Mid-Budget SteelSeries Gaming Setup Review

Performance

Well, if there’s one issue with headsets and me it’s that most of them do not fit. The headbands often aren’t long enough or they kick out at the bottom, but thankfully the Arctis 1 fit perfectly. Even while I’m wearing a hat to hide my terrible mess of Covid-19 lockdown hair, ha! The soft memory foam padding is super comfortable, however, remember it won’t lock in the sound quite as well as leather, but it does prevent your ears from getting warm.

It can be hooked up to anything with a USB C port easily enough and pairs instantly. If you don’t have this port, don’t worry, the USB extension cable is Type-A to Type-C and solves that problem easily enough. Plus, in a pinch, you can use the 3.5mm cable too.

Multi-Format Support

I love that it natively works on the Nintendo Switch too, just plug and play. I don’t have one, so I got the James to model his instead; keeping the kids busy in lockdown is easy, just annoy them with stuff like this.

Next up, we have the mouse. I have pretty large hands and long fingers, so many gaming mice just don’t fit my hand. However, while I would like it to be a touch bigger, it’s really comfortable in my hand. It’s got a light and nimble feel without feeling cheap or flimsy. It’ll withstand plenty of rage in whatever MOBA is popular for the next five minutes.

The sensor is pretty fantastic too, the mouse tracks really well and smoothly too. Which is obviously just what you need for gaming. For those twitchy shooters or those chaotic raids, it’s perfect. Really impressed with it for this price range!

Oh and it looks stunning too, no doubt about that.

Switches

As for the keyboard, it’s a lot better than I hoped. It’s not mechanical in the traditional sense, but it does have more of an MX Brown switch feel to it. It uses a spring plunger design so it has some travel, a nice bump, and a good switch return rate. It doesn’t feel like a membrane or a true mechanical, but it’s a happy medium (and that’s reflected in the price).

I actually has the same design as their true mechanicals but at a lower price point, which is neat. However, I really do enjoy typing on this one. I’ve been typing on it for a few days, and it’s quick and quiet, which I like.

The wrist rest is the most important aspect though, it’s long enough to suit my long hands, and it’s a hard-wearing rubber, so it’s very forgiving on your wrist bones.

Gaming

As a set, all three of these peripherals look absolutely stunning together. The RGB on the keyboard and mouse looks great, at least if you’re into that kind of thing. The headset doesn’t have RGB, which is perfect, as I do think it’s pointless and it’ll be a waste of battery life anyway. Aesthetics are a big part of PC gaming though, so things should match up best they can, and I think SteelSeries has done a great job of that here, even though these three devices aren’t technically sold as a set.

The keyboard is pretty nimble to game on, much more than I expected. It’s not quite as sharp as a mechanical keyboard, but honestly, for my chilled out approach to gaming that’s fine. Those pushing to be an eSports pro might want something slightly higher up the range. My crafting and trading adventures were an easy match for the keyboard and mouse though. Of course, some Trials and world bosses didn’t slow me down though, it’s just a very comfortable setup overall and that’s what my aching fingers really want at the end of the day.

The headset is way better than I could have hoped too. For £80 you get a LOT of ergonomic and functionality features. They’re easy to set up, work on lots of popular devices, they’re wireless, the battery life is great, etc. However, most importantly of all, they sound great. That’s no surprise, given that SteelSeries has long made many of the best sounding headsets on the market over the last 10 years or so. From the Siberia headsets of years gone bye to the flagship Arctis Pros. There’s good bass response, and the mid and treble sing bright and clear. This is especially true of the microphone, and for Discord chat, it sounds stunning.