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

A Long Hiatus

So,

This time it has been a very long break.

I do apologize for it however there have been so many things going on that I just could not find the time to sit and write.

But now I am back so look out for regular posts from now on.

What have I been up to?

1. Job challenges (finding a decent one is challenging) and in the short term I have been overworking to just survive and that did not leave me much time.

2. Some Computer Repairs. Which I will be talking about in future posts.

3. Snowstorms, Thunderstorms and a broken car which needs fixing. Needless to say this presented me with  self logistical issues. The Snow may be gone and the storm is over but my car still needs fixing and I am saving up money for that.

All of this leaves me with very little time and motivation.

However one by one these things are resolving so as I am moving forward, I am finding time to write again.

With that out of the way, onward to the continuation of this blog. 

Razer Edge Pro

Hi everyone!

Today I came across Razer's (www.razerzone.com) newest offering. No it is not a mouse or a keyboard.

Rather it is their first gaming tablet!

That is right! This nifty little tablet is capable of some serious gaming and any other tasks you can think of throwing at it. The Tech Specs are impressive to say the least

Specs:

CPU: Core i7 Dual Core with HT running at 1.9 GHz /Turbo 3.0 GHz
RAM: 8G DDR3 @ 1600MHz
Video: Intel HD4000 and an Nvidia GT 640M LE with 2GB DDR3 VRAM
Display: 10.1" 10-point capacitive touch screen
Storage: 128/256 GB SATA III SSD

It features a full Windows 8 so you can run any game and applications you can think of.

It can be operated in four different modes namely,

1.Tablet for touch screen usage

2. Keyboard Mode for a more traditional notebook styled use

3. Mobile Console Mode, for gaming on the go!

4. Home Console Mode, for a more console gaming feel.

You can also connect to your TV if you want to play on a larger screen.

The Tablet has a host of features which are incredible but the thing to keep in mind is that all the modes other than the tablet mode require docks which you have to purchase (from the looks of things) separately.

Base Price for the Razer Edge Pro Gaming Tablet is : US$ 1299.99

Game Pad Controller: US$ 249.99

Docking Station: US$ 99.99

Keyboard Dock: US$ 199.99













All together (or even just the tablet alone) will make this a rather expensive buy relegating it to a more niche market. The money you can spend on buying this, no doubt, awesome tablet can actually get you a very powerful PC. Of course the tablet has it's own uniqueness which will make sure Razer is going to have a good customer base for it.

If you do manage to get your hands on one... befriend me! :-P

That is all for this post folks, I will be coming out with the part two of the Ghost Recon Online Review soon.

Until then,
Kiyoshi Out! 

Ghost Recon Online I : Introduction and Classes

Hello everyone!

Wow! This time around I have been away for a much longer time than I realized. Part of it was there was a wedding in my family and if you know anything about South Asian (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh etc...) you should know this, our marriages take forever. Multiple events spread out over multiple days. Anyways I am now free after all that and here is my newest post.

Click here to go to the website

In one of my older posts, I talked about Ghost Recon Online and how excited I was about playing it. Well that is exactly what I have been whenever I have spare time. The game and the community have me hooked! The game is still in Open Beta so it is going through changes almost every week but the core of the game is very solid.

GR:O is a 3rd person, team-based, class-based, tactics heavy shooter. Your squad will deploy against an enemy squad in a 8v8 battle. For now there are two game modes:

Onslaught - The attacking side has to take over two points on the map to unlock a final third point while the defending side has to ... well defend all three

Conquest - Both sides start the game contesting the middle point in a five point map and the objective is to take over all five or hold the most points for victory.

A total of five maps are available as of this post, 2 Onslaught and 3 Conquest maps.

CLASSES:

Each class has access to two main weapons, two devices, two squad supports and one handgun.

ASSAULT:

Armed with the Assault Rifle and Shotgun, the Assault is the slowest of the three classes and the one with the most armor and health. Use the Assault class to take over points and to hold the points. The two devices Assaults have access to are:

Blitz:

Dashing with the Blitz deployed

The Blitz shield is on your back and when it is there, it provides you with a little more armor in case somebody flanks you and shoots you from behind. When the Blitz is fully charged, you can enable it by pressing F (default key) and then use it as a battering ram to knock down your opponents and have your team (hopefully) kill them in your wake. You can also use it to defeat the Heat and Aegis. It is however not a hundred percent bullet proof as you can still get hit on your legs. Also the Blackout device can disable it.

Heat:

Switches to Infra-Red view and cooks anyone not in cover

Heat is a device which emits microwave rays to suppress your enemy. It can prevent them from shooting or pretty much restricts them to cover. However again it is not a perfect device as it can be neutralized by the Blitz or Blackout device. Also if somebody is very close to you, they may have a chance to shoot you as they can maneuver quicker than you while Heat is deployed. You can zoom in for extra damage.

