Despite being a sexy piece of kit the Saitek Gamers' Keyboard was quick to take criticism from the gaming public. The LED backlighting served no real purpose, lighting only the gaps between the keys. And, for a keyboard claiming the title "Gamers'", it couldn't even register more than 3 critical keys simultaneously. The command pad was one of the features I liked, but I found it better for office use than for gaming, mainly because my gaming machine is a laptop which already has a perfectly functional keyboard and the Gamers' Keyboard command pad is incapable of functioning independent of the keyboard itself.
Flaws aside the Gamers' Keyboard is a solid, quality piece of kit and has found its place on my desk at work, command pad and Gaming Mouse by its side, a very aesthetically pleasing combination if I might say so myself, particularly when combined with the black and silver styling of the TFT monitor.
However, amongst gaming enthusiasts the gamers' keyboard was regarded as a bit of a flop. It was a great piece of kit, with good looks, a solid build, and wonderfully silent keys, but it just didn't make the cut. Fortunately, if it's not good enough for us, it's not good enough for Saitek either so they set about to set their mistakes straight, an endeavour which has culminated in the even more impressive Eclipse Keyboard.
It's clear that the Eclipse was born of the same mould as the Gamers' keyboard. The tell-sale sign of an un-cut hole where the port for the Command Pad would have been if it were born to a different family makes that perfectly clear. However, Saitek were on to a winning formula with the sexy, industrial, rock-solid build of the original keyboard, and as I always say: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". The Eclipse is also near-perfect inversion of the Gamers’ Keyboard, switching the silver casing for black, and the black keys with a gorgeous gunmetal finish. There is good solid reasoning behind the inversion of colours, aside from the aesthetics and a method to make the Eclipse differ from the Gamers’ Keyboard- the keys must be silver so that the laser-cut lettering on the keys is visible in good lighting conditions and when the backlight is turned off. In these conditions it appears black.
The Eclipse boasts the same volume up/down and mute controls as it's predecessor, and also has the same button for adjusting the LED brightness between low, high and off. It also boasts the same overall quality feel and finish. The keys are the same ultra-quiet affair, and the wrist rest is identical.
The real magic of the Eclipse happens when things get dark, in poor lighting conditions the lettering on the keys glows a soft blue visible against the remaining light enough to ensure the keys remain clear and easy to see. Between the keys some light still seeps through, but not anywhere near as much as the Gamers' Keyboard making sure the lettering light is not drowned out. If you get darker still the letters glow in all their cool blue glory and the backlight still doesn’t drown them out. In the dark and even in low lighting conditions it's clear to see why everyone was clamouring for backlit keys rather than the superfluous visual effect of glowing gaps between keys- it's damned useful! I have a bad habit of computing in bed, usually in poor lighting keyboard, and even I have to check the keyboard once in a while to get my bearings (I poke-type with a couple of fingers and thumbs, to hell with that touch typing nonsense!). The benefits of a back-lit keyboard in these conditions are, of course, huge... but in all honesty the Eclipse looks so damned sexy I couldn't care less how useful it is, I just want blue glowing letters!
To examine the gaming-friendliness of the Eclipse I decided to give it a once over with KeyboardTest, comparing the results with those of the Gamers' Keyboard. KeyboardTest is a simple application which highlights the keys I am pressing down on a picture of a keyboard on screen. Unfortunately, probably due to my throughly unscientific and unplanned approach to trying to find any differences between the Gamers' and Eclipse keyboards, I could find no obvious differences in the number of keys that would register at once. Comments and postings found online with a little research (The Saitek Forums) seem to back up the lack of change, suggesting that the Eclipse is still not the best keyboard for gaming... but now it doesn't bear the name "Gamers' keyboard" I can't fault it.
Contrary to common complaints, however, I found that KeyboardTest could register 4 keys simultaneously on a single row, and that additional keys could then be registered on the other side of the keyboard allowing a total of 6+ keys to be depressed and detected- not including modifiers. I had the same results with the Gamers' Keyboard, however, leading me to believe that the problems with the keyboard in games might be related to Direct Input. For the record, I could get W+A+SPACE to work in keyboardTest with both keyboards, interesting! Furthermore, a quick test in Counter-Strike: Source revealed that I could jump, straife left, and walk forward at the same time... either Saitek have fixed the problem, or it never existed in the first place.
My PC happens to be a laptop, so all my gaming is done on an integrated keyboard meaning the gaming suitability of the Eclipse is a moot point for me. The solid, quality design and beautiful finish is enough for me, the gorgeous backlit keys and the future prospect of different colours tips it over the edge. Overall, the Eclipse is a great keyboard in both look and feel, it just doesn't quite cut it when it comes down to performance.
I will throw some further tests at the Eclipse and Gamers' keyboard and update this article as soon as possible.
If anyone can find a DirectInput keyboard tester then drop us an email at staff@gamingheadlines.co.uk or post a link below and I'll try it out.
