#you don't necessarily have to buy a mouse pad to get the most out of your mouse when you play games

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- Hey, guys, this is Austin.

This is the brand new Series 2 Edition

of the Xbox Elite controller, which has got me thinking.

Kevin, what is the best controller that I can buy right now?

- Well, we got a different couple options to talk about here

so let's round 'em up and see.

(imitates music)

? Kevin Kenson music, Kevin Kenson music, ?

? Kevin Kenson music, do do doo ?

The benchmark that I compare every single controller to

is the current generation Xbox One.

Now, it's seen some updates over the last few years,

like Bluetooth and an audio jack,

you also have the Design Lab.

But this is always what I compare things to.

Kev, why am I wrong?

- I mean, look, the standard Xbox One controller

is a great controller.

When it comes to just the baseline models

that come with systems

this is honestly my my personal favorite as well.

- [Austin] Same, yeah.

- But there's a lot of room for improvement still

and there's a lot of things that have kind of become more

common and popular amongst pro controllers

that aren't necessarily feasible

in an affordable regular baseline like this one.

- Such as.

- Such as Microsoft's own Xbox One Elite 2.

Honestly, we could talk all day

about the special features and things.

I think the main kind of take away points

aside from just general build quality,

multiple sticks you can use, multiple D-pads, back paddles.

Which are pretty common across a lot of these ones.

The big stuff for this too though

is the unique customization features

that are in the Xbox Accessories app

where you can do things like button remapping,

adding a Shift button options, stick acceleration,

lots of crazy in depth stuff.

- And of course, this works across the Xbox

as well as the PC and those settings that you sync

will actually work across consoles as well.

Or across, did I just call PC a console?

I mean, across systems, across platforms.

- Identity crisis.

So aside from the Elite 2

the other one we have here is the Prestige.

Now, this is the newest one from Scuf

I'd mentioned earlier

and the main thing with this

is that this is a modified Xbox One controller

so it still has the same core base in it,

which is really cool actually

'cause that means you can use it with the Xbox One,

the upcoming Project Scarlet, PC, whatever,

if it works with Xbox controller it'll work with this.

One of the cool things about it

is how you can further modify it.

If you wanna change the sticks or anything

you actually just pop off the faceplate.

- That's cool.

- And this is how you can swap out the sticks.

You can also switch out the D-pad,

although I think you can just do that

from having this faceplate on as well.

So this one has four adjustable paddles,

you can take them off if you don't wanna use them.

- [Austin] The problem though

is that this is expensive, right?

this is actually around the same price

as the Elite controller?

- So, it's 20 bucks cheaper

if you just buy the base model unmodified.

But one of the big things about Scuf

is how you wanna customize it to make it your own design

so depending on if you want certain colors,

special designs, different sticks,

depending on all the things you modify and do to it

it can end up adding up to being quite more money.

- So I get that you're really excited

about your controllers and everything

but really everyone knows the superior way

to play any kind of game is using a mouse and keyboard.

Which I so helpfully have provided

with the Razer Turret.

- [Ken] You said this was controller video.

- This works with an Xbox, I can control my games with it,

I think that counts.

- [Ken] What is wrong with you?

- Can I bring in a racing wheel next then?

- There's a cursor inside the game.

It's almost as if I'm playing on a PC called the Xbox.

- Now to be clear, this is because the Xbox

actually does support keyboard and mouse,

it doesn't have to necessarily be the Turret

but the Turret is an awesome controller design

specifically for the Xbox in mind.

- 'Cause essentially you're getting

like a proper Razer keyboard

that's built into this little platform.

And then you have the mouse which is magnetic

so you can actually kind of.

You have a little like mousepad.

So if I was sitting.

- Come on, do it, yep.

Yeah, squat work out!

- This is the way all true gamers play.

So the Turret is certainly not cheap.

At $250 this is probably the most expensive thing here.

So the thing with the Turret is that

you really shouldn't use this

as purely like an Xbox controller.

