Saitek PK17U Cyborg Gaming Keyboard with Tri-Color Backlighting

List Price: $79.99 Discount Price: $66.49

Features:

• Adjustable gaming keyboard
• Tri-Color Backlighting
• True-Vue Key Illumination
• Fully programmable with included SST software
• Media keys and hard wearing surfaces

Customer Reviews:

Works well too.... [Posted on 2008-05-04]
I needed a lighted keyboard for gaming in the dark, but I also have to type a lot of stuff on it and was concerned that it might not be the best keyboard for a typist. With the exception of one minor issue, I think any person who works on a keyboard would love this one.

I doubt I'll ever go back to a keyboard that isn't lighted after using the Cyborg. The lighting system is very flexible and highly customizable. Except that there's no blue light, which would be nice. The colors are red, amber & green. Still, with the adjustable brightness, I've always been able to find the right lighting, and it really is great for gaming.

My only issue with the keyboard is the space bar. It works fine, but it's hard to push with your thumb when typing. I'm getting used to it, but it's the only thing I dislike about the keyboard. Overall, I really like the feel of the keys when typing.

The touch-panel controls, the on-board USB port, microphone & headphone jacks are all nice touches. I'm a fan of this keyboard, even with the thumb-breaking space bar, and would buy one again in a heartbeat.

Too Cool For School... [Posted on 2008-05-24]
This keyboard is unbelievably cool.

This is a standard US keyboard, with the key layout being familiar to most. The keys are a standard height with a solid feel, as opposed to low profile scissor keys which some say have a faster response. In the end it is a matter of taste. This keyboard responds well, and has a low noise level, which makes for a wonderful typing experience.

This keyboard is bright, even in a well lighted room. Cyborg is unique in the the ability to switch colors, zones and brightness level. Of course, if you like blue, you might want a different keyboard, since blue is not an option.

Having metal keys seems to be a good idea, and while the keys wont break, more of the typing force should transfer itself more easily to the plastic keyboard underneath the keys, which could conceivably cause some damage. Of course, when or if that damage does occur, I will either would have died of old age, or would have bought a new keyboard, so I am not too worried about that.

There are a few nice auxilliary features worth mentioning. The keyboard has a mic/headphone input, and a usb port, which might come in handy for a few folks. The standoffs, or "feet" as I like to call them are the best I have seen on a keyboard, with feet in the front and the back, and the back ones have two levels of height adjustment.

The optional (as in non attached) handrest is an interesting feature. The keyboard without the handrest is almost unusable, since the front of the keyboard has a slope similar to Mount Everest. The handrest itself is very functional, being able to slide it out to two different levels to lay flatter or stick tighter to the keyboard. The problem I have with the handrest (and the reason for the four star rating) is the little gap in the middle. While this makes it look quite cool, your poor right has to suspend itself over this gap, while your left hand types in comfort. You would think this wouldn't make a difference but it does. You can tell by sliding your right hand over to the number pad. It's a big difference.

Now, sure this is a "gaming" keyboard, so the bulk of the handrest is situated around the "gaming" areas of the 'arrow keys' and the 'wasd keys' but certainly even gamers need to type like a regular person every now and then. I think I would have sacrificed the slightly cooler appearance of a "notched" handrest for one that functioned as a handrest should.

Now, there are a few things that could have been improved and might even be considered goofy... like the stupid looking 'cyborg' icon, and the inability to select an entirely 'monochromatic' lighting scheme. While the keyboard itself lights up in the colors you choose, they touch panel at the top stays green and red regardless. While this scheme looks fine in some settings, it increases the gaudiness of a keyboard that already has a striking design, and it would have looked kinda classy to have all red or all green lights as an option.

The cyborg icon makes me feel as if I have bought a control panel to a toy laser gun. To go along with the icon they need a button which spoke something in a mechanical voice if pressed like "Cyborg patrol officer reporting for duty, sir..."

This keyboard might not be the best keyboard for the heavy duty typist. But, if you are looking for something cool looking to go with your cool computer, this keyboard is even cooler than the pictures suggest. Try it out. You're left hand is gunna love it.

Not too shabby... [Posted on 2008-05-31]
As a gamer, I'm pretty hand on 'boards. So when I first heard about this one through a friend of mine, I was rather impressed with the over all look of the thing. For one, I liked the idea of illuminated keys (as I like to play my games in low lighting to let the better half sleep), for two, re-enforced keys made sence, and metal meant it'd be hard for me to do much damage to it (On my wolfclaw board the AWSD had worn off).
As you can imagine, I was pretty excited when it showed up.
It does live up to the hype-however...
The keys are slightly smaller, the interface for programming macros leaves a lot to be desired, and the driver software installed drivers for stuff I don't even own!
Another downside: The lack of a blue color-while not a breaker, most of my system (Fan, general illumination) are blue. Again, not a big deal, but most other illuminated boards (including Saitek's own) have that option. This is merely a personal opinion-it's still a great keyboard.

I've not noticed any stiffness in the space bar as was previously mentioned in a previous review, and the ability to ride several keys at once is a definate plus. While I've only had it a few days, it seems robust and very quiet when typing. Another great thing about this board is that it's a standard size-you won't need to jerry rig anything unlike a few other gamer boards I've had, and the controls for hue, brightness and scheme are very intuitive. In other words, easy enough to figure out w/o the instruction booklet.

All in all, an excellent buy in my opinion. You'd do well to buy this one.

Awesome + more [Posted on 2008-06-01]
I can't say enough...it's AWESOME. The lighting, the option of lighting different areas of the keyboard, and with different colors I may add. And you can't forget about the special macro making side buttons for gaming 10x. Get this keyboard, you won't regret it !!

Outstanding functionality, so so on durability [Posted on 2008-06-30]
I had been waiting for this keyboard for over 6 months, mostly for the feature set. Having previously used the Saitek Eclipse for over a year, my biggest complaint was the durability of the keys.

Being a hard-core gamer, the "A" "S" " W" "D" as well as the left CTRL, SHIFT and the SPACEBARD keys had all been rubbed away from my frantic keyboarding. Now, to Saitek's credit, getting multiple replacement keys hasn't been hard at all, but that was the one thing I had been looking forward to on this keyboard, the fact that these specific keys were "metal".

Well, they're not metal. Well, to be precise, they're layered with some type of chrome or other light metal, to technically, you can't say Saitek lied. Techically. Unfortunately, the "A" key is already rubbing off, as in the etching that allows the "A" to be seen from the backlight is rubbing off.

Otherwise, the keyboard functions very well. The touch pad is very responsive, and the ability to shift into "Cyborg" mode at the touch of a single "button" is nice. The programmable keys are good, but at a somewhat ... unique angle to natural keyboard finger placements. I had absolutely no issue installing the keyboard and drivers, unlike some previous installations of the Saitek Eclipse driver.

I'd rate it a B+.

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