Hey everyone. The Left 4 Dead team just got hooked up with all the greatest Steelseries products. I figured I would give reviews of what I got so anyone interested could have a better idea of what to expect from Steelseries.
Steelseries 5H v2 Headset
I've been through many headphones and headsets, and have a few good pairs of Sony and Sennheiser cans. So I'm a bit picky when it comes to sound. My first impression of this headset is that it is extremely comfortable. They sit comfortably around my ears, I don't feel the bridge pressing down on my head, and my ears feel just fine after several hours of use. That alone is enough to buy this headset; most headsets are uncomfortable and turn your ears red after an hour or two.
The sound quality is crisp. The first thing I noticed is a lack of bass, but I easily fixed this by turning up bass amplification in my soundcard settings, and they sound just as good as the Sony cans I usually wear for music. Most reviews will tell you these are bad for music, but that's only because they do have weak bass if you don't tweak your sound at all.
I haven't tried out the supposed Virtual 7.1 yet, but these headphones work great for gaming. I can locate the sounds coming from hunters, smokers and boomers just fine. The quality never becomes muddled or over-modulated as some headphones do when playing Left 4 Dead in a hectic horde with hundreds of zombies yelling.
The microphone is nice and simple. It retracts into the headphones if you just want to use them for audio. Good quality microphone, nobody has complained yet. And there's no cloth on the outside to get smelly, ripped up and chewed.
Great comfort, great quality, great microphone. Best headset I've ever owned.
Steelseries 7g Keyboard
This is a no-nonsense keyboard. It's built purely for function and not for beauty. There's no bright lights, 100 extra keys or a screen you'll never use. Instead of all that, you get the most solid and functional keyboard you'll likely ever lay hands on. This keyboard uses mechanical keys, which means the keys feel different. It took me some adjusting to get used to them, but typing on it feels much smoother and responsive than ever. After playing some L4D with it, I start to not notice myself using the WASD keys and my fingers just slide across like butter. Not as much pressure is required to press the buttons, but at the same time, they give a much nicer tactile response than regular keyboards. The result of this is faster typing, twitchier movement in games and never being unsure of whether you pressed a button or not.
Another great feature of this keyboard is that it acts as a hub for your headset and usb devices. Instead of plugging your headset directly into the computer or into your speakers, you can plug it into this keyboard. The USB ports are v1.1, so I don't use my mouse with it, but it's great for having 2 extra accessible usb slots.
My biggest qualms with it are the key positioning. The capslock key is directly aligned with the A key, so I was pressing it accidentally while I was getting used to typing. I ended up popping it out; the mechanical keys can still be pressed with a key missing, IN CASE I EVER GET VERY ANGRY. The enter/return key is extra large, and bumped the | key into an odd spot. The backspace key is the size of a normal key, which is fine. And there are media keys on the F-row, but you have to press the Steelseries button that is in the place of the left-side windows key. Sort of strange but I'm quickly getting used to it.
Yesterday I ignored the wrist pad that comes with the 7g. I figured I never used a wrist pad and didn't need one now, as I liked having the keyboard closer to my body. Well today I saw the big plastic guy looking all lonely next to my desk, so I popped it on and gave it a shot. Now before I talk about this one, let me tell you about other wristpads. Most wrist pads are too short, and they become more like palm wrests or an annoying plastic hump that gets is the way. Or the big soft ones are just unnecessary. It didn't take me long after using the 7g's wristpad to figure out why it was designed this way. As I said, most wristpads are too short to actually hold your wrist. This pad holds your wrist comfortably so your hands can hover in the correct position over the keyboard at all times. If you don't use the wristpad, your arm will shuffle around and maybe find a comfortable position. But every time I put my arm on the keyboard with the wristpad, it just feels right.
If you want a solid, heavy keyboard with functionality specifically for gamers who don't stare at their keyboard, there is none better.
Steelseries QcK Mass Mousepad
Mousepads are a personal choice; everyone has different preferences. Here is my criteria:
- I play on high sensitivities, so I need a bit more friction than hard surfaces offer. Cloth is the best choice for me.
- I move my mouse very quickly, so the mousepad cannot move or shift around. Needs a rubber bottom and a decent weight.
- Because of the high sensitivity, there can't be any surface imperfections. Every single movement, no matter how small must be registered.
- I have a smaller desk space so it can't be gigantic
The QcK Mass fits all of my needs. It has a rugged but smooth cloth surface that gives me the perfect amount of friction. The mousepad is much heavier than my last pad and has a huge rubber base, so it will never shift around. The surface has no designs and a consistent cloth weaving, so there is no chance of skipping or stuttering. And it fits my desk perfectly.
Only thing to note is that the cloth pads are rolled up in their packaging, and need to be flattened out overnight with some heavy books to ensure it stays completely flat. But that's no problem.
Steelseries has a huge line of mousepads, so make sure you get the one that fits your needs.
FIXT
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