How is the Microsoft Sidewinder X6 Keyboard?

[TidusZ]

The cons I've heard are that the spacebar is too long, making alt difficult to thumb, and the absence of feet to stand it up. I am used to having my keyboard feet extended but I imagine it wont matter much.

Anyone whose used this keyboard a while, care to give me a little review? And how big of a deal is the longer than usual spacebar? I currently use a Saitek Eclipse which will be going to my second computer soon.

 

[iahk]

Yea, the spacebar is kind of long which makes the alt button repositioned. For me, I do not use alt often, so it doesn't effect me much, but it has been repositioned. Also, the esc key is repositioned as well. Normally, it would be above the tilde key, but F1 is there now with the ESC key to the left of that.

I can't give much more of an in-depth review other than that since the only reason I got this keyboard was because it was one of the few that had a volume knob.

 

[tboo]

I have one & really like it. The back lighting is really good & I love the volume dial.

 

[TidusZ]

hmm, well I'm not really sold yet. I think I'll have to go into a store and play around with it for a while before I decide. The volume knob is cool, but the receiver for my speakers is right beside my mousepad and has a big shiny knob on it, wouldn't be any more or less convenient for me. The saitek I use now is a very minimalist keyboard though, and having macros might come in handy. If the alt key is reasonably accessable (I use it a lot) there's a good chance I'll get it or at least consider it amongst other options. I might check out the saitek cyborg keyboard as well.

 

[Talcyon]

I have the keyboard and I'm fairly happy with it. I thought I would utilize the many macro buttons but so far I've used very few of them. The detachable num keypad is nice if you use it a lot. The problem is you (at least I am) used to it being on the right so it's just something you'll have to reprogram yourself to remember.

I love the adjustable backlighting, the sound...not so much. It's not that I don't like it, it's just I almost never use it. That too could be a result of using the inline volume control on my headsets...another reprogramming issue.

As for the spacebar and Esc key issues people mention, I didn't notice a problem whatsoever. I don't consider it an issue but that's just me. If it's possible, test it out in a store to make sure it's what you want. The only thing I wish it did have was a USB port and/or headphone ports but that would just skyrocket the already high price for it.

 

[Special K]

I was reading through the Newegg reviews for this keyboard and found several people saying that certain 3-keystroke combinations wouldn't register with this keyboard. For example, someone said you can't hold A + W down and then press B and have all 3 register.

That seems like a pretty big oversight for a gaming keyboard. Is it true? You can see the whole list of Newegg reviews for the X6 here:

link

 

[TidusZ]

Interesting.. I still haven't made my purchase and I'm still looking. Anyone here have some personal experience with the keyboard and able to confirm/deny this problem with failing keys and inability to register multiple keystrokes?

 

[tboo]

Originally posted by: TidusZ
Interesting.. I still haven't made my purchase and I'm still looking. Anyone here have some personal experience with the keyboard and able to confirm/deny this problem with failing keys and inability to register multiple keystrokes?

Ive had mine now for over a month & have none of those problems.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: tboo

Originally posted by: TidusZ
Interesting.. I still haven't made my purchase and I'm still looking. Anyone here have some personal experience with the keyboard and able to confirm/deny this problem with failing keys and inability to register multiple keystrokes?

Ive had mine now for over a month & have none of those problems.

Reading your posts and the negative Newegg reviews makes me wonder why those people who posted the negative reviews are having problems. Did they all get defective keyboards that can't register 3 simultaneous key presses or what?

Seriously you'd think every piece of hardware is a POS going by some of those Newegg reviews.

 

[TidusZ]

At this point I'm just waiting for it to go on sale at Ncix, any more feedback until then would be appreciated.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: TidusZ
At this point I'm just waiting for it to go on sale at Ncix, any more feedback until then would be appreciated.

Cool, be sure to update this thread once you get a chance to use it. I'm considering getting a new keyboard right now, and the X6 is one of the possibilities.

Right now I'm just using a generic Dell PS2 keyboard. It's not bad, but I had a chance to mess around with a Razer Lycosa and I really like the feel and feedback of the buttons better. Some of the keys on this Dell seem to get stuck and/or require an inordinate amount of pressure to activate, at least as far as keyboard keys go.

The only problem with the Lycosa is I read a lot of negative feedback about it on the Newegg reviews.

