the deathstalker ultimate and the ouroboros. the ouroboros being a very CLEAR response to cyrborgs creation of the RAT platform. which was a highloy customizable platform with solid aluminum frame work and metal fittings and gears and screws. razer wanted this same functionality with out being so intimading but sitll retaining the value of the product. their solution is a very stylish, sleek 3 dementionaly adjustable mouse with changable side panels much like the cyborg series. the deatstalker is a brain child from the recent launch of R&D razer has insued on, last years ome of us caught some wind and some images of this new LED LCD screen back lit keys for the first time on a keyboard, this year cyborg again released the S.T.R.I.K.E 7, a extreme high end gamer keyboard, with touch screen UI with multible modes, macro buttons, dual keypads, high end construciton and again metal ridgit aluminum frames. the deatstalker, again keepingt he theme much less intimitading but again retaining value and construciton quality, the deathstalker is a perfect extreme gamers keyboard, and if you can afford it, great for casual use as well. 
 
food for thought, cyborg is an affiliated company with madcatz and seitek. i do not endorce this brand, as ive reviewed nad owned some of these new products, allot accualy and have no been pleased with service and the end over all the R&D was slightly lacking. razer always releases solid products i have all the faith int he world in this stuff. 
 
 
Features - 
 
The deatstalker features a none machanical (omg i know how could it be) chiclet style key caps. which yes, i also had to look this up but after some research. i found a wiki on the hystery of this switch and didnt quite go into how well of a gamer key button it is but that it is a very efficiant and well designed button. 
 
Design - 
"In some versions of the chiclet keyboard, the bottom three layers are essentially the same as those in the membrane keyboard. In both cases, a keypress is registered when the top layer is forced through a hole to touch the bottom layer. For every key, the conductive traces on the bottom layer are normally separated by a non-conductive gap. Electrical current cannot flow between them; the switch is open. However, when pushed down, conductive material on the underside of the top layer bridges the gap between those traces; the switch is closed, current can flow, and a keypress is registered.Unlike the membrane keyboard, where the user presses directly onto the top membrane layer, this form of chiclet keyboard places a set of moulded rubber keys above this. With some key designs, the user pushes the key, and under sufficient pressure the thin sides of the rubber key suddenly collapse. In other designs — such as that seen in the diagram — the deliberate weak point is where the key joins the rest of the sheet. The effect is similar in both cases, however.This collapse allows the solid rubber center to move downwards, forcing the top membrane layer against the bottom layer, and completing the circuit.The "sudden collapse" of the chiclet keyboard (along with the movement of the key) provides a greater tactile feedback to the user than a simple flat membrane keyboard."
 

 
"Other versions of the chiclet keyboard omit the upper membrane and hole/spacer layers; instead the underside of the rubber keys themselves have a conductive coating. (This is the type shown in the photograph of the remote control, above). When the key is pushed, the conductive underside makes contact with the traces on the bottom layer, and bridges the gap between them, thus completing the circuit. Grooves between hollow domes on the blue underside permit air to flow out of a dome when a key is pressed, and let air come back in when released.The dome switch keyboards used with a large proportion of modern PCs are technically similar to chiclet keyboards. However, the rubber keys are replaced with rubber domes, and hard plastic keytops rest on top of these. Because the keytops are wider than the rubber domes the keytops are not separated but align almost perfectly with only a minimal gap in between each other."
 
Moving on beyond switches, so in my concusion comparing this to what i know about machanicals. its a solid alternative, althoughh perosnaly ive never been convinced other than the tactile relife of a machanical click and hammer feel, their is no true advantage other than perhaps slightly less typos, to which most people can simple practice those away. 
 
Up to 10 simotaniouse pushes on keys, so as manmy fingers as you have can be presed at the same time. this is slightly above the older highest which i believe was 8, not quite sure ont he details but i do understand their were limitations to usb over PS\2 port as well as being ghost proofe, but with these newer keyboars they are eliminating these problems. the keyboard features. 
 
The touch screen systems are very intuative including many gesters, to slide from say a curser mode to a display mode perhaps displaying info from inside a game or perhaps a spacific application, currently their are several dozen apps with relase, and 4 games will be have direct support on release (currently already availible direct from razer, since they did a soft release to help get them out for the hardcore gamers like us) the screen and the several buttons are all full color LCD LED screens, the large screen is a cell phone quality screen and the buttons can all change their images to anything, to be in a app launch mode to have your faverae games and your brouse and your faverate apps so you can launch off your keyboard with out searching your destkop.
 
the best part is the great people over at rezer are making the SDK completley availble, so their will be 3rd party support and their will be support internaly as well direct from razer as they further develope, such as more game support, and all kinds of cool stuff. 
 

 
Switchblade User Interface -
"Razer’s award-winning, proprietary Switchblade User Interface puts more control in your hands with ten dynamic adaptive tactile keys and an LCD panel. Bind an unlimited number of commands, macros, skills, spells, and any other control you need to ten tactile keys that dynamically change to suit the in-game situation. The LCD panel functions as a separate screen which displays in-game information or application widgets in full vibrant color, allowing you to stay ahead of the competition; or as a secondary mouse input device with new gesture controls."

