This article is aimed at those who are looking for a high-quality mouse and keyboard for PC, solution for a work-oriented use. We are talking about:
- Webmasters, Systems engineers
- Photographers, Graphic designers
- Engineers who work at the CAD
- Writers, Bloggers, and Journalists
- Employees working at the terminal
The market offers a really wide choice of input devices, but there seems to be a resounding gap in products aimed at ” business ” users. On the other hand, we found a lack of attention to high-end mouse and keyboards by the professional users themselves, and this, as we shall see later, is a mistake!
With this article, even before recommending the right devices for professional use, we want to explain that it is really important to invest in a quality mouse and keyboard aimed at business use.
Why use a specific mouse and keyboard?
Reflect and think of a comparison with the drill of an assembler of furniture (just to give an example): if a quality drill, although expensive, allows you to make the same holes in less time than an economic drill, to the professional user will be spared a few hours of work and effort at the end of the month or money.
Think about how much it costs an hour of work and multiplied by the duration of the drill … it is easy to see how the greater cost is largely repaid and indeed is an investment that makes. On the contrary, for the amateur and occasional user, an expensive drill would not be amortized: nothing changes for him to make his 5 monthly holes in 5 minutes instead of 3!
We have the same dynamic as those who work on the PC. We have seen many professional users use a cheap mouse and ” toy ” keyboards and lose so much time in the simple click of icons, without even realizing it! This is absurd for a person who only has these as working tools!
We point out that these considerations apply to both the entrepreneur and the employee, as working well and carefree is the basis of productivity and good results.
What’s on the Market, the important features?
The market segments of the input devices at the leading manufacturers are generally three: economic, medium/good, and high-end gaming-oriented (videogame). In the catalogs of the main producers, there are no specific lines of peripherals designed for those who work with the PC all day, so you have to go and look for them, and we did it for you!
But let’s see what are the characteristics that these devices should have. In our opinion:
- High accuracy
- Reliable wireless with long-life rechargeable batteries
- Ergonomics combined with a sober aesthetic
- Reliability and durability
The first characteristic of precision is, in our opinion, the most important and the most underrated in offices all over the world. This is a very serious mistake! A keyboard or a mouse with poor resolution implies very small but constant inaccuracies that result in a waste of time, misprints and errors that, put together, constitute a very high-productivity deficit. Investing in precision allows you to work with fewer mistakes and frustration … in one word: better.
Mouse and keyboard bundled with the PC
Simply, do not use them and keep them at maximum stock. This applies to virtually all PCs: cheap or top of the range, branded and not branded; even professional workstations are sold with really basic mouse and keyboard. Can we understand the economic reasons but, at least in high-end computers, do manufacturers not realize that a low-quality mouse compromises the use of the whole system, diminishing it? Do not fall for it and leave it in the box!
And for the Mac?
Attention, this also applies to the iMac peripherals: beautiful and quality, no doubt, but absolutely inadequate for intensive use. The articles that we are going to suggest you mostly work with Apple’s systems (verified in their respective technical characteristics). Of course, the aesthetics will not be the same, but we must give priority to efficiency!
Recommended Devices
Features of the Professional Mouse
For those who work all day at the PC or with the Mac, the mouse is the main tool and deserves the best attention. The right mouse to work must necessarily be wireless and equipped with a long-lasting battery and the ability to recharge even during use (to avoid the risk of being ” on foot ” ). Our preference goes to the mouse with replaceable AA batteries, but it should also be said that dedicated batteries allow better performance.
Accuracy must be very high: this is given by both a quality-free, interference-free reception/transmission system and a high-resolution tracking part. Obviously optical, our preference goes to laser pointers with dark light (dark laser) that work well on every surface. Ergonomics is also important for optimal use. The ideal mouse is wide and allows comfortable hand support.
The keys must be where they are needed, and, above all, they do not have to be too many! The wheel must have a smooth movement, and maybe a ” launch ” release system, a feature that, once tested will no longer require a mouse without it. The second wheel is only useful for certain types of programs, generally those of graphics and photo editing, or work with large spreadsheets.
And here we are at the paradox: the mice that meet the ” business ” requirements of precision from the optical point of view are mostly the mouse for videogamers, a kind of device invented by the legendary Razer and now present in the catalog of every manufacturer of PC peripherals, including some specialized producers.
The ” gaming mouse ” have high-precision characteristics, unthinkable for a ” normal ” mouse, this is an indispensable feature, especially in ” shooter ” games, but that, we assure you, returns very comfortable even in-office use!
Using a gaming mouse for business use is not optimal: ergonomics is designed for use with video games, therefore fast; they have many buttons and programmable functions completely useless, they have an unacceptable appearance in an office, including (often) led lights and such amenities. But above all, almost all gaming mice are with the wire, because otherwise the response speed would be limited by the transmission! The prices are also high for branded items, and as we said, you pay unnecessary duties in an office.
A model that should always be looked at when looking for a high-quality work mouse is the top of the range of Logitech, but even in this case, we do not always get a quality sufficient for intensive office use. Fortunately, the current model is excellent, let’s see it in the following paragraph.
Mouse models to buy
In our opinion, a mouse stands out among all as a reference article for business use, the Logitech MX Master 2S. Now in its second version, this mouse, obviously wireless, has an almost perfect ergonomics: everything is in place, only the buttons on the thumb can be improved, which are not very intuitive. The wheel has an automatic electromagnetic release system with automatic adjustment of the scroll speed really well thought out and realized, you get used in a short time and do not go back anymore! There is also a button for classic shots.
