Razer Tarantula Gaming Keyboard
by Razer Inc.
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List Price: Our Price: $70.00 You Save: $29.99 (30%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Razer Tarantula Gaming Keyboard
Customer Review: minor bugs
Summary: 4 Stars
The only trouble i've had with this keyboard so far is the fact that sometimes when you put your computer into hibernate mode the keyboard doesnt want to wake up. you have to unplug the usb and plug it back in. other than that amazing keyboard.Customer Review: not so spectacular.
Summary: 4 Stars
It's an ok keyboard. the looks is great, laptop keys are nice. but the the lights on keys are a bit dim and the keyboard is plain black when not lit. I like looking at my systems when not in use. lol...Customer Review: Not worth the money.
Summary: 3 Stars
Just got it, so no say on durability yet. May update later about it.
The good points are:
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its shiny black.
can press more than 3 keys at once and have them register.
has easily pressed keys.
has reprogrammable keys.
media keys, and a port for expansions.
has a shuffle list key.
can bind programs to macro keys.
profile key can be used with other keys to cycle profiles.
friendly tech support, with some helpful tips. they haven't seemed to have gotten around to outsourcing their techs, so i can actually understand what they say to me.
a tool for popping out keys so i dont have to pull out a butter knife or something. (how i broke the space bar on my g15 while trying to clean it.)
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the bad.
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the audio/headphone ports require that the keyboards headphone/microphone jacks to be plugged into the pc. while many would say duh, that makes sense. i'd reply why have them unless i just feel like having my headphones closer to the keyboard?
also it DOES need 2 usb ports to be used fully. basically that extra line gives two usb ports connected to the keyboard. so really only 1 extra usb port gained.
as another review posted, the keyboard's play/pause DOES NOT WORK with winamp. it does w/o the software drivers. but after its just screwed. had to resort to using windows media player *shivers*. the keyboard actually functions better with media players without the driver/software.
the media keys DO NOT WORK with anything other than the selected player. why they decided to go from the universal controls, i have no bloody clue. i used to be able to go to any player i wished, and have it work. no software needed.
the media keys are not movable, or reprogrammable. i dont like having to take my mouse hand off the action to swap songs. would be much better if the keys were movable/remapped.
can not bind any keys/macros to use home/delete/windows etc etc. can't insert them, cant move around anything. can't click the times in milliseconds to modity them if dont want the standard timing.
now for the anti ghosting. yes, you can press 10 keys at once. sadly only 6 of them ever work for me. that is with the software installed too. granted 6 is better than 3, which i hardly did more than anyhow. i unfortunately wield usb 1.0 ports on my pc, so that is probrably why. not likely to ever use more than 6 keys at once anyway. i use more than 3 for stuff like descent 3 or freespace. after burner, turning up left/right, while banking left/right, while dropping chaff is sometimes needed. or when i have to hold shift to walk, and move diagonally and jump at same time.
the battle dock is completely useless. can buy an overpriced web cam, or a gimpy ineffective light. i dont see why i should have to hang a light over my keyboard to see the keys. if they can't have glowing keys, maybe a trim with lights, like it is on some of their mice. or more translucent casing in some areas or glow in the dark paint for letter keys, with the ability to toggle the light. also a little fan or something might be nice, or expandable keyboard memory. and a nice case to carry all that extra baggage.
no lcd display. i liked it on my old g15. would have made a nifty battle dock accessory.
the wrist rest is not removable, or adjustable. all for the sake to have a glowing snake emblem.
no disable windows key button either. have to remap it. i actually use the windows key often, so remapping it is a pain. there is an option for keymap a, keymap b, but, thats only for profiles not stored on keyboard, in other words, not standard. thats because the first 5, which are stored on the keyboard (for the rare case i'd actually drag it's ultra expensive butt some where else), only can have one keymap. the key maps are basically where i can rebind all the keys on one setting, hit profile and get the b side, with the normal goods. so basically i'd have to carry a flash drive if i want accurate functionality.
