Laptop media & gaming accessory advice required

I recently bought a new laptop to use as the centre for conventional computing/works apps, home multimedia and some casual gaming & would appreciate some advice before I splash any more cash.

Apart from the laptop and HDTV in the living room I need a widescreen monitor capable of 1080P with good connectivity, Good quality 2.0 or 2.1 speakers for music/movies & games and a good mouse suitable for office apps, gaming and capable of taking some stick both in and out of the home.

At the moment i'm leaning towards the following:

Monitor - Dell 2408 24"

Speakers - Logitech Z-2300 2.1, Aero M series 2.1 or Creative Gigaworks T20/40 2.0

Rodent - Logitech VX Revolution wireless, MS intelimouse 3.0 wired or Razer Deathadder wired

FYI my recent PC gaming experience has been with Strategy type games mainly Civ4 And Football Manager but now I have a laptop with a little bit of poke gonna try out World in Conflict and either COD4 or Orange Box.

Look forward to any constructive help or advice on those product's or any others that might fit my requirements.

 

Monitor: I would check out other brands a bit as well. Sometimes youll hit a bad patch like greg did ( search for his thread )

Mouse: also check out the Logitech G5 or G7 As well. I recommend you just go to the store and get a feel for what feels most comfortable,

 

The Dell is the only one I can find that seems to have good performance & great connectivity for under £500 at the moment. Although saying that I probably wont be buying a monitor for about 3 months buy which times the price may have dropped and other newer models being introduced.

I've never got on with the larger Logitech's but have tried out a VX and find it very comfortable also just seen it for £25 which is a bargain I may well buy that for Office/Web browsing & try it out with some games. I could always get a MSI 3.0/Deathadder down the line...

One thing though, I'm not sure if it would be as straightforward as just removing one and plugging in the other one in when switching mouses bearing in mind to work at their best both require the manufacturers software to be installed ? It should work I guess, just got a nasty feeling the drivers might conflict.

 

VX nano VS DeathAdder
This is my Opinion

Nano
-small
-small usb wireless receiver
-800 DPI lazer
-wireless mouse
-great for traveling
-comfortable in hand but not after hours of gaming
DeathAdder
-Very comfortable in hand even after hours of gaming
-Can be used for both work and play
-On the fly sensitivity control
-DPI settings 450 900 and 1800
-Highly configurable buttons
-5 user profiles
-is a gaming mouse
-not small but still able to travel with it

My other suggestion is getting a gaming mouse pad. mostl people will probably say the HUGE razer mats but i prefer my SteelSeries 4d mousepad not too big not too small and it tracks really great with optical/lazer mice.

All in all mice is a matter of preference just out weigh the pros and cons and im sure you will make a sound decision no matter what you choose

 

Im with EdiT808 here with the mice here

Im at the moment looking for a wireless keyboard/mouse combo, to use with external/home-mediacentering with the comp, which seems to be a pain in the a** to find. So I bought the Deathadder, as I knew that I would need a suitable mouse for gaming and I love it completly Ive been using it running along with Logitech Setpoint software for the wireless combo I tryed out (Logitech Wave, great keyboard! but the mouse really sux, with a range of only 1.5 meters ) with out any problems/driver conflicts. So if you go for a wireless Logitech for office/browsing and the Deathadder for gaming, there shouldnt be problems

As goes for mouse pad, I got a SteelSeries S&S for home use and a 4D for on-the-road and TBH I could do with just the 4D. But both are really nice pads

As for speakers, also try taking a look into thoes from Altec Lansing, got 2 mates with the MX5021, great pc speakers IMO

 

When it's about mice i'd pick between G5, G9 or Deathadder. Those are proven to be quality products, if you're more into strategy i'd use the following order :
1.G9
2.G5
3.Deathadder

If fps is your main thing :

1.Deathadder
2.G9
3.G5

But please do try to get a feel for each mouse before you buy because it still has to feel good in your hand. The G9 might scare you at first but after a day of using it i wouldn't want anything else, it fits my hand + play style perfectly.

As for mousepads i swear by the func1030, best pad i have ever owned.(I've bought and tried Corepad, Steelpad 4s, Razer exactmat and a bunch of crappy cheap ones. Every time i keep going back to my trusty func.)

Hope to have been of help.

 

Thanks for the recomendation regarding the gaming mousemat, although I have actualy got a steelpad mousemat I would second your thoughts and find it great even when not gaming.

I have tried out the G5 but it didnt feel natural using it and prefer the MS Intm/Deathadder shape. I've never seen a G9 & wouldnt buy it without being able to hold it and try it out. Anybody know any shops in South Yorkshire where I could try one out ?

 

More a strategy type gamer (never really got the hang of WASD mouse/keyboard games lol...), Just wondering why the the G9 excels over the Deathadder for Strategy games ?

 

The G9 has more buttons and customisation options then the Deathadder which is an advantage in strategy games.

 

why not just set movement to front: right mouse button, back: z, left and right: a and s respectively? thats what i use since i couldnt get used to WASD movement either