Squad Support:

The Assault Class has two squad supports:

Combat Regen: Increases your and any nearby team-members health regeneration.
Armor Harden: Hardens your and your nearby team-members armor making them tougher to kill.

SPECIALIST:

Armed with Light Machine Guns (LMG) and Shotguns, the Specialist is the support class of the game. They have medium armor. They can be used to spearhead attacks, team protection and also disrupting the enemy team so they cannot attack your team.

Specialists have access to:

Aegis:

Notice the shield just a small distance away from the specialist

The Aegis shield when deployed creates a bullet proof "bubble" which can protect several team-mates allowing everyone to move up. Great as both an offensive and defensive device, The shield however depletes faster as your enemy shoots at it. The enemy can kill you if they enter the bubble and also grenades can cause damage. The Blitz can knock you down and the Heat can still suppress you while the Blackout as always stops any devices.However a well timed charge with the Aegis for protection is very difficult to stop.

Blackout:

You can see the aftereffects of the emp discharge around the specialist. 

Blackout is an EMP discharge which disable all devices, stuns the enemy and also disables their guns for a limited time. However your enemy has to be in the area of effect for all of these effects to work. When enabled the Blackout has a increasing "ring" of effect and you can run in and stop your enemy in their tracks. It is a great tool but is difficult to aim correctly and it has a sound when it deploys which tells everyone there is a blackout in the vicinity. However once it is mastered it is indeed a very frightening (and annoying) device to run in to. Can be stopped by weapons, grenades or if you don't deploy it fast enough.

Squad Support:

The Specialist Squad Support are:

Ammo Resupply: Regenerates ammo for you and any team-mate within range.
Device Recharge: Recharges the devices faster for you and your team-mates.

RECON:

The intelligence gathering and all around mayhem causing class, the recons are the fastest of the three classes with the lowest armor of the three. They have access to Sniper rifles and sub-machine guns (SMG.)

Recons have access to:

Oracle:

"Pinging" the enemy through walls. Not my Oracle though as I am carrying cloak in this instance

The Oracle can be used to detect your enemies so your team can maneuver around to neutralize them. It can pick up cloaked recons and can pass through walls. Every team should have at least one Oracle!

Cloak:

I am on the right side. Notice the disruption pattern.

Cloak can turn you nearly invisible to the naked eye. The faster you move, the easier it is to see you however it is a great way to flank. You can start shooting in cloak but you will de-cloak so make sure you can take the target down. Oracle can show your outline to the enemy and Blackout and disable cloak.

Squad Support:

Gunshot Detector: Outlines the enemy shooting within a radius.
Vector Detector: Outlines enemies sprinting.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

This is part one of my Ghost Recon Online posts. As a thorough exploration of the game will take more time, I have decided to break the posts up and that way you won't have to read all of it in one go.

Be on the look out for part two!

Kiyoshi Out!

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! 

My Build + Wish List

Hello everyone!

Today I thought it would be a good idea to post my build so far. I will also be listing stuff that I am looking out for to install in the near future.

CASE:

COOLERMASTER HAF 912 (www.coolermaster.com)

The case is serving me well so far. I want to put in more fans in it. In the near future there will be one 200mm intake fan in the front, one 140mm intake fan on the side (with a filter to block the dust) and one 200mm fan on the top for exhaust. The rear fan will be used for the Liquid Cooling I will installing for the CPU. Not a custom cooling setup mind you.

A good case but as time progresses, it might be small for my purposes but until that time comes, it rocks!




CPU:

AMD FX-8120 (www.amd.com)

The FX-8120 has been good enough for everything I have thrown at it so far. It hasn't been pushed yet with any of the tasks I've had it perform.

Though I would like to update it with the new FX-8320 that was recently released. It has better power draw and more performance.

Gaming wise, the CPU has been just fine.






MOTHERBOARD:

ASUS Crosshair V Formula (www.asus.com)

The board has been amazing! It has so much to offer and I haven't even scratched the surface. It has a lot setting to go through so it will take time to learn the board.

Though if I want PCI-E 3.0 video cards, I will have to swap this for an Intel build as AMD currently doesn't have any PCI-E 3.0 motherboards. Of course that is quite a ways away.

The on board audio is great!




VIDEO CARD:

XFX DOUBLE D HD-695X-CDFC (www.xfxforce.com)

This card has also been stellar. I am able to everything I have tried so far on very high settings. Most of the games I play in 1920 x 1080 and it hasn't disappointed so far!

I wish I could buy 2 more and put it in 3-Way CrossfireX but these cards are slowly disappearing from the market. Might have to rush.







