Gaming Keyboard Looks Cool, Acts Cool, Charges For It May 07, 2008

Read more Entertainment , Gadgets , Games , Gizmodo UK , PC , Peripherals

Gaming keyboards are often outlandish looking affairs, throwing in space-age looks and strip bar lighting with all that advanced functionality but, the same can definitely not be said about the new SteelSeries 7G keyboard.

This minimalist black slab is all business. You'd never guess from its understated looks that it uses 18-carat gold plated mechanical switches with a lifetime of around 50 million operations – around 10 times more than a typical “membrane" keyboard - which makes it tougher than old boots. SteelSeries also maintains that the 7G eliminates ‘anti-ghosting’ by supporting as many simultaneous key presses as you can manage without slowing down responses.

“Professional gamers demand top quality equipment that provides durability and quicker response times," said Bruce Hawver, CEO of SteelSeries. “The time that we've invested into working with literally hundreds of gamers to design the SteelSeries 7G keyboard has resulted in a device that will truly change the way you play, limiting gamers only by their skill level - not their equipment."

The 7G comes with audio ports for headphone-out and microphone-in, a 2-port USB hub and the SteelSeries Media Controls for quick access to the audio functions.

It costs £75, which is a lot, but then professional Counter-Strike player, Franz “mouz/gore’ Burghardt and his team-mates, used them recently to land a £25,000 pay-day at the ESL Masters Championship at CeBIT in Germany.-Martin Lynch

[SteelSeries]

gadgets keyboard games