Upgrade Your Desktop Setup With These Champion Recommendations!

MicroCenterOfficial

The Micro Center Champions are back with another set of recommendations, this time all about upgrading your desktop setup with some top-of-the-line, well-loved mics, mice, and keyboards!

Blue Yeti by @CodyS_MCDuluth

I picked up a Yeti microphone after years of hearing it be praised as the go-to economical choice for a multi-purpose, semi-professional USB mic. My goal was to use it for simultaneous guitar and vocal performance recording and potentially as a higher-quality gaming microphone. And after using it for a while I can say definitively: it lived up to all of the heightened expectations that were brought on by its reputation. I’ve dealt with several other low-priced microphones in my history of personal music recording, and every one of them have come with some sort of caveat in their recording quality: either the audio would have a tinny quality or there would be a very apparent separation of quality from the low, mid and high ranges. The Yeti gave both my vocals and guitar an equally warm and vibrant sound quality upon playback. I have thus far only tested it in one of its four recording functions, (cardioid being best for my purposes) but after a short playback test to set the gain, I had achieved better recording quality than any other microphone I had tried before it. Genuinely, the only downside I could see for it as a whole package would be its size and heft, wherein if the Yeti is too big for your particular setup, I’ve come to understand that the YetiNano provides almost identical sound quality in a smaller form factor. The Yeti has been outstanding for my use and I can’t foresee myself ever upgrading away from it unless I moved into ultra-high fidelity professional recording someday. But for a casual, light-use audiophile like myself, it’s perfect.

Glorious GMMK PRO 75% Mechanical Keyboard by @CKoenemann .

 When looking for a customizable keyboard the Glorious GMMK Pro 75% Mechanical Keyboard is one of the best options out there. No matter the combination of parts used, the final product will reflect the high-quality craftsmanship Glorious is known for. The GMMK Pro comes loaded with features and customizable options for almost every user. Using the Glorious CORE software makes it simple to select and customize the keyboards RGB, remap all 83 keys including the rotary knob, as well as update the hardware’s polling rates.

The customization isn’t only in the software, but in the hardware too! The best part of customizable keyboards has to be the interchangeable key switches. With the GMMK Pro’s 5-pin socket design, the selections and combinations are nearly endless. You can select from a variety of different keycaps that come in many different colors and combinations to match almost every aesthetic. There are even custom knobs for the GMMK Pro’s distinctive rotary encoder. The ability to layer all of these options on top of your choice of a brass, polycarbonate, or the stock aluminum backplate is my favorite part. These different options will give drastically different sound profiles for when you are typing. All these options are why it’s so easy for me to recommend the GMMK Pro to others who want the most out of their computer’s peripherals. 

Logitech Signature M650 by @Rye_Bread

The Logitech Signature M650 mouse is an amazing choice for home users, students, and everyone in between. One of the first features you may notice is the inclusion of both a USB Receiver and Bluetooth, giving you more flexibility to connect to your devices. Logitech also opted to include their SmartWheel technology, which lets you decide between normal precision scrolling and fast scrolling depending on how much pressure you use. This is extremely useful if you ever find yourself scrubbing through long PDFs or spreadsheets. The clicks on this mouse are silent but, importantly, still feel clicky. Like a few other mice in Logitech’s selection, the Signature M650 boasts an impressive 24-month battery life, two programmable side buttons, and an emphasis on comfort.

With a total of eight different configurations, Logitech gives you a few things to consider when shopping for one of these mice. They offer both a standard and a large size, go ahead and pick whichever one is more comfortable for you. Next up is the color! You’ve got several options: Graphite, Off-White, Red, Blue, and—my personal favorite—Rose! I’m happy to say that Logitech also makes a left-handed version in Graphite. With the ability to tailor the mouse to your personality and comfort, Logitech has created a mouse that’ll fit perfectly in just about anyone’s workspace.

Looking for even more desktop setup recommendations? Check out @Shoan041's SteelSeries setup recommendation over here!