Thanks to the Darkfield laser precision is obviously at the highest levels: the dpi is not declared, but we are at the levels of a discrete gaming mouse, only that this is wireless, and it works in two modes: Logitech Unifying or Bluetooth. It works on every surface (even the crystal!). But we always suggest you combine a good mat.
Its battery is integrated with Lithium and ensures a stated duration of 40 days of work for 6 hours a day: we found that the data declared are correct, and you can recharge the mouse simply by connecting it with the thin USB cable and continuing to use! Of course, there are mice that guarantee a battery life of a year or more, but they have a much lower performance!
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We repeat: this is absolutely the best mouse ever produced for professional use! If you want to save something, you could think of buying the next lower model, or the Logitech Marathon M705, do not do it! This is an old-fashioned mouse really bad inaccuracy, among the worst mouse, we’ve tried. In comparison, a basic model is better!
Features of the Professional Keyboard
A premise is a must: unlike the mouse, which is a basic device for every type of computer user, the keyboard is mostly used only by some categories of workers, primarily writers, webmasters, programmers. But also from those who have a busy social life and those who work mainly via email (for example, all managers). There are not a few categories of workers who make intensive use of the keyboard!
Despite the touch devices and decades of attempts to supplant the keyboard with more advanced systems of writing (primarily, voice dictation), this remains one of the basic devices of contemporary computing, and just as for the mouse, it would be absurd not to invest a few tens of dollars for a quality device.
Once the keyboards were ” click-click ” and weighed a lot. Today, they are light and silent, because they have gone from the microswitch to the membrane system. The membrane allows you to make thin and very cheap keyboards, but the response under the fingers is not always ” solid ” and the typing may present uncertainties and errors.
These defects are amplified in the fast use, that is to say, those who work for the whole day and the … of videogamers! Here again, the technology applied to the ” first-person shooter ” meets the needs of those who use the PC for intensive use, but for work reasons!
Modern gaming keyboards have made a return to the past and re-propose the much loved/hated microswitch technology, with a lot of noise, heaviness, and costs, but also with its top-level typing!
If in video games the switches are indispensable for fast play action, using a ” mechanical ” keyboard for work has pleasantness and precision far superior to the best membrane keyboard, and you do not need to be typewriters to appreciate it: we recommend it even if you work only a few hours a day with email and office.
Choosing a mechanical keyboard model is not easy since there are more types of switches and layouts, so each brand has at least a dozen peer models that differ in terms of use.
Types of Cherry MX micro-switches
The modern switches are mostly manufactured by the Cherry company that offers more lines of ” interrupters ” that differ in hardness and response, let’s see them:
We continue to define the characteristics of the ideal office keyboard. Unfortunately, you will not find it wireless, and this is really a big shame. Only the first wireless micro-switch keyboards have just appeared on the market, but we believe it is still too early to buy them. If using a mouse with the wire is now unthinkable, we can still adapt to the keyboard, especially if the use of the wire allows us to use a qualitatively better device.
Remembering that we are looking among the gaming models, we must then find a fairly sober model, because in the products of the sector, there is really every kind of frill … keyboards with a spatial look, additional commands of all kinds, programmable keys, up to the LED lighting keys, which could also be useful to someone.
Finally, we must pay attention to the keyboard layout, since it is likely that you will want it with the classic key layout according to the Italian standard, then QWERTY and with the classic accented letters.
Keyboard Models to Buy
Fortunately, not all producers of keyboards for video games offer hyper-accessorized models, and you can find keyboards to switch without too many frills. The brands convince us more are Corsair and Cooler Master, and we opted for the MX Brown micros, witch versions which are the best compromise between noise and response in use. The models we have selected for you are very heavy, solid and compact.
The build quality is excellent and is first noticed by the hated cable, which is often protected by braid. There are some replacement keys and tweezers to remove them. In use, they are fantastic, allow faster typing and with fewer errors, but above all, they are pleasant to use! Here is the much-appreciated Corsair model:
- Individual keys with Gold Crosspoint contacts (MX technology)
- Codeset 3 support (PS/2 connection only) E.G. For UNIX computers
- High-quality keyboard for outstanding performance, fulfilling even the highest...
Here is a good model of Cooler Master, backlit red led
- Mechanical BROWN CHERRY MX Switches
- Windows keys disabled in Game mode
- Extra key caps bundled (with key puller)
For those who want to try the classic version with Blue switch, the right model is as follows
Keyboard & Mouse
The ” all-in-one ” keyboard mouse systems are certainly the most practical solution for business use, but in our opinion, none of the all-in-one systems on the market comes to the quality we have targeted. In particular, from the integrated systems are always excluded the top of the mouse, while the keyboards are always the type membrane (we have seen why it is not the right choice).
In general, the most expensive systems are such because they have additional multimedia functions completely useless in business use, if not even in the way of obstruction. Well instead of battery life, which are improving year by year despite the increase in functions and consumption of devices.
The first kit, we recommend is Microsoft and has a very good shaped keyboard, among the best membrane keyboards on the market. The paired mouse is very precise and has a really huge battery life: up to a year with two classic stylus. It has a classic wheel with no jerky movement and two side keys; it uses a ” bluetrack ” led that suffers little from shiny surfaces.
- Ergonomist-Approved Comfort Curve Design
- Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 128-Bit Encryption
- Built in palm rest helps support and straighten wrists
We could then not insert a Logitech system, but not the top of the range, which costs almost double the following and has more useless multimedia features. Better is the MK520 which is designed for business use and has an inviting cost. In our opinion, the Microsoft kit above is preferable as precision and pleasantness of use, but we recommend this Logitech to those who just do not digest the curved keyboard of Microsoft.
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