Do you feel the need to be able to press 26 keys at once and have every single key registered by your PC? Then you want to investigate the new Microsoft Sidewinder X4 keyboard.
Featuring some clever anti-ghosting technology the X4 is claiming to allow 26 keys to be pressed at once. While the chances of you ever wanting to press that many keys simultaneously are extremely low (that’d be one helluva special move) it is a big selling point in the crowded gaming keyboard market.
Copying the look of Microsoft’s previous Sidewinder X6 keyboard, the X4 also features six programmable macro keys (with three modes each for a total of eighteen macros) and you can record macros without having to leave your game. There are auto-switching key profiles that can be activated for individual games, as well three different keyboard modes (standard and two gaming modes), adjustable backlighting on the keys and multimedia controls.
As well as the macro keys there is a new automatic macro repetition feature that lets you repeat a macro over and over with just one key.
The Microsoft SideWinder X4 works with Windows 7, Vista, and XP (but not XP 64-bit) systems and is on sale at a list price of $59.95, although Amazon are already discounting that significantly. Just in case you don’t trust Microsoft’s hardware, the SideWinder X4 is backed by a worldwide three-year warranty.
so it does exactly what my filco does and has done for years?
as has the steelseries 7G the scorpious m10 countless cherry keyboards and irocks keyboards?
whats new here?
To answer your question, what’s new here is that this is a first … for Microsoft. While anti-ghosting is nothing new, it’s worth remembering that a lot of so-called anti-ghosting keyboards can only handle 8-10 simultaneous presses or only have the facility on certain keys (usually WASD).
And you missed the Razer Tarantula.
the keyboards i listed can handle EVERY KEY pressed at the same time, this and the razer tarantula do not hold a candle to them.