Comfort Rankings From Regular Folks
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Keyboards
At the end of the day, the popularity of a peripheral at least partially comes down to the subjective preferences of individual users. With that in mind, we isolated three different hand sizes, and chose three different LAN party gamers in each category to use and rate the four keyboards.
To best represent the preferences of all nine participants, we applied a simple point system: the most-preferred peripheral receives four points; the next-favorite is given three, and so on. This helps ensure that an appropriate weight is given to each choice, while allowing us to easily represent their opinion in a chart.
In most cases, the BlackWidow came out ahead, though its noise was often cited as a potential issue. The Kensington, Logitech, and Siig were all called out for not having the same satisfying tactile feedback as the Razer. Several people complained that the Logitech K800 felt cheap and plasticky. Siig's keyboard was said to feel sturdy and well-built, likely due to its aluminum frame. On the other hand, the Kensington was said to "feel like its price." Though, when we asked if our panel would purchase the board, respondents generally said yes.
Mice
All of the benchmark data in the world doesn't mean anything if your mouse just doesn't feel right. Your hand needs to reach every button without stretching or contorting. Its feet need to have the right kind of glide. The texture of its shell also has to be just right. Each of these attributes is generally subjective though, and figuring out which features are best for a wide range of people isn't particularly easy.
As with the keyboards, our solution was to give our mice to the same group of gamers and rank their preferences.
Logitech's G9x received unanimous praise. Its interchangeable grips, weights, shape, and smooth cursor movement were all cited as pluses. The testers also really enjoyed using Thermaltake's Theron, though they claimed it put their pinky fingers in an awkward and uncomfortable position.
The Logitech G500 and Razer Orochi, on the other hand, weren't as well-received. No one felt that either mouse was particularly comfortable to use. The G500 was reported to be too long, while the Orochi too small. In fact, respondents claimed that they’d rather buy a cheap laptop-friendly mouse alongside a larger high-end mouse than spend their cash on the Orochi.
Whether or not the dual-mode wired/wireless, portable size, or detachable cable is worthwhile is your decision. With that said, if you have even moderately large hands, you almost certainly will not be a fan of Razer’s portable gaming mouse.