SteelSeries 7G Gaming Keyboard

For three years I'm looking for the perfect keyboard. Finally I found it. It was a long way beginning with the IBM PS/2 Keyboard, Cherry G80, Logitech G15 and Razer Tarantula. To make a long story short:
IBM and Cherry weren't gaming keyboards. Both are only Alpha N-key rollover. That means you cannot press the 'W' + 'D' and the 'E' key at once. In the gaming scene it's called "Ghost Key Effect". Edit a file and press and hold the 'W' key, then add the 'D' until 'd' is repeated. If you then add the 'E' key, the repetition stops. The keyboard is not able to solve this problem as these keys - among others - are on the same cluster (on some Keyboards there are other combinations like W+S+D).
The Logitech was even worse! It's only called a gaming keyboard but it's only alpha N-Key rollover, needs driver to work properly and finally it has membrane Switches.
The Razer Tarantula was the first real gaming keyboard allowing full N-Key rollover. For the first time I got rid of the ghost key effect. Here you can press any key combination. But: you cannot press 10 Keys at the same time like Razer said! As it is an USB keyboard and the USB limit is 6 Keys. Ergo: only 6 Keys at the same time. But it was a huge leap from a G15 to the Tarantula. The biggest problem was that the Tarantula needed also drivers to work properly.
Finally the optimum keyboard: Steelseries 7G!
Put all you need together you get the 7G!!
The best key switches (Cherry linear MX-series switch) and a real FULL N-Key rollover! Press ALL keys at the same time ... surprise: it's there!!! NO DRIVER!! Great!!! Just plug in - and it works. No updates, no bug fixes, no incompatibility problems - just: rock solid! And it saves memory and CPU time.
The arm rest is perfectly build and the keyboard of state of the art quality.
No bling, no extras just: pure performance!
About the price:
I spent more money on the Tarantula and I regret it. This keyboard is worth its money.

My husband and I are avid gamers and like to collect the best available equipment. The keyboards with the screens, fancy lights, and macro keys look good but a lot of people don't know or don't care that these keyboards use up some of your system memory because of the programs they run. As games become more and more memory intensive, I don't want my system memory wasted on a keyboard. Most games will allow you to make macros using the existing keys so you don't need those extra macro keys at all.

This keyboard is great! I love the way the keys feel. They are really easy on your fingers and that is wonderful if you play as many hours as we do.

The BEST thing about this keyboard is that you can use many keys at the same time. For example...I hit two buff keys, two or three potion keys, and my weapon style...all at the same time! Then when the fight commences, you can hit your spells at the same time you hit your weapon styles. You may say, "you can do that with a macro and only hit one key". Yes, you can but you can't make changes on the fly due to the attacks of the NPC's like you can with this keyboard. It is difficult to explain but I hope you get the idea.

The keyboard is very classy looking and you can tell it is very well made and will last a long time.

I hope this helps.

I'm a keyboard nut. I've purchased and used every keyboard that Microsoft sells as well as several major Logitech keyboards. Mavis Beacon and various websites rate me at 180wpm+. I spend 9 hours a day at work on a keyboard and the rest of my free time at home on a keyboard (gaming, WoW, Eve-Online, etc...).

When I got this shipped from Amazon - several keys had "popped" off during shipping (a rough shipping no doubt). They slid back on without a problem and they don't fall off even if I try to shake them off. Just not something I'd expect from a $120 keyboard (keys falling off during shipping). Might be a positive note for those of you that like to re-arrange your keyboard to a DEVORAK layout like my co-worker.

When I first plugged this keyboard in, my computer was off. When I booted up the keyboard was not recognized. Solution? Boot up into Windows, log in *then* plug in the keyboard. After that, the keyboard is recognized during bootup. This is due to the fact that I'm using the PS2 to USB converter.

First off, after unpacking, this keyboard is extremely heavy. I like this because cheap plastic keyboards slide all over as I type on them. The keyboard does not have any feet in back but the design build of the keyboard has a slight raise in the back - which I find very comfortable. The keypress is not "long" like all the other online reviews I've read. Maybe it is if you are using a laptop. The normal Dell keyboards have a longer keypress in my opinion. When you begin to type on this keyboard you'll note how amazingly easy it is to type. There is absolutely no resistance to keypress even if you hit a key from the side like some keyboards I've used. The key rebound is solid and provides great "tactile feedback." Also, the sound of the keys is a little different. Yes, the keypress noise is loud. Another note - keypress is registered about half way through allowing for some seriously fast typing when you want to go full speed. Overall, it has been a very positive experience typing on this keyboard. I'm trying to find any excuse to type because I like the keyboard so much.

The LCD lights for Num, Caps, and Scroll are incredibly bright white LED lights that will blind you if you look at them too long. However, that is only the case if you look at them directly above them - from where you are typing - the light is perfectly fine. I really enjoy the bright white light because I can detect if I have a key on out of the corner of my eye instead of looking down and wondering if I have the num lock key on or not.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Overall, this keyboard rocks. I definitely recommend it to friends who want to enjoy a good quality keyboard.

Pros:
1. Solid build - you'd have to try hard to break this.
2. Ease of keypress allowing for some really fast wpm speeds.
3. 50 million rated keypress - this thing won't be dying anytime soon.
4. USB ports and headphone jacks right at your finger tips - no more ducking under your desk and fiddling with wires to connect your headset anymore. (I have a USB Creative headset).

Cons:
1. The "Windows" key is on the right side only. The Left side key is actually a SteelKeys function key that allows you to do music controls. This may bother some but I found it easy to adapt.
2. When shipped 1 day air - keys were popped off the keyboard - not something you expect from a $120 keyboard - however, placing them back on the keyboard = everything was ok.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 47 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars