wired vs wireless keyboard/mouse

[Red Squirrel]

Due to KVM issues (most KVMs are garbage) instead of gaming at my desk and switching between my main (Linux) machine and Windows I think I will just hookup my windows machine to the TV. I think it will be a funner gaming experience too.

So I am debating on if I want to go wired for mouse and keyboard, and have two cords to deal with, or just go wireless. Everything I read seems to lean towards going wired for keyboard and mouse but I'm just curious on others' opinions and if it really matters. I'm thinking about latency especially for stuff like FPS games.

I'd put the receiver on top of TV cabinet and I'd probably play from the couch by putting a piece of plywood that I'll finish between the arm rests, or something along those lines, will have to play with different configurations. May get a tray/cart of sorts too.

 

[ritditditdidoo]

I tried it too and didn't like it. I ended up with sore back and neck/shoulders from not having the kb and mouse at a decent enough height. It was nice playing stuff with gamepad but everything else not so much. I also had issues with kb and mouse getting random drop outs. The latency seemed fine but once ever few hours they would disconnect for about 30 seconds. Both are Logitech and I asked my friend if his mouse is any better and he says he gets the same thing. I googled it and it might be because they all use 2.4g and yet so does my wireless network and phone system and various other stuff, so it might get interference or something. In the end I just got a new desk and pc monitor and relocated.

Your mileage may vary though! If you could get a comfortable position to sit in and wireless kb/m that doesn't drop out, that could be fine. I just play various games where dropouts are a total catastrophe. In single player it wouldn't bother me.

 

[justoh]

Wireless keyboard is fine. Mouse isn't. So, like, no, I guess?

 

[Newbian]

It depends on your distance as if you are far away a lot of cords for keyboards / mice will not work unless your computer is near you and you are running the monitor cables to it.

Most wireless mice will have a hard time doing a decent distance from the receiver but they work great if you can get the receiver closer and would guess wireless keyboards would be about the same but my experience with those is lacking as I almost never use them compared to wireless mice.

Some people claim to notice lag in fps with wireless mice but with decent ones it should not be a problem as I prefer them to be a bit heavier and that's what wireless mice are plus the cables are more of a nuisance then anything for me even if the computer is nearby with a lot of fast movement like you have in fps games.

Also the kind of tv will be important and a normal one will not look as well as a decent computer monitor not to mention input lag.

 

[cbrunny]

<-- games on projector sometimes.

Wires are a pain in the butt. Period. If you're "competitive" about your FPS, don't even try it. Stick to your computer monitor and desk. Many tvs have input lag/latency, and lag/latency increases if you were to go through some kind of AV receiver, and presumably you would to get better audio quality. If you're just in for fun, I'd scrap the wires and go full wireless. Or use a controller, but often those are wired and FPS on a gamepad... well we all know what that means.

Steam controller might be an option - next month if memory serves.

All of that being said, I have wired keyboard and mouse at my desk and I like not having to worry about batteries. A good wireless mouse shouldn't have a ton of latency but with wired there should be even less if any at all.

I've used hard mouse-pads, even fabricated one or two of my own as stop-gap measures to mouse on the couch.

 

[Elcs]

Most people that seem to complain about latency/lag with wireless keyboards/mice purchase crap ones/have the random 1 in a million that has issues/read an old article and believes it's still relevant/negatively biased for unknown reasons.

As for range I sit ~2m away from my 42" HDTV and the PC is a similar distance, maybe 25cm closer. My keyboard is wired (no issues for me) and mouse is wired/wireless (Logitech G700), no perceivable lag or issue when wireless, though I gave up playing FPS at a reasonable level many years ago due to the onset of motion-type sickness.

Some TV sets have high input lag when set up with certain settings. www.hdtvtest.co.uk is a pretty good source of reviews which detail latency of specific models and settings which keep these to a minimum whilst keeping IQ to a maximum. If your model isn't listed, Google and specific TV forums are your saviour.

For mousepads I use an old Ratpadz GS (small'ish, hard mousemat) with half of a Madcatz Glide 7 on top. If I was really into things I'd probably buy a decent piece of wood, have the edges smoothed and bevelled nicely and quite possibly glue/staple a thin mousemat on top with possibly another mousemat on the bottom or some non-slip material depending on the surface that it would be resting upon.

 

[xantub]

Wireless keyboard is fine. Mouse isn't. So, like, no, I guess?

Funny, I was going to say the opposite.
To me wireless mouse is a must, because it moves all the time and a wire is a pain, while keyboard is stationary so having a wire or not is irrelevant to me. But I'm talking about sitting sessions, I play consoles in my bed and PC games at my desktop.

 

[RockinZ28]

I'd go wireless for sure. Wires annoy the crap out of me if the device isn't stationary.

Try the Logitech G700S for a mouse. Really quite remarkable in wireless mode. Never drops out or has any tracking issues for me. Never notice any lag. Can always use it in wired mode as well, but if you're playing on a tv I'd be more concerned of it's latency than the G700.

 

[Red Squirrel]

One thing I just thought of too is worse case scenario I could have a single USB cable going to a USB hub that is attached to the playing surface. Then plug a wired keyboard/mouse in there, would that be ok as well? First I need to figure out a proper couch gaming surface and see if I'll even like it, so guess I might actually just use an old mouse/keyboard first as a trial run anyway and end up rolling with those for a bit till I get a better set.

Eventually the goal would be to put the PC in my server rack where it is now and run long cables to the TV, to mitigate noise and keep the heat in one place. The wireless receiver if I go that route, would be where the TV is.

