SteelSeries debuts 6Gv2 mechanical gaming keyboard
By Donald Melanson 
posted March 2nd 2010 3:08PM
posted March 2nd 2010 3:08PM
The clickety-clack of a mechanical keyboard may not be for everyone, but there's a sizable group that will accept no substitute, and SteelSeries now has yet another model for them to consider in the form of its new 6Gv2 gaming keyboard. Nothing but business here, with the keyboard passing over things like media keys and a USB hub in favor of more performance-oriented features like 18-karat gold-plated mechanical switches, and "anti-ghosting" technology to give gamers every possible advantage. Still no firm word on a ship date, but you can get your pre-order in now for $99.99.
Mech keyboards are so much higher quality and just makes gaming much more pleasant. But of course big companies just care about the most $$$ glad they released this although its still a little high on price.
SteelSeries, hurry up and release the damn update to the Fang!! Make it backlit with the rubbery-feel keys like on the Merc Stealth. My Ideazon Fang is at death's door and there is nothing that can replace it.
Please?
Mechanical?
Oh.
YEAH!
I couldn't give a rat's ass about PC gaming, but I still love the feel of a true clicky keyboard.
I don't get it....why is this keyboard $99?? Looks like some generic keyboard I can get for $5-10 bucks.
@Plazmic Flame i agree. its not like it has backlit keys or anything.
@emopoops Build quality, response time, ghosting, etc.
@Plazmic Flame
I take that whoever does not understand the true worth of this keyboard is younger than 15 who never got to use the original mechanical keyboards from IBM. This is not intended to demean you guys or anything. Its just like eink, you have to use it to believe it!
@Maddy
Except there is no real benefit to these kind of keyboards. Modern keyboards are just as effective for a fraction of the cost. Most of it is just nostalgia old nerds have.
@moush Or maybe it's just people who like the feel of this keyboard? Has nothing to do with nostalgia. I have quite a few keyboards, and the mechanical ones are always much more satisfying to type with. When you type all f-ing day long, regardless of WHAT you're typing, you want it to be as comfortable as possible. That's the whole point of this.
@Maddy
Funny you should mention IBM, I'm still using my keyboard from like 15+ years ago, rugged as hell and still gets the job done.
@moush
Depends on how you define effective. The rubber dome keyboards I used to get are vastly inferior to the scissor switches in Razer's Arctosa and even more so when compared to Cherry's mechanical switches.
it looks just like an ordinary keyboard
I'm sorry, but making the enter key that much larger and relocating the backslash key automatically makes this a non-gaming keyboard to me.
@CatPhoenix what kind of games are you playing that the Backslash and Enter keys are that important
I doubt I'd care when gaming but for regular use, the relocated backslash key would drive me completely bonkers.
@CatPhoenix I can't believe it took so long for someone to notice that. I know the fat enter key is standard in some locations, but...WHY?!
Who wants to accidentally hit Enter? It's also plenty wide enough...who starts feeling around for the Enter key 1 row higher than the home position? The re-located backslash it what really kills it for me. Some keyboard manufacturers just can't seem to figure out where to put it. Sometimes they put it on the bottom row, and other times they shorten the Backspace key to make room (UGH!).
I love the Logitech G15 v1 and v2 for their perfectly-standard layout...ESPECIALLY the Win key. There are a lot of keyboards that I would consider to be "awesome" except they think the Win key doesn't matter to touch typists...and they push it around to make room for Fn or whatever.@#$%@#!!
@kojo87 having the backslash to the low left of WASD is used for keybindings, gives you an extra key.
@Nicnac those keyboards are so hard to clean anyways. they are really old keyboards like noone really likes them anymore. i assume that the people that will accept no other will eventually figure out theres life outside of their imaginary world and upgrade asap!
i used an IBM keyboard from 1984 this week and i have to say mechanical is pretty sweet. very satisfying click. i wouldn't trade in my Lycosa though.
@kojo87
The Lycosa uses scissor switches which are AWESOME (maybe better than most spring/mechanical switch keyboards). I didn't have the money to spend on a Lycosa but my Arctosa keyboard is awesome for just about anything.
@kojo87 1984? I doubt a keyboard from 1984 would work on a modern computer without some really special hardware that you'd probably have to build yourself. The IBM Model M wasn't produced until 1985, which would have used an AT/DIN 5 style connector. (Electrically compatible with PS/2) Even then, it would have likely been an 83/84 key layout. (No arrow keys, home keys, and the function keys would have been off to the left instead of up top. It wasn't put into PS/2 (Mini-DIN) form until 1989. (With the now-standard 101 key layout - no Windows keys.) THAT's probably the keyboard you're talking about. :)
Sorry to nitpick, but I just love a good heated keyboard discussion. ;-)
@anonamiss well it said © 1984 IBM on the bottom of it. connected via PS/2. no Windows key. all the keys had caps that could be removed and rearranged. it was a friend of mine's. only played with it for like 10 min. don't know what else to tell you.