RAM:

CORSAIR Vengeance (www.corsair.com)

2 x 4GB DDR3 1600. They have been great and I have zero complaints from them. I want to buy two more in red and push my system RAM to 16GB.

They are a good buy and are pretty cheap at the moment so go for it!









POWER SUPPLY:

CORSAIR TX750W PSU (www.corsair.com)

A very reliable PSU that I would reccoment to anyone. It will handle any near future upgrades as well and I think it will be okay in the 3-way Crossfire X as well. Of course I will only know that when I get the two other cards! ^_^










AIR COOLING:

COOLER MASTER HYPER N520 (www.coolermaster.com)

Less than happy with this purchase though. There is nothing wrong with it, it's just that I want my CPU cooled even more and that is out of this cooler's league.

Replacing soon!









HARD DRIVES:

HDD:

1 320 GB SATA II Western Digital 3.5" (OS, Games, Softwares)
1 320 GB SATA Hitachi 2.5" (Data: Pictures, Videos and Music)

SSD:

1 180 GB SATA III Intel Series 330 (Games) (www.intel.com)

This was on sale for an awesome price and I had to have it. I have been pleased with it thus far.

One weird thing I ran in to. I wanted to do a fresh install of my windows on it but my product key was no longer recognized by windows 7. I have no idea why so for now I have to settle for using it is a gaming disc.

Ridiculously fast!





OPTICAL DRIVE:

Samsung 22x DVD Burner SATA Model (www.samsung.com)

This drive was on sale and I bought it. It has been a rock solid drive and I would recommend it to anyone!












FUTURE LIST:

CPU COOLER

CORSAIR Hydro Series H80i (www.corsair.com)

CORSAIR Hydro Series H70 CORE (www.corsair.com)

COOLERMASTER Seidon 120M (www.coolermaster.com)

I am trying to decide between these three cpu cooler's for now. In the absence of a decent budget for custom cooling, these are the next best thing. I would probably replace the stock fans they come with for more powerful fans but let's see.

FANS:

This is a list of the fans I am currently interested in. What I may end up buying may change but for now

COUGAR Vortex (www.cougar-world.com)

This is the 120mm fans that I am looking to get for my CPU Cooler. They will be set up in a push-pull setup. They have a Hydro-Dynamic Bearing which will give long life and good performance.

Plus the color looks awesome!









NZXT FS200RB (www.nzxt.com)

I would buy two of these for my case. One in the front for intake, one on top for exhaust. Or I could also go with two 120mm in the front and two 120mm on top. I have quite a few choices so let's see what I end up doing.

For now though this is what I am thinking of.








NZXT FX140LB (www.nzxt.com)

A great 140mm fan to consider for the side of my case as an intake fan. It can be set at three different speeds for an optimal airflow.

Plus I am liking the fact that I will have white fans showing through the front, side and top.

Hmm... now that I think about, I should put white fans on the CPU Cooler as well.






VIDEO CARD:

For now, the idea is to buy two more of the same card I have though that might not be possible since they are fast disappearing from the market. I might buy something else if it comes to that.

AUDIO CARD:

ASUS Xonar DX (www.asus.com)

A neat little card that can handle 7.1 surround sound. For now this is what I am thinking.

















SSD:

SAMSUNG 840 Series (www.samsung.com)

The 840 Series is Samsung's newest offering. It is the top of the line and arguably one of the fastest drives out there. All that and Samsung's phenomenal reliability makes this SSD hard to beat. I would get the 128GB and use it as a OS Disk.








HDD:

1 1.0TB Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM SATA III.

A great drive for a great price these days.

OPTICAL DRIVE:

ASUS BW-12B1ST Blu-Ray Burner (www.asus.com)

A great blu-ray burner with awesome speed!


















MOUSE & KEYBOARD:

ROCCAT (www.roccat.org)

The ROCCAT Kone+ is  great mouse to consider with good button placement and awesome reliability.

The ROCCAT Isku is a great compliment for the Kone+ and it looks awesome!










CORSAIR (www.corsair.com)

The Vengeance M60 looks sweet and is great for FPS gaming.

The Vengeance K90 is perfect for MMO gaming.

I feel the combination will be best for me as I play FPS, RTS and MMOs almost equally.








HEADSET:

ROCCAT (www.roccat.org)

I think I am falling in love with anything ROCCAT and this great headset is no different. The ROCCAT Kave is a 5.1 surround sound gaming headset which is lightweight and great to use. The sound is crisp and it will give you endless joy!

















CORSAIR (www.corsair.com)

A great headset for gaming, the Vengeance 1500 boasts 7.1 surround sound and good weight to give you long hours of gaming.

Looks sweet!















FINAL THOUGHTS:

That is pretty much everything I have planned for my build in the near future. After this my next project will be a Intel-Nvidia build. Though when that happens remains to be seen.

Kiyoshi Out!