Razer Arctosa Review by Peter Brennon

My Overall Rating:

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One look at the Razer Arctosa and it’s clear why Razer is a leader in gaming keyboards. This baby looks like something you’d expect to see in a high-tech game itself. Fortunately, there’s much more value here than just good looks.

That starts with the slim chassis. You won’t have any trouble fitting this into a keyboard holder. It’s 470mm wide x 165mm deep x 20mm tall without wrist rest, 470mm x 222mm x 20mm with wrist rest. It’s lightweight, too. You won’t have to struggle to take it to a friends house. Slip it into a backpack and you’re gone.

Like its cousin, the Razer Lycosa, this model lets you program any key to serve as a quick-access macro. Yes, that’s ANY key. Logitech offers several models with a number of dedicated “G” keys, and multiple profiles to amplify the total macro keys available. Razer turns the entire keyboard into a set of “G” keys.

Watch this great review of the Razer Arctosa gaming keyboard

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Creating and modifying them is zero hassle, thanks to well-designed software. It’s also highly flexible, allowing for 10 different profiles. Changing the profiles you set is a breeze here, too. A quick press of the Razer Logo button then a tap of one of the F1-F10 keys and zingo, you’re done. You use that same Media Control Panel for, well, media control (i.e. Play, Pause, and more).

There’s another nice user-friendly feature: the ability to remove the wrist rest. While most gamers like the comfortable feel, some prefer their keyboard to be plain vanilla. A quick removal of four screws and off it comes. Either way, resting your hands on the keys is a pleasurable experience.

That pleasure is enhanced when you start tapping them. “HyperResponse Technology” may be silly marketing buzzwords, but they actually have a valid meaning in this case. The keys have a very functional, tactile feel in part due to their low profile.

The hyper-responsiveness also extends to speed. Razer created 1000Hz Ultrapolling (granted, another marketing buzzword) that makes the system respond lightning quick to a pressed key. You couldn’t sense those individual tiny 1 ms actions, but they do add up when you’re playing at top speed. For skilled gamers, that’s a real advantage.

All gamers will appreciate the anti-ghosting feature. “Anti-ghosting” disables the repeating keystroke from holding down the key that is standard function on normal keyboards. The Arctosa also allows you to disable the Windows key to eliminate accidentally being thrown out of gaming mode during active play.

One thing is missing and gamers are likely to separate into two groups of “bummer” and “don’t care” over it. Unlike its big brother, the Lycosa, there’s no backlighting feature. For those who enjoy playing in the dark, or just like the cool factor of a lit-up keyboard, that will be a disappointment. The black lettering on black keys doesn’t help, either. Others will appreciate the lower price that results from leaving that feature off.

The Razer Arctosa is not the company’s top of the line gaming keyboard; it wasn’t intended to be. But at this price, you wouldn’t expect it to be. Nevertheless it does have some great features.

Read what other users of the Razer Arctosa have to say about it:

Keith J.,
“Slick looking, key response is lightning fast and nice basic design for gamers who want better response and macro options without a million extra buttons and extra bulk to take up desk space. The customization software is powerful if not a little confusing but does allow the media buttons to automatically adjust to most popular media players with a simple selection. The best feature is the ability to turn off the annoying windows buttons quickly and easily… ” Read full review

Yang Z.,
“The keyboard is relatively small and slim in form factor and looks pretty decent; the key-press depth is pretty good as well. Typing on this keyboard actually feels pretty good to me, but that’s ultimately just a matter of personal opinion. One thing I do like is that the keyboard doesn’t slide around on my desk like my old one used to – it seems more or less glued down to the desk. Don’t seem to notice any ghosting issues when playing Mass Effect 2, but perhaps in a more intensive game like Counter Strike it could become an issue. Razer claims to have anti-ghosting around the gaming cluster though. At least it is a decent looking keyboard, and will serve the basic purpose of typing and a bit of light gaming, but I still feel for $40 worth of keyboard, I should have gotten a much more solid product than this.” Read full review

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Razer Lycosa Review by Peter Brennon

My Overall Rating:

Save nearly 20% on the Razer Lycosa at Amazon.com!

The Razer Lycosa is a bit different than most gaming keyboards. Every aspect of this keyboard is designed with the gamer in mind. However unlike most keyboards in this market, the Lycosa takes up very little real estate on your desk. At first glance, you might say where are the gaming and macro keys?

Put your macros where you want!

Well, the answer to that question is: there aren’t any. That’s because the Razer Lycosa lets you record macros to any key, adding a new degree of functionality not previously found on a gaming keyboard. Put your macros where you want rather than in one fixed location. This is by far one of the most useful features of this keyboard. Not only can you record macros on any key but you can program up to 50 different keypresses to each macro.

Another handy feature the Lycosa sports is a gaming button which disables the Windows menu keys. Never minimize your game accidentally again. This feature is a lifesaver for keyspammers like me.

The Razer Lycosa Gaming Keyboard truly is a piece of art. They keys are finished with a non-slip rubber, giving them a tactile yet comfortable feel. Night time gaming is a breeze thanks to the backlight illumination. The Lycosa also comes with a WASD cluster lighting option to keep your movement keys lit up.

Here’s what some current users of the Razer Lycosa Gaming Keyboard have to say:

Curt C. Smith “Dr. Spoq”,
“When it comes to quality and an excellent build, Razer always exceeds my expectations. The Razer Lycosa is no different. What really sets this keyboard apart from the others, is the ability to record macros on any key.”     Read Original Review

C. Porter,
“I have only owned this keyboard for a few weeks, and I have to say it’s the best one I’ve ever owned. I use computers alot and the Razer Lycosa is good for gaming and all other computing tasks. The macros have really helped improve my gaming performance and I couldn’t go back to gaming with a standard run of the mill keyboard.”         Read Original Review

Save 18% on this keyboard at Amazon.com!

Let’s look at all the benefits the Lycosa has to offer:
• Non-slip rubber finish
• Cluster lighting of your WASD makes low light gaming easy.
• Every key on the Lycosa is recordable to a macro.
• Media keys for easy playback and volume commands.
• Gaming button lets you disable the Windows menu/context keys.
• Add up to 10 macro profiles.
• 1000HZ Ultrapolling technology gives this keyboard a 1 millisecond response time
• Jacks for your gaming headset and microphone.
• Detachable wrist rest which adds comfort and stability.

All in all, the Razer Lycosa Gaming Keyboard is an impressive piece of equipment, that will help any gamer improve their gaming performance and skill.

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