Product Review 2: Zalman ZM-300 Mouse

The Zalman ZM-300 is a gaming grade optical mouse. Hot on the heels of my last purchase (A4Tech Keyboard) comes this one. Since budget is extremely limited for me, I went ahead with these two purchases and also thought it would be a good idea to start reviewing products with these two.

Here are the specs of the ZM-300:

Type: USB Wired
Tracking: Optical
DPi Range: 625 to 2500
Buttons: 7
Price: ~US$ 14.99

LOOK:

I like the way this mouse looks! I can quite put my finger on it, but it is very reminiscent of something (maybe a car...) In any event I really like how it looks.

The shiny coating tends to lock in your finger prints so you may have to clean it after every play through to make sure it stays clean and .... well shiny.

Looks: 7/10

FEEL:

There are a 7 buttons in total on the mouse (including the scroll wheel.) There is a small red LED on the side which corresponds to the DPI settings. Unlit is 625 and fully lit is 2500.

The overall finish doesn't feel as cheap as it's price indicates though it is lighter than what I prefer. Also the mouse is small and you may have to adjust quite a bit to use it effectively.

The one problem I have in at least my mouse is that if you press both the Left and Right buttons and then let go of the Left one first, it kind of gets stuck. On closer inspection I have found the main reason for this:

The cut is not clean and they get stuck when pressed together

Feel: 6/10

BUTTON PLACEMENT:

The buttons are somewhat misplaced on this mouse. I prefer the DPI button to be below the wheel so it is not accidentally pressed however this is what will happen in the beginning and during intense gaming as well. Also the click of the DPI switch is somewhat lackluster. It doesn't press reliably every time. The Auto Fire is weirdly programmed. Playing Ghost Recon Online, you have the ability to set some guns to Auto Fire, Burst Fire or Semi Fire depending on your need. With the Auto Fire button enabled, it stops shooting after two shots when your gun is set to Auto Fire, has no impact on Burst and only fires two shots in Semi before you have to press the button again. Normally on Semi, the guns shoots at a steady one bullet at a time pace but with the Auto Fire button enabled, it fires two rapid shots and then just stops.

The Mouse Wheel is solid and the small rubber coating ensures that your finger won't slip during extended usage. The Wheel click is solid and easy. The side buttons also have a reliable and great click. I did not like the placement though as the pressing the front one is a bit of a stretch for your thumb and you will have to be really clawing your mouse to reach it all the time. It is fine for gaming but for daily use, I would prefer if the side buttons were placed a little better.

Button Placement: 6/10

LONG TERM USAGE:

The mouse is working great a month in to my buying it. Aside from the two buttons grinding each other, the mouse is working well. Only time will tell how well it stands up to rough usage. For now it is working great.

LTU: 6/10

CONCLUSION:

I am somewhat surprised at how well this mouse is holding up. It does not feel as cheap and is standing up to daily gaming without showing any wear and tear. The buttons need to be better placed and I would like it to be heavier then it is. Aside from this I would recommend that you give it a try.

Final Score: 25/40

Product Review 1: A4Tech G800V Keyboard

Hello all!

Today I will be doing my first product review.

The A4Tech (www.a4tech.com/) G800V Keyboard. It is a part of their X7 Gaming Devices line.

I recently purchased this keyboard from a sale at Newegg. It was delivered fast as always.

LOOK:

The G800V sports a black and grey paint job with a built in palm rest. It has 8 rubberized key caps (WASD, Arroy Keys.) There are a total of 15 Macro Keys and Media Control Keys as well.

It sports a Mode Key and a key to turn the Windows Key On and Off. However this part of the keyboard feels very cheap as it has a sticker with a very small "bump" of a key and spoils the overall aesthetics somewhat. Also the Right Shift key sits much lower than the rest of the keys and that looks somewhat odd as well.

Also, as seen in the picture, the G6 key sits somewhat higher than the rest of the keys. I do however like the fact that they haven't shortened the Backspace key. Interestingly there is no "G8" key. They skip over it from G7 to G9 and that is a little odd.

Looks: 6/10

FEEL:


I personally prefer a more "clickey" feel to keys whereas the G800V sports a very soft click. It is not a negative feature just more of a observation. If you like soft click you will enjoy it. The keys G1 through G4 actuate with much more force than the rest of the keyboard and I actually like it. The Rubber keys feel very good to touch and give a good grip.