my hot fix would be to turn the razor key (which is really the right windows key/menu key) into a windows key, but apparently i cant.
no macros are able to be bound on any other key except the designated special keys. of which have an abysmal macro rate. on my old g15, i could store like 32 characters, this is more like 8. so before i could save entire commands.
tech support, basically almost any question about the functionality of the keyboard = me s.o.l. (and i dont mean satellite of love). They knew how to repair it, but not how to actually make it an acceptable piece of hardware for its high price. nice people though. so its not their fault.
the macros are executed very slowly.
the software only allows executables to be bound to macro keys. in order to bind files, batch files, or whatever, have to get the link manually, and input it into the open window.
over all my old logitech g15 owns this keyboard so badly, that i feel slightly sad i bought it. people might ask, why did i buy a tarantula if i had such a great keyboard. because i rode my old one so hard it started to fall apart. that is after a few years of hard service. one of the few logitech products that actually didnt break within 6 months. only minor annoyances.
the tarantula is not worth buying unless you absolutely need the extra few keys when gaming. if not, get a g15. it has better macro system, lcd display for looking at time, and winamp song. better media buttons, disable windows key switch.
dont misunderstand. this keyboard is actually a good keyboard. i do like razer products. they are overpriced in general, but usually worth having (at discount price). but this is no where near worth 80$, nor is it better than logitechs g15. which is the saddest part? me spending money on it, or the fact that this keyboard could actually dominate the logitech with a few minor changes? instead the tarantula tragically fails.
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Customer Review: A keyboard for cheaters!
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this keyboard on impulse, because I wanted a keyboard with a smaller footprint than my original Logitech G15. Disappointed. I'll be brief.
Good:
* Nice soft feel to the keys, good for touch typing
* Shiny laser cut logo that softly glows on and off
* programmable macro keys that can be used without installing any drivers
Bad:
* programmable macro keys share keyboard with regular keys
* poor reliability
* distracting flickering logo
As it turns out, it uses almost as much space as the G15. After a month or so of use, some of the keys do not always work on the first try. (corrosion?) The glowing logo on the keyboard sometimes flickers, which is distracting while I'm gaming. It can not be turned off. The keyboard shows up as one device in windows, so you can not use the macro keys while holding down other keys--for example, in an MMO you can't switch spells while running away using a macro, without letting go of W for a second.
The one advantage of this keyboard is that the macros are held in-memory in the keyboard, so you can plug it in to a PS3 or computer that does not have any drivers and use macros in games where they are forbidden. And it looks pretty cool, I guess, although blue LEDs and laser-cut logos are so y2k, you know what I'm saying?
In short, it's a cheaply built keyboard for MMO cheaters, that favors style over performance in every way.
Customer Review: Gaming only!
Summary: 3 Stars
First of, I love the Razor products. I'v used their mice before I purchased their keyboard. With the experience with their mice, which are one of the most confortable mice I'v used, I decided to try their keyboard. I purchased this keyboard when it first came out so I'v had a good at least 6hrs a day on it since then.
I'm a gamer(fps, mmorpg) and when it comes to it this is a good keyboard. Not too big and cluttered like some I have used. Very responsive to the gaming controls and comfortable. I'v used both USB ports with the headphone/mic jack all at once without a problem. My Razor Deathadder is always connected to one of the USB ports at all time. That's the good part.
Now the bad. Not all the keys are has backlighting and I play in the dark. You have to get purchase the Battlelighting and it gets annoying when using it in the dark. Too bright I think. When it comes to typing, well, that's why I titled it "Gaming Only" because for some reason the keys have a hard time responding during game chats or just typing in general. Either you have to press the bottons at least twice to get a character out or you tap once and 3 characters comes out. Kind of like the problem I'm having now while typing up this review. I guess it's trying to prevent me from doing it. LOL :)