I mean, you can use it like that, certainly.

But it sorta makes more sense

if you have like a PC and an Xbox

and you wanna have everything

kind of unified into one setup.

- Or if you just really love playing

just Fortnite all the time

and you wanna keyboard and mouse set up.

- And you don't wanna use a PC.

- And you don't wanna use a PC.

- Yeah, that's really popular.

Now over on the PlayStation side of things

we of course have the DualShock 4.

A perfectly respectable controller, it's good, fine,

but it's not really great, it's really super impressive

which is why I'm really curious,

especially to play with this Raiju.

- So actually, real quick before focusing in the Raiju,

I think something that's interesting about PlayStation

is that on Xbox you saw some similarities

with the two controllers we were trying,

they were both based on the standard Xbox design.

All three of these are very different.

All three pro controllers we're looking at

are very different approaches

of how to make a pro controller.

- This doesn't work.

- Does it not work or did you not log in properly to...

- You would be correct, I didn't log in correctly.

- There you go.

- Kevin Kenson, PlayStation expert.

- So the deal with the Raiju is that

at least out of the different pro controllers

we're looking at today,

it's the least physically customizable.

There's a little bit you can do,

you can swap out that D-pad, it does have some other sticks.

But the really heavy focus is on

just straight up the build quality.

- It's so sturdy, this to me out of all these controllers

is the only one that feels on par

with the Xbox Elite controllers

as far as just like, it's beefy, it feels heavy,

it feels like this is something I can throw across the room

in a fit of rage after I lose in Fortnite

and it'll be just fine.

- The table that it hits won't be, but yes,

the controller will survive.

- Now, you know, I totally get that customization is great

and for some people, especially with like the Scuf stuff

you can go really over the top.

But for me, I'm one of those guys

who wants to walk into Subway

and order the sandwich just as it comes.

When I go into Blaze Pizza I'm like,

I just want a pizza with pepperoni on it.

I get overwhelmed with too much choice and you know what,

this doesn't have too much choice.

I just pick up the controller, I'm like,

look, someone smarter than me designed this.

Sweet, I'm on board.

- Of the controllers we have out here today

I think this the only,

is this the only one that we're talking about?

- [Ken] Yeah.

- This is the only one we're talking about

that is actually not available normally in North America.

You can get it, you just have to import it

which also means you're probably gonna spend

a little more money than the actual MSRP lists.

- How much is it if I wasn't importing it,

like say if I'm in Europe,

how much does this controller cost?

- Well you know, that was something I planned on checking

when we weren't filming earlier and hold on a moment please.

- That's fine, I gotta kill some droids.

- Now the Scuf Vantage, really almost the opposite

of what the Raiju is.

While the Raiju is focused on minimal physical customization

but having lots of just high build quality,

the Vantage is all about modular design.

Kind of like what we saw with the Prestige,

you can take the faceplate off.

- That's cool.

- But on this one you can swap the sticks, the D-pad,

and even take out the rumble motors if you want.

Kinda like we were talking with the Prestige earlier,

with Scuf things are so customizable

there's not really one set price.

There's a starting price.

If you get a wired version of this it starts at 170.

If you get a wired wireless version it's 200.

- I will say that so far this is still my favorite.

- I will admit, personally, that's my top as well,

for the PlayStation at least.

And actually let's go ahead and talk about

this last guy then.

- [Austin] So, you need a screwdriver

to work on this guy I see.

- Yeah, so there's a faceplate that locks in,

it keeps all the modules, as they pop out.

So you can do things like, lets say you like offset sticks,

you can have this set up.

Or if you don't, take that off, swap 'em,

and now you have symmetrical.

But I like offset so I'm gonna put it back.

- [Austin] I'm afraid to ask,

how much does the Astro C40 cost?

- Well the C40 is $200 for the base design

and it does not include all the different swappable parts.

So if you wanna get all the different D-pads

and all the different sticks it's gonna be a little more.

