A knight's most important item is their sword. A soldier's most important item is their firearm. A runner's most important item is their shoes. A couch potato's most important is his couch. A gamer's most important item is their interface.
I just think if it's something you use for hours every day, why cheap out on it?
If someone can find a great deal and works for them, excellent. But when I get a cheaper mouse/keyboard I find that:
MOUSE
- The buttons aren't optimally placed (a slight twitch of the hand presses the wrong button. you you can't pick up the mouse easily without squeezing a button)
- The scroll wheel doesn't have enough resistance
- The scroll wheel is cheap and wears out quickly
- The scroll wheel is too sensitive when it's set as a button
- The weight is too light or too heavy
- The glide surface is cheap and wears quickly or doesn't move over other surfaces well
- The wireless response is spotty
- The cables wear internally and get connection issues
- The buttons don't respond unless you put pressure in the right place
- The USB dongles wear out or break too easy
KB
- It's impossible to clean properly
- It slides too easy
- The buttons don't have a good feel (they have too much weight or too much side flex
- The buttons eventually lose connection responsiveness (having to press some buttons twice).
- The wireless response is spotty
- The cables wear internally and get connection issues
- The keyboard feet are cheaply made and break easy
- The buttons aren't optimum placed
- The USB dongles wear out or break too easy
And the nice thing about spending a few extra bucks, usually means they're more customizable. The best peripherals are not the ones you use for a few weeks and think "hey these are pretty good!", they're actually the ones you use for weeks and forget that you've even been using them, because there's nothing nagging about them that breaks your concentration.