ACGAM gaming keyboard, mouse, and mouse pad review


While I love the ability to brighten my desk via the RGB lighting systems and lighted PC fans, I’ve never really taken advantage of it. My PC speakers have some lighting, but that’s about it. I noticed ACGAM had their AG-109R keyboard and G502 mouse set that utilizes the RGB lighting and are made for gaming, but what really caught my eye was the P09 gaming mouse pad that lights up as well! After seeing that, I had to try out the entire set.

Since I am reviewing three devices that are sold separately, I will start with the keyboard, move on to the mouse, then end with the mouse pad.
Inside of the keyboard box you’ll find the AG-109R wired keyboard, a keycap puller, driver CD, and an instruction manual. I downloaded the drivers for the keyboard online since I do not have a CD drive on my computer.
It was a joke that my previous keyboard was loud, but when I started typing on this one, I laughed because it was even louder! The OUTEMU Blue switches are known for being loud, but they are very responsive and have held up to daily use for the past three weeks without skipping a beat.
Overwatch was the main game that I tested all three devices on, and other than the clicking sound being louder, there was no difference between the quality between this keyboard and my previous one. Each keystroke was registered and multiple keys could be pressed with no problem at all. Comfort-wise, I wish that it had a wrist rest like my old one, but the keys themselves were comfortable to type on. There are non-skid pads on the bottom of the keyboard as well as two feet that adjust the angle of the keyboard. I loved the size of the keyboard, as it’s compact shape allowed me to have quite a bit more desk space compared to what I had before.

I enjoyed the color options on the keyboard, and for the first week I went through and switched up the presets to find out which I truly liked. In the end, I settled for one that had the WASD, Shift, Q, and E keys lit up a solid color, while the rest of the keyboard did a rainbow wave. When the keyboard was not used for a while, the lights would turn off to conserve power.

Other than the keys being really loud, the only negative that I found with the keyboard was that when I restarted my computer, it would go back to the default color setting on the keyboard until I opened the AG driver program from my desktop tray. Once open, it would switch right away to the settings I had originally chosen. Overall though, this ended up being a very solid keyboard and it worked very well for gaming.

Next up we have the G502 gaming mouse. Included in the box you’ll find the mouse itself, driver CD, instruction manual, and a pair of interchangeable side mounts. The ones originally installed are a standard, generic version that you find in most cheap mice, while the alternate set to me is more comfortable as it allows me to grip and move the mouse much easier. Needless to say, I switched them right away. Just a couple of magnets hold them on, but I have yet to have it come apart on me, so they work very well and are very easy to change.

Most mice at this price range do not come with their own software for changing your mouse settings. This one does, which definitely gives it an edge over the competition. The software worked fine and all of my settings stayed when rebooting the computer. There are preset colors for the mouse that you can choose from that can be customized, and you can also change the color of the mouse that represents your DPI to match the other color settings you choose. I liked having six options to choose from for my DPI, though I only used two or three of them at max. Just having the option is nice.

The mouse worked very well with both every day use and gaming. I was very surprised with how well it performed given its price tag. There was no hesitation when clicking the mouse buttons, and the two side buttons are placed in a very good spot for easy use. It glided well over my mouse pad, though I am noticing some wear already on the bottom pads. I am unsure whether or not this has to do with the hard mouse pad or the quality of the pads on the mouse itself, but I would recommend to ACGAM to buff up the quality on those bottom pads, especially if they want them used with their own mouse pad, and they’ll have a very solid product in the G502 gaming mouse.

Lastly, we have the mouse pad. I had never seen a mouse pad that lit up before, and that is what really caught my eye with this whole set. Not only that, this is the first hard mouse pad that I have used, though I had seen them before. Just like with most soft mouse pads, this has rubber on the bottom to keep it from sliding around the desk.
If you want color, you will need to plug it into a USB port. That’s something to keep in mind if you have a computer with limited USB ports. There are no drivers for the mouse pad. You press the spot that looks like a fingerprint and it changes between several solid colors and a few rainbow variations. If you keep scrolling through the designs and you can also turn it completely off, which was necessary as it did not turn off when the computer did. The mouse and keyboard would, but for some reason, the mouse pad would not. Because of the lighting, there is a raised area on the top of the mouse pad that can be annoying if you catch your mouse cord on it.
The mouse pad itself worked very well. I am still up in the air about whether or not I prefer the soft or hard version of a mouse pad, but regardless of my preference, the pad worked just as good for gaming as the one I used before. I do wonder like I mentioned above if the rougher texture of the mouse pad would cause extra wear and tear on a mouse.

