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Hands-On With SteelSeries Ikari Mouse and New 7G Gaming Keyboard
Engadget recently had the chance to review some high-end gear from SteelSeries. While they may be a little on the pricey side, it seems that both the Ikari laser mouse and the 7g keyboard received favorable reviews. "The Ikari laser mouse they announced last year is particularly great, with a built-in processor and sensitivity settings to allow for a customized and precise sensitivity setting in a plug-and-play setup particularly suited to professional gamers. Settings are easy to work, and the actual sensitivity and response of the mouse easily outclasses our prior mousing experiences. New to the market is the SteelSeries 7G keyboard, which is making its debut on Monday the 5th. The keyboard is fully mechanical, with no-click switches that give it a much stronger, smoother tactile feel, while simultaneously catering to gamers by registering half presses. The keyboard weighs a ton thanks to the heavy-duty iron-infused plastic and the gold electronics, and is quite capable of handling abuse. We grew up typing on heavy-duty keyboards, and this is easily the best one we've used this decade -- though the $150 pricetag also makes it the most expensive outside of the Optimus Maximus."
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-Arthur
Cave ne ante ullas catapultas ambules
The Caps Lock is still there. Why on Earth did they leave the Caps Lock there? I'm sticking with my happy hacking keyboard, with the much more useful Ctrl key on the left center.
Evil people are out to get you.
/ The Arrow
"How lovely you are. So lovely in my straightjacket..." - Nny
"...the actual sensitivity and response of the mouse easily outclasses our prior mousing experiences."
Well, that's a phrase you don't hear every day.
...is the lack of the Windows key!
I can't remember the last time I forgot anything.
More like a cut and paste of a PR release. All I saw was short blurbs about "This rocks, you ought to buy it", along with some tech buzzwords thrown in. Not a single word breathed about ergonomics, how the programmable interface actually works, the details of the customizations and how effective they actually are. Really, the summary IS the article.
This is a slashvertisement if I've ever seen one.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
Just from looking at the keyboard I hate it already. An L shaped enter/return key and a tiny backspace key with the backslash next to it.
I've always hated the L shaped return key because it forces you to move the center of the key slightly higher...which is too high for a pinky. The large size you could say makes it easier to hit, except that most L shaped keys have terrible balancing so hitting it slightly lower or higher than the middle of the key can cause the key press not to register.
Now the tiny backspace key really gets me. I had a keyboard with a tiny backspace key and it pissed the hell out of me because I would often hit the key next to it since it was so small.
"catering to gamers by registering half presses"
Does this meen that the keys are analong and can be programed that way? or is it just another button that clicks halfway down?
The idea of having analog 'WASD' sounds real nice for pc games. Still 150 is too much when better supported gaming keyboards are on the market for less then 100
seriously, "iron infused plastic and gold electronics"? way way too much masturbating.
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
This has got to be the sparsest review I've seen for any product. WTF? The specs say that it has a USB port and speaker/mic jacks, but did we get a picture of them? Did they even mention them? Nope, I had to guess from the picture of the connectors. The most useful piece of information was the user comments that told us about the two USB jacks and the flimsy hand rest. What, pray tell, was the point of the four images of the logo on (what is that anyway? a bunch of mouse pads?). Really, this has got to be one of the worst hardware reviews I've seen in a long time. And what's with the out-of-focus shots of the mouse? Dudes, have a little professionalism, ok?
Regarding the keyboard, it looks really cool and definitely sets off my gamer-gear radar. Unfortunately I can't imagine that it's worth three other keyboards. I don't even know what a "half-press" would be used for, so I'm not sure why it's valuable. The weight sounds good if you're in the habit of doing the kind of gaming that slides your keyboard around on your desktop, but I've never found that to be a problem.
Really, though, I think the stupid review totally put me off of the product.
Wake up - the future is arriving faster than you think.
Get it, use it, annoy your roommates. Seriously, I have 3 or 4 of these things, use them all the time, and only had to pay for one ($1.50, the rest were free).
