Saitek Eclipse 2 Review

Overall Rating

Nice cosmetic look (black keys and silver outline) (stylish design)
Heavy keyboard,Thick rubber pads on the feet prevent slipping
The keys are laser etched to show letters clearly
Adjustable key back lighting
Various background light colours to select
Multimedia buttons now included
Nice, easy key strokes
Durable, with no defects or glitches so far.
Detachable and adjustable wrist rest
No annoying Power off buttons!!

Minor: No wireless option (if you like wireless, I don't)

The Saitek Eclipse 2 (II) Keyboard is an outstanding keyboard, just like its predecessor the Eclipse 1 (I), This keyboard although only owning it for just over Ten months, it has been once again a pleasure to own such a quality keyboard, satisfied to say, its working and looking just as well as it did when first removed from the packaging!

I have tried various keyboards over the years, bog standard cheap-o keyboards, to the Creative wireless keyboard which was not very successful- missing characters, and required you to change the batteries too often, however the previous 'Saitek Eclipse 1' keyboard had none of those faults, it felt perfect to type with (smooth keystrokes, none of that sticking and cheap clunky feeling that other keyboards can have), doesn't miss a character, great for gaming!, This keyboard has an exceptional build quality (no creaking sounds), this is exactly the same for the 'Saitek eclipse II', A testament to their ability to stick to something they find actually work, not like some manufacturers which like to experiment with stuff that doesn't work.

The background lights show through the laser etched letters on the keys (fantastic for using in during low light condition), the background lights can be dimmed using the dimmer switch, to suit your preferred brightness, this a nice touch by Saitek! The background lights consist of three colours (Blue, Red, and Purple) this can also be toggled to turn the lights off.

The wrist rest can be removed and is adjustable, same as their previous edition, this is useful if you spend a lot of time typing, or just simply you don't like the rests you can remove and store it away. The keyboard does not come in a wireless version, but to me I don't really see the point as they are fiddly devices which can cause interference with some electronics, plus as stated above requiring recharging or new batteries on a regular basis, (depends if you like wireless or not, personally I do not).

Unlike Saitek's previous keyboard (Eclipse I) which did lack the multimedia keys, thankfully they have listened to peoples comments, which is not common for manufacturers and have included some of these basic features into this keyboard. This keyboard now includes a Back, Forward, Play, Pause, Stop, Volume Up and Down, and a Mute button. (What more can you ask for! Fantastic, a gaming keyboard with features to control audio!)

There are still no other buttons such as e-mail, desktop short keys, etc, and most importantly no Annoying Power Off buttons! - as this keyboard is aimed at the computer gaming market, such keys just get in the way and are extremely annoying when pressed during the heat of a battle! - To me it is another great decision by Saitek, not to include such buttons on this newer version.

The lack of such features may discourage some buyers from purchasing this keyboard, but to my knowledge, no other keyboard I have tried comes close to the ideal requirements, feel of quality, durability, and down right pleasure of owning and using this amazing keyboard, this is a keyboard that I'm sure gamers have been demanding for years!

Like its predecessor this keyboard is heavy which is a good thing, as it combines weight with now even larger rubber feet, these aspects prevent the keyboards from moving around your desk, another nice improvement by Saitek!

Again this keyboard is simple to install, plug it in and away you go!

Conclusion:

Once again I am extremely impressed with the 'Saitek Eclipse II' Keyboard, and I am curious to see if they can improve anything with this keyboard, personally I can't see how they can, but it's going to be interesting.

Just like the previous Saitek Eclipse keyboard, not once has a key got stuck, or fallen off, the keyboard has remained in position during gaming and hasn't let me down yet!, It has been of great advantage and I owe many kills to this keyboard's well engineered design, the feel when pressing the keys is once again pure heaven (although it must be said there is a slight difference in feel between this and its predecessor), the key strokes are soft, and gentle but not so much that you don't know you have pressed it.

Again I firmly believe that Saitek to be a fantastic computer keyboard manufacturer, and that they are at the front of computer gaming peripheral design, giving gamers exactly what they want and more importantly, nothing they don't!

I would recommend this keyboard to anyone who wants a quality, well made gaming keyboard, now with multimedia buttons and a selection of colours and brightness's to choose from... also, I forgot to mention is that they have now placed lights either side of the keyboard, just as an extra touch, illuminating your computer desk! - Just to show off a little, and for just around £30 odd, you can't go wrong!
Try one, you won't regret it! I didn't!