 

[cbrunny]

I've thought about a setup like that - racking my main pc and our htpc and running long cables. I think if you have the ability to run the cabling, it'd be the best possible way to own a desktop pc. Running the cabling is the biggest obstacle. Also not buying awesome looking cases is a problem. and i guess proper cooling in a multiple GPU system. hmm.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Most people that seem to complain about latency/lag with wireless keyboards/mice purchase crap ones/have the random 1 in a million that has issues/read an old article and believes it's still relevant/negatively biased for unknown reasons.

i disagree. my experiences with logitech and razor wireless peripherals are terrible - marginal for regular use and hopeless for gaming.

 

[nurturedhate]

casual fun gaming with a wireless setup on a tv? Sure. Everything else? Not a chance.

 

[bystander36]

Wireless used to be an issue for latency. Some of the new gaming wireless mice, and most likely keyboards, have no perceptible latency issues. This is assuming things are working properly and you get one that is good and operating at least 500 polls/sec (2ms polling times or better).

Wired is no longer a requirement. The range could still be an issue.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I have a KVM too but it's PS/2 not USB. I use a basic $10 wired mouse for the work PC then wireless for the gaming PC. I share a good wired cherry brown mx keyboard between them.

The mouse is a Logitech G700 which works well except the single AA battery only lasts a few hours of gaming. So I keep a set of AA Eneloops charged and swap as needed.

 

[Red Squirrel]

That's the problem most KVMs for sale are still PS2/VGA. Anything made after year 2000 is going to be USB and at least DVI, I don't know why KVMs are so behind the times.

Sounds like I'll be better off going wired if I do get setup to play on the TV though so think that's what I'll do. I'll just get a USB hub for the table so I only need to have one wire going to the entertainment cabinet.

I've thought about a setup like that - racking my main pc and our htpc and running long cables. I think if you have the ability to run the cabling, it'd be the best possible way to own a desktop pc. Running the cabling is the biggest obstacle. Also not buying awesome looking cases is a problem. and i guess proper cooling in a multiple GPU system. hmm.

Yeah it worked out nicely for me, server room is just below my office so I just used a hole saw to make a hole in the floor in the corner. Having two PCs in here was just too much in terms of noise, heat, dust, and physical space, I had no leg room. So I moved them both downstairs in their own rackmount cases. Downside is cheap rackmount cases never come with any rails, which is stupid, because they don't even tell you what you're suppose to buy that will fit. I had some L bracket style rails from an old SAN so I used those.

I'm still debating on just sticking to gaming in the office, the more I think of it. Just need to figure out what to do about the fact that KVMs are all garbage as I need a way to switch between my main PC and the gaming one.

 

[DaveSimmons]

My CM Storm keyboard (Cooler Master) supports PS/2 not just USB.

For connecting to the back of the KVM to the PCs I use $5 adapters (PS/2 -> USB) for the PCs without PS/2 connectors.

For the gaming PC I only connect the K and V from the KVM not the mouse. The mouse is the wireless Logitech.

 

[lupi]

don't like wireless mice because of the extra weight from the battery pack.

 

[MongGrel]

Use a wired keyboard and a wireless trackball myself.

Haven't liked a mouse on my main in ages.

 

[olds]

I sit 11-12 feet from my 60" TV and play COD with a wireless keyboard and a trackball. I am competitive and win matches.

 

[seamadan]

I'll echo the sentiment that you will have a hard time noticing any difference in performance between a decent wireless and wired mouse. I have a wired Logitech G500 on one computer and a wireless Logitech MX Revolution on another and don't notice any difference. But I'm no pro gamer.

 

[Midwayman]

I think the latency issue is about perspective. If you've bought a 144hz low persistence monitor and a GPU to drive the game at those frame rates, the extra few MS lag on a wireless mouse is worth eliminating. However if you're still gaming on a 60hz panel the additional latency is within the margin of error. The issue isn't so much one of the mouse adds a lot of latency, but all those small numbers do add up if you care about that sort of thing.

 

[Oyeve]

I go wireless totally now. KB, mouse and controller. No lag. Lag is a myth in 2015.

 

[bystander36]

I think the latency issue is about perspective. If you've bought a 144hz low persistence monitor and a GPU to drive the game at those frame rates, the extra few MS lag on a wireless mouse is worth eliminating. However if you're still gaming on a 60hz panel the additional latency is within the margin of error. The issue isn't so much one of the mouse adds a lot of latency, but all those small numbers do add up if you care about that sort of thing.

Latency from click, or movement of mouse to the screen, after going through the engine, drivers and rendering is usually over 50ms. An added 2-5ms from going wireless is hard to tell a difference, even at 144hz. I certainly cannot. If you think about competitive play, you can add another 50-200ms of latency from the internet and then there is the monitor's input lag as well, ranging from 10-50ms.

Wireless has come a long way, and it certainly isn't a big issue anymore.

 

[Red Storm]

I go wireless because when some noob manages to kill me I can just blame the "wireless lag" rather than face the fact that I'm not actually the best of the best.

/s

I prefer wired for keyboards, simply because I don't need a wireless keyboard. Wireless Mice are nice though.

 

[bystander36]

I just took this test twice with a G700 wireless mouse, and a G400 wired mouse. http://www.humanbenchmark.com/tests/reactiontime

With two attempts each, The average of all 4 tests of 5 clicks each, were within 15ms of each other. My best times were on the wireless one, but they were all close, and not conclusive. What it does tell me is there is not much difference at all.

One advantage with wireless is you don't have a cord that can affect your aim. One disadvantage is the need for charged batteries. It sucks if it dies on you when you need it.