When I first saw this at a local store the price tag of $60 made me giggle. I’ve been PC gaming for a long time and just about any given keyboard will do for most games you’d play that require one. I couldn’t begin to imagine what was so special about this keyboard that it justified that kind of price even if the keys are backlit. The store didn’t have a display model available to try out so I set aside any thoughts of picking one up until I saw a couple of reviews for it at various online gaming sites. I still wasn’t convinced it was worth the price, but I tossed it onto my Amazon Wish List for future reference on the same day that my buddy Hairboy decided to buy me a couple of things off that list as a thank you for building him a new PC. He saw that I had just listed the keyboard and thought that’d be a good thing to send my way.

So now I’m the owner of a Saitek PC Gaming Keyboard and I must say that it’s better than I expected it to be. The first thing you’ll notice as you unpack it from the box is that it’s heavier than most keyboards you’re probably used to. I have no idea why, but it’s probably a combination of the extra wiring needed for the backlit keys and the circuitry needed for the separate keypad. It definitely gives the keyboard a very solid feel that is a refreshing change from some of the wimpier keyboards out there. It feels like it can take a bit of a pounding which can be important depending on how easily frustrated a gamer you tend to be.

Aside from the weight, it’s a pretty standard 104 key keyboard that you’re already familiar with. The only extra buttons to be found are above the 10 key pad on the right. The first three of the four buttons allow you to lower, raise, or mute the volume of your speakers and the last controls the brightness of the keyboard’s backlit keys through three settings: off, half-brightness, and full brightness. The num lock, scroll lock, and caps lock indicators are very cool blue LEDs along the top center of the keyboard. The keyboard does have a pretty cool design aesthetic with a shape and color that reminds one of metal construction even though it’s just plastic. In addition to the silver version I got there is also a black version with silver keys.

Once you start typing on the keyboard you’ll probably be a little more impressed with it. The keys have a very soft feel to them, but not a ‘mushy’ feel. This makes it one of the quieter keyboards I’ve ever worked with, which can be important when you’re trying not to wake others in the house with some late night gaming. The keys are very responsive in spite of their soft touch and this does seem to allow for a bit more finesse in some first person shooters. The box claims the keyboard has an extended space bar, but it actually seems short compared to some other keyboards I’ve used. Not that it isn’t plenty long enough, but I’m not sure why they’re hyping it as extended when it doesn’t really seem to be at all. The adjustable wrist rest included with the keyboard is nice for folks who like that sort of thing, but I’ve never gotten used to having a wrist guard in place so it did little other than get in the way for me. Fortunately it’s easy to remove if you don’t want to use it. The back lighting on the keys is a pleasant blue glow that does help when gaming in the dark even though it doesn’t illuminate the markings on the key caps themselves. Still, just having an outline of the keyboard as a reference will allow most folks to place their hands in the right spot for typing or gaming without the need for additional light. Plus it does look damned cool.

The separate “command pad” is an interesting idea. It connects to the keyboard via an RJ45 jack commonly used as an Ethernet port. The keys are backlit with the same blue glow as the main keyboard and are numbered 1 through 9. There are two additional buttons near the bottom corners of the pad labeled Mode A and Mode B that allow you a total of 27 possible programmable functions. The included software allows you to assign different functions to the various keys for use in your games.

I have no idea how good of an idea this is mainly because I don’t have the desk space to make use of it. I’ve got a desk with a keyboard tray and there’s barely enough room on it for both the keyboard and the mouse let alone for an extra command pad so while it does seem like it could prove advantageous to have access to a keypad with an additional 27 possible functions, how well it works in actual use is not something I can claim to be familiar with. I could also see how it could be confusing as there aren’t any indicator lights on the pad itself to tell you which of the three possible modes it’s currently in. It seems like the sort of thing a hard core gamer who can never have enough buttons would love, but for more casual folks it’s probably not a necessity. Though I suppose it could prove very useful when working with various office applications as well depending on how creative the user happens to be.

Overall I find myself pleasantly surprised by the Saitek PC Gaming Keyboard. I originally thought it was just a gimmicky attempt to cash in on the popularity of PC modding by adding some lights in the keyboard, giving it a futuristic design, and tossing a separate keypad into the mix, but it turns out to have a bit more substance to it than I originally thought. I still don’t think I’d spend $60 for one at a store like CompUSA, but it can be found for as little as $43 from places like Amazon.com which makes it a bit more attractive. Even then, though, the fact remains that your average $12 keyboard performs just as well for gaming purposes as the Saitek does making any buying decisions more about the cool factor than any actual necessity.  Also keep in mind that the keyboard connects to your PC via the USB port so if you have limited (or no) USB ports available this could be a problem.

The Saitek PC Gaming Keyboard is not a must-have product by any stretch of the imagination, but it does provide a reasonable value for your money as long as you shop around a bit before picking one up. The soft touch keys make both gaming and general typing enjoyable and the blue back lighting and design of the keyboard does give it decent “cool” factor that’s sure to draw some attention at your next LAN party. Finally the extra command pad should provide more than enough additional keys for any hard core gamer who finds the 104 available on a standard keyboard just aren’t enough to do everything he wants.