Klingon programs don't timeshare, they battle for supremacy.
My Kinesis Advantage keyboard was $300 even. Of course it smokes both the aforementioned keyboards standing still, but that's not the point - the point is this thing doesn't have a place, let alone second, in the expensive keyboard competition. Check out Maltron sometime.
A decent keyboard is $20. Anything over that is robbery. Anyone who actually shells that kind of cash out for a keyboard needs to have his credit cards taken away.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
I used to think dedicated gaming hardware was just a selling point, but really, if you're into FPS and you're still using the OEM crap that came with your box, you're missing out on a lot. Take it from someone who doesn't take his games that seriously.
Web2.0: I love when people Flickr my cuil and digg my boingboing until my google is reddit and I start to yahoo
Don't use it.
Personally as someone who enjoys playing games online (and has a little extra income to throw at it) I've been disappointed by the majority of gaming keyboards which seem to use standard switches. I haven't used this board or seen it myself so I wonder how the keys feel. Standard boards are good for typing and have a bit of play in the keys you don't need for your average twitch and shoot.
Typically I use a board that uses scissor switches (like in laptops) because they have a much smoother operation (and a bit less clacky makes my wife more tolerant).
Quack, quack.
I used a Steel Series frosted glass mouse pad for a while, but I had to stop because if even the most tiniest particle settles on the surface, my mouse made this horrible scratching sound. Even worse, I could feel it as well, so I was constantly wiping down the surface and also rubbing the mouse on my pants leg. Needless to say, this detracted from my overall gaming experience.
I'm sure their other pads are fine, and maybe I'm one of the unlucky few who works/plays in a somewhat dusty area. I'm just putting this out there.
Now that keyboard, otoh, I like. I have yet to find a decent keyboard that passes what I call my "Ctrl finger" test. Due to my prefered gaming style, when I press the left control key with my left pinky, it doesn't push straight down but sort off at an angle. In cheapie, plasticy boards, eventually this causes the key to stick and it becomes problematic as Ctrl is my primary crouching key in FPS games. I usually guage this by pushing on the far bottom left corner of the left control key and seeing how free the action is. Since store display boards get tons of abuse, this test works quite well.
Just my 2c, and as always, ymmv. Cheers~
There is simply too much glass..
Then again, their previous keyboard is only offered in "Swedish, Norwegian and Portugese" so the L shaped key is the least of your worries.
No sig today...
I agree 100%. I've always had trouble finding a decent keyboard fitting those requirements. Luckily, the Das Keyboard II has the perfect layout for me.
That would be a rebadged Keytronic Ergo series. An awesome keyboard, but considerably cheaper if you buy it with letters affixed.
"Don't finish! You never finish!"
I want my! I want my! I want my Eee PC!
"Pro gaming" equipment is just like specialty "audiophile" hardware -- overpriced, showy crap that only makes a difference in the mind of the buyer.
I'm not saying there's no difference between a quality keyboard and a cheap hunk of plastic, but the difference in performance between a $20 Key Tronic and a $150 L337 G4m3r Pr0 Blingmaster Xtreme sure as hell isn't going to be noticed by "casual" gamers, and probably makes no difference to somebody who is already good enough to be a "pro".
You know it's the way to go :)
I'm typing this message on a $200 Logitech DiNovo Edge.
The original Das Keyboard was a Keytronic, the new one is made by Cherry and has mechanical keyswitches (as opposed to the membrane switches on the Keytronic). AFAIK, you can't get the reasonably-priced, non-pretentious equivalent of Das Keyboard II anywhere.
/signed
/. being this bad but... maybe I'm just new here.
The ads for movies and what-not is getting really annoying. I don't remember
I would have to say the G15 (revision 1) is the best keyboard I have ever used. The flip-down LCD is just wang, really (although seeing my soul shard/ammo count is nice), but the 18 macro keys are godly for WoW. The blue backlight is sexy, but can be turned off if you don't like it.
