How long do your peripherals last?

[The Green Bean]

My Razer Orochi mouse which I bought in Mid-2011 has started to die. The scroll wheel has been skipping and occasionally going in the wrong directions for a few months now. The side buttons I used as an alternative are starting to miss clicks and skipping. The exterior of the mouse itself is worn and torn. The RMB and LMB are still as good as new and so is the sensor. 24 months isn't bad for a mouse (considering my Mx500 and mx1000 lasted for less than 3 months each), but I normally expect expensive peripherals to last much longer.

I bought a Deathadder 2013 as a replacement, but I it has the same coating--won't last very long in my sweaty palms.

What sort of lifespan do expensive peripherals have? I bought a mechanical keyboard a year ago and it's still as good as new. My Sennheiser 555s are going strong 7 years. Laser printer has exceeded 10 years but it needs repairs.

 

[corkyg]

My Graphire/Wacom mouse is now over 5 years old. My inkjet printer is at least 4 years old, and my laser printer is HP 4000 - a senior citizen. They all work just fine. My sense is that peripherals lives are somewhat dependent on how they are used or abused. As for mice, gamers will usually wear them out faster than non-gamers as a general rule.

 

[Seba]

The scroll wheel has been skipping and occasionally going in the wrong directions

This could be caused by dirt accumulating on the wheel (covering the holes). Open the mouse and clean it inside.

 

[JamesV]

Razer products - around 1-2 years.

Logitech products - 2-10+ years.

Microsoft products - 1 -4 years.

Last build, I got a Razer Mamba and Blackwidow Ultimate keyboard. The keyboard died in under two years, and the mouse has been bad after a year (phantom clicks, profile problems, etc). Never again Razer.

 

[The Green Bean]

This could be caused by dirt accumulating on the wheel (covering the holes). Open the mouse and clean it inside.

I did open the mouse but it seems like the scroll wheel itself has a fault. It's "non-openable" and I'll need to find either the part or a faulty Orichi with a working scroll wheel. I don't know why the have used such a low quality wheel on an otherwise very durable product.

Razer products - around 1-2 years.

Logitech products - 2-10+ years.

Microsoft products - 1 -4 years.

10 years would be stretching it.

Microsoft products are well built too. I had one of these but unfortunately they stopped making those ports on motherboards.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-Serial-Roller-Ball-Mouse-2-0A-50674-DB-9-/281145364803

Last build, I got a Razer Mamba and Blackwidow Ultimate keyboard. The keyboard died in under two years, and the mouse has been bad after a year (phantom clicks, profile problems, etc). Never again Razer.

My experience has been on the contrary. Logitech products haven't last long for me or my friends. My friend and I bought our Mx-1000s at the same time. Mine lasted 3 months and his for less than a year. The Mx510s were pretty solid though.

 

[The Green Bean]

My Graphire/Wacom mouse is now over 5 years old. My inkjet printer is at least 4 years old, and my laser printer is HP 4000 - a senior citizen. They all work just fine. My sense is that peripherals lives are somewhat dependent on how they are used or abused. As for mice, gamers will usually wear them out faster than non-gamers as a general rule.

In the wrong run, premium products often turn out to be cheaper. Back in the day, I had to buy new mice every 3 months. Obviously $5 mice will always be cheaper than a $55 Razer, but it's quite easy to tell the difference. I once bought a A4tech wireless mouse and let's just say my laptop was lucky to survive.

Printers--laser printers are much cheaper and last much longer than POS ink printers.

 

[Cerb]

My Logitech mouse buttons tend to last 3-5 years before starting to malfunction, but I've still yet to experience a full death, nor any sensor issues. I could replace the buttons, but there's usually been something better, anyway, so I just keep the old ones as spare mice, and upgrade, instead.

My keyboard was made before I was waste-high. However, only recently have I finally had a ca. 2000 Keytronic (among the good domes) die, and Dell Quietkeys hold up fine, too.

My Microsoft Trackball Explorers would just get depressed, I think, and only my first one lasted more than 3 years. After enough servicing, they'd end up starting to just drop out and such, or the plastic would break. I really hate them, because I haven't found a decent replacement (the CST Ltrak was pretty awesome, and I can wholeheartedly recommend them as good trackballs, but not quite as good in ergonomics or precise movement). If I had a pro use for them, I could see breaking down and paying $300, honestly.

Serial port fix. Most motherboards still have a serial header. A good many also have parallel port headers, too.

 

[JamesV]

10 years would be stretching it.

Well, the G15 I bought in 2005 I believe, so that 8 years already. Still running perfectly on my second PC.

Not sure when I bought my G9 mice, but one of them is still running strong, and Logitech gave me a free replacement for the other.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

Microsoft sidewinder mouse 7 years. Only just recently right mouse button starting to squeak. Used mainly for gaming.

 

[Ben90]

James, you can't possibly say a G9 will last 10 years. Being as objective as possible, the retarded two piece design starts getting loose in months.

My second favorite keyboard will turn 30 in a few months.

 

[aigomorla]

dude lately im hating on logitech.

I own the G19, G700, G13... and well when they intigraded all of that on one software, things started to get funny.

Mouse has a click problem where it wont hold.. this is ONLY with the logitech software.
Cant run the mouse without the logitech software because it would invalidate my G19 and G13... it would completely shut down my G13.

