| SteelSeries Zboard Limited Edition--Wrath of the Lich King Bundle- Zboard keyboard, WoLK keyset and Standard Qwerty Keyset
As soon as I got it I sent it back. Don't waste your time on this board with other options on the market, Wotlk fans.
The functionality of the keyboard is nice, however, several issues with the board itself.
A.) The drivers that come with the board are not compatable with Vista 64. The disk does indicate that the drivers will work with Win XP 32/54 and Vista 32/64. Not the case when going to install them. You may download the drivers from the manufacturer's website directly with limited bandwith. The download of 52 mb was "cruising" at a whole 15k kbps. (I have broadband).
B.) Secondly, the keyboard looks terribly cheap. The silk screen process they used to put the characters on the keys must not have been so great. This keyboard was bought new and unfortunately it looked used. Also, the graphics that have been put on the keyboard look like stickers. That wasn't really an issue for me; I figured they would be, however, they looked like that had sat out in the sun for a week and had become faded.
There are a lot of other gaming keyboards out there for the same price. I would suggest looking at other options for your gaming needs.
| | Not that cool to begin with, and has tech issues |
| If you play a ton of WoW (and most people who play, play a lot), it's nice to have your hotkeys labelled -- it actually makes you more likely to use some of the more obscure ones because they are right there in front of you. As for the extra set of special keys that replace your numpad, I don't think they are all THAT useful. First, let me say that I can't judge their operation, because the software for this keyboard is not Mac compatible and I have had no luck so far getting it to run in Vista, either. So with four computers in the house, I'm still unable to use this board properly. But after surveying the landscape up close, I've noticed that almost all the special buttons have to do with switching between chat channels or triggering an emote in one keystroke. So, if you aren't too concerned about getting from Raid Chat to Whisper to Party Chat and back without using your mouse, or being able to "roar" or "wave" or "spit" with a single keystroke, then the new keys aren't likely worth your cash. And if you are a frequent emote user (and you're a dying breed if you are, pal), those are the easiest Macros to make, so again, is it worth the money to you?
Summary: It's a neat gimmick to have a keyboard with specialized keys and a pretty WOTLK graphic that announces to the whole house what a WoW-head you are (like they didn't know already by the fact you're never anywhere but that computer chair); but its a relatively inferior keyboard (don't know about durability, but it's rattly and not particularly ergonomic), and its functionality is somewhat limited -- even more so if you have a Mac or can't get the software to install and can't use the special keys (you can't just map hotkeys to them either, because the Key Binding feature in WoW does not offer the option of binding things like switching from Party Chat to Guild Chat, etc).
UPDATE: I tried to use it with a Vista 32 machine, and the software didn't work on that either. From the website, the following:
Q: I get the Error "Z Engine has stopped working"
A: This error is caused by a conflict between Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and the previous version of the Z Engine.
You can resolve this issue by updating to the latest Z Engine. Here is how:
Make sure you have administrative rights to your computer. Please make sure your device is connected during these steps. Please try the following to see if it helps (WARNING: this will delete your Custom Mods):
- Uninstall the Z Engine software by going to Start->Settings->Control Panel->Add remove Programs
- Reboot computer
- Delete the following folders (WARNING: this will delete your Custom Mods):
1) C:\Program Files\Ideazon\Z Engine\
2)
a) If you have Windows 2000 or XP:
Click Start->Run and type "%appdata%" then click "Ok"
Find the Ideazon folder and find the Z Engine folder. Delete the Z Engine folder
b) If you are using Windows Vista:
Start Menu -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Run)
and type "%appdata%" then click "Ok"
Find the Ideazon folder and find the Z Engine folder. Delete the Z Engine folder
- Re-install the latest Z Engine drivers: www.steelseries.com/downloads
You should have a green Z Engine icon on your system tray which means your device should work properly.
Unfortunately, the above DOES NOT WORK. If you delete the folder in question, the Z Engine still remains in your system registry or something, because when you try to install the patch you get an error saying a previous version exists and must be removed (I guess the technology that allows MOST update patches to overwrite the old version is beyond these people). Go to remove it now, even using the old CDROM, and you get an error saying, "Could not load KillZBoardDll.dll." So, what I'm saying here is, if you've once installed the outdated driver, you appear to be STUCK with it. You can't UNINSTALL IT, and you can't OVERWRITE it with the patch.
I'm furious, but on top of it all, Amazon also won't let me change my 2 star review to a 1 star now that I've saved it once and am in "edit" mode.
| | I've had the keyboard now for three weeks, and I finally got it to work 100% The CD that came with the keyboard had an old driver that caused the keyboard 'engine' to not work properly. After removing and uninstalling it various times, and unsuccessfully trying to reach Steelseries (they NEVER answered by 3 requests for assistance through their website), I finally got a hold of a current driver. I installed it again using the 'new' driver and the keyboard now works fine. Except I do agree with some other comments I have seen out here that the print on the keys looks cheap, as well as the background. I was expecting a heck of a lot more for the $69.99 price that I paid! I'll keep the product, but thinking it over, I think if I would have know all this before-hand I likely would not have made the purchase. Also, I am VERY dissapointed with Steelseries ( the maker of the board). They where totally un-communicative.
| | This product is probably the worst thing i have ever bought. The software is amateur at best and doesn't work half the time. Buttons stop working after only days of limited use. Not to mention support is just about non existent and point you to faqs you've read already, after they make you wait for weeks. Save your money and get a professional gaming keyboard.
| | I don't personally use it. My husband and my grandson's do. They love it for the most part. Their only complaint is the E key sticks sometimes.
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