 
10 Key Rollover in gaming mode - 
"Actuate as many keys as you have fingers, and have all of them register accurately and quickly in game. With the Razer DeathStalker Ultimate’s anti-ghosting capabilities, you can deliver overwhelming destruction to your opponents, and ensure that every command is registered and executed perfectly."





Razer Synapse 2.0 -
"Razer Synapse 2.0 is cutting-edge, intuitive software that functions as the Razer DeathStalker Ultimate’s brain, automatically syncing the gaming keyboard to a cloud server to download driver and firmware updates, while saving your individual settings. Sync your custom settings and macros automatically with this unified configurator, allowing customization of all your Razer products with a single login."

 
 
APPS



GAME SPECIFIC
 

 
TECH SPECS

4.05” touch screen able to run widget apps Track pad with gesture support 10 dynamic display keys with 80hz response time Chiclet style key caps Tri-colour backlit keys 1000Hz Ultrapolling Fully programmable keys with on the fly macro recording Razer Synapse 2.0 enabled Dedicated Gaming mode 5 additional macro keys Anti-ghosting capability for up to 10 simultaneous key presses Braided fiber cable Fixed wrist rest

System Requirements

• PC with USB port
• Windows 7 / Windows Vista / Windows XP
• Internet connection (for driver installation)
• At least 75mb of hard disk space

 




 
 
 
 

RAZER OUROBOROS -

The direct competator to the cyborg rat platform mouse series, the razer ouroboros, a crazy concoction pushing the limits once again of what can be done on a mouse, feature changable side panels, a tool box of course, ****, tilt, and extension control on rear panel of mouse, as well as hight. so you can adjust it 3 dementionly to perfectly fit your hand any way you wish, perhaps swithc it up when your in a different mood like me. I sometimes game with a difference side panel, say if im sniping i wann able to rest my pinky off the side while tuching the mouse pad to give me extra control you need while sniping in on a target at 400 yards. 
 
dual 4G laser sensors, 8200 DPI with 1000Hz Ultrapolling / 1ms response time Up to 200 inches per second / 50g acceleration. Tested to the fullest limits to make sure no matter how hard you use this gear it will work 100% of the time and never fail on you while your making that quick reflex scope shot. 4.80" to 5.39" length, 2.80" to width, 1.65" hight. weights a 1\4 lb, just slightly over with the battery. 
 
ambidextrous design to provide support for both lefters and rightys, with 2 main brouser buttons on each side, 2 DPI adjust buttons and the standard layout for a mouse. with right left center buttons. the mouse features many features of the mamba button option wise. the rechargable battery will probobhly be just slightly better then the mamba and with dual lasers, i expect 1.5 day battery life. maybe 3 during a school week where you might only have 2-4 hours a night of gaming and mild use for brousing the web. charge your gear folks! but fear not, like the mamba you can quickly swap the cord out of the back of the wireless hub into the front of the mouse, which ive perosnaly done a thousand times on my mamba. the base its self is much smaller than the mamba and the nagga epic's base, and also much easier to grab with out looking unlike the mamba which I found to be a bit hard to get to grab the base. 
 
 
Fully Customizable Ambidextrous Ergonomics - 
"The Razer Ouroboros features customizable ambidextrous ergonomics with an adjustable arched palm rest and back, as well as two interchangeable side panels. This gaming mouse will perfectly fit any and every hand curvature and grip-style, ensuring optimum comfort and minimal fatigue during extended play for every gamer – especially you."



4G Dual Sensor System - 
"Experience the new pro-gaming standard of precision with the 8200dpi 4G Dual Sensor System, outfitted with a laser and an optical sensor to accurately calibrate the mouse to any surface for exceptional tracking. The Razer Ouroboros not only matches the speed of your swipes, no matter your play style, but also gives you adjustable liftoff tracking distance, empowering you with more control than ever."



 
1ms Gaming-grade Wireless Technology - 
"Unrivaled gaming-grade wireless technology means that the Razer Ouroboros performs as well cordless as it does corded, giving you total freedom of motion as you crush the competition. With a 1ms response rate, your command is executed first even if you and your opponent react at the same time. When you need to charge the mouse, use its stylish dock, or plug the cord in to keep on gaming."



 
TECH SPECS

• Customizable ergonomics to fit all hand sizes and grip-styles
• 8200dpi 4G Dual Sensor System
• Gaming-grade wireless technology with dock
• Razer Synapse 2.0 enabled
• 11 programmable Hyperesponse buttons
• 1000Hz Ultrapolling / 1ms response time
• Up to 200 inches per second / 50g acceleration
• Approximate Size: 122 mm to 137 mm / 4.80" to 5.39" (Length) x 71 mm / 2.80" (Width) x 42 mm / 1.65" (Height)
• Approximate Weight: 115 g / 0.25 lbs. (without battery) to 135 g / 0.29 lbs. (with battery)
• Battery life: (Approx) 12 hrs (continuous gaming)

System Requirements

PC / Mac with USB port Windows® 7 / Windows Vista® / Windows® XP (32-bit)/ Mac OS X (v10.6-10.7 and above) Internet connection 100MB of free hard disk space

 











 

me likey the keyboard.. can change the color of the lighted keys ?
 

