If you’re the lucky owner of a great gaming laptop or desktop rig, one way to get the most value out of your experience — and up your cred among fellow gamers — is to add a keyboard, mouse, or router to boost your performance. A mechanical keyboard, for example, can help with precision and speed when playing fast-paced action titles, while a gaming mouse can deliver better ergonomics for longer gaming sessions. And though it can be pricey, a gaming router can help by reducing latency, improving speeds, and letting you more quickly respond to enemies. As part of Amazon’s one-day gaming sale, you can take up to 69 percent off of some of these essential gaming accessories.
Mechanical keyboards
With prices ranging from $40 to $104, you can find a mechanical gaming keyboard with LED backlit lighting to fit your budget. The cheapest deal is for Corsair’s K55 RGB keyboard for $40, a $10 discount from the original price. This keyboard comes with a wrist rest to reduce fatigue, three-zone dynamic RGB backlighting, six programmable macro keys, dedicated media control buttons, and a quiet and responsive typing experience. Gamers will also benefit from multikey anti-ghosting technology. This peripheral is compatible with Microsoft’s Xbox One console for games that support keyboard input.
If you need a high-end keyboard, you can choose between Razer’s $89 BlackWidow X Chroma, which is being discounted from $149, or Corsair’s $104 K70 RGB MK.2 keyboard, which is normally $169. Both keyboards feature mechanical key switches, anti-ghosting with rollover technology, and individually backlit keys. Razer’s keyboard features 1000Hz Ultrapolling with mechanical key switches that actuate at an optimal distance, while the MK.2 comes with a premium aluminum frame and Corsair’s Cherry MX silent mechanical switches and a USB pass-through port to conveniently connect a wired mouse or headset.
Precision mice
Amazon’s sale offers some of the best savings on gaming mice, shaving up to 69 percent off the listed price. Logitech makes some of the best gaming mice on the market, like the highly coveted G502, but if that’s out of your price range, the Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouse is now discounted to just $24 from its original price of $79. Designed for MMO gaming, this mouse features 20 MMO-tuned buttons, as well as a G-shift ring-finger button, all in a sculpted design for ergonomic comfort.
For better tracking and more precision, you’ll want to use your new mouse on a dedicated mouse pad, rather than gliding it along on any plain tabletop surface. For just $6, you can get Razer’s Goliathus Speed mousepad in the small size, which makes it perfect for smaller desks, tight spaces, and mobile use.
More advanced gamers will want to choose from either the the Corsair Scimitar Pro RGB, discounted from $79 to $49, or the Razer Basilisk Gaming Mouse, discounted from $69 to $44. Both wired RGB backlit mice feature accurate 16,000-DPI optical tracking sensors. The Corsair option comes with 12 optimized mechanical side buttons, a tactile design, and 8mm of key travel, while Razer boasts on-the-fly sensitivity adjustments, eight programmable buttons, and quick DPI toggles optimized for first-person-shooter games.
If you need a wireless experience, Logitech’s G603 Lightspeed delivers a terrific experience. The company’s Hero optical sensor and Lightspeed wireless connectivity deliver fast 1ms response time. You’ll need to use Logitech’s wireless adapter to benefit from this mouse’s responsiveness, as Lightspeed doesn’t rely on Bluetooth technology. There are six programmable buttons on this ergonomically shaped mouse. And though the weight of the G603 Lightspeed can be controlled by using up to two AA batteries, this design also means that the G603 can’t simply be recharged over a USB cable. The G603 boasts a less aggressive design than the recently announced G502 Lightspeed, and Logitech has shown that it could deliver faster and more responsive performance in its wireless mice than even wired counterparts.
Lag-free wireless routers
For wireless connectivity inside the home, the simplest setup — especially if you have Xfinity internet and voice service from Comcast — is Netgear’s Nighthawk Wi-Fi cable modem and router with telephone jack. This router delivers a maximum download speed of 400 Mbps and allows a telephone to also be plugged in for old-fashioned landline calls. This dual-band Wi-Fi AC 1900 router integrated into the DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem is now on sale for $223, a savings of 20 percent.
Gamers with a need for speed may want to turn to the $359 Netgear Nighthawk Pro XR700 Gaming router, which supports six Ethernet ports delivering gigabit connection. The router also supports Wi-Fi AD7200 technology to help reduce latency, as well as call fallback to AC Wi-Fi for a more reliable connection. With automatic geo-filtering and the ability to support VPN connections, this router is optimized for Fortnite, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Overwatch, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and more.
If you’re in a large home and need to blanket your residence with Wi-Fi connectivity, mesh routers are also on sale. With a 44 percent discount, you can score a two-pack of TP-Link’s Deco Whole Home Mesh network, which can keep more than 100 devices connected across a 3,800 square-foot home. The router supports 500 Mbps internet speeds, and comes with antivirus support from Trend Micro.
