Can you recommend: a new gaming mouse, mouse pad & headphones for me?

I'm looking to buy three new things for PC gaming.

1. A new mouse
2. A mouse pad
3. A headset or set of headphones

1. I have been the proud owner of a Logitech MX500 for the last 4.5 years. It has never given me trouble, except when the left button stopped responding. I opened the mouse up and was able to fix that, however, without much problem. It freaked me out, though, so I want to buy something now and keep the MX500 as my backup (or vice versa). I would buy another MX500 in a second, but they don't sell them any more. Plus, I'm thinking they must have something better by now...?

2. I haven't owned a mouse pad since optical mice came out so I don't know what's good. It should be for gaming. I was thinking the XTRAC Ripper Optical Mouse pad I saw at newegg? The Icemat, the one with glass, also looks good, but I'm afraid it would break. I travel and move a lot.

3. As for the headphones, I've done extensive research on this. To the point that it's about to drive me nuts. I want to use the headphones for both gaming (especially something that's good for Counter-Strike) and for listening to music. Someone who has used just about every headset out there recommends the Turtle Beach X52 5.1. Some audiophiles who also play CS recommend either the Sennheiser HD-280 Pro or the HD-555. They say that 5.1 headsets are gimmicky/unworthy. PS: I don't need a microphone so we can disregard that potential variable.

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated!

Habu is the best mouse around at the moment. Produced by MS in conjunction with Razer. 2000dpi feels great, 2 side buttons - cant go wrong!

for mouse mats, check out the bright mat, or those steel ones i've heard good things about, in a hurry so no links. sorry!

I second the Logitech G5, it works great for me

I recently upgraded to the Logitech G5 (love it) and a rocketfish mousepad. The pad is double sided so you can choose between control and speed surfaces. Its a good sized pad and works well with the G5. They sell em at best buy so you can run in and take a look before deciding.

http://www.rocketfishproducts.com/ [...] black.aspx

Mouse pad for optical mice? WTF? Oh well whatever floats your boat.

Try not to get a shiny one, my bro got a steel mousepad for his optical mouse and it scattered the light from the mouse - the only place it wouldn't work was on the pad lol

My mouse gave up and I needed one on the day so went to my local computer shop and it was this or a laptop mouse (or cordless- eugh!)

I have to say though, I do prefer the look of the G5...

Ugly it may be, but very good it is.

got a razor copperhead and have to say its going strong, tried to use my mates G5 for a while but it felt too big, razors are nicer for gamers that like to use the fingers to guide the mouse not the palm. so depends on what ur used too...

Razer has a new entry mouse coming out soon called the Salmosa. Its the same speed as the Razer Deathadder (which I use) but much smaller if thats what you like. On the other hand the DeathAdder is a very good mouse also.

I also use the Razer Lycosa Keyboard which is also good.

I just picked up the Creative Labs Fatal1ty headset. Sounds great to me and are very comfortable. The detachable mic is a plus, just be sure not to lose it. Here is a link to them on Newegg....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6826158051

I went for the G5 after reading a few reviews on the G9 from people who had had the G5 before it and said they didnt find the G9 as comfortable as the G5. The G9 didnt "look" comfortable to me so I was prepared to believe them and took the G5.

Mousepad I have no idea on, my wife uses one with a gel wrist support which she swears by, I use a fairly basic one that "does the job", no specific brands to recommend there.

Headphones personally I like full over the hear headphones that block out external sound they seem to produce a far more immersive audio environment I was going to buy the creative fatality ones but they were out of stock at the time I was buying, so I took a chance on a set that got good reviews despite being cheap.

They seem WAY to good for the money I paid for them, very good sound quality and build quality. I brought them as a cheap stop gap till the creatives came back in stock, But as soon as I tried them I decided I wasnt going to bother buying replacements... These ones are cosonic CD-828 headphones I paid about £5 for them which put them distinctly in the "throw away if their no good" category but to be honest I struggled to see how they turned them out for that money...

I finally ended up going with the Logitech G5, the XTrac Ripper, and the SteelSeries Glide G (special slick feet for the G5 mouse). I have to say, I have never been happier with a setup. This mouse is spectacular! I love how you can switch between sensitivities on-the-fly. Great for games. As for the weight, I have the mouse full of the 4.5g weights right now. It's excellent! The mouse feet come pre-cut for the G5 and were a breeze to put on. Really makes the difference on this mouse pad. By the way, this mouse pad is ridiculously huge. And they even had a larger size!

As for the headphones, I'm still working on that. I think I'm going with the Sennheiser HD595, but I want to visit a shop that sells them and try them on first. Do you guys know any shops that sell really good headphones? I've been away from the States for so long, I'm just not sure where to go.

Best Buy does not carry these, they really only have cheap stuff and some Sony's.

I highly recommend the Habu as well. I traditionally favor MS mice of Logitech because the fit the width of my hand better. I tried the Habu and love it. The thing I enjoyed most about it is that your index and middle finger are raised quite a bit from the mouse pad, in general your hand is a bit more elevated and feels like the carpel tunnel on your mouse hand is being rested on so much. (Carpel Tunnel being the tunnel of tendons at the very bottom/middle of your hand just above the wrist)

To be honest, I like any mouse pad that is stiff and has a rubber backing so that it doesn't slide around. I'm sure there are tons out there but I found one in best buy that works great. It's a heavy duty metal one with a slick coating and rubber backing, I don't have to worry about the pad slipping out from under me when moving the mouse around a lot.

As for headsets I'm not sure. I only like headsets that have a mic with them. I've been enjoying the brands of headsets that have "force feedback" or vibrate on heavy beats to add more feeling to the bass.

Quick edit:
The happiest I've been with a head set was this one:
http://www.xoxide.com/audiofx-forc [...] adset.html

I've recommended this one to my guild in WoW and those who purchased it really enjoy it. To be honest I've never spent more than 60 bucks on a headset, so I really can't compare the sound quality to that of, let's say, a 150 dollar headset

Quick edit of the edit:
The keyboard that I've used and enjoyed thus far is the:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6823175001

It has a larger footprint than the first Saitek, but it doesn't feel as clunky as the G15 from Logitech which I've heard has a nasty habit of paint wearing off of. Another nifty part, is that it has three different colors, which are plenty bright, which may or may not match a particular color scheme you have for your computer. (personally I use black,silver, blue and every component I have matches lol, what can I say? I like being color cooridinated)