Keyboards come in various shapes,
sizes, colors and even configurations, the type you want or need will
depend on your own needs or preferences. Some keyboards can be wired
or wireless and they can get to be very costly, so it’s nice to come
across a quality keyboard that is inexpensive and feature rich.
Up on the review block today I’ve got a
new product from our friends at OCZ Technology, it’s the Alchemy
Elixir Series Keyboard and it’s advertised as a gaming peripheral but
it’s also a great all around keyboard as well. It features 10 Macro
keys, 7 Internet keys and 8 Media keys along with the ability to
switch modes between standard and your personalized gaming
configurations with the touch of a button. This keyboard retails for
$29.99, and at that price most people wouldn’t expect much, as most
other ‘gaming’ keyboards out there cost two to three times as much,
but the Elixir will surprise you with its functionality, comfort and
ease of use. It’s a very nice keyboard really that works well, is
well made and most anyone will be happy with, OCZ has brought
quality, professional gaming keyboards down to budget level with the
introduction of the Elixir Series of keyboards.
So continue on to check out a great
keyboard…
OCZ
Alchemy Series Elixir Keyboard Review
Author: Kristofer
Brozio
Tech
Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
OCZ
Alchemy Series Elixir Keyboard
Alchemy Gaming Peripherals /
Elixir Series Keyboards
Featuring a wealth of
user-friendly features combined with an ergonomic and sturdy design,
the Elixir keyboard will deliver a unique combination of performance
and vale to gamers as they blaze through the latest PC titles.
The Elixir is a high-quality
keyboard featuring the necessary features such as 10 tri-mode
programmable macro keys, mode selection, a pop-up menu shortcut, and
Windows Media Players optical controller. The sleek design of the
Alchemy Elixir Series will maintain your comfort throughout long
gaming sessions with its membrane tactical keys made from 100%
rubber-coating for no-slip comfort and ergonomic design. The Elixir
features an extremely reliable lifestyle of 5 million cycles. The
Elixir series is compatible with Windows XP (SP2 or later) and
Windows Vista.
Specs:
-Dimensions:
(W)20”x(D)7.87”x(H)1.14”
-Weight: 1.85 lbs
-Travel Distance: 3.8 +/- 0.2mm
-Operating Force: 55 +/- 12g
-Connection: USB 2.0
-Membrane Tactile Switches
-Rubberized Coating on all Keys
Features:
-10 Blue Macro Keys with 3 User
Defined Profiles
-7 Internet Hot Keys
-8 Keys for Media
-Mode Selection: Switch between
standard PC Mode or customized gaming mode
-Lifespan: 5 million cycles
System
Requirements
-Windows XP (SP2 or later)
-Vista (All Editions)
-CD-ROM Drive
Includes:
-Elixir Software CD
-Quick-Setup Guide
Part
Numbers:
OALKBELXUS
MSRP:
$29.99
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A
Better Look at Things:
The OCZ Alchemy Elixir comes in an
attractive box that prominently displays the keyboard itself on the
front and the back. The back of the box features information about
the keyboard in several languages, and identifies the keys for you as
well.
There’s not much packing material
inside the box, just a plastic bag over the keyboard itself. Included
with the Elixir is a driver/software disc, user manual and
replacement keys for Cursor Arrows, ASDW, Space Bar and a Shift Key.
The Elixir is a USB keyboard so you’ll need a free USB port to use
it. All along the bottom of the keyboard is a leather textured palm
rest as well to help support your wrists while typing.
The Elixir is your standard layout
keyboard that everyone is accustomed to, but the keys are short in
size and are a short key press as well. The left side of the keyboard
has five Blue colored Marco keys aptly labeled L1 though L5, to the
left of them are the Internet shortcuts and a button to switch
between your gaming key map and standard key mapping.
The right side has another five
Blue colored Macro keys labeled again R1 through R5, to the right of
those are the Multimedia keys.
The bottom or back of the Elixir
has channels that allow you to insert the wire into them to help keep
the cord out of the way if need be, the bottom also has fold out legs
as well so you can raise the Elixir up at an angle if you wish.
