Wednesday, October 1, 2008
I got myself a new gaming keyboard. For a hardcore gamer like myself (especially MMOG and FPS games like counterstrike) the new A4Tech X7 G800 is like a dream come true.
It has lots of innovative designs like alternate keys for hard to reach buttons of a normal keyboard (15 buttons to be exact) plus the WSAD buttons are covered with rubber for a non slippery feel when moving your character. It also boasts of 3 times faster response time from normal keyboards which you can change with a touch of a button. You can also shift the control and capslock keys and/or the WSAD to the four directional buttons whichever you see fit. You can even disable the Windows sign key so you won't accidentally go to your desktop screen while playing your games.
Other features includes multimedia buttons (the silver buttons on the right), increased keyboard weight for better leverage, interchangeable keys (which includes 4 extra rubber keys aside from the WSAD buttons), microphone and earphone connector (so you won't have to plug it in the back of the tower anymore), an extra USB 2.0 connector and the most important of all is that it's water proof (I've already lost 2 keyboards from beverage accidents).
Although this keyboard is hard to beat at its price (I only bought it for P840) there are still some things I don't like about it. The material used by A4Tech for the keyboard is like cheap plastic which is very noticeable when you touch it. The buttons for the keyboard speed and key shifts, in the upper right part of the keyboard, looks like its made for cheap toys. They could have made the buttons better, in my opinion, and place it like normal looking buttons. The keypads aren't illuminated which could have made it great for low light environments.Also you can't customize or make any macro keys, which are the normal features of other gaming keyboards out in the market, but that is countered by the G800 with its no software installation. If you like customizable keys/macro gaming keyboards then I suggest the Razer Tarantula or the Logitech G15 gaming keyboard which is in the P4000-P5000 price range. A hefty price to pay for button customization.
All in all the A4Tech x7 G800 series is well worth its price. The features are great even for the most avid gamer and you can't beat its price. If there's a poor mans gaming keyboard this would be it.
You can buy the A4Tech X7 G800 at PC shops in Greenhills like PC Hub or PC Express.
Now I'm off to frag down some terrorists in the net!
