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Déck LED Backlit Keyboard Review

Do you have a good gaming keyboard? Do you have a good one you use at home and another that you take to a LAN that is smaller but probably not the best quality? How about a very durable keyboard with backlit keys that you can game on? Take a look at the Déck backlit keyboard.

Company:

Déck by TG3 Electronics, Inc., www.deckkeyboards.com

Price:

$99.00

Ratings

Price:
Install/Setup:
Usability:
Support:
Average Rating:

Getting Started

If you game, you have probably heard of the Déck keyboard. Maybe you've even noticed their ads in computer magazines. You thought to yourself...those look cool...but you probably haven't taken a close look at one.

Déck is made by TG3 Electronics who is an internationally-known manufacturer of specialty and backlit keyboards. A rugged, splash-proof version of the Déck keyboard is the standard in police cars, fire trucks and rescue vehicles throughout the world.

The 82-key Déck Fire Backlit Keyboard weighs 2 pounds and measures 12" wide x 6" deep x 1.8" high (304.88mm wide x 152.41mm x 45.72mm.) It is backlit by red LED lights under a tough polycarbonate housing. Illumination takes place both in the housing and under the keycaps. One LED per key lights the individual characters which means the characters will never rub off or wear off. This makes for great gaming in the dark because you can see the keys if you lose your position on the keyboard. They LEDs also come in blue, gold, and green.

You may be wondering how long the LEDs will last. Déck states that the LEDs will last 200,000 hours because they drive them at 5.25 mA maximum, which is well below their rated current of 20 mA. 200,000 hours is equivalent to 22.8 years! Hopefully I'm still gaming in 22.8 years.

The keyboard was made with gamers and modders in mind. In fact, they encourage you to mod your keyboard and send in you mod for others to see. Not many places will warrantee a product let alone encourage you to mod it!! You can buy different colored frames, keysets, and they even have diagrams to modify and add LEDs in the frame.

Click on picture to enlarge image

Usability

A cool feature of the Déck is the ability to adjust the brightness of the backlighting. You simply hold down the "Fn" key and use the "0" through "7" or the "up" or "down cursor" keys to brighten or dim the brightness respectively. So if you need to tone it down a little in a really dark setting it takes a matter of seconds to dim. You can even turn off the backlighting completely.

As we mentioned, this keyboard is built tough and small to be portable for gaming. The back of the keyboard is even lined with diamond plating. When gaming the small size is nice if you don't use the numberpad of a traditional keyboard. You can purchase an additional 21 key pad to go along with the Déck to add the numberpad and additional keys. I found in gaming I really like the small size of the keyboard (and still love the backlit keys) and plan on taking the Déck with me on my next LAN outing. However, when trying us the keyboard for normal development or office type document usage, I didn't like they key layout. I use a lot of shortcut keys and with the layout, the keys I use either weren't in their normal place or were not there at all. Using the right tool for the right job makes a world of difference. The Déck was made for gaming and that is where it shines. So I simply rely on my standard Microsoft Digital Media Pro keyboard and all its custom keys and standard layout for work and my Déck Fire Backlit Keyboard for gaming.

Pros:

• Excellent LED brightness and key quality
• Very durable
• Love the small size for LANs and just general gaming

Cons:

• Price

Adding It All Up

The Déck keyboard is tough. It's bright. You can game on it late into the night or for days on end at your favorite LAN. The backlit keys will last forever. If you like a full size keyboard, this probably isn't the keyboard for you. But if you are looking for a great gaming keyboard that will take a beating and still function great, this is the keyboard for you.

Because of the fantastic quality we are awarding the Déck LED Backlit Keyboard the UpgradAdvisor.com Recommended Upgrade Seal of Approval!!!

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