I've been searching for the perfect peripheral setup for quite some time now. I have a 27" 2012 iMac that I use to play games both in OSX and in Boot Camp. I'd like to have peripherals that are good for gaming both in OSX and Windows and are also functional for just about everything else in OSX.
I started out using the Apple wireless keyboard, Apple magic trackpad, and the Razer Naga epic. I then replaced the keyboard with a Logitech K811 as I needed a keyboard that was backlit and got a logitech T651 to go with it. I then realized that the battery life on the T651 was terrible and went back to the Apple magic trackpad. The K811 wasn't doing it for me simply because of the placement of the fn key. It always got in the way and made hitting the ctrl button (which is usually crouch or something for games very difficult while my fingers were on the WASD keys. I always had to remap crouch to caps lock but that never worked out right. So now I dumped the K811 for a Razer Anansi and it's just not doing it for me either. The keys are too big and require too much pressure to press, making it difficult to use for typing and I'm seeing my typos go up by about 40% (that's just a guess but you get the point). However, what is really getting me is how absolutely horrid the Razer Synapse software is. It always seems to either be not responding, requiring and update which requires a restart, or it simply can't find any Razer devices plugged in. My Naga Epic has been doing alright but not without quite a few headaches. Meanwhile, the Anansi is just a nightmare. None of the profiles or macros are working and for some strange reason the backlighting changes to white whenever I hit the shift button.
I've also had trouble finding headsets for me. I usually just use the iMac's built-in speakers but whenever I play while talking to friends in Skype, I plug in a headset. I've had Turtle Beaches but dumped them because they were too uncomfortable, then I had a set of Razer Megaladons which were hands down the most comfortable headset I've ever had. Sadly, the Megaladon's microphone didn't work with Mac so it had to go. I now have a set of Razer Krakens and they've been alright. They're not surround sound but more importantly, they're not very comfortable. So I'd like to replace them too.
I'd really like to be done with Razer. They're products pretty and they work great but thats only when they ACTUALLY work. Sadly, it seems like they're the only company out there that does fully support Mac, albeit terribly, albeit just as terribly as Windows. I really need to find some alternatives. I've got three products I need to replace, a mouse, a keyboard, and a headset.
I need a mouse that has tons of buttons just like the Razer Naga. I don't just use them for games, I use them for just general use too. For example, I've set the one button to "save as," the two button to "open in new tab," the three button to "refresh page," other buttons to copy, cut, paste, others to multimedia, etc. They're handy in Photoshop too as I can set some buttons to ctrl, alt, shift, and cmd so I can mess with paths using only one hand. I like the layout of the Naga Epic too. It's just simple rows and not too complicated. It makes it easy to remember that the item in slot six in my game is mapped to button six on my mouse. I've looked at the Logitech G600 but it's wired and doesn't support Mac. Correction: it does support mac, but you can only have one profile installed on the mouse at one time. If you want to switch profiles, you need to restart into Windows, change it, then restart back into OSX. Though, the Naga has been going pretty well for me so if I stick with any of them, it'll probably be this one. I'm likely to buy the new Naga Epic once it eventually changes to the new form factor.
I need a keyboard that is most importantly: backlit. Though, not some crazy color like green. It needs to either be white or multicolor. My Naga Epic and Anansi have the option to cycle through a rainbow of 16 million colors which is just beautiful to watch. I'm not too picky about what type of keys the keyboard has. I've always had keyboards with slim keycaps so the Anansi is quite a transition for me but I'm getting used to it a little. I don't quite care for mechanical keyboards because they're too loud (though I know there's silent ones) and they're too hair trigger. I'd really like a membrane keyboard with slim keycaps but like I said, I'm not too picky in this area. I also need my keyboard to have full support for Mac. I'm okay with it not having the special cmd button since I can just remap it in System Preferences but it needs to have all the special function buttons that mac uses (brightness, multimedia, etc.). I think the SteelSeries Apex would be perfect for me since it's pretty much the Anansi but with slimmer keycaps so it'd be easier to type. Sadly, it does't have support for Mac. The website may say it supports OSX but it's more like OSX supports it. When they say it supports OSX, they mean that you can type and use it as a keyboard successfully. As far as I know, the multimedia keys don't work and it may not even backlight correctly on Mac. SteelSeries' gaming software for Mac doesn't support the Apex so that means that there won't be any Mac drivers for the keyboard.
Finally, the headset. I don't know why this area is so difficult. All I need is an extremely comfortable over the ear headset that can be worn ten hours a day with no discomfort and has a functional mic built in. I'd like for it to be wireless, surround sound, and possibly even be connectable to an iPhone or iPad but comfort and mic is all I need.
I've been searching for so long and just can't find anything that fits me perfectly. The Naga, Megaladon, and K811 were the closest I got. The Naga is a headache to use with Synapse but not as much as the Anansi. The Megaladon was comfortable, but the mic didn't work on OSX. I would've kept the K811 if the fn button was somewhere less intrusive.
