Saitek Gaming Keyboard vs. Eclipse

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cyberslag5k

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 29, 2004
Messages
277
Thanks to everyone who responded to my post about gaming keyboards. I think I'm gonig to go with one from Saitek. They appear to have two models: the Gaming Keyboard and the Eclipse. From what I can tell, the only difference between the two keyboards is that the backlighting on the Eclipse shines through the markings on the keys (so the 'A' on the key is blue as well) and that the Eclipse does not come with the command pad included with the gaming keyboard. This leads me to question why one would purchase the Eclipse over the previous model. Unless you don't have the layout of the keys memorized and you will be consistantly playing in the dark, I see the key marking light-up to be cosmetic at best (honestly I think the other board looks better).

One of my problems in WoW is having too many abilities and not enough hot keys. I easily fill up the standard 0-9, along with the CTRL set, alot of the alt set, and almost every F key, and that's being a little selective about my abilities (I'd keep every level of frostbolt on my bar if I could). The command pad seems perfect for me. Why would they not include it?

Can anyone give me a reason to go with the Eclipse over the Gaming Keyboard? Personal experience would be most appreciated. I've read a review on modderhq and the guy said that not including the command pad was a wise move, which is a little questionable.

Thanks in advance!
 
It's function over looks. They both have the same functionability but one loses the extra command pad and gains the prettiness. Does it matter to you? For your case, I'd go for the extra command pad. We never started with lighted up keyboards and we can still do fine without it in the dark. Not to mention, it's cheaper to go for the command pad. So go for it.

But of course, like anything, it takes time to learn and memorize the keys.

-J.
 
Well, for WoW it sounds like the gamer's would be better, but for me and my shooters, i'd go for the eclipse because:

a) looks better
b) the backlighting actually does something
c) no wasted command pad shit that i'd never use
 
Wally said:
Well, for WoW it sounds like the gamer's would be better, but for me and my shooters, i'd go for the eclipse because:

a) looks better
b) the backlighting actually does something
c) no wasted command pad shit that i'd never use
Click to expand...
QFT.

That would be exactly the reason I got the Eclipse. Plus, it looks wicked cool. :D
 
Wally said:
Well, for WoW it sounds like the gamer's would be better, but for me and my shooters, i'd go for the eclipse because:

a) looks better
b) the backlighting actually does something
c) no wasted command pad shit that i'd never use
Click to expand...

Well, a) is a matter of oppinion (mine differing from yours in this case). As far as b) goes, what does the backlighting do? I wasn't aware it served some purpose, aside from showing the key labels in the dark. I'm not sure what you mean by c) either, as the version with the command pad actually costs less.

Also, what does the eclipse offer for FPS play? I play alot of FPS's and RTS's, so if the eclipse offers some added functionality for those types of games, I might consider it. The command pad obviously speaks towards the RTS genre, though.

Thanks for your response.
 
cyberslag5k said:
Well, a) is a matter of oppinion (mine differing from yours in this case). As far as b) goes, what does the backlighting do? I wasn't aware it served some purpose, aside from showing the key labels in the dark. I'm not sure what you mean by c) either, as the version with the command pad actually costs less.

Also, what does the eclipse offer for FPS play? I play alot of FPS's and RTS's, so if the eclipse offers some added functionality for those types of games, I might consider it. The command pad obviously speaks towards the RTS genre, though.

Thanks for your response.
Click to expand...

The Eclipse actually does nothing new for FPS, RTS and MMORPG's. The Gamer's keyboard does. Programming a bunch of quick keys are really nice. I've seen a Quake 3 player use his command pad to send out tons of messages/alerts while he's in defense mode. You might wonder how much time he wasted pressing the buttons but he's pretty well adapted that it's literally no faster than pressing the 1,2,3 buttons for messages/alerts.

And yeah, it's cheaper. :D

-J.
 