For some crazy reason they decided to release a 2nd revision with only 6 macro keys and a fixed LCD (orange backlight rather than blue). This would be alright if they didn't:
a) Keep the G15 model name, and
b) Stop production of the original revision.
It has the REAL key layout of horizontal backspace, backslash, and enter.
In regards to the mouse, I just bought a Logitech G9 (corded) and I have to say I'm rather impressed. I've been using cordless mice for years and I'm sick to death of changing batteries and occasional disconnection issues. I don't need a mouse pad with my computer desk either. Plain wood, no lamination or shiny lacquer. Never had a laser mouse skip on it.
Anyway, my personal experiences, YMMV.
Homonyms are fun!
You're driving your car, but they're riding their bikes there.
Yuck, I agree completely. That tiny backspace key is a dealbreaker for me, with my typing error rate.
I do like the complete lack of "evil" keys though: Power, Wake and Sleep.
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
IBM Model M, take off the keycaps (NOT the whole keys) and spraypaint them all black. Then spray them with 1 layer of Testor's glosscoat and 2 of Testor's dullcoat to seal. Thin layers. Place the keycaps back on the keys, you now have a Das Keyboard-style keyboard for a reasonable price. Whatever you do, don't spray over the date-of-manufacture/serial number sticker on the back.
Not a sentence!
My vote goes for the Unicomp keyboards. They're mechanical and provides a nice "click". Oh, and their built like a tank. Got mine for about $70
http://pckeyboards.stores.yahoo.net/
Life is not for the lazy.
I picked up one of the new apple keyboards. It's pure sex (well we all know that Apple products cure cancer and get you laid)
Fanboi bashing aside it's hands down the most comfortable and well designed keyboard I have ever used. I CAN'T use other keyboards anymore, and making a $150 clacky keyboard seems like a huge waste of effort.
DUH! Ikari warriors! Does no one else remember this epic game?
So who, apart from the airforce, Navy, marine corps, and NASA needs a keyboard that will operate while under acceleration of 68 meters/sec^2?
Have we returned to the dark ages? I don't mind the mouse shape so much, but having a cord drag off the end is something that just doesn't do it for me anymore.
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
i'm definitely not a progamer and i bought one. they were on sale at dell.com for $107 (free shipping) a few weeks ago.
i love the thing. i got my first upscale keyboard a couple months ago - a logitech g15. i liked the volume control and the LCD but the build quality was really cheap. it felt like a thin piece of plastic; i probably could have torn it in half with my hands. after using the same keyboard for a decade (a $10 dell) i managed to break the g15 twice in a month.
then i went to a lan party in san francisco in march, and one of the sponsors was steelseries. never heard of them so i looked them up and immediately fell in love with their aesthetic: no frills, just over-the-top performance.
i ordered the 7g and it's amazing. the backspace key is too small but other than that it's a real pleasure to use. it just feels good to type on it - the internal mechanisms are smooth and the feedback is just right.
i don't know if this keyboard could make a huge difference to a gamer but i hope it lasts me for decades.
one of the great features of this keyboard that i don't think any other keyboard has is that it is wired to take huge key combinations (at least 9 simultaneous keys). this was an annoying problem on every keyboard i've had before including the $80 G15. for example in BF2142, if i needed to keep moving (W) while running (left shift) i couldn't send a squad order (V) or accept an order from the squad leader (PageUp). i learned to play around it (stop running long enough to hit the other key) but it's nice to be able to just hit the keys i need to hit.
I'm not a professional gamer, but I must admit I played, play, and will play games way too much.
I've changed more than 10 keyboards in my lifetime so I do think I have something to say about gaming keyboards.
Lets look at the "features" of this 7G keyboard.
