Like any other hardware component that suffers from wear and tear , there comes a time when for one reason or another gaming peripherals no longer work as they should and must be replaced. In the case of gaming peripherals , although they are normally made to last longer, wear is more pronounced by the way we use them. So, how do you know that the time has come to change your gaming peripherals for new ones ?
Gaming peripherals, at least good quality ones from reputable manufacturers, are generally made to last. And it is that the way we use them tends to be much more intensive than with normal peripherals, and in fact not only intensive in terms of hours of use but we also tend to use them in a much more aggressive way, with fast movements and continuous keystrokes, especially punishing the WASD area of the keyboard, for example.
When should I change my gaming peripherals?
In essence, you shouldn’t have to change them until they stop working or do it poorly. An intensive use of peripherals will cause the level of wear to increase and they will end up failing, but it can take many years for this to happen, and in fact it is normal for them to last a long time in good condition, especially if you have done preventive maintenance on them adequate (especially in terms of cleanliness).
However, there are other “symptoms” that, although the peripheral continues to function more or less adequately, could lead you to make the decision that it is time to change them for new ones.
Keyboard
When we talk about gaming peripherals, the keyboard is one of those that suffers the most wear and tear, especially in the WASD area because it is the one that we will commonly use to move our virtual characters. It is not uncommon to find keyboards that in the WASD area have reached 20 million keystrokes per key, while on other keys they have only a few thousand keystrokes. Therefore, it is relatively common for switches in this zone to be the first to fail.
However, until a key fails, it wouldn’t be a reason to change the keyboard, right? But there are other symptoms that could “help” us to make the decision, such as with backlit keyboards; Especially if you use white lighting, over time, after hours and hours on, the white light ends up turning yellowish or purple, so it no longer looks good overall.
Likewise, there are many keyboards on which the typeface of the keys is not laser engraved but screen printed. With use, you will see that many keys are smooth and shiny from the touch of your fingers, even seeing fonts that have been completely erased.
Mouse and mouse pad
After the keyboard, the mouse is another of the gaming peripherals that suffers the most wear and tear, partly because almost all the time we will have our hand on it. It is normal that dirt accumulates on the Teflon legs in the lower area, and even that at a given moment it does not work as it should because dirt has been introduced into the sensor itself, but this is something that with proper cleaning we can easily solve.
Likewise, with use, brightness will appear in the mouse, and if it has lighting it will begin to lose intensity and the colors will start to look strange (as we have mentioned before on the keyboard, the whites will appear yellowish or purplish), but if you are not very sybaritic This is also not a problem as long as the mouse continues to function well. The problem comes in many mice, which have rubber anchors on the sides to facilitate better grip.
Due to the heat of the hands, and often to the sweat, the adhesive that anchors these rubber pieces to the mouse itself begins to soften and lose its properties, eventually peeling off. Of course we can use plastic glue to put it back in place, but it will never be “the same” again. This is a clear reason why you could start to wonder that the time has come to change your gaming peripherals, or at least your mouse.
Something similar happens with the mat: the friction of the mouse, however slight, ends up generating wear. Likewise, the area in which we rest the wrist also suffers wear, aggravated by the sweat of the hands, and ends up being not only ugly, but often a little sunk by the weight of the hand and wrist. When it’s no longer comfortable, you’ll know the time has come to change it.
The headphones
The case of headphones is something a little more particular. As a general rule, they are used much less than the mouse or keyboard and, in addition, since they are not a peripheral that we are constantly moving or pressing their buttons, they suffer less wear than these. However there is one factor to keep in mind, and it has to do with the ear muffs and their pads.
Faux fur-covered ear muffs end up hardening with use, and at that point they won’t take long to arch. Hard, arched faux fur ear muffs will not only be uncomfortable but will hurt your ears, so either you change this part if you can, or you know the time has come to change them. In the case of fabric earmuffs, they do not harden or crack, but they can rip or be quite ugly and uncomfortable with sweat.
When to change the other gaming peripherals?
Obviously there are many other gaming peripherals that will also be prone to wear and tear, but are typically used slightly less. We refer, of course, for example to the steering wheels and joysticks for simulation games, the gamepad, keypad and all kinds of additional tools. In general, you should not consider changing them until they stop working properly, but as in the previous cases, if for aesthetics they no longer look like they should and you are quite demanding in this regard, the decision is in your hands.
In short, the conclusion of this is that there is no definite time to change the gaming peripherals, but they suffer a lot of wear and tear and there comes a time when they do not work as they should, they are no longer comfortable or they are even so worn and used that they are already ugly.