@emopoops
Keyboards go in dishwasher. Dry thoroughly
I don't get it... I don't think I've ever had a keyboard that hasn't "click click click"'ed. Other than anti-ghosting, what's this all about?
Just because it's mechanical doesn't mean it's clicky.
IIRC, SteelSeries uses the Cherry MX black-stem (linear) switch.
Stiff, and no tactility or clickiness whatsoever, but very precise.
My great uncle, who's been a programmer since before I was born, still uses his old IBM PC keyboard from back in the 80s. Not the "click clack" keyboards. I'm talking spring loaded keys here people. Those old grey and white keyboards that weighed a ton that most of my generation grew up with in elementary school.
It's funny too, he's got it rewired with a USB connection of some sort, but he's gotta plug it into a powered USB hub because the power drain is two large for the USB 2.0 spec. Maybe if he got one of those new USB 3.0 Type-B cables that can power a small printer he'd be set, lol.
Me personally, I like a little bit a click-clack with my keyboard. I hate laptop keyboards, low profile keyboards, mini keyboards, etc. The basic Dell one they still ship with their systems is pretty damn good, but my new bluetooth Logitech keyboard is a little quieter and flattened out. Still not bad though.
@Michael Pollard
I actually type this comment on such a keyboard, using the AT adaptor you describe. It rocks.
Looks Like A ol' DELL Keyborad
I've seen some old keyboards at thrift stores in great shape for unbelievably cheap if people are into that.
Or you could, you know, buy a vintage mechanical keyboard at a flea market for a dollar.
@graey
To each his own. Which is actually the entire point of this keyboard.
With some of those keyboards, you can hit concrete and the concrete will break before the keyboard does...
The pen may be mightier than the sword, but a Keytronic keyboard makes a better blunt weapon.
ABsolutely must have it.
@Michael Pollard
What PS/2 to USB adapter do you use? The cheap one I have is made by some unknown company with a sticker slapped on by a bunch of other companies; problem is it only tells the OS the key is pushed down for a few seconds, then it releases even though it's still being held down. It makes FPS suck. My KVM handles the PS/2 to USB part just fine on the other hand.
@Fuzzball
I have a few, but I usually just use a regular USB keyboard, not a clicky-keyboard. I like mute and volume buttons. But I prefer full-height keys to the chicklet keys some writers here say they like.
Right now, I'm using a Saitek backlit gaming keyboard (cheap from Woot! - I got three...). The Mac doesn't recognize the command pad, but it does use the volume keys, and ControllerMate lets me program the command pad however I want, nice for Final Cut Pro.
By the way, it looks like some mod didn't like my original post, even though it was very much on-topic, respectful to everyone, etc. Yet they keep the off-topic ones here, and just let the down-rank process do its job. Maybe my post would have been kept if I said I liked my Apple keyboard better...
Keyboards with that L-shaped Enter key are the Down's Syndrome kids of the HID world.
@FuturePastNow
At least they kept the Insert key, unlike the MS keyboards that turn the set of Del/PgUp/PgDn/Home/End sideways and drop the Ins key for a double-size Del key. I use Insert all the time for copy/paste. Crtl-Ins and Shift-Ins rather than hunting down letter keys. Or alternate F keys that you have to specifically turn back off every time you restart the computer.
For me, moving the backslash isn't as irritating (having the backslash handier makes coding easier, and Worms...) as the tiny right Shift key. And it's not like a regular-size (triple-wide) Enter key is exactly small. This one is just ridiculously-huge, taking the space of five regular keys. Make Enter a little smaller and Shift a little bigger.
The backslash key is in the wrong place and it costs too much. If I was going to spend that kind of money on a keyboard, I'd buy one from Unicomp (http://pckeyboard.com) since their Customizer line has the keys in the right place, is cheaper at $70, and uses the same design and buckling spring technology from the old IBM Model M keyboards (they actually bought the tech instead).
I'm sure that beneath the veneer this keyboard is nothing but top notch kit...I mean it better had be, cos to look at I can't tell the difference between this and a keyboard I'd expect to pick up for 99p.
@TacticalTimbo You can tell the first key you type that these are mechanical switches that go click, click click and need pressure.
Probably the same keyboard for half the price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823224001&Tpk=abs%20keyboard
@BrianA ABS M1 uses black alps switches, the Steelseries uses Cherry MX linear IIRC. Worth $50 difference? Up to you, but I do prefer Cherry switches in general.