If you’re a compulsive modder, Microsoft’s Sidewinder X6 ($79.99) may be the keyboard of your dreams. Illuminated, the legends on the key caps glow in orange. Unlike the Logitech illuminated keyboard, however, most of the light comes from the space between the keys; the keys seem to float over a red pool of volcanic lava. Nearly every control on the keyboard is backlit, though the choices of what didn’t get backlighting seem odd. The two large, round knobs at the top right of the keyboard that control the brightness of the lighting and the volume of the computer’s sound system are not distinguished physically nor labeled in light. How come? At the very least they should have been on opposite sides of the keyboard to minimize confusion.
The number pad of this keyboard is easily detachable, and can be located on either the right or left side of the main keyboard. Since all eighteen of those keys can be customized, this can add a significant advantage to the player who is willing to map out a thought-out gaming template. It literally puts the keys where you want them.
However, I had some problems with the layout of the main keyboard. Immediately to the left of the keyboard is a single column of customizable function keys. Below that column is a recessed special “shift” key that gives each macro button a second function. I would prefer no keys directly to the left of the Control key…it is just too important in most games. I would want to have my pinky dip to what I thought was going to be the trigger of my “gun” only to find that I had accidently hit a macro or shifted the macros to their alternate set. I want the Control key to always be the bottom left most key on the keyboard.
Aside from the relocatable number pad, the biggest draw here will be the extensive ability to record macros. This makes it not just a gaming keyboard, but a natural for use with programs productivity packages like Photoshop or even Excel.
The keys have a pronounced concave surface to keep you in contact with the game. This is a good thing in first person shooters, but I found it took slightly more effort to type documents on this keyboard than on others, perhaps because I had to lift my fingers slightly more to get them “over” the raised sides of the keys.
Oddly, there are no USB ports on this keyboard, perhaps because of the power requirements for all of the LEDs that make it glow. The Logitech G15 ($99.99) gaming keyboard (which also has a similar glow) has extra keyboard USB ports; convenient when you want to add a USB thumb drive or download pictures via cable to your computer.
Bottom line: One of the coolest looking, most customizable keyboards on the market. It looks like Darth Maul’s keyboard of choice.
