Let’s Play Xbox and PC with the Same Corsair Peripherals (and Lapboard)!

Performance

I think we can all guess that the PC performance was pretty awesome because it just was. A Cherry MX keyboard, with a kick-ass optical mouse and one of Corsair’s best headsets. Top marks all around, really, and no surprise, since I’ve already reviewed these products on their own and given them some awards, hurray! However, I’ve never tried them all together, which changes the overall experience (positively) by quite a lot.

It’s my first time playing Halo with keyboard and mouse, and it’s a very different experience! I’ve got thousands of hours on the Xbox with the Halo franchise, so I’m very comfortable with the controller and this game. However, it’s funny how drastically different you play. I found myself taking different lines through levels with the keyboard and mouse and jumping at different intervals. Very interesting indeed. I guess you get used to the advantages and disadvantages of each input method subconsciously.

That being said, the game is set up well to work with the keyboard and mouse. I mean, it’s not like Halo has never been on PC before, so one would hope it works well. Even driving didn’t take me long to adjust to. Plus, the wrist rest was welcome on the keyboard. As you can see, I’m already wearing bands on my wrists, as my hands are killing me this week; gotta ease up on those gaming hours, that’s for sure.

I was right, too, the Sniper button is a real game-changer for Halo, and most other FPS games to be fair. Especially given I play a lot of Swat mode on Halo Reach; you certainly don’t get this advantage with a controller!

The headset is just fantastic too, with some really impressive surround sound processing and a really nice bass response. I’ve mostly been using it for Movies if I’m honest, which we’ll get to in another feature, but when it comes to gaming, it’s by far one of my favourite headsets on the market today. Very powerful, comfortable, with solid battery life, and most importantly, it pairs with the Xbox controller wireless USB dongle I already have on my PC, and it pairs natively with the Xbox just like you would pair a controller, making it ideal for this setup.

The Lapboard, much to my own amusement, works really well on my desk too. It’s like a big novelty wrist rest. It looks silly, I know, but at least dropping the keyboard in the mouse is pretty easy. Of course, the mouse is more of a hassle to move, as that’s wired, but again, that was my choice, and I’m happy with it (for now).

Hook up the keyboards USB dongle to the Xbox, and that’s about it really; it just worked straight away. I’ve never connected a keyboard to the Xbox before, so I was glad to see there’s absolutely zero additional set up required.

I love that I can just drop the keyboard into the Lapboard and it’s good to go. Or, alternatively, quickly remove it too.

There are some clips at the back too, so it doesn’t fall out.

Push, click, done.

The headset is easy enough to setup, just hold the power button until the LED flashes, then hit the pairing button on your Xbox. Beep-boop, that’s it, you’re rocking. Lapboard, keyboard, mouse, headset, Halo. – GO!

My better half snapped a few pictures of my playing, not that I noticed at the time, or I’d have sucked in the Covid-belly. I don’t know why, but I half expected the game to feel different on the Xbox using the keyboard and mouse vs using it on the PC. Of course, it didn’t, but it’s still a very different experience regardless. For one, I’m sat further away, despite actually sitting on the large footrest here, but the cable was long enough to sit back on the couch with my legs out. The TV screen is much bigger than my PC monitor, and I can use the HDR on my TV. Furthermore, I can use the Dolby Atmos of my home cinema speakers (5.1.2 configuration) or Dolby Atmos Headphones feature on the HS75 headset. It’s just a more dynamic and scaled up experience, really. It’s great having so many options and configurations though.

I get all the precision control of the keyboard and mouse, with all the comfort of my living room and the big TV, couch, etc. Of course, with Cross Play, I can continue the exact same game of Halo on this system that I can on my PC, and honestly, that feels like the future to me. Especially with the Series X, the game plays in 4K60 on both systems, so it’s not like I’m slumming it on the console version here.

The mouse mat is very slippy, which admittedly is great for gaming, as the mouse is very easy to move around. However, wired or wireless, make sure you’ve somewhere to put your mouse when you want to let go. The Lapboard isn’t always going to be a flat surface, and it’ll just slide around as you shuffle in your seat. It’s not a big problem though. It’s a huge surface too, I never found myself short on space. Plus, with my mouse choice, I was able to use a higher DPI for fast turns, but lean on the sniper button to slow things down for shooting; a huge advantage in competitive FPS games!

While there are loads of games that support keyboard and mouse, I’m a little disheartened that Microsoft doesn’t offer it as a filter or sorting option, despite quite a large number of titles offering the feature. Instead, you’ll have to refer to the list of games I provided a few pages back, then go find that game. It’s hardly the end of the world, but it’s a QOL feature I’d like to see added in the future.

I was happy with the testing I had done, which is to say, spent my afternoon playing a lot of Halo and calling it work. I turned my back to go make a cuppa tea. Interestingly, the lapboard is too big to actually go over her legs, as it just becomes a see-saw. However, improvise and adapt is clearly something my daughter does well. She normally plays with the controller, but she took to the keyboard and mouse in a flash.

Clearly, I underestimated the true potential of the Lapboard and console gaming with keyboard and mouse, but kids these days are clearly lightyears ahead of us now; I’m impressed and proud.