1. Customizable backlighting
(mix shades from red through amber)
2. Programmable functions and media keys
3. Touch sensitive, backlit dashboard control panel
4. Cyborg Mode (instantly disable windows keys and
configure the color layout with the touch of a button
5. Hard wearing, metal plated key caps in key gaming
areas
6. Adjustable wrist rest
7. Pass-through USB, audio and microphone sockets
System requirements:
Connectivity: USB 2.0
Windows XP,XP64 and Windows Vista (all versions)
Introduction
The futuristic look of the Saitek Cyborg keyboard and the
ability to change the color of the backlighting is very captivating at first
site. It has always been a "cool" feature of gaming keyboards to have
the ability for backlighting for us gamers who like to stay up into the wee
hours of the night and morning at times gaming away.
I got the chance to get my hands on this keyboard and run
it through the ropes.
Now one must remember that I came from a Creative Labs
Fatal1ty keyboard that had a slim design that made it very easy to move or
slide my hands around the keyboard. the Saitek is a full size keyboard as you
can see in the picture below.
Features
and designs
One of the things I really liked about this product at
first is the ability for macros as my other keyboard didn't have that. Setting
up the macros isn't that difficult but I did have a hard time getting some of
them to work properly. I think much more detail could have been put into the
design of the windows interface one uses to set up macros. The instructions
make it out as being very easy but as I said getting them to work can be a
pain.
The design of the keyboard can be hard to get used as it
is very long and the way the sides are angled up can be a stumbling block for
some I would imagine.
The touch panel was very nice as I liked the way that you
just had to barely touch the panels for the sensors to activate. I really liked
messing around with the colors (all though there is no blue) I have no idea why.
After awhile the ability for me to change colors really got old. It is a nice
feature but really doesn't add much to the keyboard abilities. True the
backlighting is useful for night gaming but does one really need all those
different color choices?
The ability to hook your headsets up to the keyboard and
an external USB device does come in handy for some. It also has a detachable and
adjustable wrist rest. Like I said the keyboard is very large though so one
would need to have ample desk space if they wanted to attach it.
Another feature I thought wasn't needed after awhile is
the metal plated key caps in "key gaming areas." I didn't see the
need for this and didn't have the keyboard long enough to see if it would
really prevent those keys from wearing down. One would think that if you used
those keys to the point of wearing them down you would already know where they
are located in the first place. I have heard of people wearing down the letters
on the keys of their keyboard as I have done it myself on certain keyboards but
using it so much the key is simply no longer around I have yet to hear. I hope
one would go out and just buy a new keyboard before that happened. Again...the
metal caps on the "key playing areas" is really not needed in my opinion
but some might like it.
Backlighting
I will say that the keyboard was very easy to see at
night. The ability to change so many colors schemes could be nice for some. I
ended up having the red and green going for some reason. It didn't feel like
Christmas though. The control panel has all the abilities for one to change the
colors and the brightness of the keys as well.
Macros
and Software
I myself found the software that came with the keyboard
to be very difficult to use as it's a general all around tool. I needed to go
online and download the SST (Saitek Smart Technology) software that was more
current than the one of the enclosed disk. I find it a very good idea to always
get the latest drivers from online when you buy a new piece of hardware or
software for your system as it can make life much easier.
There is no way to set macros on the fly and you have a
total of 12 keys (6 on each side) to setup the macros.
There is no software included as well to show one how to
setup macros. You have to go online for this. I didn't think this was the best
way to go about this.
Left panel Macro Keys
Keys
When I first got my hands on the keyboard after it was
all setup I did a little typing to see how the keys felt. Right off the bat I
noticed how much more effort it was to type with this keyboard after coming
from my slim keyed designed Fatal1ty keyboard. They do seem to feel a bit spongy
or marshmallowey as well and not that
easy to push down if one needed to quickly. I mentioned the chrome key caps as
well earlier. They don't add any real benefit to the keyboard other than aesthetics.
Metal plated key caps
Conclusion
Over all I wasn't too impressed with this keyboard and
really struggled with it in FPS games like COD4. It was even hard to get used
to while playing a role playing game like Scared : Fallen Angel. I think Saitek
can do much better by focusing on the functions of their next gaming keyboard
and not just on all the really un-needed bells and whistles the Cyborg has.
