Our Personal Mice and Keyboards - Gaming, Work, And Daily Use Recommendations!

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Finding the perfect mouse and keyboard is a challenge. There are a ton of options for just as many use cases. If you don’t know what you need, even finding a starting point can be tricky. That’s why we pulled together some recommendations from our Champions! These are keyboards and mice that we actually use in our day-to-day life, whether it’s for gaming, work, or a little bit of both. If you see something you like – or just have a better idea of what you’re looking for – stop by your local Micro Center! Our associates will be happy to help you find the perfect keyboard and mouse, and we have plenty on display to try before you buy!

Keychron Q3 Pro & Pulsar X2 by @ChaosDTV

After testing so many different peripherals I finally found the combo that really suits me - and we just got them in stores! Starting off, my keyboard is the Keychron Q3 Pro. The Q3 pro is absolutely loaded with features, including options for both wired and wireless connectivity. The Q3 Pro can be connected to your devices wirelessly via Bluetooth 5.1 or wired via USB-C. Beyond your choice of connection, there are plenty of more tactile options, thanks to hot-swappable switches. You can easily change out the switches to customize the feel and sound of your keyboard. This is a great feature for people who want to experiment with different switches or who want to be able to repair their keyboard if a switch fails. The whole keyboard is brought together by its incredible, sturdy aluminum base, which definitely gives it a premium feel.

For my mouse, I’m using the Pulsar X2 Wireless esports mouse and I cannot stress enough how fantastic a lightweight mouse this is. Great, sturdy quality overall makes this an exceptional tool in my gaming arsenal. Plus, the X2 can be used while charging, so you won’t have to log off as soon as the battery runs out! Currently, Pulsar has one of the best sensors in the esports world, making this a must-have for any aspiring esports athletes who want to find a competitive edge. And it's reasonably priced, so you won’t have to break the bank to get a great gaming mouse!

Inland Gaming MK Pro & SteelSeries Aerox 5

I recently got my hands on the new Inland Gaming MK PRO and have been using it as my daily driver at work for the past month or so. I immediately fell in love with the design. The combination of old-school, egg-shell white keycaps with more modern blacks and oranges gives it a unique design that makes it stand apart from the crowd. And it’s not just the aesthetic that makes it such an incredible keyboard – doing my daily work on it is fantastic, thanks to unique keycaps and wonderful brown switches. The keycaps have a (relatively) deep concave design, making it easy to know exactly where my fingers are as I’m typing, without worry of them slipping and hitting other keys. The brown switches, my personal favorite, offer the tactile feedback of blues without clicking and annoying all of my coworkers.

My mouse, the SteelSeries Aerox 5, is lightweight, snappy, and ready to work all day. While the mouse is a bit more of a traditional gaming mouse (perhaps not needed for word processors and Community work), I appreciate the extra buttons for quick navigation. At only 66g, I can use it all day without my wrist getting tired and still have the energy to game when I get home!

Keychron V1 & Pulsar Xlite Retro by @BenjaminLaRocque125

I am currently using a Keychron V1 keyboard and Pulsar Xlite Retro wireless mouse. These two sitting next to each other are just so satisfying to use. The V1 is great because I wanted a budget-friendly board that is TKL (tenkeyless, or without the number pad), has hot-swappable switches, and uses open-source firmware. It has Keychron K Pro brown switches and sound-absorbing foam, so you get a nice tactile response from the brown switch without the loud “click.”

The Xlite is a gorgeous mouse with Huano Blueshell Pinkdot switches and flagship PAW3370 sensor in a lightweight, ergonomic, and simple design. In layman’s terms, that all adds up to a mouse that weighs just 59g, offers up to 80 million clicks, and a high-quality sensor for 400 IPS speed with 50g of acceleration and up to a whopping 20,000 DPI.

Combining the Keychron V1 and Pulsar Xlite you get a game-ready setup that’s still sleek and subtle enough that no one in an office would bat an eye at it.

Logitech G513 & Logitech G502 by @Vaganza

I have been a Mac user since 1984 and was an Apple II user prior to that, so for the most part I have always had a Mac Keyboard. While there have been some really great ones (and some that I question), eventually you find it’s time to try something new.

