you couldn't make a better choice

 

[Patrick Wolf]

The Sony is awesome but LCD monitors are getting better all the time. Case in point, the 20WMGX2 can easily take the place of the Sony. And given the Sony's massive size, weight, and poor availability, the NEC is a great alternative.

And most new games support 1680x1050 which is 16:10.

And if movies are your thing a good LCD TV is the best option, computer monitors; CRT or LCD can be very good, but they just don't quite match up.

The equipment I have:
NEC 20WMGX2
MX518 mouse
Saitek Eclipse II keyboard - love it, quiet keys, nice wrist-wrest, LED not too bright
Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 speakers - awesome speakers, still bangin' after 5 years now, once they die I've got my eye on the Altec Lansing 5.1

As for the Nostromo n52, I found it to be a pain in the ass to get used to, nothin wrong with the classic mouse and keyboard combo.

 

[Ruger22C]

Ergonomically, this looks even better.

Thrustmaster Top Gun Fox 2 Pro USB Joystick

 

[QueBert]

easily? I disagree, I guess a lot of people love the coating but I think it makes the image look too shiny and overly saturated. Also it still suffers from poor black levels. It might be better for web surfing, but OP wants to build the best gaming box he can. While the NEC is sure nice (and expensive) it doesn't hold a handle to the Sony CRT for color reproduction and IQ. And I personally do not understand the glossy coat a lot of LCD's have now-a-days.

 

[mercanucaribe]

Originally posted by: QueBert
easily? I disagree, I guess a lot of people love the coating but I think it makes the image look too shiny and overly saturated. Also it still suffers from poor black levels. It might be better for web surfing, but OP wants to build the best gaming box he can. While the NEC is sure nice (and expensive) it doesn't hold a handle to the Sony CRT for color reproduction and IQ. And I personally do not understand the glossy coat a lot of LCD's have now-a-days.

The glossy stuff gives a sharper image. The matte coating adds that damn sparkle effect.

 

[HardWarrior]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

I just don't understand what you do with it?

KT

Oh, ok It's a desktop gamepad that you can assign different functions to the keys, including macros. It also has has 3 shift states so you can have 4 functions assigned to 1 button, effectively quadrupling the number of buttons available. It's also very comfortable. I'd have a hard time gaming without one now, I consider it indispensable.

Yup! I'd worn out 2 N52's and thought I'd try a KB instead. I grew to dislike playing FPS's because I was SO used to being able to play easier with an N52. I've had a new N52 for 4-days now and the world seems all bright and shiney, I'm even kicking as in 2142 again.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: HardWarrior

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

I just don't understand what you do with it?

KT

Oh, ok It's a desktop gamepad that you can assign different functions to the keys, including macros. It also has has 3 shift states so you can have 4 functions assigned to 1 button, effectively quadrupling the number of buttons available. It's also very comfortable. I'd have a hard time gaming without one now, I consider it indispensable.

Yup! I'd worn out 2 N52's and thought I'd try a KB instead. I grew to dislike playing FPS's because I was SO used to being able to play easier with an N52. I've had a new N52 for 4-days now and the world seems all bright and shiney, I'm even kicking as in 2142 again.

Hmm, interesting. So is it worth trying even though I have a G15?

Thanks,
KT

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Hmm, interesting. So is it worth trying even though I have a G15?

Thanks,
KT

It's definitely worth trying. If you look around on the web you should be able to find one for about $20. There may be a small learning curve, but I don't think it's so different from a standard keyboard that you wouldn't feel at home with it after a day or two.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: KeithTalent

Hmm, interesting. So is it worth trying even though I have a G15?

Thanks,
KT

It's definitely worth trying. If you look around on the web you should be able to find one for about $20. There may be a small learning curve, but I don't think it's so different from a standard keyboard that you wouldn't feel at home with it after a day or two.

Heck, why not? I'll try anything once (famous last words)...

Cheers,
KT

 

[Ruger22C]

I'd try the FANG Gamepad instead, myself. I use to have one.

 

[PianoMan]

Another vote for the n52. You'll have to try it in the store, as a majority of these (Fang, Saitek Commander, etc.) are personal preferences with regards to aesthetics and ergonomics.

The n52 has VERY well placed controls (well, except for the mouse wheel by the thumb, but you can assign very seldom used functions to it), and is probably more comfortable than the Fang during long sessions. I sold my Z-Board set (since Ideazon hasn't made a GRAW or R6V keyset), and use the n52 across BF2, 2142, BF2:SF, GRAW, and R6V.

PM

 

[aCynic2]

I am a WWII combat flight sim finatic. I love em!

I just got a Saitek X-52 and pedals today to replace my X-45s which were not working properly with my nForce based mobo. I guess it's a known problem. It doesn't affect everyone, but I got screwed with it.

