At Tom’s Guide, we love PC gaming peripherals. I’ve been reviewing the best gaming mice, best gaming keyboards, and best gaming headsets for about a decade now, and it’s been rewarding to see this category grow from a fanatical niche to a mainstream success story. I have.
While many PC gaming rigs were incredibly expensive or cheap office rigs with lights, there are now gaming peripheral setups for every style and budget.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a look at our recommended PC gaming rigs at various price points. Start with budget peripherals loosely defined as “under $50” for gaming mice and headsets and “under $100” for gaming keyboards.
These peripherals aren’t the only viable contenders in the budget category, but compared to the price, they’re the ones I liked the most. Or if you find a way to get a comparable setup for even less, let us know.
Budget Gaming Mouse: $30
Gamers are overwhelmed by the ridiculously cheap selection of gaming mice from major manufacturers. (Yes, you can get cheaper imitations from unnamed brands on Amazon, but don’t do that. Use a name you know.) In our Best Cheap Gaming Mouse Buying Guide , from the Logitech G203, highlighting a variety of $30 options. HyperX Pulsefire core, Roccat Burst core. But in my opinion, you can’t go wrong with the SteelSeries Rival 3.
The Rival 3 is a small, lightweight mouse from Danish gaming peripherals company SteelSeries that has produced some of our favorite headsets over the years. But while the company excels in terms of audio, the gaming mouse is also worth a look.The Rival 3 not only boasts a comfortable design and incredibly beautiful RGB lighting, but it also boasts excellent in-game performance. . However, it’s a bit smaller, so gamers with larger hands might want to opt for the Razer Basilisk Essential instead.
Budget Gaming Keyboard: $80
The gaming keyboard category is where I had the hardest time specifying “budget.” Most of the best gaming keyboards hover around $150. Many wireless models cost $200 or more. Gaming keyboards from major manufacturers are available in the $50 range, but they are all membrane models, and for serious PC gamers, I think his mechanical switches are worth the price.
As such, the cheapest keyboard we’ve recently reviewed from a major manufacturer is the Logitech G413 SE. I’m not going to claim that it’s an amazing bargain for the price, or that it’s a top-of-the-line peripheral in its own right. The feature set is surprisingly minimal, with no separate media keys or software connections. But you can get a full-sized mechanical he gaming keyboard from a major manufacturer for just $80. That alone is far superior to cheap membrane devices.
Budget Gaming Headset: $50
Like gaming mice, there are plenty of inexpensive gaming headsets worth considering. “$50 for a cheap gaming headset” has long been the norm, and manufacturers have done a great job of cramming a lot of functionality into a few relatively simple devices. Like the Corsair HS35, the Razer Kraken X is a solid choice. However, I think the HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 is slightly better.
The Cloud Stinger 2 has pretty much everything you’d expect from a budget gaming headset, including a wired 3.5mm design, a pretty good soundscape, and a reasonably comfortable fit. It also has some common drawbacks, such as a non-removable mic and a flimsy-feeling chassis. , but it’s probably the best headset you can get for $50.
Get everything for under $150
Before committing to the above three peripherals, you should consider how happy you are with the $150 price tag. A good PC gaming peripheral can easily last 5+ years, so choosing the more expensive one will definitely get you your money’s worth over time.
But if you can no longer buy or build a PC, these products are perfectly fine placeholders. Equally useful for novice and casual PC gamers, the headset also serves as a great game console accessory.
But astute readers may have noticed one small problem with my analysis. The $30 Rival 3, $80 G413 SE, and $50 Cloud Stinger 2 add up to $160 instead of $150. $10 might not be a lot in the big picture, but I think it’s reasonable for him to allocate $150 to cap the budget equipment.
Luckily, these devices are usually available for significantly less than regular retail prices. At the time of writing, buying all three of these devices on Amazon would set you back around $130, and there’s currently no special sale going on. Postponing big sale events such as Prime Day and Black Friday can yield even better results.
Either way, PC gamers who don’t have a lot of money needn’t despair. Lots of great affordable gear. You can save your money and invest it where it works best: the PC itself.
This article was optimized by the SEO Team at Clickworks
SEO