But wait, there's more! There is a keypad that accompanies the Gamers Keyboard that most gamers are sure to love. It connects to the Gamers Keyboard by way of a cord that is almost 2 feet in length with an RJ-45 plug. It may have numbers on it, but this is no calculator.  When coupled with the Saitek Smart Technology (SST) software, this small add-on keypad can become a lethal weapon -- storing either a single keyboard command or a combination of keyboard commands and mouse clicks.

     The Mode A and Mode B buttons (which the SST refers to as shift states) can be thought of as banks with each bank holding 9 commands. My only real complaint here is that there is no indicator on the pad itself to show you which bank is active. The above picture shows the SST software in the programming mode with button #3 in the Mode A shift state presently being defined. The example in Button #1 is simply a string of single key strokes that will be typed when button #1 is pressed. Button #2 is a combination of a down cursor, two left clicks, and then a Control+A. Button #3 has a Macro stored on it which differs from keyboard commands in that the amount of time between each key press is also recorded. In my example of button #3 I have the number 2 being pressed, then a left click, then a number 1 being pressed and finally F9. Battlefield Vietnam players will probably recognize this pretty fast as a means to Seat Jack a Cobra helicopter and fire off a heat seeker and then jump back in the pilots seat. As a final note: I was not able to get the STT software to recognize joystick button presses as a recordable function. Oh well.......

     Connecting to the PC with USB may not be everyone's favorite, but that's just the way things are going to be. In fact, Saitek does not even supply a USB to PS/2 adapter with this product so if you don't have a free USB port it will be time to buy a USB hub. The driver CD installs the SST software and then you're ready to start programming. Of course you can save your definitions once you've made them and then recall them before you start gaming.

     Typing day to day with the Gamers Keyboard is simply terrific! The keys have what I would consider to have a relatively short throw distance before the key is registered and the keys are physically spaced far enough apart to prevent all but the most flagrant fat fingering. For those that have a high typing speed, you will appreciate how quiet the keyboard can be. Striking the keys does not product that annoying hollow clicking sound.

     All in all I call the Saitek Gamer's keyboard a must have. The price seems to be pretty level both on the retail shelf and with the E-tailers at around $49.99 plus tax/shipping. The Gamer's Keyboard made its debut early enough that it could easily make its way under The Tree for that special gamer in your life.

Club Overclocker Rating
Innovation:	9.0 out of 10
Performance:	10 out of 10
Quality:	10 out of 10
Stability:	N/A
Overclocking:	N/A
Software Pack:	N/A
Value:	9.0 out of 10
Overall Rating 9.5
Skill Level
Project Skill Level (10 being hardest)	2 out of 10