Hihi SEN, I'm looking to buy a computer of things for my computer here:

The first is a set of computer speakers. I'll be replacing the free ones from my previous computer. (my current didn't come with any) So, these things are six or seven years old. I listen to enough music and stuff that I deserve some better ones at this point. I don't really care about having surround sound and all of that nonsense. Not looking to spend more than $40, just a simple pair of left and right speakers. (maybe a subwoofer)

The other item is a new mouse. I'm using a Microsoft wired optical wheel mouse. Not looking for anything more complicated or fancy than that. The padding and stuff has just worn away, it's only slightly newer than the speakers and could use a replacement.

Any suggestions for either?

Pretty much any sub-$40 speakers you buy should do well. I'm using some generic logitech ones I got for $26 at best buy, working fine, music sounds good. Just go to newegg and look at whatever has better ratings.

On the mouse part, for something basic but awesome, I'd recommend this. We had several of these; it's wired, but solidly built, feels good, etc. Very solid choice. They also probably have this or a variant at your local electronics store (best buy) so you can try it out and buy there. If you wanted something more awesome, I'm currently using Logitech's Anywhere MX mouse. It's small, wireless (2 months intensive use, battery-powered), has Logitech's nice switchable scroll wheel, etc. link. It's small because it's meant to be a notebook mouse (and I use a notebook), but I got used to it and it's fantastic for everything.

EDIT: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007Z1M50/ref=ord_cart_shr?t=slickdeals&tag=slickdeals&ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER Looks like a good deal on the first mouse.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Nov 27 2010, 6:43 pm by Centreri.

Vivanco Red Velvet. Best mouse for lowest price in my opinion. Feels amazing, super lightweight, comes wired or wireless. 7 fully customizable buttons, which are all in useful places. The general shape of the mouse is the most comfortable thing I've ever held. It has extremely high accuracy. So much so that I felt noticeable improvement compared to my old mouse, immediate improvement in comfort. And the 'comfort' a mouse gives you isn't really something you take into consideration, but as soon as I had this one wired up I was like 'wow...'

Definite best buy for a mouse. As for speakers, The 30 to 40 dollar range should do you allright. I have a set of Labtec speakers right now, left and right sattelites with subwoofer. Does the job. But I use a pair of old-school BeyerDynamic DT 321 Galactics for my headphones. They're about a decade old and you can't really find them anywhere. But they are a testament to the quality and durability of all BeyerDynamic products.

the logitech mx518 changed my life. All mice with similar designs from logitech are about equal. you'll pay extra for laser, higher DPI, wireless, weight variability, etc. The mx 518 is the cheapest you can get, and all the buttons except 1 work without setpoint, so you don't even need to install it, though if you want the full 1600 DPI, you'll have to install it. It's currently $25 at amazon. The only problems are: rice on the cover (looks like dents), skin easily rubs off onto the mouse requiring cleaning, scroll wheel is typical cheapo (not the metal free scroll kind).

Razer mice are generally overpriced, but excellent for lefties (logitech is all right handed). Any time you drop over $50 on a mouse you should be impressed (I bought my mx518 5 years ago for $50).

Microsoft makes some nice mice as well, as you can see in the sidewinder series. Just look at this motherfucking mouse and you'll see why. The sidewinder keyboards are excellent as well, since they have decent rollover.

Can't help on on speakers. IMO speakers are old tech, so the "new stuff" is pretty much identical to the stuff we had back in 1970. If anything, they're made in china, and much much worse quality. I am not an will never be and audiophile. while it's usually not a good idea to go by newegg reviews, this is one location where I'd do a lot of research on if you care about what you buy. Since audio quality can't be quantified without a human guessing, you really just have to look at as many reviews as you can. If you notice your speakers ever making noise, like a pop...pop sound, that's just the speakers releasing some pent up energy, either in the magnets themselves, or the capacitors. It happens more often on cheap speakers than expensive ones, and usually only when the speakers are idling. Sometimes you may pick up AM radio on the speakers too, with no volume control. These are all normal, and happen on all speakers, just at different frequencies and severity based on the quality of the product.

My brother has one that looks just like in that picture, so I assume it's a sidewinder. I wouldn't recommend it. After my logitechs, it feels light and plasticky with annoying LEDs in comparison... not sophisticated like a Logitech. Again, in addition to the MX815 or whatever it is, I'd look at the Logitech Anywhere Mouse. I believe it's ~$60 now, wireless (I've had maybe 2 second-long hiccups in six months), runs on batteries I change once every two months. It has... 7 effective inputs, five buttons (two of the inputs are moving the wheel right or left), and the wheel can alternate between free-spin and the normal just by clicking on it. It's solidly built, I had no troubles with it whatsoever. It comes with one of those tiny Logitech dongles that can connect with multiple Logitech products; very good for my lappy.

The Sidewinder is plasticky. Like, really, really light and plasticky. More advanced than those generic white old ball-mice, but even more plasticky than those 15-year old mice. VERY PLASTICKY. Look at it in a store before buying.