Feel: 6/10

SOFTWARE:

The software is quite easy to understand and operate (though I haven't delved much in to Macro Settings.) and it also let's you download custom macros for some games (Most notably Counter Strike.)

Software: 7/10

LONG TERM USAGE:

This is where I feel I cannot give high scores to this keyboard. After about a month of using it, I have started noticing some small things.

Look at the 2 & 3 Keys

I press the 2 and 3 key with my middle finger and as you can see they have started slanting. They 2 Key is slanting more to the left while the 3 Key more to the right.

Similar deal with the Left Ctrl Key. I don't use it as much but it has started sitting askew as well. The F Key as well is now sitting at a lower place than the rest of the keys surrounding it.

It seems like the most often used keys are sitting lower as compared to other keys and this is somewhat disconcerting. I feel like this keyboard will not last as long as it should. Also for being a "Gaming" Keyboard it should outlast my budget keyboard which was basically a $4 keyboard and it is still serving me great after 4 years of heavy use.

Also when you tap the keyboard, some of the keys jiggle. All of this combined makes me feel like this keyboard will not last too long.

LTU: 4/10

CONCLUSION:

I had high hopes for this keyboard when I un-boxed it. However over time, I feel less and less pleased with my buy and were it not for the sale, I would not recommend anyone else buying it. The options are good, the software pretty easy to use however, I am less than pleased with the rest of the things. Specially the price point at which it is sitting (US$ 59.99 on NewEgg) it competing against Thermaltake, ROCCAT, SteelSeries and that is a challenge it is definitely losing.

Final Score: 23/40

Keyboards & Mice VII : Zalman + Das Keyboard

For this week, I have selected to feature Zalman(www.zalman.com) and Das Keyboard(www.daskeyboard.com). Both companies are sort of on the opposite ends of the spectrum. Zalman has more budget options where as Das Keyboard features more higher end products. Still both on their own do not have enough products to warrant separate posts so I will be talking about both in this post.

Mice:

Zalman ZM-M100:

The extremely budget friendly M100 is great as a backup mouse in case your main mouse is damaged and you need something as a standby. Or use in case of extreme budget constraints.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 3
Maximum DPI: 1000
Price: US$ 9.99






Zalman ZM-M200:

The next in Zalman's product line, the M200 is one step above the M100 with more buttons. Still in the area of extreme budget friendly.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 5
Maximum DPI: 1000
Price: US$ 14.99







Zalman ZM-M300:

Kind of cool looking, the M300 comes with an auto fire button and a DPI switch button (625dpi to 2500dpi.)

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 2500
Price: US$ 19.99








Zalman ZM-M400:

Featuring and ergonomic design and LED lighting, the M400 is a good offering from Zalman. This scroll wheel has a high grip design and it also has teflon feet for more accurate mouse control.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 6
Maximum DPI: 1600
Price: US$ 21.99






Zalman ZM-M500WL:

Zalman rounds up its mice line with a optical mouse. Ergonomic design and low battery consumption are some of the good features in this mouse.

Type: Wireless (Battery Operated)
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 4
Maximum DPI: 3000
Price: US$ 27.99







Keyboards:

Zalman ZM-K500:

Zalman has also come out with a mechanical keyboard! The K500 has Cherry MX Red keys as far as I can tell. It has a compact layout and an ergonomic design complete with 5 multimedia keys.

Price: BR Pounds 36.95 (inc. VAT)











Zalman ZM-K400G:

A very cool looking keyboard which comes with 5 Macro Keys! Though I question the placement of the macro keys (on the top of the keyboard) as you will have to remove your hand from the WASD keys to access them. Still it look gorgeous and enough memory to store 3 profiles.

Price: BR Pounds 15.83 (On QuietPC.com)









Das Keyboard Professional (Clicky):

Cherry MX blue with gold contacts, full N-Key Rollover with PS2 Adapter and 6 Keys with USB, two USB 2.0 inputs, Media Control and an extra long usb cable. The Das Keyboard Pro is an awesome keyboard and it looks gorgeous!

Price: US$ 129



Das Keyboad Professional (Soft):

The Professional also comes with Cherry MX Brown switches giving you an overall quieter tactile experience. Rest of the options remain the same.

Price: US$ 135





Das Keyboard Ultimate (Clicky):

Featuring blank keys and Cherry MX blue switches, the Ultimate is in fact the ultimate keyboard with no distractions! Initially you may find the keyboard harder to navigate with no markings on the keys, however once you get used to it, your typing speed actually increases! Get it for the cool factor.

