article: peripherals

[tritus]

Good job luft. I particularly like the pics of the keyboard and mouse. ;]

[KaneOfNod]

I luff my Intellimouse Optical!



:I

[iami]

I don't know if you skipped this because you thought it was obvious or what, but I *very* highly recommend getting a scroll wheel on your mouse. Mine has saved me hundreds of times when I've had to switch to a sidearm quickly. :]



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[SuBtle FOnduE]

lol falcon that used to happen to me before i got my optical mouse and new graphics card. it would freeze up, then shoot upwards or downwards and i'd hafta hit escape to fix the prob. wierd, i didnt know anyone else experienced that

[rizzuh]

JdeFalconr wrote..

]I very much disagree. A 4.1 speaker system with a positional-audio soundcard will allow you to hear exactly what direction someone's comming from. That's something that headphones just can't provide, and it's an invaluable gaming tool, especially in CS. It's certainly helped my game quite a bit.

Not true. Position is calculated by the delay of hearing sound in one ear over the other. This can be far better simulated with headsets than with speakers, as speakers are placed by the user and are easy to screw up. Headphones aren't meant to simulate the speakers, they're meant to simulate the game's REAL positioning.

[DarkOmen]

Heh, I just won a Boomslang on ebay. Any one with good experiences coming from this thing? I'm worried I wasted me $50.

[parky37]

I think it's important to note that the newer microsoft opticals read faster than older and other opticals. Supposedly, it reads well enough such that one could jerk the mouse to turn around without the cursor going crazy. This is especially important for those who use low mouse sensitivities.

[-Jªmes Bºnd-]

I've got a 4 speaker set up, but I want to use my headphones...but my damned sound card doesn't support full duplex so I won't bother.

[rizzuh]

DarkOmen wrote..

Heh, I just won a Boomslang on ebay. Any one with good experiences coming from this thing? I'm worried I wasted me $50.

It's great, but I much prefer optical.

[Solid Snake 88]

Nice article LuftWaffle.



GeForce 3 Ti500

Sound Blaster Audigy Gamer

Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer 3.0

Microsoft Internet Keyboard Pro

Labtec headset

Old, but big monitor



I pwnz j00 ;[

[Skeejay]

Wtf, you recommend a Creative soundcard for CS?? rofl!!!



EAX sux big time, it isn't even real 3d... just some reverb/echo effects.



A3d is the real thing baby, and in combination with a surround headset/speakerset you own all the servers!

[KGarcia]

JdeFalconr wrote:

By the way, has anyone else had problems with the Microsoft optical mice "skipping" and totally loosing their tracking in CS with exceptionally jerky movements? When I jerk the mouse I end up aiming off in some bizzare direction...ugh.

What optical do you have? I'm on my third ms optical and with my previous 2 I would have the same problem when making quick moves. I have found out this is because the $30 and $40 ms opticals only scan the ground 2,000 times per second and can mess up at times. I have sense gotten the new MS intellieye explorer 3.0 and it is flawless. The explorer 3.0 scans the ground 6,000 times per second and is virtually flawless. You can movie it back and forth as fast as you can and it still doesn't mess up. Also you should look into a good mousing surface. Even though MS says you can use the optical on most flat surfaces your still not going to get the best movement unless you invest in a good surface. I have a RATPADZ surface which is $13 over at www.pcmods.com and its badass. The mouse just seems to just glide now.



I figure Id just mention a few things that weren't in the article but are significant about the difference between the older 5.1 SB and the new Audigy line.



The audigy uses 24bit dac's while the older 5.1 SB's use only 16bit. The audigy steps up from 96db to 100db in s/n ratio.

The Audigy goes up to 96khz while the 5.1 only goes up to 48khz

The Audigy has a mode specifically for headphones



Be sure to check out the new SB Exitgy... its pretty cool.



Properly placed speakers are undoubtably better then head phones when it comes to gaming and surround sound. Music is another thing, as headphone studio monitors will give you the best sounding stereo. I have a pair of sony MDR-V600 headphones($100) and I can honestly say that when playing, my 2.1 channel labtec flat panel set($80) gives me better judgement as to where people are by the sound of their guns, feet, ladder, thrown gernades, ect... This is because of the simulation of surround sound through the stereo speakers. The headphones simply cannot produce a simulation as well as speakers which are properly placed in an open aera(Mine are mounted to the sides of my monitor).

[Vodka.Bob]

[R]Ice wrote..

I love how I can hear a terrorist break wind at 100m with 500watts of pure Klipsch 5.1 power.



Ahhhh the joys of Alienware. I love you Alienware!!!!!



*passes out in his puddle of drool*

I too enjoy my Klipsch 5.1 speakers as well as my Alienware system. Did you get the Aurora DDR [R]Ice?



Athlon 1900+

512MD DDR RAM

GeForce3

[Crapola5]

Skeejay wrote..

Wtf, you recommend a Creative soundcard for CS?? rofl!!!



EAX sux big time, it isn't even real 3d... just some reverb/echo effects.



A3d is the real thing baby, and in combination with a surround headset/speakerset you own all the servers!

Are you laughing because he recommonded Creative sound cards? Well, I'm sure if I heard both of the soundcards, they would both sound the same, the way u say it makes it sound like creative sound is nothing but a muffle.

[rizzuh]

A3D doesn't even exist anymore, so that's out of the question for anyone with Windows XP. EAX is FINE in simulation. Wavetracing is incredibly useless.