We have fewer controllers to talk about for Switch

than we do for Xbox and PlayStation

so I came up with a solution, I got one more.

- Okay, I mean, you've done a video

on every like Switch controller ever so.

(electronic music)

What is this slime thing?

- That, my friend, you are holding the one, the only,

HORI Slime controller for Switch.

- [Ken] I love that!

- Why? - It's adorable.

- This is not meant for human hands!

- It is not comfortable but it is amazing.

I should note that I guess kinda like the Raiju

we were talking about earlier,

this is a Japanese exclusive so if you want one of these

you are gonna have to pay top dollar to import it.

- How much is this really?

How much did you pay for it?

- I wanna say I paid 80.

- Oh.

After these $200 stupid controllers

$80 for a joke is, well, it's actually wait,

no, that's still a joke.

Can we look at some real controllers now?

- How dare you, how dare you. - Insult me.

So for the Switch when it comes to pro controllers

I think the one that really comes closest

to kind of at least capturing the idea right now

is the SN30 Pro Plus from 8BitDo.

- That actually really surprises me

because it's obviously a Super Nintendo style controller

but it has the grips as well as you have the sticks.

And this also works with a pretty wide variety

of different devices, right?

It's not just a Switch controller.

- Yeah, so 8BitDo controllers are designed to work

with the Switch, with PC, Mac, and Android.

- But you said this is 50 bucks, right?

- I believe so, yeah.

- That's not bad, especially considering, I mean,

I've got like $1,000 worth of controllers

on the table right now.

- Yeah, and in terms of what

kind of makes it a pro controller versus say,

using the official pro controller from Nintendo

is that this does offer some of those

special features that people equate with pro controllers,

like you can do things like actually remapping

what all the buttons are.

So if for whatever reason you really want B

to actually be the right trigger button

you can set that up if you like.

- [Austin] Now, obviously this is not as full featured

as the proper pro controller

since you don't have NFC for Amiibo

and you don't have rumble, or do you?

- [Kevin] No, this does have rumble, that's right.

- [Austin] Oh, that's awesome, okay, cool.

- You do have motion controls though.

- Oh, that's cool, okay.

- So this is the Split Pad Pro from HORI

and it's meant to be an alternative to Joy-Cons.

Now, because it is a third party option

it doesn't actually have all the features

that you might get used to seeing in a Joy-Con.

You don't have rumble, you don't have the ability to use

Amiibo scanning, you do have the motion controls still.

But the big trade off for that

is that you actually have a longer--

- It fits your hands. - Yeah.

It's a longer controller that's actually designed

to fit in your hands.

- I mean, look at the difference, right,

it's not even close.

Now, that doesn't necessarily fit in a bag as well

or anything like that but these,

to me the Joy-Cons are fine for a quick game

or if you wanna do some like Just Dance or whatever

but this is not a super comfortable way,

especially when you're using them

even in like a Joy-Con grip.

It's not that great for long periods of time.

- Well, and especially being used in handheld mode

I gotta say that it's not just a matter of the size,

it's not just that the thing is simply bigger,

it's that it actually does have contoured grips

and is designed to fit in your hands a specific way.

It does have remappable buttons on the backside.

Because these are each individual units

you can only remap buttons that are on the same side.

But still, that's better than not having

any remappables at all.

And because it's a HORI controller it has a turbo function.

- Because turbo is what we need.

You can't non-turbo game.

- I mean, if you like turbo, the slime does it.

Wanna use that slime, it's got a turbo button.

- I'm good, you have at it.

Now, if you actually want to use some of these controllers

you might find the sponsor of today's video useful.

This is the brand new Optoma CinemaX P1.

This is a 4K ultra short throw projector

which can go all the way up to a full 120 inch picture.

And the cool part about this

is that you don't have to sacrifice your space.

Even if you have a smaller room or apartment,

you can still get the maximum out of the projector

by putting it just a few inches away.