Overall, I enjoyed testing the ACGAM products, but I most likely will revert back to my previous keyboard and mouse pad. However, I do enjoy the mouse enough to keep using it for the time being. The RGB lighting matched my speakers pretty well on all the products, so that was neat, but it was not enough to topple my go-to keyboard that has lasted me for years. I would definitely recommend the G502 gaming mouse for a budget gamer. The keyboard is solid in quality and I would say it would be one to look at if you want to customize your RGB lighting experience. The mouse pad.. well, if you want to amuse your friends with color, maybe it is good, but in the end it just wasn’t for me.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by ACGAM. Please visit their website for more information and Amazon to order the keyboard, mouse, and mouse pad.

 

Product Information

Price: Keyboard: $56.99 – Mouse: $17.99 – Mouse Pad: $27.99
Manufacturer: ACGAM
Retailer: Amazon
Pros:
  • – Keyboard is sturdy and well made
  • – Keyboard can be customized to users liking
  • – Mouse is very well priced for decent quality and customization options
  • – Lighting can match other products that utilize RGB lighting
Cons:
  • – Keyboard is loud
  • – Mouse feet wore down quickly
  • – Mouse pad is rough and could have caused those feet to wear down

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ACGAM gaming keyboard, mouse, and mouse pad review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 25, 2017 at 11:00 am.

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Newsflash – Razer Electra V2 Gaming Headsets provide high-end features on a budget

On October 19th, Razer announced two new gaming headsets for value-conscious gamers: the Razer Electra V2 and the Razer Electra V2 USB. Razer has designed this headset to offer great sound, fit and features at a budget price. The sound is generated by custom-tuned 40mm Neodymium drivers. The comfortable fit of the Electra V2 is achieved using a lightweight, flexible aluminum frame with a suspended headrest and plush leatherette ear cushions. Features include a 3.5 mm unified audio and mic connector (on the V2 headset) and a removable boom microphone for enhanced communication during gameplay or in phone conversations. Read on for more info!

Removing the boom mic allows for streamlined use. The USB version allows users to activate Razer green back-lighting on the ear cups, and experience virtual 7.1 surround sound digital audio quality by Razer Synapse – Razer’s cloud-based configurator.

Specs:

Earphones
Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
Impedance: 32 ± 15% Ω
Sensitivity: 105 ± 3dB  (115 ± 3 dB on USB model)
Max input power: 50 mW
Drivers: 40 mm with Neodymium magnets
Cable length: 1.3 m / 4.27 ft.
Approximate weight: 278 g / 0.61 lbs. (294 g / 0.65 lbs. on USB model)

Microphone (Removable boom mic)
Frequency response: 100 Hz – 10 kHz
Signal-to-noise ratio: ≥ 50 dB
Sensitivity (@1 kHz): -38 ± 3 dB
Pick-up pattern: Unidirectional

Controls on headset
Volume up / down, mic mute

The Razer Electra V2 (U.S. $59.99 / EU €59.99) and the Razer Electra V2 USB ($69.99 / EU €69.99) are available now from Razerzone.com and worldwide Q4 2017.

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Newsflash – Razer Electra V2 Gaming Headsets provide high-end features on a budget originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 23, 2017 at 8:00 am.

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Creative Sound BlasterX Kratos S5 2.1 gaming speakers review


I’ve been playing games for years, yet I’ve always used a pair of cheap Dell speakers for my PC. I never thought much of PC speakers for gaming, instead always using headsets, but when Creative offered their Sound BlasterX Kratos S5 gaming speakers to be reviewed, it piqued my curiosity, and I had to try them out. Would I enjoy gaming with speakers versus a headset? Let’s find out.

In the box you’ll find:

2 x Sound BlasterX Kratos S5 satellites
1 x Sound BlasterX Kratos S5 subwoofer
1 x Micro USB Cable (1.8M)
1 x power cord
1 Warranty and Technical Support Booklet
1 Quick Start Guide
1 Safety and regulatory leaflet

I had one hiccup when it came to setting up these speakers. My desk simply wasn’t built for them! My previous set of speakers sat above my head on the top of my hutch, but that’s not the optimum place for gaming. With the hutch, my monitors have to be smaller to accommodate, and therefore I have two monitors side by side, forcing me to use the top for my speakers. For game testing, I placed them surrounding a single monitor, but for day to day use, I had to set them behind each monitor.


The light from the Aurora Reactive Lighting system looked really nice under the monitors, but of course, the sound suffered a bit by having them there. It wasn’t enough that I had to reconfigure my desk, however.


