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Review: Microsoft Sidewinder X4 Gaming Keyboard

by Steven Williamson on 23 April 2010, 08:47

Tags: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), PC

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qaxyb

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Knobs are better than buttons

Gaming performance with this keyboard is excellent, the keys are very easy to press and the macro buttons help a lot in RTS type games. Microsoft also claims that you can press 26 keys at once all of them will register, obviously, this sounds a bit pointless, but it’s a bit like an airbag in a car, you never notice it’s there, but it’s really nice to know that it’s there. The red backlight also helps a lot with gaming, especially late at night, when most gaming happens.

The red backlight looks amazing; it’s a very deep shade of red, which just looks awesome with the full black colour scheme of the board. The backlight is also adjustable if you just want it to be faintly lit, although I would’ve liked to have seen a three or four different colours to choose from.



The palm rest on this keyboard is also worth a mention as it has a very grippy texture that is, surprisingly, quite comfortable. It’s made from one big piece of plastic but sadly isn’t removable. Overall, though, it definitely adds to the appearance of the keyboard and looks very nice.

One thing I found difficult to understand about this keyboard is the lack of knobs for controlling the volume and backlight, which were included with the last Sidewinder keyboard, so why not this one? As far as I’m concerned, knobs are always better than buttons when it comes to volume control.