Price: US$ 129



Das Keyboard Ultimate (Soft):

Same as the Soft variant of the Professional, The Soft Ultimate has Cherry MX Brown switches.

Price: US$ 135








Those my dear readers are the options you have. So what to buy?

I would suggest to buy the Zalman mice only as backup mice or when budget is of extreme importance. The Das Keyboard keyboards are just plain awesome and are one the best mechanical keyboards you can buy currently in the market.

Personally I prefer the ZM-M300 mouse and the K400G keyboard from Zalman and the Das Keyboard Ultimate (Clicky) keyboard.

Kiyoshi Out! 

Keyboards & Mice VI : ROCCAT

Hi folks,

It has been a rather busy last couple of days. I haven't had a chance to write nearly as often as I'd like. However here I am.

Today I will be talking about ROCCAT Studios (www.roccat.org), a relatively new gaming peripherals company out of Germany. They are new to the American market but internationally have built quite a strong reputation with their peripherals winning multiple awards in the process. Without a doubt they are also my favorite company . Today I will be talking about the mice and keyboards that make up the product line from ROCCAT.

Mice:

ROCCAT Kone:

Sporting a 3200 DPI laser sensor, The Kone also has a TCU (Tracking Control Unit) which analyses the surface your mouse will be running on and calibrates the laser power to give you optimum performance. Features a TurboCore Unit which processes all the mouse calculations internally. 128kB internal memory to save up to five Profiles on the mouse, customizable lights and the ability to add weight to make it heavier if that is what you prefer.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 10
Maximum DPI: 3200
Price: Will update once I find it





The Kone has two more versions : Kone + and Kone Pure.

ROCCAT Kone +:

The addition of ROCCAT's Easy-Shift[+]™ button provides you with the ability to program all the buttons with two functions giving you a total of 22 functions. Also it gives you audio feedback when you change DPI, profiles, volume and sensitivity.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 8
Maximum DPI: 6000
Price: US$ 71.99 (Newegg)


ROCCAT Kone Pure:

All the goodness of Kone on a smaller mouse, The Kone Pure features and upgraded 8200 DPI Laser Sensor, Easy-Shift[+]™ and 576kB on-board memory.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 8200


ROCCAT Kova:

Designed with ease of use in mind, the Kova can be used by both left handed and right handed people and with hardware based customization you can do everything without installing any additional drivers. Use it on Windows or Mac without worry!

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 3200



ROCCAT Kova +:

With the addition of the Easy-Shift[+]™, ROCCAT Driver (For macro programming) and sound feedback. A great mouse to consider

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 3200
Price: US$ 49.99


ROCCAT Lua:

Love to game but hate having too many buttons on your mouse? Well ROCCAT has considered that and come up with a classic three button mouse to ease your concerns. Featuring an ambidextrous design and the option to switch between seven DPI settings (250, 500, 1000, 1250, 1500, 1750 and 2000) the Lua is great who desire simplicity with great performance.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 3
Maximum DPI: 2000
Price: To be determined.



ROCCAT Pyra:

The Pyra is ROCCAT's envisioning of a mobile gaming mouse. Comes in both wired and wireless flavors and features the Easy-Shift[+]™ button and the ability to save up to 5 profiles. The wireless Pyra has a USB charging cable for non stop usage.

Type: Wireless / Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 5
Maximum DPI: 1600
Price: ~ US$69 (on Amazon)

The ROCCAT Pyra Wired.













ROCCAT Savu:

The fastest optical mouse around featuring a 4000 DPI sensor, the Savu also features the Easy-Shift[+]™ button and a customizable rear light bar. Ergonomic design and built to last!

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 4
Maximum DPI: 4000
Price: US$ 69.99


Keyboards:

ROCCAT Arvo:

A compact gaming keyboard which is still big on options. Featuring three "Thumbster" keys just below the spacebar that you can set your macros on and two more macro keys. A mode switch will allow you to switch your numpad between regular numpad and gaming modes. You can also deactivate Windows, menu, caps lock and Tab keys so they dont interefere with your gaming. Price: US$ 46.99


ROCCAT Isku:

Back-lit keys, 36 Macro keys (including 3 Thumbster keys) and the ability to have the keyboard and a Kone+ mouse communicate with each other via the ROCCAT™ Talk© protocol so you can use the Easy-Shift[+]™ key on the Isku to activate macros on both the mouse and keyboard! You can also record macros in game and the Isku also has 8 configurable media keys. All around goodness! Price: US$ 68.99



ROCCAT Valo:

Featuring back-lit keys, 41 Macro keys, dedicated profile keys to switch profiles quickly and 45 additional keys in red, light blue and blue so you can customize the macro keys to your liking. the Valo is an amazming keyboard with a plethora of options. Also features 3.5mm audio sockets so you can connect a mic and headset directly to it and an additional USB 1.1 port. Price hopefully will be unveiled soon.