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: TidusZ
hmm, well I'm not really sold yet. I think I'll have to go into a store and play around with it for a while before I decide. The volume knob is cool, but the receiver for my speakers is right beside my mousepad and has a big shiny knob on it, wouldn't be any more or less convenient for me. The saitek I use now is a very minimalist keyboard though, and having macros might come in handy. If the alt key is reasonably accessable (I use it a lot) there's a good chance I'll get it or at least consider it amongst other options. I might check out the saitek cyborg keyboard as well.

have you considered the Razer Tarantula? I LOVE the macro feature on it, I spent about an hour last night setting up macos and auto switch profiles. When I launch Photoshop it switches automatically to the PS profile I made and all 10 of my macros change with it. Same for Counterstrike and a few other programs I use a lot. I wish it was backlit, but aside from that it's amazing. There are a few things I'd change about it, but no keyboard I've owned has been exactly what I wanted. I've owned a ton of higher end and gaming boards. I find this one by far the best.

 

[iahk]

Originally posted by: TidusZ
Interesting.. I still haven't made my purchase and I'm still looking. Anyone here have some personal experience with the keyboard and able to confirm/deny this problem with failing keys and inability to register multiple keystrokes?

Hmm, I didn't do a live test, but I just went to program one of my macro keys to a keystroke and it read it fine.

I attempted CTRL + ALT + V and it recognized it. Then I tried CTRL + ALT + SHIFT + V and it all worked.

 

[TidusZ]

Ordered the Microsoft Sidewinder X6... will have it tomorrow and will post up my thoughts when I feel I've gotten used to using it.

 

[tboo]

I really like my X6. I also love the X8 mouse. Its much better than the Mamba I had. My only complaint on the mouse is the slippery scroll wheel.

 

[TidusZ]

Initial impressions are that the macros are pretty sick, cruise control works as advertised, and the volume knob is quite nice. I'm having a hell of a time adjusting to the f-keys and such though so far. I play Demigod a lot which requires pressing 1-4 and f1-f4 a lot and I find myself pressing the wrong keys or hitting tilde accidentally and resetting my health bars. I imagine it's going to take at LEAST a few days to get used to it... But I'm sticking with it cus I am confident once I do it will be a hell of a good board.

 

[TidusZ]

A major, major problem with this keyboard is that you can't crouch, move, and reload at the same time. Was playing L4D and this constantly annoyed me. A gaming keyboard shouldn't have this limitation. I haven't tested whether I can macro "r" to one of the macro keys and use that simultaneously with crouch and move, even if that works though its not as good by a longshot. Otherwise the keyboard is really good. If I was a fps player I'd be really pissed, but I generally play rts.

 

[iahk]

I toggle crouch.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: TidusZ
A major, major problem with this keyboard is that you can't crouch, move, and reload at the same time. Was playing L4D and this constantly annoyed me. A gaming keyboard shouldn't have this limitation. I haven't tested whether I can macro "r" to one of the macro keys and use that simultaneously with crouch and move, even if that works though its not as good by a longshot. Otherwise the keyboard is really good. If I was a fps player I'd be really pissed, but I generally play rts.

For anyone who would be bothered by that issue, you need to search for a keyboard that specifically claims "n-key rollover". The hardware limit for USB is 6 simultaneous keypresses. PS/2 theoretically has no limit - if the keyboard is designed correctly, you could press every key on the keyboard at once and all presses would register.

That said, 6-key rollover should be enough for anyone.

 

[TidusZ]

I don't recommend this keyboard for two reasons. The aforementioned inability to crouch/walk/reload being the biggie, and the non-standard layout which takes a week or two to get used to. For WoW this would be a great board for all the macro keys though, so for some people it would be ideal. For even a casual fps player though, it is not.

 

[pjkenned]

My thought on keyboards/ mice is that you should never buy them without an in-store demo. Headphones may be in this category, but somewhere like best buy/ Fry's won't have 30 feet of shelf space dedicated to your efforts like keyboards and mice. They are your primary human interface devices and I can't imagine something worse than getting stuck with something uncomfortable.

That being said... if I could get a G19 for $130-140, I would probably buy it without playing around based upon my faith in logitech and my awesome G15 v1! $200 though is a bit much for a keyboard that I cannot try out in-store.

 

[Special K]

After trying out a couple of mechanical switch keyboards, I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to a rubber dome keyboard, no matter what other features it has.

You'd think that a ~$100 keyboard would come standard with mechanical switches, but apparently not.