Most keyboards that have backlighting are useless. They make it pretty but do nothing else. The EluminX AuraVision keyboard has a backlight that actually backlights transparent keys that allow you to see the numbers and letters. Pretty nifty.
 
cyberslag5k said:
b) goes, what does the backlighting do? I wasn't aware it served some purpose, aside from showing the key labels in the dark.
Click to expand...


ummm that is exactly what the backlighting does, it lets you see the keys in the dark. He was referring however to the backlighting on the eclipse actually showing you the keys (thanks to the etched out letters) as opposed to the backlighting on the other keyboard which just lights up the board (you cant see the letters in the dark on the precursor to the eclipse).

Me personally, I would get the eclipse because I find that I do a lot of chatting, typing (like this right now) in the dark. And while I am a pretty decent typist who basically has the keys memorized and types the "correct" way, I never actually learned how to type. I sort of picked up the correct way to type through years of typing, due to that however I do find times when I miss a key and then I have to go hunting for the backspace, and making sure I then hit the correct key. Basically I would like to have a keyboard that would make typing in the dark easier.
 
cyberslag5k said:
As far as b) goes, what does the backlighting do? I wasn't aware it served some purpose, aside from showing the key labels in the dark..
Click to expand...

That was just itl on the gamer's edition, afaik, the lighting is decorative, doesn't show the letters, only backlights the keys, whereas the eclips highlights the letters, meaning it can be used more easily in the dar. As for the FPS reference, it was mainly in response ot the fact that the command pad would be good for WoW, but for those of us who don't play WoW, the command pad is pretty much useless
 
Well... Not to be rude or anything but it seems to come down to this:

Newb Typers = Eclipse.
Leet Typers = Gamer's.

:rolleyes: :p

-J.
 
Thanks again for everyone's response. While I do think the label etching is pretty cool, I do in fact have the layout of the keys memorized, so to me it's simply not worth sacrificing the command pad (nor the $15 extra) for. So I picked up my gamer's keyboard today. It looks sharp, though I don't really like the way it feels. I get back home tomorrow so I'll let you know how I like it after I've had a chance to play a few games and adjust to it.

Thanks again!
 
I would only get the eclipse because it looks cool. I mean who uses the little extra game pad anyway?

Who games anymore?

Backlit lightup keys are :cool:
 
For those of you actually using the eclipse are you able to press 3 keys in a game at once without having them geek. I used to have this problem with some of my older ps/2 keyboards and I would get a bois beep if I mashed more than 2 keys at once... but since this is usb keyboard I'm not getting the beep but the similar effect in games
 
That's a normal issue for all keyboards. The onboard controllers cannot handle more than a specified amount of commands at the same time. Fortunately, technology is improving at this time. The Eclipse actually has increased threshold for the amount of button being held. It will not geek out at three simulataneously mashed buttons but will at four buttons*. It should improve your gaming experience considerably.

* Only according to my experience.

-J.
 
Hmmm are you sure? because was using a dell keyboard prior to this and I had no such problems. but when moving to this one if I try to hold 3 keys at once I encounter the problem.
 
I've never used Dell's keyboard so I wouldn't know. But as for me, there really wasn't any problems with the keyboard. I never press more than 3 buttons at the same time anyway. Did you use any drivers/software with the keyboard? Try MS's original drivers or the other. Or else I don't know-- you might have a defect. I did notice some people saying similar stories though-- I might as well be the lucky one.

-J.
 
I to bought this for use with WOW but unfortunately I have not been able to get the command pad to work with the game. Sorry to hijack a thread but I was just wondering if you got it working fine with wow and if so how?

I havent tried installing the programming software yet only because I just want the command pad as an extra set of buttons.

As always any help is greatly appreciated.
 
Syndicated_Death said:
Hmmm are you sure? because was using a dell keyboard prior to this and I had no such problems. but when moving to this one if I try to hold 3 keys at once I encounter the problem.
Click to expand...

My Dell keyboards and my NMB Right Touch! keyboards let me do it. Every other keyboard I've ever used doesn't.

I don't even know if I can do it on my AuraVision EluminX keyboard. I don't use it to game. I use my Nostromo Speedpad N52 for that.
 
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