Got the new Saitek gamer keyboard. It's awesome!!

[jpinard]

I've gone through a keyboard every 6 months for years looking for the perfect gaming keyboard, and this Saitek comes awfully close. I'd gone through all the latest Logitech ones recently and Logitech's latest and greatest just typed like crap.

I have to say the typing is a dream. The blue backlight helps you see the keys better. Everything is perfect except:

* Not quite bright enough to play in the blackness of space (zero light), but pretty darn close.
* The wrist rest may be good for some people but not me. And it doesn't angle up quite far enough.

This is the most responsive USB keyboard I've ever owned. Even better than a super old clicky-clack IBM PS2 keyboard.

Here's a link to the keyboard: http://www.saitekusa.com/usa/prod/gamerskey.htm

[nutsak]

And it costs how much?

[Rimbo]

I've gone through a keyboard every 6 months for years looking for the perfect gaming keyboard, and this Saitek comes awfully close. I'd gone through all the latest Logitech ones recently and their latest and greatest just typed like crap. Here it is: http://www.saitekusa.com/usa/prod/gamerskey.htm

I have to say the typing is a dream. The blue backlight helps you see the keys better. Everything is perfect except:

* Not quite bright enough to play in the blackness of space (zero light), but pretty darn close.
* The wrist rest may be good for some people but not me. And it doens't angle up quite far enough.

This is the most responsive USB keyboard I've ever owned. Even better than a super old clicky-clack IBM PS2 keyboard.

AH! The IBM Buckling Spring Keyboard. You can still get these online; I bought one for $40 and use it at work.

I feel sorry for my office-mates, having to hear that sound, but then... I gotta have my tactile response man.

[Jim Preston]

Is it right for me to be suspicious of someone who's only had 8 posts on this board raving about some exciting new product and posting a link to it?

[Lorini]

The keyboard can be found at bestbuy.com for $50.

Lorini

[Tom McNamara]

I would vouch for it too, but I work for IGN :(

[Rywill]

Is it right for me to be suspicious of someone who's only had 8 posts on this board raving about some exciting new product and posting a link to it?
I always wonder about stuff like that, but then I hope Qt3 is too far under the radar to attract that kind of attention.

[McBain]

I would vouch for it too, but I work for IGN

So you'd give it about an 8.5, right?

[CaseyRobinson]

I agree with Jim, and I'm not just posting this to increase my post count.

[Super_D]

Is it right for me to be suspicious of someone who's only had 8 posts on this board raving about some exciting new product and posting a link to it?

FWIW jpinard was a regular poster on the GG forums and I am posting this just to raise my post count. :lol:

[Talisker]

Is it right for me to be suspicious of someone who's only had 8 posts on this board raving about some exciting new product and posting a link to it?
Well, Jim, I have to say, as I type this on my new SAITEK GAMING KEYBOARD, I hear what you're saying, and I can certainly understand why you might be dubious of someone talking about his new SAITEK GAMING KEYBOARD when they're brand new; but, maybe they're just excited about their new SAITEK GAMING KEYBOARD? After all, the SAITEK GAMING KEYBOARD sure sounds neat, I sure wish I had a new SAITEK GAMING KEYBOARD. I bet the SAITEK GAMING KEYBOARD is really great for, you know, gaming, and typing, and typing about games. SAITEK GAMING KEYBOARD, yeah!

[DaveC]

I wish more companies made ergo keyboards like the MS Natural. The Logitech ergos are okay, but they have poor arrow and PgUp, PgDn etc. placement. I can't type worth a damn on a straight keyboard anymore and after a while I get wrist pains.

[Gourmand]

pffttt. 50$ for lights?

I bought this: (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=23-107-120&depa=0)
http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/23-107-120-04.JPG

Costs 5$ for a comfortable standard layout, and sleek design. Quiet keys to boot. Pretty spiffy.

Also, Give me your money.

[Ben Sones]

Is it right for me to be suspicious of someone who's only had 8 posts on this board raving about some exciting new product and posting a link to it?

He did post some criticism as well as praise. Minor criticisms, but hey--he likes the keyboard.

[Nick Walter]

AH! The IBM Buckling Spring Keyboard. You can still get these online; I bought one for $40 and use it at work.

I feel sorry for my office-mates, having to hear that sound, but then... I gotta have my tactile response man.

Oooo, they still sell those? I hate the mushy feel of modern keyboards, I want one o the classic clickety models! Any recommendations on specific models or good places to find them online?