The stick spring is very nice. Not too stiff and not too loose. Plenty of buttons, hats and axis to program.

the stick is twisty style so if you don't want to bother with pedals, you still have a work around. It's lit, so you can play in the dark with little problem. The missile fire button has a much better safety on it.

It includes suction cups and they work very well on a glass table top. I got it today, so I didn't have a lot of time to trial test it (had to work), but it worked right out of the box. It's a whole new stick so IL-2 was using a slider as throttle and the throttle control did nothing. A quick configuration change in IL-2 fixed that.

See my rig below for the other HW I play on. That is finally a reality.

 

[Ruger22C]

My X-52 arrived yesterday. I am very unimpressed with the joystick, but the throttle (which is the reason I bought it) is nice. Guess I should put an ad in the paper to sell the stick.

 

[lolgloin]

The Razer DeathAdder on a Steelpad QcK+ is a wonderful combination.

 

[Ruger22C]

I have the DeathAdder on a Razer eXactMat. I love the mat, the gel-pad is so-so (I'm using the gel-pad off of another mousepad, now.) But, the DeathAdder is not very ergonomic to use in my eyes. The added width on the right side is a pain.

Copperhead users, do you find this mouse comfortable? I'm wanting to switch.

 

[aCynic2]

Originally posted by: Ruger22C
My X-52 arrived yesterday. I am very unimpressed with the joystick, but the throttle (which is the reason I bought it) is nice. Guess I should put an ad in the paper to sell the stick.

Well, I guess not everyone will be pleased. A lot of people talk highly of the Evo, so perhaps mixing the evo with the X-52 throttle will be your game, however, the cable that runs between the stick and throttle is a PS/2, so you might have trouble making the Evo work with the X-52 throttle.

 

[Ruger22C]

All I need is two USB ports.

 

[RESmonkey]

Originally posted by: QueBert
to the OP nothing will look as good as a good CRT for gaming, a DLP is obviously going to be a lot bigger, but if quality is #1 go with a Sony 24" Widescreen CRT, stunning picture that will LCD's may never catch up to

So a good CRT produces a richer image than the leading (LCD) HD display?

I do remember something about infinite contrast ratios and pure blacks on CRTs.

 

[Howard]

I love my MX518.

CRTs cannot achieve pure black (i.e. zero light) nor infinite contrast ratio. BrightSide tech, however, can.

 

[Ruger22C]

BrightSide TV costs $49,000, also. Perhaps it's the best, but that's half the price of a house!

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: RESmonkey

Originally posted by: QueBert
to the OP nothing will look as good as a good CRT for gaming, a DLP is obviously going to be a lot bigger, but if quality is #1 go with a Sony 24" Widescreen CRT, stunning picture that will LCD's may never catch up to

So a good CRT produces a richer image than the leading (LCD) HD display?

I do remember something about infinite contrast ratios and pure blacks on CRTs.

exactly, a good lcd looks good but nowhere near as good. I know I being a CRT fanatic am part of a small % of people who will have to have our CRT's pryed out of cold dead hands.

I'm not saying LCD's are bad, but IQ is my only consern and there's isn't a LCD that gives me what I want. And for those who say I haven't seen a "good LCD" my ex boss had one of those prototype IBM suckers that was 200 DPI and was supposed to be the 2nd coming for displays. It looks great, about as good as my 21" Sony Trintron I don't even think you can buy the IBM's any more, but with a 7 or 8 thousand dollar price tag for the smaller model I understand.

pure black is where it's at, especially in a game like Thief where all LCD's fail horribly.

 

[Ruger22C]

Originally posted by: QueBert

Originally posted by: RESmonkey

Originally posted by: QueBert
to the OP nothing will look as good as a good CRT for gaming, a DLP is obviously going to be a lot bigger, but if quality is #1 go with a Sony 24" Widescreen CRT, stunning picture that will LCD's may never catch up to

So a good CRT produces a richer image than the leading (LCD) HD display?

I do remember something about infinite contrast ratios and pure blacks on CRTs.

exactly, a good lcd looks good but nowhere near as good. I know I being a CRT fanatic am part of a small % of people who will have to have our CRT's pryed out of cold dead hands.

I'm not saying LCD's are bad, but IQ is my only consern and there's isn't a LCD that gives me what I want. And for those who say I haven't seen a "good LCD" my ex boss had one of those prototype IBM suckers that was 200 DPI and was supposed to be the 2nd coming for displays. It looks great, about as good as my 21" Sony Trintron I don't even think you can buy the IBM's any more, but with a 7 or 8 thousand dollar price tag for the smaller model I understand.

pure black is where it's at, especially in a game like Thief where all LCD's fail horribly.

Excuse my ignorance, but what is "IQ"? I assume you don't mean intelligence quotient.

 

[Howard]

Image quality, probably.