How to Spend Your Christmas Cash 2010

How to Spend Your Xmas Cash 2010 - Peripherals

We see dozens of gaming peripherals every year, so it takes something genuinely special to impress us. Happily, this year has brought us some great new bits of kit, so if your headset is more of a dead-set, your keyboard of a flea-board or your mouse looking decidedly ratty, then why not treat yourself to one of these tasty bits of kit?

Razer Carcharius

UK Price (as reviewed): £69.31 (inc VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): $70.09 (exc Tax)

Getting the sound-scape right on a gaming headset is a tricky business. In many cases, either the high end and mid-range are bang on but with insubstantial bass, or the bass is so overblown that it drowns out all the detail in the high end.

Thankfully, the Razer Carcharius, despite having a name that's tricky to pronounce, manages to tick every box. As well as remaining comfortable over long periods of pwnage, the Carcharius also has a microphone that's adjustable and accurate. It's the 40mm drivers that are its most impressive feature, though, delivering a bright high end without sounding too harsh, a solid mid-range and throaty bass.

While dedicated audiophiles will no doubt want to stick to high-priced dedicated headphones, the Carcharius is perfect for the rest of us, combining great audio and a comfortable fit that makes it perfect for gaming.

Cyborg V5

UK Price (as reviewed): £33.02 inc VAT
US Price (as reviewed): $56.99 (exc Tax)

It's easy to overlook the importance of a decent keyboard, so it pays to grab a good one. However, the keyboard market is packed full of gimmicks, from mechanical keys to macro functions and integrated LCD displays; not all features that you really need.

Thankfully, the Cyborg V5 keeps things simple, ditching flashy features for fantastic ergonomics and an abundance of style. The back-lit keys provide a menacing red glow with two adjustable intensities, and are even clearly visible in daylight.

It's the smooth action of the keys and conventional layout that are its most important feature, though, making the Cyborg 5 a joy to use, whether you're typing out an essay or knifing co-workers in Call of Duty. What's more, the price tag of just £33 makes it all the more enticing. If you're after an excellent gaming keyboard, then this is the one to get.

Mionix Naos 3200

UK Price (as reviewed): £40 (inc VAT)
US Price (as reviewed): $54.99 (exc Tax)

When it comes to decent gaming mice brands, it's often the same names that come to mind; Logitech, Razer, Microsoft and so on. Imagine our surprise, then, when relative newcomer Mionix wiped the floor with the competition with the Naos 3200.

Placing your hand on a mouse that fits perfectly is a rare experience, but the Naos 3200 is the mousey equivalent of a tailored suit, with its plastic casing moulded expertly to support your thumb, fingers and pinky.

Meanwhile, on-the-fly sensitivity adjustment enables you to switch the mouse between 800dpi, 1,600dpi and 3,200dpi using the buttons behind the scroll wheel. What's more, an otherwise conventional layout means your hands don't get lost trying to find mouse button 16.

There's a fair degree of adjustment available in the software as well, where you can adjust the pointer speed and acceleration, toggle the lights on and off (these glow according to the dpi setting) and adjust the USB polling rate from 125Hz to 1KHz.

While other mice boast more features, such as useless adjustable weights, the Naos 3200 nails the essentials.