Package

The Zowie Celeritas comes in a huge box. The insides are padded so that no harm will come to the keyboard during shipping.


On the back of the package you can read about the features and how you enable the different modes.

Closer Examination

The Zowie Celeritas gaming keyboard features Cherry MX Brown keys which are medium hard to press. Compared to a normal keyboard with rubber dome key mechanisms the Browns are a little firmer and have a more distinct tactile feedback. One of the perhaps most annoying aspects of the mechanical switches is that they produce an audible clicking sound when actuated.

The keyboard has printed keys so just like with normal keyboards the letters on top of the keys will wear off over time. After two weeks of almost constant use the key printing shows minor signs of wear and tear. Just after a week of use the printing begins to fade a bit because of dirt getting stuck to the surface. This can be corrected just by cleaning them with some isopropyl alcohol.

Gaming wise the Cherry MX Browns are really good. The only issue with them is that they have a nonlinear response with a noticeable bump when half pressed. Some people feel that the bump reduces the rate of which they can do double taps, since it is hard to get the key to float around the actuation point.


The Zowie logo on the right side of the keyboard lights up when the keyboard is connected to a PC. If the logo glows red the Windows-key is in normal mode, when blue the Windows-key will act as another control-button. Zowie have graciously included an all lights off function which is enabled by pressing the Zowie-key and F8! Unfortunately pressing “Caps Lock” will enable lights again.


The Celeritas keyboard is semi compact. The wrist rest is almost non-existing and the offers little to no support.


This is where it gets interesting. The RTR settings of the keyboard allow you to define how fast the keyboard sends input to the PC over PS/2. Since PS/2 is an interrupt based standard it is the keyboard itself that controls the transmission rate. For people playing RTS games this might alleviate some issue with quick double taps.


Another small yet brilliant feature on the Celeritas is that you can assign the control function to the Windows-key. This reduces the risk of accidental tab outs.


The Zowie logo key is used when altering the assignment of the Windows-key and setting the RTR speed. It is positioned at the bottom where some keyboards have an extra Windows-key.


The backside of the Celeritas gaming keyboard is very simple. It is completely flat with the exception of a few logos and the four massive rubber feet which keep the keyboard in place. Overall the Zowie Celeritas keyboard is a very sturdy design.