PC Gaming Keyboard And Command Pad
by Saitek
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Our Price: $99.98 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 PC Gaming Keyboard And Command Pad
Customer Review: The good, the bad, and the ugly....
Summary: 3 Stars
The good:
--Solid. Doesn't move easily and has a good feeling keypress (if you're a fan of the 'click' type keyboards this isn't for you - it requires a bit more effort to press the keys and is fairly quiet).
--Blue. Not dark blue, more aquamarine, but a nice soothing color nonetheless.
The bad:
--Not good in the dark. As mentioned by others, the keys are not transparent at all. The LED's actually hinder identifying the keys in low light situations.
--Software. I've encountered a few issues with the drivers included with the keyboard. Not show stoppers, but annoying. If you're not using the keypad, don't install the drivers.
The UGLY:
--Keyboard not recognized in CMOS or during boot. I'm running an MSI Athlon 64 motherboard with a BIOS password. I have to plug in my old USB keyboard to work in CMOS or enter a the CMOS password. Yes, I have legacy USB support turned on in CMOS (otherwise my "old" USB keyboard wouldn't work). It appears others in the Saitek forums have experienced this issue too. Really annoying having two keyboards kicking around....
Customer Review: OK keyboard
Summary: 3 Stars
I am a long time computer user, I started programming on main frames and mini-computers back in the 1960s, FORTRAN 2. I am also a computer gamer. This is a well lit, works fine, easy to use keyboard. I do not use the hand rests, I do not need them. I do not use the remote keypad, cute but not useful. I am a Mac user most of the time and the keyboard only came with PC drivers. Since the programmers who wrote the software do not seem to have the skill set to let them compile for both PC and Mac it is a crippled device. It is trivial to do both and I do it all the time, there is no excuse for a half way job. If it does not work with everything then it can not be given higher than average ratings. However it does follow the standards in that it does work with both PCs and Macs as a standard keyboard, it is the advanced features that the Mac user can not use.Customer Review: A nice keyboard, but...
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm pretty disappointed. I bought this keyboard to play games in the dark, but when the room is dark I can't see the keys at all. I liked the idea of the macro pad and assumed it was the same as the Saitek Eclipse. I was quite wrong. If you want a keyboard for use in a darkened room this ISN'T the one. :(
Otherwise, it was an alright keyboard. The design was nice and it typed well.
Needless to say I'm returning this and getting the Saitek Eclipse!
Customer Review: I got this keyboard as a gift and have mixed feelings about it
Summary: 2 Stars
Backlight CON: The backlight is obviously just for people who are easily impressed by shiny objects because it's actually more difficult to see the keys in the dark with the backlight on (the light makes the letters less visible) and the actual letters on the keys aren't backlit.
Backlight PRO: It does look cool, but you get over that pretty quick. I'd rather be able to see the keys better in the dark AND have it look cool.
Key Status LEDs CON: I find it a little distracting to have the num/caps/scroll lock LEDs three times brighter than the rest of the backlight.
Key Status LEDs PRO: You notice the status of your num/caps/scroll lock instantly because it's the brightest thing in the room.
Wrist Rest CON: I was also looking forward to having a built in wrist rest so I could get rid of my soft rubber memorex wrist rest that I used with my old keyboard. The one that comes with the Saitek I found very uncomfortable...it doesn't seem deep enough and the angle feels wrong. To make matters worse it has an adjustment where you can pull it out about an inch from the keyboard to increase the depth, but it moves in and out so easy I was constantly having to adjust it whenever I moved the keyboard. I finally just removed the built in wrist rest and went back to my comfortable memorex, only to find out that because of the Saitek's uneven shape around the edges, my memorex doesn't butt up against it.
Wrist Rest PRO: None...it's definitely the worst wrist rest I've ever used.
Key Feel CON: If you are used to decent keyboards with a nice tactile feedback, the Saitek isn't for you. There's absolutely no feedback on the keys. They're soft and spongy.
Key Feel PRO: They're almost silent, so you can type on the phone or with someone sleeping nearby without them hearing you.
Command Pad CON: The separate 9 key "command pad" sounds like a good idea, but I can't imagine any time I'd take my left hand off the keyboard in the middle of a game to use it. The shift buttons are really hard to use with one hand. You have to hold one of the shift keys down then hit a key on the pad to invoke any of the extra keys.
Command Pad PRO: It can be disconnected and put in a closet for almost all people who buy this keyboard. For those with 6 fingers on their left hand who play games that require more than 130 keys, it might come in handy.
Quality: The keyboard and command pad seem to be pretty high quality, except for the wrist rest of course which is just the usual cheap plastic that connects to the keyboard with the same old toothpick-thin plastic prongs that break off very easily.
In conclusion, you could do much worse than this keyboard. If all you do is play games it's no better or worse than most keyboards (I'm not counting the command pad as a plus since I don't think even gamers will be using this thing). If you like keyboards that are comfortable, have nice feedback, or have a backlight that actually light the keys, skip this one.
Customer Review: Great keyboard unless.....
Summary: 2 Stars
.....you use a KVM switch between 2 computers. I currently use a Linksys KVM2KIT switch with my Logitech Elite USB keyboard and my USB Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer. I have them plugged into the switch with PS2 to USB adapters. They've worked flawlessy from day one this way. I can plug the Gamer's Keyboard into the switch this way and it will not work at all. The saving grace is that it can be used on either of my machines as a stand-alone keyboard, but this just isn't my configuration. Unfortunately I'm going to have to RMA this keyboard. Just beware of this if you use a permanent switch.