Microsoft Sidewinder X4 Keyboard

I wanted only 3 things in a new keyboard. It had to be backlit, it had to be usb and it had to be inexpensive. This has those features and more. I really only tend to use the volume control and one or two macro keys so I'm not using it to its potential. At just over $50 it's a well built keyboard at a good price.

This keyboard is worth buying. Only downside that I can say about it is that if you spill something on it, BE PREPARE to clean it for a tedious amount of time. The stickiness actually makes a glue substance with the chemicals on the keys, I think, and makes it like glue like.

BUT, other than that, it's a perfect keyboard. Great for gaming at night. The keys at the top work perfectly, and as for the macro keys, I cannot stress over how GREAT they are. Overall, a 9/10 keyboard.

This keyboard does everything I need it to, and I will be using the programmable macro keys when I can think of something complicated for them to simplify. By far my favourite thing is the fact that the keys are backlit, making it easy to use when watching things or playing games in the dark. Media keys and calculator key are also useful. If you want a good relatively cheap keyboard i'd highly reccomend this.

At first I was put off by the idea that it was a microsoft keyboard, but now I'm loving it. With the three keybinding settings or auto plus the macro keys, I am able to swap and change settings between games without even having to press a button. The media keys work in game without disrupting the fullscreen either. I only have two complaints. The macro keys taking up the left of the keyboard means everything is shifted right and it takes some getting used to all the new locations and at the top right is a pretty useless and pointless calculator hotkey.

Good keyboard, easy to type on. Back-light can be dimmed or turned off. Macros are useful for games. The Intellitype software can recognise which game is running and enable the correct macro set.

This would be handy at work, as I'd macro the sentences I regularly write.

Much cheaper than other “gaming” keyboards, probably cause you are not paying for a bunch of features most people will never use.

Only thing I'd change is I'd add an indentation into the Caps Lock key, so you don't mistakenly hit it when going for the “A”. The majority of keyboards have this; don't know why they made Caps a full size key on this board.