It is made of metal. I'm not really sure why this is a positive thing, except for added weight. But as my experience tells me, the keyboard doesn't need to be heavy to be firmly planted on your desk. All you need are good rubber legs/plugs/or whatever they are called. I've seen extremely light keyboards which are extremely resistant to moving, so I do think that you need heavy keyboard to prevent it from dancing around your table. But anyway, I haven't seen any good gamer moving their hands on the keyboard in such a way to move the keyboard itself. True, amateurs and kids tend to thrash the keyboard when they lose, but that is more of an attitude problem than a keyboard problem.
The keyboard is fully mechanical. I don't have much experience with that kind of keyboards and I don't take that as a negative thing. But I don't consider rubber membrane keyboards bad by any account (not even by keyboard lifetime). Maybe I haven't experienced anything better though.
"Gold electronic". Even if it is made of platinum, that doesn't mean it is any better than a standard keyboard. True, this can be an indicator that the keyboard is better but sometimes it is exactly the opposite.
"capable of handling abuse". As I said before, only retards abuse their keyboards. I'm not a saint myself but I have never found a keyboard who can't handle energetic typing or some abuse. If someone is abusing his keyboard on daily basis, I would suggest professional counseling.
On a more general note, I do have a feeling that every "gaming" keyboard out there is just doing at least one thing wrong.
This is namely the inclusion of numeric keypad part of the keyboard. Why is this the problem? It is because you need to put your keyboard and your mouse wide apart which is uncomfortable, unergonomic, lowers your performance and completely pointless. These are gaming keyboards we are talking about so I don't think any gamer would miss numeric keypad so much. There are some keyboards who try to shorten the distance between the keypad and the rest of the keyboard but even if this is good, you still have a lot of useless keys sticking to the right of your main part of the keyboard.
Another thing which bothers me even more is inclusion of macro keys to the right of the numeric keypad so the keyboard is extremely wide this way. This is most uncomfortable. Even though macro keys are not necessary bad in itself I do have slight reservations about them. Those macro keys are usually far away from the main gaming keys (wasd/esdf) so they are difficult to find and press without looking. And on some keyboards (Razer Tarantula included) those macro keys are utterly useless. You can't press macro key+normal key at the same time (lets say moving forward-w + macro execution). And why can't I assign button "G" for some special macro when I'm running game X? Why do I need the extra macro-only buttons?
Keyboard illumination is just for show. If a gamer doesn't know where his keys are without looking he is:
1. not a gamer
2. a failure
I do recommend to be careful when buying keyboards, especially expensive ones. I had Razer Tarantula which I got as a gift but at first I thought it was defective (ddouble charaacters when writingg sometimes), replaced it, got the same thing. I searched on the web for other experiences, but that was somewhat hard because people who have these kind of keyboards usually don't type much outside the games so they wouldn't notice playing their favorite games.
Trolls are like broken clocks. They show the truth two times a day. The rest of the day they talk nonsense.
Just fyi
They added the 5th button back for the G5 (revision 2) because people complained.
The G9 has them as well, iirc.
Why, yes I have been touched by His noodly appendage. And I plan to sue.
Is it me, or does the mouse look like it's designed to be used with a specific hand? Whether it's right or left I don't know...but example..
I indulged myself and picked up a Razer Lachesis mouse not long ago and it's pretty much symmetrical. I'm a right-y, so I don't *need* to pay particular attention to these things but do they produce two versions, one for right-handed people and one for left? Or what?
Keep your optical mouse away from my FPS. With your wrist planted on the desktop (or pad), a swipe/lift/sweep action will often cause back-tracking if you don't lift the mouse high enough.
I've tried to go optical several times, but I run back to ball-mice because lifting the mouse off the pad enough to disengage tires out my wrist.
And, before you ask, yes, I'm just one good cry away from being the complete woman.
Tell the moon dogs, tell the March hare
Non-standard layout of all other keys does not bother you?..
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Personally, I want to know what the **** gamers are doing to their stuff where they need reinforced steel and a mouse with it's own CPU. I don't know about the mouse, but a heavy keyboard with mechanical switches is nicer to use IMO. Weight keeps it from
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