I suppose the design and layout of a keyboard is a personal thing and I¡¦m sure the Saitek is not an exception but from a personal point of view. I like the chunky solid design and black/silver colour scheme, and illuminated keys is just what any gamer needs when on a late night session and to impress your mates of course, but the thing that sets this apart for me is the feel of the buttons.

I have used many keyboards over the years and this has to be one of, if not the best that I have used and I am sure that anybody who tried it would agree with me the balancing is perfect the buttons are solid and don¡¦t move about so when you push them there is no catching or sticking this is a very simple thing but I have never had a board that has done it so well.

Maybe this comes down to the exceptional build quality as the board is made from a flexible plastic so it doesn¡¦t have that ominous creaking sound when you bend it a little. I suppose because the board flexes slightly this will make the board more resistant to impacts, I was intrigued by this idea and decided to try the drop test (don¡¦t try this at home kids ƒº) I dropped the board from head height onto my carpet. I¡¦m 6ft 7¡¨ so head height is a long way down and I was worried I would break my new board but I gritted my teeth and let the board fall and was surprised to see not one bit of damage not even a button popping out which proves that the flexibility makes the board stronger which is nice and a great idea I¡¦m sure other companies will soon catch onto.

The wrist rest is a standard piece of kit now days with any keyboard and the eclipse comes with a nice adjustable one it is nice and smooth and because it is adjustable.

larger people like myself can now actually get some relief from them long days on the computer it also has small feet but these are not adjustable but since the feet raise it to an optimum height they don¡¦t need to be.

I have waited a long time for a backlit keyboard and for the life of me don¡¦t know why it wasn¡¦t done sooner yes there are a few on the market at the moment but none with the actual letters glowing. I suppose there wasn¡¦t a market for it like there is today and that¡¦s because of the computer modding industry

Saitek have done what every gamer has been shouting for since I started gaming on PCs over 12years ago and not only that they have to a fine job to boot, the light has 3 settings Off/Low /High so yes you can use it in the office without looking a prat and turn it on when you are working late and don¡¦t fancy sitting under those nasty fluorescents.

On the down side the Saitek does not come in a wireless version this is due to lack of technology hopefully in the future we might see a wireless version, it also lacks the skip forward/back for you music so if you like to listen to your music while you play, you will have to find another way.

There are also no other special function keys (such as a shortcut to your email or homepage) for some users this will be a major selling point but since this board is aimed at the gaming market I don¡¦t think this is such an issue, and from a gamers view I never used the short keys anyway so they wont be missed on my part, apart from that there is nothing that I can criticise about the Saitek.

So overall I am very impressed with the Saitek so far, it has excellent what I will call key balance and the build quality is excellent so are the backlit keys. The lack of short cut keys are not a major issue for me but I suppose Saitek could have catered for the many customers that look for functions in a keyboard, maybe they could release an office version, and also invest in the wireless technology to make this the ultimate keyboard apart from that Saitek have impressed.

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