I have used the original G15 and G11 Logitech keyboards, so that is what I will be comparing this keyboard to. Obviously the keyboard does not have an LCD display but I found running two monitors that I rarely used that feature on the Logitech G15 keyboards anyway. The lettering wore off by Logitech keyboards after a little under two years use. I had one replaced and bought spares, but I finally ran out. I decided to try a different keyboard manufacturer to see if the keyboard keys would last longer under heavy use. It is obviously too soon to tell how the keys on this keyboard will live up over a year or more time, but they at least give you spare key caps for the W A S and D (and arrow) keys. The keyboard cable is fully detachable which will make it much easier moving this keyboard from place to place. It is also covered with a braided covering which should help protect the wires within. The keyboard also comes with a cloth bag to transport it in. The wrist rest on this keyboard is not detachable unlike with Logitech keyboards, but I found the gradual angle of the wrist rest did not impede me in any way. The keyboard has two USB 2.0 ports on it, but they are only 100 miliamp powered so they may not drive hi power drain devices. The Logitech keyboards did not have USB 2.0 ports on them so I'm not really complaining about this much. I would rather have USB 2.0 ports that were not full power than only have USB 1.0 or 1.1 options. The media keys are located above the number pad and arrow keys as opposed to the top center of the keyboard. This is just a placement difference and in no way affects functionality.
This keyboard has 10 macro keys and four profiles for a total of 40 potential macros. The keys are located at each side of the keyboard with five keys per side. I found this configuration took a little time to get used to but I think I like it now. The keys on the right side of the keyboard easily hit by your mouse hand, of the keys on the left-hand side of the keyboard the bottom three are easily hit with my pinky without moving my hand from the W A S D keys. The keys are located slightly in from the side of the keyboard, enough so that you won't hit them by accident when moving the keyboard or by bumping the keys on the side with the mouse hand unintentionally. The macro software could use better documentation however, I have not found a way to display the delay between keystrokes yet using the software. However the macros I recorded seemed to work well regardless. A couple things I learned which might help other people programming macros on this keyboard. First I found that after programming macros you still have to select the macro profile with the keyboard itself, it does not default to any of the profiles being on. Second I found that my macros were entered into the game I was playing much more reliably if I changed the key press time to .1 second from .0 seconds. I have not yet gone to the forums to see if they can explain the macro software better than the supplied documentation and website. I do like the fact that the macros can be stored on the internal memory of the keyboard itself (and must be for them to work), which means if I move this keyboard to another computer my macros will be with me without me having to reprogram them. you can of course also save the macros to your computer hard drive as well.
The fan is small and does not move much air but I can feel it on my hand. It can be placed in a power socket on either side of the keyboard, and rotated a full 360°. The positioning of the power outlets will allow you to place the fan where it easily covers your W A S D keys or your number pad. The fan is not quite as gimmicky as I expected though I don't think I will use it on a regular basis living a house with cats. There is a slot on the back of the keyboard to store the fan when not in use.
The backlighting on the keyboard seems perfectly acceptable to use in the dark and has three intensity settings not counting off. The Thermaltake logo on the front of the keyboard can be turned off entirely in the software regardless of the backlighting options you have chosen for the rest of the keyboard, which I find a nice feature. It would be nice to have other backlight color options other than red, but I knew red was the only option on this keyboard at the time purchases and am not holding that against them.
Overall I am pleased with the purchase and will seriously consider getting one for my wife when her current G11 keyboard wears out. I have used Thermaltake products in the past and been happy with them, so I felt willing to take a risk with their keyboard offering. I have only owned this keyboard for three days so far, so I will update this review later if my opinion changes or if it appears not to be as durable as I currently expect it to be.
***Update 1/3/2012***
The W A S D keys did finally wear off a month or so ago (though I admittedly was using the stock black ones not the red gaming ones that it came with to swap out). I switched to the red gaming key caps the keyboard came with and they are still holding up fine. All the other keys still look new with no visible wear on them. I never used the fan other than to verify functionality of it. Overall I am still happy with the keyboards performance so far. I will update in the future if and when the red gaming keys wear out.
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 2 |
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