The picture quality is incredible too.

Not only are you getting an insane amount of brightness

for a projector but it even supports HDR10.

You're also getting an integrated Dolby Digital 2.0 soundbar

with a full 40 watts of power.

Now of course, if you want you can connect it

to a full speaker set up,

but honestly just the way it comes,

it actually works really well

as an all in one entertainment center.

It also supports a variety of streaming services,

you have voice control using Google Home as well as Alexa

and you can also take advantage

of the Info Wall app to fully customize the experience.

If you're looking to up your home theater game

then you should definitely be sure

to check out the Optoma CinemaX P1

at the link in the description,

and again, huge shout out to Optoma

for sponsoring this video.

This excellent bit of consumer advice

has been brought to you by Kevin Kenson,

you can feel free to subscribe to his channel

at YouTube.com/KevinKenson.

Kev, can you please play us out with a little tune maybe,

a song and dance, perhaps an ode to the slime?

- [Kevin] I can set things on fire.

- That's a great alternative.

- [Kevin] Oh, this doesn't have

super reactive environment, I forgot.

- Are you complaining about the Witcher on Switch?

The greatest port of all time

according to everyone on YouTube?

- [Kevin] I mean, it does run great considering.

- It does look like Vaseline was smeared on my TV though.

[holytheoristtastemaker]

This article is part of Educative's COVID-19 Survival Guide Series.

Work-from-home devices for developers

Home office setup tips for developers

After the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, as thousands of companies across the world issued mandatory work-from-home orders, you may have suddenly found yourself in need of a home office space suitable for months-long use.

For many developers, this home-to-office transition was a steep and unexpected change. According to the US Department of Labor Statistics, only about 15% of American workers have regularly worked from home prior to the pandemic. Without a preexisting home office space, developers like you are having to overhaul their setups amid the chaos of the crisis in order to stay productive.

Having an effective set up is more than just tech gadgets alone. It’s also about tending to the needs of your body. Working from the couch isn’t a long-term solution. So, to help you build the best work-from-home office, today we’re going to go over furniture and devices you’ll need to keep coding comfortably all work-week long.

Today we’ll cover

What a developer needs in an office chair

How and why to choose a mouse

Keyboards: parsing fact and fiction

Key monitor specs and distances

Best desk height and width for coding

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What a developer needs in an office chair

The most important attribute to consider when choosing your chair is long-term comfort. You’ll likely be sitting for hours at a time, so you’ll need a chair that keeps your body relaxed and supported to avoid painful strain on the body. Below we’ll break down some key elements to look for when choosing your rolling throne.

Lumbar and Spine Support

Finding a genuinely comfortable and supportive chair can be difficult as many chairs call themselves ergonomic without explanation.

As a simple rule, look for chairs that press the lower back into a slight inward stretch. This encourages good posture by straightly aligning your spine and reduces the instinct of slouch after coding for several hours.

Also, look for chairs that feature a full back from the pelvis to the neck. Many office chairs will cut the backrest around the mid-shoulder, which, while comfortable for short periods, can put a strain on the shoulders and upper spine.

Material - Leather or Fabric:

The staple of any good office chair lies in the upholstery. Especially in these hot summer months, material choice is crucial for comfort.

While leather has traditionally been the standard, many experts now recommend a more breathable material such as fabric or mesh.  For developers, breathable material will help you stay cool and comfortable for hours without heat build-up.

How Padded is too Padded?

For seat padding, it can be hard to know how comfortable an office chair will be for an extended sit by a test-sit alone. A good rule to stick by is that you should look for a chair with enough padding that you cannot feel the hard underside.

Ergonomic Armrest Setups

Armrests are essential. Typing without armrests can cause severe pulling on the shoulders and wrists. The ideal armrest is long enough to allow the elbows to sit at a 90-degree angle while also being low enough that it doesn’t take all of your arms weight. Too much weight on the armrest is a good indicator that it’s pushing your arms and shoulder up into a harmful position.

