Performance

The performance of the keyboard consists of two parts. First the feel of the keys, the pressure point and responsiveness are the factor that can be compared to other keyboards. Second, there is the subjective opinion. While some like thin, notebook style keys, other want the key go travel far, while having a very soft pressure point and recoil. We try to give you an objective look at what to expect of the keyboards tested, no matter what your favorite type of keys are.

Gaming Performance

The first thing I noticed is typing noise, or better the lack thereof. The GK200 Gaming Keyboard is just as quiet as Saitek's back-lit offering, the Eclipse II (which we reviewed here). The buttons require a bit more pressure to be pressed down than the Eclipse II and are similar to the Logitech G15. The feel of the keys is quite rough, which is a welcome change to all the smooth variants out there. The keys spring back very fast, much faster than the G15 or Eclipse II. I fired up Prey and B.O.S. While Prey is a pure first person shooter, Bet On Soldier is not as fast paced and needs a lot more accuracy. The special buttons of the GK200 really shine with these games and the rougher surrounding keys feel great. Due to the soft and very fast spring back of the keys, I somewhat missed the little gap between consecutive press of the same key. But the soft pressure point is the main reason for the low noise and ease of use.

Office & Windows Performance

As Saitek has also included normal keys, we used these for Office and Windows performance. The rough keys may not be the best choice for typing and the quick springs of the keyboard also take some getting used to. The big upside in typing long texts passages is the low noise and soft key pressure. Due to the in-balance of the GK200 between gaming and everyday office works just underlines the fact that this is a gaming keyboard.