EG Hardware Review: Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard

Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard

Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard Review

Marcus “djWHEAT” Graham of GGL and Epileptic Gaming gives you a review of the DKTBoard by Everglide. This keyboard was made with input by Brian “DKT” Flander, pro gamer and general manager of the Chicago Chimera of Championship Gaming Series fame.

Duration : 0:3:42

Electronic Digital Keyboard Review Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard

Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard

Today we analyze the Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard. It was created in cooperation with Razer.

Characteristics:

* Extremely Trim Style * Durable Aluminum Top Case
* Fast Reaction Keycap Construction * Soft Touch In addition to Tactile Feedback
* Optionally available Backlight Illumination With ON/OFF Switch
* 8 One-touch Multi-media Hot Keys
* Stream-lined, Space-Saving Format
Appearance
The package of the Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard is very simple. The front shows the Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard in all its glory. There is a Razer logo sticker in the right top corner. In the opposite corner are a few highlights of the keyboard. The rear also has an image of the Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard, along with the features, listed in various languages.

Inside the package you will only find the Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard. There are no manuals, CDs or anything else within the box. TheEverglide DKTBoard Keyboard itself ships in a simple plastic bag to further protect it.

A Closer Look at the Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard

The Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard features a solid aluminum frame. The rear of the Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard does not bear anything out of the ordinary. The weight of the Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard is well above average, but the build quality is exceptional, even though the underside is made of plastic. Such an attribute is very important as this keyboard is intended to be taken to LAN parties.

The front has a few Everglide specific features. The overall size of the Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard is very compact, so some of the keys have been rearranged. The space bar also holds the Everglide logo. Taking a look at the left side of the keyboard it becomes apparent where the space saving comes from. The cursor keys have been placed under the right portion of the keyboard keys while the function keys have been spread around. Three of them, the “Print Screen”, “Insert” and “Delete” keys are above the backspace, while the Page Up & Page Down are between the Alt and Ctrl keys. This means that there is no Windows key and no properties key at this location.

The rear of the Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard has a sticker at the center which holds the model number, operating voltage and serial number. The two feet are quite simple and can be flipped up to give the keyboard a better angle for typing.

The Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard lights up quite nicely when connected to the USB port. There is a button at the top right corner, to turn the lighting off if not desired. The keyboard looks good when the surroundings are lit up. Anyone who has ever been at a LAN party, knows that it is actually quite dark. The backlight of theEverglide DKTBoard Keyboard is very even and you should be able to see all the keys even at a flat angle.

Performance
Gaming
The DKTBoard is intended for gaming, thus this is the first area we look at. Each key of the keyboard is covered in a rough, rubberized surface. This is very similar to that of the Razer Lycosa, but feels noticably rougher and harder. Using the keyboard with longer finger nails means that the keys act like a tad like sanding paper. It may have been better to make the keys smoother.

Playing games on the keyboard does work well, once you get used to the surface. Movements and actions in games like Crysis can be performed fast and accurately. This goes for all first person action games. Playing other types like strategy in form of Command & Conquer 3 does require you to hit more keys than usual, especially if you know all the shortcuts. In such a situations the key surface does pose a larger problem. I actually had to cut my nails down to a bare minimum to reduce the effect as much as possible. Gamers with long nails or girls will have a hard time with the DKTBoard.

Office and Windows
Most of us won’t exchange the keyboard on our desk, when switching between gaming and everyday work in Windows. In such situations, proper key placement and feel of each are an important factor. The DKTBoard has an indented numpad to make space for the cursor buttons. These on the other hand feel smaller than the ones found on a standard one. Going for the right keyboard arrow is often followed by hitting the 0 button. Due to the compact nature of the DKTBoard, such a unique placement could not be avoided.

The feel of the keys, with its soft, but noticable pressure point is very comfortable. The pushback mechanism of the DKTBoard is very balanced. This means that the keys do push back a bit and help you raise your finger to move over to the next key stroke, but on the other hand are not to forceful nor do they stay down to long.

The overall noise level – or the lack thereof – is great. It is certainly one of the quieter keyboards out there, but there are others out there which manage to produce even less noise. Nonetheless, going from a standard OEM one to the DKTBoard is a great and noticable improvement.

Value & Conclusion

* The Everglide DKTBoard Aluminum Gaming Keyboard costs $49.99 US Dollars, and is available at the Everglide online store.

* Comfortable to use
* Excellent construction quality
* Special surface texture
* Compact dimensions
* Very quiet use
* Multimedia buttons
* Backlight can be turned off by mechanical switch
* Available in silver and black

* Rubberized surface too hard
* A bit too compact – key placement
* Fairly heavy
* No localized versions – US layout only

This Everglide DKTBoard Aluminum Gaming Keyboard is one of the heaviest compact keyboards on the market, even considering the materials. Everlide seems to have chosen to position several keys at extremely curious places, with the arrow keys pushing a corner of the numpad a lttle bit into the block. The surface and also feel during use purely scream Razer, since both these qualities are unique to the brand. It is obvious how the DKTBoard is designed being a gaming keyboard and therefore lacks a lttle bit in comparison to all those multimedia office keyboards. The Everglide DKTBoard remains the most economical keyboard, that’s powered by Razer, for the reason that Microsoft Reclusa costs approximately ten US dollars more. However it is also the only one from the bunch, which is only accessible having a US layout.

This is a review of the Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard .

Everglide DKTBoard Keyboard

Originally posted 2011-03-07 11:07:59. Republished by Blog Post Promoter