FINAL THOUGHTS:

ROCCAT has so many more things and upcoming projects that I can talk about but I wanted to keep this post around their mice and keyboards only. I love the styling of all ROCCAT products and the build quality is exceptional. If you are in the market for new peripherals, do yourself a favor and check them out! For my money I would go with the ROCCAT Isku and Kone + combination (though I also love the way Kova looks) as the options that these two have will fit nicely with my playing style. The Lua and Arvo are also a great combination if simplicity is what you have in mind.

That will be all for this post folks.
Kiyoshi Out!
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Keyboards & Mice V : AZiO + Epic Gear

Hey everyone!

It has been a few days since my last post. I have been busy with a few things namely a new workout routine and a some other things. Today I will talk about keyboards from AZiO Corp (www.aziocorp.com) and a mouse from Epic Gear (www.epicgear.com.) They are companies relatively new to me but their peripherals intrigued me so I wanted to feature them.

Keyboard:

AZiO Levetron:

The budget offering from AZiO comes with 10 macro keys and 3 profiles. You can manually toggle the keyboard in to gaming mode which will disable that pesky windows key and also turn on the adjustable backlight. The keyboard is rugged and a good option for anyone looking for a budget gaming keyboard.

Price : US$ 49.99






AZiO Levetron Mech4:

Featuring a modular Numeric keypad and a macro D-Pad, the Mech4 also has unlimited profiles to store all your macros, a volume knob, Cherry MX Black switch mechanical keys, water resistance, 2 USB ports and the ability to program all the keys on the keyboard

Price : Hovering between US$ 80 - 130







AZiO Levetron Mech5:

As far as I can tell, the Mech5 has the same options as the Mech4 but with a different color. If anyone knows the difference between the two, please let me know and I will update this entry accordingly.

Price : US$ 109.99









AZiO Levetron Clicker:

The budget mechanical offering from AZiO. A very good reliable keyboard that you can consider if you are on a budget but still want a mechanical keyboard. Features 18 Key rollover, laser printed keycaps and rubber coated WASD and arrow keys.

Price : US$ 59.99








Mouse:

EpicGear Meduza:

Featuring a Hybrid Dual Sensor Technology (equipped with both an optical and a laser sensor so you can either or shift it into HDST mode.) Features a thumb and an index finger rest, ringer finger support and pinkie grip for great grip and comfort.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser + Optical
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 6000
Price: US$ 69.99


Thoughts:

You could pair the Meduza with the Clicker for a very good budget friendly choice or go all out and get the Mech5 keyboard. Either way, I will be happy.

That folks wraps it up for this post. It is a small one but with my new schedule I have to do a lot of things that I must do.

Kiyoshi Out!
Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading. 

Keyboards & Mice IV: Mad Catz

Note: This is my 50th post! YAY! Thank you everyone who has stuck around with me and read all my posts. I love writing about all things PC and as such would like to thank you for your continued patronage and things will only go up from here. As you have no doubt noticed, I have started talking about KPOP as well. Look out for more future posts on KPOP, JPOP and other things as well ^_^

Really? Mad Catz? Don't they make console peripherals? Well as you may or may not know, one of the most popular mice as of late was made by Mad Catz (www.madcatz.com) under their brand Cyborg. Mad Catz has a couple of brands which create different things. They have Saitek (www.saitek.com) which creates flight simulator peripherals, general purpose mice and keyboard, Tritton (www.trittonaudio.com) which has gaming audio peripherals,  Cyborg (www.cyborggaming.com), PC Gaming peripherals and accessories and finally Eclipse (www.eclipsetouch.com/) which creates some cool looking mice, keyboard, USB external video cards and a USB docking station.

The two maind brands which have PC Gaming equipment are Saitek and Cyborg so today's post will cover them. However you are welcome to go to the other websites and see the other cool options Mad Catz offers.