Buyer's Quick Guide

Lumbar support forcing back into a slight curve

Backrest over the tops of the shoulder

Fabric or mesh material for breathability

Just padded enough that you don’t feel the underside of the chair

Armrests that arms rest lightly on and keep arms at 90 degrees

How and Why to Choose a Mouse:

As with armrests, using a mouse over a trackpad can alleviate a lot of the stress in the wrist.  The reason is simple: long term wrist health is all about keeping the wrist as flat and in-line as possible, but trackpads require the wrist to be in a slightly raised position in front of the user rather than in-line with the forearm. Over hours or days, this slight elevation can lead to some serious wrist and forearm strain!

Trackball: Odd or Awesome?

Mice, while better than trackpads, can also cause wrist injuries if used incorrectly. If you want to minimize the danger of wrist injury, consider getting a trackball mouse. While it may look like a mouse in a funhouse mirror, it can actually save you some serious pain as you work.

This is a mouse that remains stationary, with the user controlling the pointer by rolling a ball on the mouse’s side with their thumb. The trackball enforces good mouse habits by keeping the wrist and forearm in a healthy position.

Many developers swear by trackball mice for easing wrist tensions while still allowing easy horizontal movement for selecting code and precision.

It may take some time to get used to, but the added comfort and safety will be well worth it during those late-night coding grinds.

DPI

Look for a mouse with a high Dots Per Inch (DPI) if trackballs aren’t for you. This indicates that it has a higher pointer sensitivity meaning the pointer will move farther with each movement of the mouse, minimizing your arm movement and reducing strain on the wrist.

DPI will usually be listed under the product specs, or you can also find mice that have adjustable DPI in its setup options. Having a DPI at least as high as your monitor’s horizontal resolution is preferred as then moving from one side to the other needs only a single inch of mouse movement.

Buyer's Quick Guide

Place mouse so wrists are flat and in-line with the forearm

Trackballs are best for wrist health

High DPI mice reduce twisting and movement in the wrist and forearm

Keyboards: Parsing Fact and Fiction

The keyboard is likely the most used device in a developer’s office, but with so many claims and buzzwords, it can be hard to know which device is best. Ultimately, keyboards come down to personal preference and familiarity, not ergonomic splits and pads. Some keyboards are even better for certain programming languages. So, if it’s just a matter of preference, how do we know which to choose? First, let's start with those dos and don'ts that we know to be true.

Following our trend, wrists should be parallel to the floor, so a keyboard that is flat to the desk is ideal. While many keyboards have the option to slant up and point away from you, it’s best to avoid these. They actually force the wrist into a raised position that is strenuous when coding at heavy intervals.

As our second and final truth, look for keyboards with keys that are easy to press and don’t stick. The effort required to push stiff keys will build up over the course of a 500 line Python file, leaving knuckles and fingers sore. The tiniest movements overtime will cause strain you don’t notice until it’s too late.

The Myths: Mechanical vs Membrane

Some argue that mechanical keyboards should be ruled out as stiff, but this is not necessarily true when looking at keyboards of the same quality and age.

Well made mechanical keyboards offer the same force needed as a membrane keyboard of the same quality. In the end, this distinction is down to preference and what you’re used to typing on.

Ergonomic/Split-Keyboards vs Standard

In the last 10 years, split keyboards (2-part keyboards split down the middle) and other ergonomic keyboards have started to pop up on the market.

Producers claim that their product will end developers' wrist pain. In reality, there are no concrete studies that prove these devices can help developers across the board.

There is more evidence to suggest that negative slope keyboards (raised towards the user and lower toward the top) take the weight off the wrists, but this is complicated by other claims that say this pressure restricts blood flow via inflammation.

Overall, this is once again a case where personal preference prevails; if you have a keyboard you like that is flat and responsive, there’s no need to switch.