[Jakub]

You haven't keyboarded unless you've don't it on a Northgate Computer Systems OmniKey. Phbbbt.

[DennyA]

They actually did a version of the Northgate Omnikey that would work with the Amiga, god bless 'em! (No wonder they went out of business...)

Tactile feedback was actually identical to the IBM, though -- same manufacturer.

What I'd love to see is a Microsoft Natural Keyboard with the IBM/Northgate keys & switches. That would be the ultimate keyboard.

[jpinard]

Actually all, I was a senior poster at Gone Gold - I am terminally ill with Cystic Fibrosis, and I've been a die-hard gamer for the past 15 years. Gaming and my "pond" are what I spend almost all my time doing when I feel well enough. When you spend so much time gaming, and especially trying to make the experience as perfect as possible, items like a great keyboard and mouse are essential. What good is a fast computer if you can't input all commands effectively? To that end, I also buy almost every new "gaming mouse" to hit the market. Before optical mice, my favorite was the Razor Boomslang, but I sick of cleaning it all the time, so through evolution, I'm now using the Logitech MX550 gaming mouse. What I don't like about the mousse however is the teflon feet are aways coming off and the whoole darn thing picks up dirt and hair like a vacuum cleaner.

So to recap... This keyboard is the only thing I've ever purchased from Saitek. Otherwise for peripherals it's almost always been Logitech. I'm not affiliated with any gaming nor hardware organization, and I firmly believe in posting praise for a product when it warrents it - especially if it's flying under-the-radar and other gamer's might greatly benefit from it too.

To the others that posted the other keyboards? I'd tried the other illuminated keyboards, and I have to say that using the Saitek compared to those is like the difference between eating a huge slice of fine prime rib vs. eating a piece of stale 40-year-old beef jerky. I'm serious, it's that much of a difference.

Note: I'd originally registered here many months ago when Bill Harris referred me to one of Tom Chick's excellent articles, but didn't start posting here til Gone Gold crashed. But I also am leery of new posters who come in. But you also have to look at my previous posts to see that I'm not your run-of-the-mill spammer.

I paid $50 for this at Best Buy. also note I don't use the extra keypad thingie. No room for it on my keyboard tray.

[Jason McCullough]

Not ergo. Bleagh.

[extarbags]

Even better than a super old clicky-clack IBM PS2 keyboard.


Are you SURE?

Because that's exactly the keyboard that I use now.

[sluggo]

I just bought this keyboard yesterday -- In fact, I'm using it now. :)

(we'd done a feature on it a few months ago, and I wanted to pick it up to use with my mini-PC, but hadn't seen it in stores until now.)

From a keyboard perspective, it's OK. It's got the standard layout, unlike some of the newer keyboards which juggle the Fx keys and the INS|DEL|HOME pad (which drives me nuts). It feels pretty solid, but I don't like the action on it as much as my Microsoft Internet Pro keyboards, which have a lot more vertical action in the keypresses (if that makes any sense). The Saitek feels a little more chicklet-y, although I know people who prefer keyboards that way.

I haven't had a chance to plug in the keypad and use it for any shooters yet. I'd tried the Zboard and I didn't like it, and I'm hoping the Saitek + keypad might be a better alternative for FPS's. We'll have to see.

In any case, the lightup keyboard is cool, even if kinda useless during the day. (I have it turned off now.) If you go to LAN parties regularly and have a tricked-out case with all sorts of lights, this seems like a perfect fit.

[jpinard]

Hehe sluggo, your comment about the "verticalness" is why I like the Saitek so much and hated the newer Logitech and MS keyboards. I'm at such a flat angle to my keyboard (it sits high), that a good vertical rising key makes for clunky typing -with a lot of keys not registering.

:D That IBM keyboard will always have a place in my heart... even though I despise IBM. Although since I can't get over little annoying things, that clickity clack always interrupted my sweet sounding games. CLICK CLICK CLICK!!!!!!!!!!! :D

Sluggo - you install the software for it? If so, is it any good?

[krayzkrok]

Maybe I've been corrupted from too many years using laptops, but I prefer laptop keyboards where there's far less key travel. Sony's Viao laptops have excellent keyboards. I type fast and light, so a lot of keyboards with long key travel cause me to miss characters. However, some of the USB laptop-style keyboards are truly awful so I've been frightened off. Currently using (on my desktop) the basic Microsoft keyboard - slightly squishy but the small key travel suits pretty well.

