What is the minimum cost to get a functional and smart wireless gaming setup?

Gaming peripherals are very subjective, and it's hard to agree on the best mouse or the best keyboard. There are many fine particulars that can make a keyboard or mouse better for you. But if a limited budget is your biggest concern, let me show you how I have achieved a setup that rivals my usual $500+ luxury setup for only $100. The comparison of a budget setup versus a luxury setup is part of a YouTube series called What's the Deal. Full episodes can be found here:

For the "premium" setup, I have the Razer triumvirate: the Deathstalker V2 Pro keyboard for $250, the Basilisk V3 Pro for over $150, and the Strider Chroma is $130, for a total of about $530. It would be easy to forgo the mousepad, but as with all Razer products, the more compatible products you can sync up, the more immersive the experience.

That said, the "Razer tax" is real, and you can easily find comparable products like Corsair and Logitech for much less. But what I think makes this Razer setup stand out is how well these peripherals sync up. I especially appreciate the reactive lighting effects in the games I play the most, like Overwatch 2. Razer also offers vast support for third-party hardware, like my Yeelight Cubes.

I knew it would be hard to find a decent wireless keyboard and mouse for under $100; I didn't expect to get all the features that Razer had in their setup, but after searching within my budget, performance, comfort, and of course RGB customization were my priorities.

I didn't know much about Redragon until about a month before I started this challenge, but their name was always mentioned as a top-rated brand, with over 1,000 five-star reviews on most products listed on Amazon.

I opted for the Redragon K530W RBG Pro for about $54 and the Redragon M810W-RGB-Pro for about $30. With the rest of my budget, I purchased this generic RGB gaming mousepad for $10.

To see how these budget and premium setups stack up against each other, check out the full YouTube video.

In terms of performance, the Redragon picks did not disappoint: the Basilisk V3 Pro boasts a higher DPI than the M810W, and of course the K530W is only 60% of a keyboard, but when you are in a game like Overwatch 2, it feels equally feel equally competitive.

Ergonomically, the M810W is very similar to the Basilisk, although it is slightly smaller toward the back, so your palm drags a bit on the mousepad. Also, the Redragon has a better texture and does not have the firm grip of the Razer, but on the other hand, the Redragon feels lighter in the hand and is easier to flick.

The K530 is a hot-swappable mechanical keyboard with a choice of red, blue, or brown switches and 3-pin or 5-pin support. I preferred the smaller size of the keyboard, as it was easier to position and cleaner on my desk while gaming. However, the lack of dedicated function keys and arrow keys became a problem when I switched to productivity; the K530 would be perfect for a dedicated gaming PC, but its small size was a limitation for me, as I like to go back and forth with my work laptop.

There were many other quirks to this Redragon setup, but in the end, I realized that the biggest thing that sets Razer apart is its ecosystem. The hardware is great, but the software is even better. Razer Synapse offers simple and highly customizable adjustments for a growing number of games and other hardware integrations as well as their own products.

My Redragon setup offers excellent RGB effects (which in some ways are even more impressive than Razer's), but completely lacks the incredible syncing and integration features that Razer has spoiled me with. That said, I half expected that choosing Redragon for both mouse and keyboard would provide some degree of synchronized lighting effects between the two; given the brightness, smoothness, and other impressive aspects of Redragon's built-in effects, this was a missed opportunity

Teams.

Going all in for Team Green comes at a cost, but if you're looking for the ultimate gaming experience, look no further. On the other hand, if you are looking for superior performance and have a limited budget, Redragon is a very strong contender that offers incredible value.