The trick here may be the way you position your hands rather than the keyboard itself. Look up tips for ergonomic positions before you invest in a new keyboard. Simply changing the angle of your wrist or retraining some keystrokes may actually be the solution.

Buyer's Quick Guide

Flat keyboards are best as they keep wrists parallel to the floor

Look for highly responsive keys to avoid finger and knuckle fatigue

Choose a keyboard you like and are comfortable with, ergonomic hand positions are more important than a fancy sloped keyboard

Key Monitor Specs and Distances

PPI

When looking for a monitor, a developer should prioritize first a monitor’s pixels per inch (PPI). Width comes second. Low PPI displays use a large monitor to maintain standard resolution, like a 27-inch monitor that only supports 1020x1980.

The slightly blurred visuals of these displays increase eye fatigue with close-attention operations, like reading tightly packed code segments. Stick to monitors above 100 PPI for the best eye comfort.

Screen Width

For programming, screen width is invaluable as it allows you to view multiple windows at once. Many developers are now turning to ultra-wide displays (larger than 25 inches wide) for this reason. While these monitors are fantastic to use, their cost ($1000+) makes them infeasible for many developers.

You don’t need to invest in a massive monitor to be productive. To get a similar workspace, you can use a side by side dual monitor setup with each screen angled toward you. Buying two monitors for this dual-screen method will often be cheaper than buying a single ultra-wide, and, if one breaks, it’s a lot easier to replace.

Optimal Monitor Placement

Monitor should be positioned to have your eye-line midway between monitor center and the top, usually about 2-3 inches.

Screen should be arms-length away from eyes

If using dual monitors equally, place them side-by-side, slightly facing you in a “V” shape so no neck movement is needed to see either

If using a primary and secondary dual monitor, place the primary in front of you with the secondary roughly 30 degrees to one side.

HDMI Restrictions

Make sure you check your HDMI cords before buying a new monitor! Single-link HDMI cords come in two types, HDMI 1.0 which supports resolutions up to 1920x1200, and HDMI 1.3 which supports all resolutions beyond that. Make sure to use an HDMI cord fit for your monitor resolution to avoid limiting your image quality.

Buyer's Quick Guide

High PPI is the priority, look for PPI higher than 100

Width is second priority, dual monitors and ultra-wides are helpful to track multiple windows and tabs

Dual monitors will be cheaper and provide similar width to ultra-wides

Ultra-wides are more expensive but come with new features like curved screens

If using HDMI, get the type which supports your monitor resolution: HDMI 1.0 for 1920x1080 or lower and HDMI 1.3 for anything greater than that.

Best Desk Height and Width for Coding

Most factors are personal preferences when choosing a desk, such as material or storage space. Choosing the correct height and width, however, is essential to ensure bodily comfort and organization that meets your needs.

In most offices, the industry-standard desk height is 29 inches (73 cm) from floor to tabletop. This, however, is best suited for somebody taller than 5 feet, 10 inches.

The best, most adaptable solution, then, is to use an adjustable desk that ranges from at least 25 - 30 inches from floor to tabletop. Try out different setups in this range to see which feels best.

As for width, look for a desk at least 50-60 inches across to ensure you can comfortably fit an ultra-wide monitor or two reasonably sized monitors as we discussed above.

Width, of course, will largely depend on the size constraints of your living space. If you do not have much space available, prioritize your body’s position over your monitors. It’s more important that you have enough space to move and sit ergonomically.

Buyer's Quick Guide

Look for an adjustable desk with a range of 25 - 30 inches

50 - 60-inch desk width is best for dual monitor or ultra-wide setups

Prioritize personal space over desk space

Best of Luck

These times are uncertain, and many large companies are changing their policies to favor work from home situations in the long-run. This means that home offices may stay as our workplaces for months, even years to come.

Whether just replacing a few items or overhauling the whole office, I hope this guide has helped you along the way by sharing what your fellow developers look for when building comfortable and efficient new home offices.

Happy upgrading and stay healthy!