Keyboards arent as durable as they used too, ive had to reservice the rubber pads on my keyboards twice now in less then 2 yrs.

My thumb button on G13 broke twice...


Either im getting really bad luck with logitech lately... or there quality went down the toilet.

Next keyboard im gonna get is going to be a mechanical. Corsair K900 feels good, and so does the CM's.
I am tired of this stupid rubber pad now.
I have replaced my G700 to a razor Adler, i miss the weight of the G700, however i dont miss it not holding click even more.
Pretty soon if this lcore program pisses me off one more time, i'll swap the G13 over to nostromo, and never look back at logitech again.

 

[bononos]

Still using the same mx518 for about 8 years.

...
Keyboards arent as durable as they used too, ive had to reservice the rubber pads on my keyboards twice now in less then 2 yrs.
.....

What are the rubber pads that can be serviced? You are not talking about normal rubber dome keyboards are you?

 

[natto fire]

I've had bad lick with keyboards lately, had a blackwidow keyboard die after just over a year, the G510 I got to replace no longer has a functioning tab key. My G9x mouse is doing great after 2 years, as well as a cordless travel mouse from Microsoft.

I am thinking of switching back to my IBM Model M that was made in 1986, as I don't think a more durable keyboard will ever be made again.

 

[Throckmorton]

I've had my Logitech G9 mouse since mid 2007, exactly 6 years.

 

[defy]

My gear tends to last a long time, but I make an effort to maintain them and keep them clean. The only exception is Razer mice.

For some reason my Razer mice die on me every year or so. The only exception is the Deathadder series which seems to hold up much better.

 

[BrightCandle]

I still have an original g15 keyboard, that thing must be nearly 10 years old now. My mouse however is only a year old (Zowie AM) after I had a string of mouse failures at just over a year but they were all also really bad mice.

 

[taq8ojh]

Mice usually last me ages.
Keyboards typically until the next time I play Battlefield 3 and smash them to pieces while yelling unpublishable profanities.

 

[mikeymikec]

My £3 keyboard dates back to my first personal PC build in 1998.

I had a Logitech MX 700 which died just within the 5-year warranty, then an MX1000 (resulting from the previous warranty claim) which did the same. My current MX Revolution I think is over 5 years old now and going strong apparently.

 

[Vaibe]

I don't think I've ever had any major peripherals die on me and most have been extensively used for a while. I had a Sidewinder X8 for a while and now I'm using a Max Keyboard Nighthawk X7 and a Logitech G602 that I won from Pax Prime. I normally buy new stuff every few years.

 

[Rottie]

Razer DiamondBack mouse 6 year old and still running great!

 

[dstevod]

The only time mice have died on me is when they've been repeatedly stuffed into bags, and they've given up where the cable meets the mouse, or where the cable meets the USB plug. Never had a mouse itself fail on me.

S

 

[gokkel]

Hm, let's see.

Mice:

-I had a Logitech MX 510 which still is working fine after many many years. I gave it to my father though some years ago, which he uses still. Surely my best buy I ever did, although ergonomically the Logitech mice are not as good for me.
-I have used a Razer Salmosa for some years which still works but that I don't use anymore since it has few buttons and is very small.
-A QPAD 5k lasted only for a few months until the mousewheel broke.
-Roccat Kone broke after a month, sensor didn't work.
-Roccat Kova had terrible build quality from the start, got it replaced and had the same issue although slightly worse. Technically it worked though, a bit buggy though.
-Razer Mamba had issues from the start, it came out very bugged, no hardware issue though I think.
-My current Razer Deathadder Black Edition is soon a year old and makes a few issues with the mouse wheel already, although it is not a huge thing.

Keyboards:

-No issues with any keyboard yet (cheap OEM ones, Cherry eVolution Stream), just regular attrition. I have now since ~half year a mechanical keyboard.

Headsets / Headphones:

Had already several headphones, they all break relatively quickly. I think the longest I had a headset was over 2 years or so. Some only lasted few months. Mostly it is the cable breaking, one time whole bits of the headphones broke off. Brands include Speed-Link, Razer, Sennheiser, AKG.



In general:

More expensive periphery doesn't necessarily last longer, actually the cheaper ones of me lasted longer mostly. I don't think this will apply to my mechanical keyboard though. From what I hear, it may be a good choice to buy proper headphones as well (150+ &#8364 since build quality seems to be much better there and on some models you can get repair parts so you don't have to replace the whole thing.


PS: I didn't buy all the stuff I listed btw, I used to test hardware at some point. I wouldn't have bought all that stuff myself

 

[smackababy]

Normally, I would say my peripherals last 3-4 years and I upgrade more often than they break, but I seemed to have broken my Logitech 710+ after less 6 months. =(

It seems as though keyboard makers can't make keyboards that are wine proof. =(

 

[wsaenotsock]

I am not surprised that the OP happens to mention Razer when I clicked on this topic. I had a Razer copperhead and the click sensors started malfunctioning after almost a year. Razer provided a new one. I don't know why they don't seem to last. However the microsoft mice I have seem more durable. I just ordered a Zowie EC1. Never heard of the brand, but it should be perfect if it holds up.