Mice:

SAITEK:

GM 3200:

A 3200DPI laser sensor with four stage on-the-fly sensitivity adjustment, six programmable buttons, adjustable wright and the ability to switch between two pre-configured profiles during games. This is a good mouse with pulsating light effects. Built to last.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 6 Programmable
Maximum DPI: 3200
Price: US$ 49.99 (Found it on a review website but cannot find reliable pricing anywhere else)


GM 2400:

A 2400DPI smaller brother minus the light effects. Only the fly DPI adjustments and ergonomic design.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 6
Maximum DPI: 2400
Price: ~US$ 39.99 Again cannot find reliable pricing so the price I found may be way of the mark. Sorry  :-(




CYBORG:

R.A.T. 3:

A very unique looking mouse that can feel very natural and easy to use if you try it. It has a 3500 DPI optical sensor, four user-definable DPI settings, three "CYBORG" modes which means you can set three profiles for sensitivity and programmable button actions and it has three programmable buttons. The least feature-rich R.A.T mouse in the lineup.

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Optical
Buttons: 5
Maximum DPI: 3500
Price: US$ 59.99




R.A.T. 5:

This is the one that made the R.A.T. series famous. First question: Do you use a palm grip or a claw grip? Well it doesn't matter because the R.A.T. 5 can be adjusted to fit either way. Also features weight adjustment (can add up to 30g,) a 5600 DPI laser sensor, 4 custom DPI settings, a Precision Aim button which you can program with the desired mouse sensitivity to snipe& three "Cyborg" modes. A very good option for you to try!

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 7
Maximum DPI: 5600
Price: US$ 69.99



R.A.T. 7:

With the same length addition the R.A.T. 5 gave, the R.A.T. 7 also has the extra option of adjusting the thumb panel for extra comfort. It also features a 6400 DPI Laser sensory, custom weight system  and the Precision Aim button (same as the R.A.T. 5)  and 18 user-definable commands via the 3 "CYBORG" modes. Also features 3 interchangeable pinkie grips and 3 palm rests made of different materials

Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 8
Maximum DPI: 6400
Price: US$ 99.99


The R.A.T. 7 comes in a total of four different finishes.

Albino (White)

Contagion (White/Silver)

Infection (Gunmetal/Orange)


M.M.O. 7:

Featuring the same options which made R.A.T. 7 so popular, it features 15 programmable buttons which in conjunction with a 3-position MMO switch and a 2-position MMO button gives you a staggering 90 in-game commands. Features a WOW Plug-In to make it easy to configure the mouse for WOW & RGB Backlighting.

 Type: Wired
Interface: USB
Tracking Method: Laser
Buttons: 17
Maximum DPI: 6400
Price: US$ 129.99


Keyboards:

Cyborg V.5:

Features back-lit keys, anti-ghosting, media controls and the ability to program the function keys to store gaming macros. The low-end gaming keyboard offering from Cyborg.

Price: US$ 59.99





Cyborg V.7:

Multi-color back-lighting, a touch sensitive dashboard styled control-panel with lighting, media and volume controls and a 'Cyborg' mode which (thankfully!) disables the windows key, 12 programmable Cyborg keys a USB input, audio and microphone sockets, the V.7 looks futuristic and cool!

Price: US$ 79.99


S.T.R.I.K.E. 7:

A fully Modular keyboard from Cyborg. Don't like where the numpad keys are? detach and move it. The V.E.N.O.M. TFT-LCD Touchscreen can also be moved around and provides multiple functions. Interchangeable WASD and cursor keys (standard, contoured and rubber-edged) A function strip with four programmable macro buttons (Total: 24) and TeamSpeak functionality is built-in to the touchscreen menu options.
Price: US$  299.99 (!!)


That folks, are the gaming peripherals Mad Catz offers. Their newest addition to this list, The S.T.R.I.K.E 7 keyboard has an endless array of customizations, which I will admit are cool but the price-tag makes it almost impossible for me to recommend it to anyone.

So what to choose? Personally I would go for either a R.A.T.5 / Cyborg V.7 or R.A.T. 7/ Cyborg V.7 combination. Honestly though I like Cyborg more for their mice series than their keyboards so I would stick with just the R.A.T.7.

That is all for this post
Kiyoshi Out!
 Psst... Hey... Spread the word! +1, Subscribe,Tweet ^_^ Thank you for reading.