[jpinard]

Wow that's amazing. I've never been able to get over the small amount of key travel on laptops. Don't your wrists cramp up?

[Jon R.]

But you also have to look at my previous posts to see that I'm not your run-of-the-mill spammer.

Whose scale are we going by?

[Ch. Hasslbauer]

Jon R.! I didn't know you were capable of self-irony. Kudos.

[jpinard]

Hasslbauer - this is a little OT, but are you really from Regensburg? That's one of my favorite places in Germany. What a beautiful place!

[Lorini]

There is a review of the keyboard here. (http://www.pcgameworld.com/article.php/id/243//url)

Lorini

[Ch. Hasslbauer]

Hasslbauer - this is a little OT, but are you really from Regensburg? That's one of my favorite places in Germany. What a beautiful place!
Indeed, it's a beautiful town to live in. Very dispersed town structure, with lots of green spots. You can spend half your life finding new interesting historical buildings in the town center. Of course, like in every town, you get used to living there eventually and it always astounds me a little when I experience people cherishing what has become so ordinary to me by now.

If you want to know what I mean by fog hole, come during winter and enjoy the low stratos. You'll find low stratos aplenty, interspersed with the common type of fog. Any time you like. :)


-Christian

edit: did I write stratus?!

[LionelThompson]

pffttt. 50$ for lights?

I bought this: (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=23-107-120&depa=0)
http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/23-107-120-04.JPG

Costs 5$ for a comfortable standard layout, and sleek design. Quiet keys to boot. Pretty spiffy.

Also, Give me your money.

Wow, the TI-99 4/A? How much extra for the cassette reader?

[VegasRobb]

Good ol' TI-99, I traded mine to a friend for his Atari 800XL during our junior high school days and never looked back. I remember missing Tunnels of Doom (better than Wizardry, I swear!) out of "all" the games I had for it.

[Lokust]

Parsec on the TI-99 was an awesome side scrolling shmup :) For it's day, anyway. And it was on the TI-99 that I learned to hunt the wumpus.

[Gourmand]

Wow, the TI-99 4/A? How much extra for the cassette reader?

Dude, that's the best part. It's free if you get overnight shipping. Kick ass!

Seriously: What are you talking about? I get the feeling I'm too young to clue in here ...

[VegasRobb]

Parsec on the TI-99 was an awesome side scrolling shmup :) For it's day, anyway. And it was on the TI-99 that I learned to hunt the wumpus.

I remember Parsec and Hunt the Wumpus, both were cartrigde based games, right?

[Ben Sones]

Hunt the Wumpus was a web-based game. For examples of gameplay, check the Qt3 archives.

[LionelThompson]

Wow, the TI-99 4/A? How much extra for the cassette reader?

Dude, that's the best part. It's free if you get overnight shipping. Kick ass!

Seriously: What are you talking about? I get the feeling I'm too young to clue in here ...

The keyboard looks big and bulky, as if it had a cpu in it like the old TI 99 4/A. Add in the fact that both have those black keyboards/dark design, and it was the first thing that popped in my head.

Here's an actual photo of one for comparison: http://www.homecomputermuseum.de/comp/92_de.htm

[Gourmand]

Wow, the TI-99 4/A? How much extra for the cassette reader?

Dude, that's the best part. It's free if you get overnight shipping. Kick ass!

Seriously: What are you talking about? I get the feeling I'm too young to clue in here ...

The keyboard looks big and bulky, as if it had a cpu in it like the old TI 99 4/A. Add in the fact that both have those black keyboards/dark design, and it was the first thing that popped in my head.

Here's an actual photo of one for comparison: http://www.homecomputermuseum.de/comp/92_de.htm

ooh, danke.

[VegasRobb]

Wow, the TI-99 4/A? How much extra for the cassette reader?

Dude, that's the best part. It's free if you get overnight shipping. Kick ass!

Seriously: What are you talking about? I get the feeling I'm too young to clue in here ...

The keyboard looks big and bulky, as if it had a cpu in it like the old TI 99 4/A. Add in the fact that both have those black keyboards/dark design, and it was the first thing that popped in my head.

Here's an actual photo of one for comparison: http://www.homecomputermuseum.de/comp/92_de.htm

I actually had that expansion box and dreamed of filling up every slot with memory. I can't remember if every slot was 32kb or if filling up every slot would get me to 32kb.

[Gladguy]

Re-railing this thread:

I just picked up, on eBay, the Okion Illuminated Keyboard. (http://www.okion.com/en-us/scripts/product_info.asp?pid=255) It was only USD$32 shipping included, so it's half the price of the Saitek unit, but it's quite good. It certainly is bright in the dark!

