Introduction

How long have you had your keyboard? If you’re anything like most people I am acquainted with, including myself, it’s about five years. Peripherals are the most common piece of hardware that gets recycled when upgrading or replacing a computer system. Why so? We grow accustomed to the touch and feel and, although technologies change, one technology that outlasts are peripherals. How long has it been since we had a read or write speed increase on a CD or DVD player?  It’s been almost as long since the standard connection for a keyboard or mouse changed from PS2 to USB. Unfortunately, all good peripherals eventually wear out or break, so when it comes time to replace them, it becomes one of the hardest decisions trying to figure out what to replace them with.

My favorite keyboard finally had it a few months ago and despite knowing it had to be replaced, I decided to just deal with its quirks, sticking keys and worn out lettering. There are so many different types of keyboards (mechanical, gaming or the plain old QWERTY etc.) it made it hard to decide. All I knew was I didn’t want to replace it with the same thing; it was time to move on. After this long debate, I decided to sit down and write down what I was willing to sacrifice and what I absolutely needed. My criteria for a new keyboard are as follows, keys that require a light touch, backlight to see at night, programmable keys, multiple profiles and onboard volume adjustment.  Based on that criteria, I started my testing and one keyboard that fit is the Thermaltake TTe Sports Challenger Ultimate Gaming Keyboard.

The TT eSports Challenger Ultimate Keyboard is a gaming keyboard. The Challenger Ultimate had a long list of features which include 14 macro keys, 256 individual colors for backlight, 64kb of memory and multimedia keys. These are features you should expect when purchasing a gaming keyboard. Thermaltake has taken the Challenger Ultimate even further with a hand cooling fan, detachable cable, onboard profile switch, dummy Windows caps and additional removable key caps. With this many features, you are going to need a workable Graphical Users Interface (GUI) in order to set up the keyboard for maximum FRAGibility and TT eSports has also provided the software in the package.