The classic combo of mouse and keyboard has flexibility on its side, but any gamer can tell you that for some types of games, nothing beats the speed of a console controller. Funnily enough, the logic remains sound when you move to the realm of productivity -- in this case, editing images. As NZ photographer Ben Stewart shows, a PlayStation joypad can have its place beside your Wacom tablet in certain scenarios.

I've been a Mac user for a decade, but I've always hated Apple's default one-button mouse, and I've never gotten comfortable with trackpad gestures. I grew up using a three-button mouse on the family Amiga. Years later, I loved scroll wheels, trackballs, and mice with thumb buttons, but I wanted more.

In gym circles, debates over gear like weightlifting belts, gloves or shoes can get ugly. Either they're a crutch or you're a fool for not wearing them. But like belts, weightlifting shoes can help in some cases, but in others they're just for show. The key is figuring out your needs, and your goals.

One of the confounding problems with a number of "gaming" headsets is that so many of them look like gaming headsets. Which is fine if you're at home in front of the computer, but if you want to buy a headset that can also be the headphones you listen to out and about, The Arctis 5 from SteelSeries is a great option.

This video, from the always-great LinusTechTips, is perfect if you're upgrading or building a gaming PC before the end of the year. The beginning is a straightforward rundown of which video card you should buy, and after the TLDR section is over, the nitty gritty of price-to-performance comes in.

If you love taking pictures with your phone, or want to take time lapse videos with it, you could probably use a tripod, and the Kenu Stance gets the job done. It's small enough to fold up and put on a keychain, has a bottle opener on one side and is surprisingly stable while being adjustable.

If you want the ultimate in desktop screen space, you have two options: Get a bigger monitor, or get a 4K monitor. Both options offer you more space to spread out and work, and more pixels to cram your windows into, but two are the focus of many monitor-buyers today: Ultrawide and 4K. Let's see how they stack up, practically.

A good mechanical keyboard can be fun for work or play, but finding one that delivers everywhere you need it to can be a bit of a challenge. Das Keyboard's newly launched Prime 13 is a well-built stunner, and ticks off a lot of the personal boxes I look for in a mechanical that can pull double duty.

Assuming you don't work in a datacenter, it's not as common as it once was to have multiple computers at one desk -- and even if you do, many displays support multiple inputs, and apps like Synergy control several computers with one keyboard and mouse. So: Do you use a KVM anymore, or is it outdated tech?

Most of us have more than one device in our lives, whether it's multiple computers, or just a laptop and a tablet or phone. Kanex's MultiSync Aluminium Keyboard can connect to all of them, switch between them seamlessly, and still rid your desk of wires and excess clutter.

PC gaming gear can be fun, and even help you be more productive, but it's rare to find ones designed to be customisable and high-performance for gaming but equally useful when it's time to get things done. Das Keyboard's new gaming line, Division Zero, manages both, with some caveats.

Gaming peripherals are great for productivity as well as games -- they often come with macro buttons you can program special commands for. Over at DIY Photography, they explain that gaming mice are especially great, since the extra programmable buttons can do in one click what keyboard shortcuts may take several to accomplish.

USB car chargers are common, but less so are ones that keep charging your gear when the car is off, or that can double as an external battery pack. The Nomad RoadTrip is both: It will charge your phone while you drive, but it will also keep your phone juiced with its built in 3000mAh battery.

For the average user, a keyboard is just an inanimate tool you use to fire off letters to your PC, but for the career programmer, finding the perfect device that matches your preferences and typing style is a mission in itself. Imagine your favourite board crapping itself and being forced to switch to one with a slightly different layout or configuration... sounds like hell, right?

The Kenu Airframe is one of our favourite smartphone car mounts, but the team behind it just unveiled a new car kit that includes an Airframe+, capable of securing large phones like the Nexus 6P, and their new DualTrip fast phone charger, which can charge your phone and a passenger's while you drive.

Logitech and Razer both have some pretty awesome gaming peripherals. Whether you're playing games or getting real work done, they're both great options. The software they use have some small, but important differences. Here's how they stack up against each other.

Finding the perfect mount for your smartphone in your car can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are tons of options. Some are cheap but way too basic while others are loaded with a bunch of features you'll never need. Then there are the models that are just right. This week we're looking at five of the best, with a price to suit every budget.

A good pair of space-saving, budget-friendly, great-sounding speakers aren't impossible to find. You just need a solid set of bookshelf speakers, and this week we're looking at five pairs that meet those criteria.

Everyone knows gaming mice and keyboards can make you barrel through fast-paced games with peak efficiency. But with all those buttons and macros, they can actually help you work smarter, too. Here's why I swear by them.