For the longest time, I had always preferred the super slim and really flat Magic Keyboard from Apple. I find I still type faster on that than just about everything and still use one often. My job made me move over to Windows mostly due to AutoDesk and several AV programming applications that I use daily. I played around with a dual boot for a while and, while I could work with that pretty much without issue, I found I lacked the dedicated graphics power needed for Revit. So, I moved everything to Windows. Initially, I kept using a Magic Keyboard but decided that the Magic Mouse was not going to work for me in the AutoDesk realm, so I switched that out and decided to trade out my keyboard at the same time. 

So, I researched. And researched. And researched. At the time, I had no idea how much there was to know about keyboards. But as with everything I do in life, I tried to learn all that I could. I read about things like keyboard switches, form factors, and control software and even I tried out a lot of them (thankfully, we have a ton of display units available for testing at our stores!). I figured out really quickly I do not like soft keys, and that the clickier and more annoying the keyboard the better, especially when on the phone with co-workers so they can hear every keystroke over the phone as loud as possible. 

Now, do I go custom? Maybe eventually, as I learn more and more, I may. But I decided to go to a brand I am familiar with and have always been comfortable with. I decided to look toward Logitech’s Gaming line and the G series. I don’t play games other than some occasional Star Trek Online, but I have found what gamers look for in keyboard and mice can be applied to designers easily. Customization of function keys on both the keyboard and mouse is hugely beneficial to program macros in AutoCAD or Illustrator, and I do both here. The software that supports the keyboard and mouse is awesome at supporting this. 

Being in the Cincinnati Area, part of my decision on which Logitech G Series Keyboard came from wanting to represent the good ole’ 513. So, the G513 from Logitech is what I went with, specifically the model with blue clicky switches. This thing is solid. Super sturdy and dense construction, with not a lot of extra buttons. I love the sleek and carbon-colored metal finish. It even has a handy passthrough USB port to plug in thumb drives or my iPod Shuffle to charge and load playlists easily. About the only thing I might have liked extra on this would be a reliable volume knob. 

Once I had the keyboard, I just had to pick a mouse. Thankfully, this was an easy decision as the G502 from Logitech has massive accolades in the community, and for the price point, it is stellar. There are just a couple of programmable buttons there and I use them for copy and paste in my design software. I opted for the non-wireless version here, as I prefer the wired benefits. This mouse comes with optional weights to add to it which I have loaded to the max, as I prefer the heftiness when drawing. 

The software is pretty straightforward, are there a lot of crazy whizbang things you can do with the Lightsync. It requires some work, but I did find the interface preferrable to a few others I had tested out. What I do love most about the software is that your preferences can be saved in memory slots on the keyboard and mouse itself so If I use my mouse on my notebook computer in the field, the settings travel with the mouse.  Another great feature that G Hub offers is you can share your settings with the community really easily. 

My Lightsync settings, for the most part, are pretty simple. When the computer is asleep, the keys are all red. When I log in, the red shifts from the center of the keyboard out, turning to white as it passes from key to key, just like a curtain opening on a stage performance (I appreciate that as a theater geek.) From there, I use Ripple, which is like dropping a pebble into a pond with each key press.

tbarggs

I've used a TON of different mice, and I really like the pulsar line!

Also brown switches ftw.

ricardo_ortega

I'm loving the new keyboard products with the option to fully customize the keys and switches. There are so many options to choose from as well!

Rye_Bread

I've settled on the Razer Basilisk! Love it to death, and fits my hand nicely. I'm currently on the V2, which despite being abused for the last three years is still holding up. I've got a V3 still new in its box for when I finally decide to replace the V2. 
These are all good options though!

ChaosDTV

a lot of great options. ive been needing to try the inland lineup of diy keyboards

TreBouncee

That Q3 pro 🔥

Lambdaben

I think I'll have to do some research on the Keychron and Inland Pro keyboards.....

ronwoodson

Blue clicky keys are the best. Love the sound they make.

w8deywins

You gotta have the classic G502 on there! I loved that mouse! Currently I’m running with the Glorious Model O. 

Julia_V

The Inland MK Pro is one of my favorite keyboards. It feels super premium and it's also heavy. I personally love heavy keyboards (using a KBD70 as I am writing this)