On the back of the subwoofer, you’ll find most of the ports, switches, and buttons for the speaker system. Starting from the top, there is an LED button that switches between five preset lighting combinations, a dial for the bass level, red and white audio in ports, ports for the satellite speakers, a 3.5 mm audio in port, the cord for the external audio control dial, Micro-USB port, auto standby switch, which when on, will turn off the lighting after 20 minutes of inactivity, and lastly, the AC port. Whew, that’s quite a bit!


The external audio dial has a 3.5 mm audio out port for your headset, a microphone in port, and the whole top is one big dial for adjusting the volume. I loved how smooth it was to adjust the volume controls, including the bass controls on the subwoofer.

So, let’s get down to the audio specs on these speakers:

Total Watts: 60 Watts(RMS)
Satellites: 2 x 12 Watts
Subwoofer: 36 Watts
Frequency Response: 55Hz – 20 kHz
Input Rating: 100-240V ~ 50/60Hz 1.3A

You can choose to just use hardware settings, or choose to install the Creative Sound Blaster Connect software to tweak and perfect the settings.


The Dashboard has general information about your settings and makes it easy to turn settings on or off. It also shows the sound experience settings, which can be a preset or user customized.


Under the Sound tab you’ll find the Equalizer, Acoustic Engine, and Scout Mode, which allows you to pick up footsteps and speech a little easier. I only used this mode in the game, and while I could pick up footsteps a tiny bit better than without it, a solid pair of headphones still worked better for the very detailed sounds.


Lastly, the Lighting tab allows you to customize the lights on the speakers to whatever color set you desire. You can also change up the presets to something new if you like. Make sure you plug in the Micro-USB cable if you want to change these settings.

Now that we have the technical information out of the way, let’s talk about what we really want to know. How good is the sound quality? Well, I tell you what, I use my PC sound system for everything from gaming, to videos, to music, and I was very impressed with the overall usability of this system. As you can see in the above pictures, my standard EQ settings have the bass only boosted a little bit, and if I add more, it is simply too much (and I love bass!) for my tastes. From Christmas music to pop music, the speakers sounded really good.

When it came to gaming, I had to get used to sitting in the center of the speakers. Once centered, it was pretty nice playing Overwatch and Battlefield 1. The explosions in Battlefield were far beyond the sound quality of my gaming headset, and overall, Battlefield 1 was a dream to play with these speakers. Overwatch was pretty good, as long as I wasn’t playing competitively. I preferred to play without my headset and use these speakers when just dropping in to play a game of Battlefield or a casual game of Overwatch.

I had to tweak a few settings to get these speakers to play nice with my usual headset, which plugs in via USB. I had to set my default communications device to my headset (since it did not plug into the speakers) and set the headset to be the default communications device. Switching back and forth between them was easy; I just clicked on the volume control and selected which one I wanted to use. Once I figured that out, everything went very smoothly. Using another gaming headset that plugged into the control dial via a standard 3.5mm port worked great, and the sound quality from them was just as good as if plugged directly into my computer, so non-USB played very well with this system.


Overall, I really liked the Creative Sound BlasterX Kratos S5 gaming speakers. Other than the short connecting wire between the satellite speakers and the sub-woofer (which is a minor complaint!), I had no complaints about it whatsoever. I feel the product is worth the price and my system has been significantly upgraded to the point where I used my headset only when competitively gaming. If you are looking to upgrade your PC speakers, I would highly recommend taking a look at the Creative Kratos S5 gaming speakers. There are a lot of 2.1 speakers on the market, and these ones are definitely worth looking at.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Creative. Please visit their site for more information and Amazon to order.

 

Product Information

Price: $129.99
Manufacturer: Creative
Pros:
  • – Great sound quality
  • – Customized lighting looks fantastic
  • – Good for everyday gaming
Cons:
  • – Short cables

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Creative Sound BlasterX Kratos S5 2.1 gaming speakers review originally appeared on on May 11, 2017 at 10:43 am.

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Your dream of a mousepad with programmable lights has come true


The QcK Prism mousepad is no ordinary mouse pad. Made for gamers by SteelSeries, the QcK Prism features wrap around illumination with 12 programmable zones that light up in millions of color combinations. But light effects is not the only trick up this mousepad’s sleeve. Do mousepads even have sleeves? Don’t answer that.

The QcK Prism mousepad also offers two surfaces for your gaming pleasure. There’s a micro-textured cloth on one side of the mousepad that adds friction for more deliberate movements and when you flip the mousepad to the other side, there’s a hard polymer surface for a fast-paced glide.

The QcK Prism is now available at steelseries.com/qckprism for $59.99 and online retailers including Amazon. For more information about SteelSeries’ QcK Prism or SteelSeries complete selection of gaming accessories, visit SteelSeries.com.

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Your dream of a mousepad with programmable lights has come true originally appeared on on April 28, 2017 at 9:52 am.

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