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{mospagebreak title=Installation, Testign and Comparison}
Installation,
Testing and Comparison:
The OCZ Elixir is plug and play
really, it’s USB so just plug it in and it will install
automatically, but if you wish to use the advanced features you’ll
need to install the drivers from the included disc.
Through the software you can set
your in-game Macros or set the keys to other functions if need be,
you can also create profiles as well that will allow you to save and
then switch between then for different games.
The software will allow you to
almost fully configure every key on the keyboard… Notice I said
‘almost’, basically every key can be changed except the side Media
and Internet keys, the Media keys are not a big deal, but I’d like to
have been able to configure the Internet keys to change them to
something else if I wanted to. For example I think it’s easier to
just click favorites with my mouse, instead of reaching over and
pushing a button to make the favorites pop up, and the Mail button
links to Outlook, I use Gmail for the majority of my email, most of
my accounts forward to my Gmail account anyway. It’s just a personal
preference really, but others might agree with me… The only side
button that is configurable is the Media Player button, you can
select which media Player you prefer to open when you press the
button.
I’d like to be able to lock or
disable keys as well, I hate Caps Lock, I don’t use it, my keyboard
before this included locks to lock any key you wish to disable them,
at this point I’ve configured the Caps Lock on the OCZ Elixir to be
CTRL so Caps won’t be activated by accident, so that does sort of
work to disable buttons, but I’d like to be able to assign ‘nothing’
to buttons like the Caps Lock if possible.
Using the keyboard for everyday
use is fine, although I’m still not accustomed to using it yet, I’ve
been using the same keyboard for almost two years now so I’m very
good with that one. The keys are spaced a bit differently than my
other keyboard so while typing I make quite a few more mistakes now.
Oh, my former keyboard is a Raptor-Gaming K1. The key presses on the
Raptor are a bit longer than the Elixir and the keys are taller, so I
find myself hitting other keys with the Elixir often, so it’s going
to take more than a couple weeks for me to get accustomed to the
Elixir.
The keys of the Elixir are soft
press membrane style keys, the keys on my Raptor are mechanical so
there as well is a large difference in them while in use, the Elixir
keys do not require as much force to press especially since they are
a shorter keypress as well.
For gaming though I didn’t find
any real difference over the Raptor, it should be noted that the
Raptor retails for around $70 and the Elixir for only $30, so it’s a
good thing that I didn’t notice any differences between them really.
I go the orange Box a while back
and really have not had much time to play with it so I was catching
up on my Half-Life 2 Episode 2 with the Elixir and it worked
perfectly fine, as I said I didn’t notice any differences between a
keyboard that costs more than twice the Elixir.
As with any time you get a new
keyboard there will be a period of adjustment, the period will be
more or less depending on the type of keyboard you used previously
and for how long you used that keyboard. My typing speed dropped
dramatically when I switched to the Elixir, but with time I’m sure
I’ll become accustomed to it and be back to my normal speed.
I’m going to give the Elixir a
couple months of use before I make my final decision though, a
keyboard to me is something that I have to be comfortable with using,
some people just pick any old keyboard and use it, but I’m very
particular about them. I spend quite a lot of time writing so I need
to have a keyboard that is very comfortable for me to use and that I
can use efficiently.
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Summary and Comments
The OCZ Elixir keyboard might be
budget priced but it can easily hold it’s own against keyboards that
cost two to three times as much and even has more features than some
of those more expensive keyboards do.
If you’re looking for a great
gaming and excellent all around keyboard I can definitely recommend
you take a look at the Elixir.
DragonSteelMods gives the OCZ
Alchemy Series Elixir Keyboard a 4.5 out of 5 score and our
Recommended Award as well.
Pros:
-Very configurable
-Easy to use and install
-Comfortable to type on
-Seems well made
-Extra keys included
-Inexpensive
Cons:
-Can’t lock or disable keys
-Can’t configure all buttons
I
would like to thank OCZ for the chance to review the Elixir
Keyboard and for their continued support of DSM.
review# 479
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