So can someone help me please? I'm not even remotely concerned about price at this point, I just need products that work.
I started out using the Apple wireless keyboard, Apple magic trackpad, and the Razer Naga epic. I then replaced the keyboard with a Logitech K811 as I needed a keyboard that was backlit and got a logitech T651 to go with it. I then realized that the battery life on the T651 was terrible and went back to the Apple magic trackpad. The K811 wasn't doing it for me simply because of the placement of the fn key. It always got in the way and made hitting the ctrl button (which is usually crouch or something for games very difficult while my fingers were on the WASD keys. I always had to remap crouch to caps lock but that never worked out right. So now I dumped the K811 for a Razer Anansi and it's just not doing it for me either. The keys are too big and require too much pressure to press, making it difficult to use for typing and I'm seeing my typos go up by about 40% (that's just a guess but you get the point). However, what is really getting me is how absolutely horrid the Razer Synapse software is. It always seems to either be not responding, requiring and update which requires a restart, or it simply can't find any Razer devices plugged in. My Naga Epic has been doing alright but not without quite a few headaches. Meanwhile, the Anansi is just a nightmare. None of the profiles or macros are working and for some strange reason the backlighting changes to white whenever I hit the shift button.
I've also had trouble finding headsets for me. I usually just use the iMac's built-in speakers but whenever I play while talking to friends in Skype, I plug in a headset. I've had Turtle Beaches but dumped them because they were too uncomfortable, then I had a set of Razer Megaladons which were hands down the most comfortable headset I've ever had. Sadly, the Megaladon's microphone didn't work with Mac so it had to go. I now have a set of Razer Krakens and they've been alright. They're not surround sound but more importantly, they're not very comfortable. So I'd like to replace them too.
I'd really like to be done with Razer. They're products pretty and they work great but thats only when they ACTUALLY work. Sadly, it seems like they're the only company out there that does fully support Mac, albeit terribly, albeit just as terribly as Windows. I really need to find some alternatives. I've got three products I need to replace, a mouse, a keyboard, and a headset.
I need a mouse that has tons of buttons just like the Razer Naga. I don't just use them for games, I use them for just general use too. For example, I've set the one button to "save as," the two button to "open in new tab," the three button to "refresh page," other buttons to copy, cut, paste, others to multimedia, etc. They're handy in Photoshop too as I can set some buttons to ctrl, alt, shift, and cmd so I can mess with paths using only one hand. I like the layout of the Naga Epic too. It's just simple rows and not too complicated. It makes it easy to remember that the item in slot six in my game is mapped to button six on my mouse. I've looked at the Logitech G600 but it's wired and doesn't support Mac. Correction: it does support mac, but you can only have one profile installed on the mouse at one time. If you want to switch profiles, you need to restart into Windows, change it, then restart back into OSX. Though, the Naga has been going pretty well for me so if I stick with any of them, it'll probably be this one. I'm likely to buy the new Naga Epic once it eventually changes to the new form factor.
I need a keyboard that is most importantly: backlit. Though, not some crazy color like green. It needs to either be white or multicolor. My Naga Epic and Anansi have the option to cycle through a rainbow of 16 million colors which is just beautiful to watch. I'm not too picky about what type of keys the keyboard has. I've always had keyboards with slim keycaps so the Anansi is quite a transition for me but I'm getting used to it a little. I don't quite care for mechanical keyboards because they're too loud (though I know there's silent ones) and they're too hair trigger. I'd really like a membrane keyboard with slim keycaps but like I said, I'm not too picky in this area. I also need my keyboard to have full support for Mac. I'm okay with it not having the special cmd button since I can just remap it in System Preferences but it needs to have all the special function buttons that mac uses (brightness, multimedia, etc.). I think the SteelSeries Apex would be perfect for me since it's pretty much the Anansi but with slimmer keycaps so it'd be easier to type. Sadly, it does't have support for Mac. The website may say it supports OSX but it's more like OSX supports it. When they say it supports OSX, they mean that you can type and use it as a keyboard successfully. As far as I know, the multimedia keys don't work and it may not even backlight correctly on Mac. SteelSeries' gaming software for Mac doesn't support the Apex so that means that there won't be any Mac drivers for the keyboard.
Finally, the headset. I don't know why this area is so difficult. All I need is an extremely comfortable over the ear headset that can be worn ten hours a day with no discomfort and has a functional mic built in. I'd like for it to be wireless, surround sound, and possibly even be connectable to an iPhone or iPad but comfort and mic is all I need.
I've been searching for so long and just can't find anything that fits me perfectly. The Naga, Megaladon, and K811 were the closest I got. The Naga is a headache to use with Synapse but not as much as the Anansi. The Megaladon was comfortable, but the mic didn't work on OSX. I would've kept the K811 if the fn button was somewhere less intrusive.
So can someone help me please? I'm not even remotely concerned about price at this point, I just need products that work.