However, I think I might be more inclined to the raised keys of the Saitek board. Any idea where a guy could get one of these in Canada?

[jpinard]

LionelThompson - I was laughing so hard at your comment. :D

Gladguy, the Satiek is much nicer than Koion. The Okion felt really cheap to me compared to the Saitek.

Try newegg's site. There site is down right now so I can't check to see if they carry it yet.

[Lokust]

Parsec on the TI-99 was an awesome side scrolling shmup :) For it's day, anyway. And it was on the TI-99 that I learned to hunt the wumpus.

I remember Parsec and Hunt the Wumpus, both were cartrigde based games, right?

Yes, both were cart games. Football for the TI was pretty fun too.

Wumpus may be on the web now, but I'd wager it wasn't when the TI was around. :)

[Bill Dungsroman]

I hate my HP Internet-Ready! keyboard. Interent connection buttons I never use, CD/DVD/mp3 controls I never use. But, my favorites: all the function keys are half-sized, including the ESC key. And right above that dinky ESC key, the automatic sleep key. So when I get smoked in a FPS, I hit ESC out of impotent frustration and put my PC into instant sleep mode. So I taped an Arrowhead bottle cap over the Sleep key. "Uh, why is th-" "NEVER FUCKING MIND OKAY?!?!"

[forgeforsaken]

Tunnels of Doom was the best!
Great little dungeon crawler that one.

[Timemaster Tim]

I have one of those internet-ready keyboard thingies. I't got lots of buttons but I only end up using three.

1. Launch my browser.
2. Launch my email client
3. Open up "My Computer"

[Silverlight]

Microsoft Internet Keyboard here. I actually like the "My Computer" and "Calculator" buttons, but then, the other Idiot Keys are at least an inch from the function keys and I'm never in any danger of hitting them by mistake.

[Mark Asher]

I got used to one of those Microsoft ergonomic keyboards with the split keypad and I can't type on anything else now. I'd have to retrain to a standard keyboard. I make a million typos when I have to use one now.

[Dirt]

Those ergonomic keyboards take up way too much space.

[Hanzii]

Maybe I've been corrupted from too many years using laptops, but I prefer laptop keyboards where there's far less key travel. Sony's Viao laptops have excellent keyboards. I type fast and light, so a lot of keyboards with long key travel cause me to miss characters. However, some of the USB laptop-style keyboards are truly awful so I've been frightened off. Currently using (on my desktop) the basic Microsoft keyboard - slightly squishy but the small key travel suits pretty well.

I agree, which is another reason I really like using this. (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/DK/DA,CRID=486,CONTENTID=7321)

[Silverlight]

I agree, which is another reason I really like using this. (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/products/details/DK/DA,CRID=486,CONTENTID=7321)
That looks pretty handy, actually. I could get three inches of desk space back just by ditching the archaic number keypad cluster.

[Hanzii]

My numeric pad is usually in the kitchen, where I use it as calculator and the MediaPad feature for controlling the cooking-soundtrack. Very handy.

[olaf]

I picked one of these up tonight at Best Buy. I was getting some other stuff and said what the hell.

Its pretty cool. I like the feel of the keys, but I wouldnt exactly call it a throwback to those old ass keyboards with the nice stiff response and sweet clicking sounds. The blue backlight is cool though. Still, $50 is stout for a keyboard. It replaced a standard PS2 Dell KB that I liked a lot, that was only $15. The little programmable thing is worth something though, I dont know if I will end up using it. I had one of those Belkin Nostromo Speedpad things, which is similar, and never really used it.

olaf

edit: While the backlit stuff is cool. It really does not do much for being able to see the keys in the dark. Nothing really. If I am in a dark area/scene of a game (or turn my monitor off), I cant see my keys at all. Gamers would have been much better served if the 'labels' on each key was translucent or something, and the blue light could effectively light them up.

[jpinard]

edit: While the backlit stuff is cool. It really does not do much for being able to see the keys in the dark. Nothing really. If I am in a dark area/scene of a game (or turn my monitor off), I cant see my keys at all. Gamers would have been much better served if the 'labels' on each key was translucent or something, and the blue light could effectively light them up.

Yea Olaf, I don't know why they didn't do that. I've been looking at the extra keypad, and it's looking really tempting. I just wish I could figure out some extra space. The keys might be a tad big though.