Wow that keyboard looks sexy.... I'll probably get it when it's out.
 
Edit: oh wait, It's out lol. and nope, Not at that price LOL!

XrayMan

 
                 Moving to General Hardware!

why is this not game related news to you?

dugless

Reddawne

Synapse 2.0 sucks big ones.

Agreed, I am so sick of this updating all the time on my Death Adder FFS its just a mouse how many updates do I need.

The keyboard is Sexy and I will be keeping my eye on this........but it may not be for me if it wants to update 3 times a week.

well obviously only 2 things can come of repeated updates, one, they give up leaving it on last patch, two, it works and the patches become less frequent. so, id hedge my bets on B but thats me. 

im sorry i did miss a detail. the keyboard LED's are letter only highlights. gamers preference, nobody likes the whole board lit. their are 3 selectable colors. some what surprising, consideirng the strike 7 offered any color you desired. i found some of the colors extremley cool. a light teal makes a very distinctive keyboard and is cool gaming in the dark. i am nosure of the colors, you can look that up pretty easily. 
 
I certainly will be picking them both up :) and i will do a perosnal review much like i did with the strike 7. i also currently own a steel series sensei fnatic. which is an awsome mouse, the only problem ive had with it is the software doesntr seem to recicnize the mouse and wont let me go through the settings but the 2 default dpi settings work well for me and the mouse drivers work. 
 
perosnaly i didnt desire a new mouse, but i LOVED my mamba and was half considering a new one, i only sold my mamba cause it was pretty old and was looosing performance. battery never did fully become shot though, just rather inefficiant. i mostly used the cord anyways, the wax coated fiber wraped cords work best because they hold position and are very light so you dont feel the cord because you can perch it in such a way it wont want to move. as you cna see, ive had lots of gaming experience XD perhaps i have a gaming problem. 
 

franbunnyffxii 

Nothing beats the Naga Epic, nothing. 
However I'd love a razer keyboard with purple backlights :/ 

 
 
i accualy threw the nagga off as a parler trick when it came out, it was just as the number mouses were coming out and seemed like just another mouse. the nagga epic was a real treat of a mouse though, very mmo friendly. ive heard allot of wow players praise it in game, as well as a few people in guild wars 2 which i jsut picked up. i do suggest it, its a great game 

Afterburner

Not interested in the Keyboard. I like my mechanical one. However I do like seeing more and more touch options companies are placing on them...

I am however interested in that mouse and look forward to reading the reviews on it. Having dual sensors might help "Fine tune" the mouse movement in sensitive/finite situations...

ive used all the current dual laswer mice on the market. the RAT cyrborg mice were very accurate but stiff, but on the steel series sensei fnatic I find my boundrys more soft and more realistic. with 2 compltlery different lasers house seprate im interested to see how that works.  these fine details are honestly only noticable by somebody with gobs of logged hours gaming. or very machanicly inclined people like my self who notice subtle details in a game how it responds to different gear. I used to be able to play differently with my timings on a standard keyboard and a gaming keyboard in wow because some of my classes rotations could make some keyboards funky, simply things like anti ghosting and 10 simultaneous button pushes are very changes that can make a gamers world all that more real because your not focusing on the gear but where you are and what your doing in game. perosnaly im all about the journey with games. i play the campaigns. i completely master them, than i play the multi player and master that as well :) im a very strategic but emersive gamer. i beat prototype 2 in like 17 hours. than re beat it again lol 

Mouse looks interesting.  Personally I had gotten their Taipan shortly before that came out, and I would have preferred the Ouroboros, but too late now.  I really don't like Synapse, it does not work that well, constant updates, but also, I just don't see a need to have cloud based storage for mouse settings.  I'm sure it can save a few minutes, but I did LAN Parties and whatnot, i bought my mouse and just remembered my settings.  Ouroboros looks far more comfortable, but no complaints about my Taipan, that dual laser setup is VERY nice.  KB is a no go for me, I love my mechanical, don't like the missing 10key, and I really don't care about the touch screen, I like the small controls for your media player, but otherwise, to me its fancy stuff for the sake of being fancy stuff. 

dbe425 

I'm going to give it a short while.  the second and third versions of the keyboard will be better.  Maybe even mech.  As for Synapse... yes it suck big time.  I really wish companies would perfect their crap before sending it out!   

 
 
I don't think you read everythiung because what razer is intending to do with this platform is to let the users get control of how the applications develope. companys have always kind of stood on the "we let you build your apps because you always end up doing it best anyways" sort of attitude. i mean look at how mmo's do thier stuff, they let all their users do their own addons, blizzard has always said the users do it best. 
 
razer has released the SDK and all the packages need to develope. of course they released what im sure is the best platform they came up with after consideirng many others. these companys dont just say awh screw it we jsut want money, especily not a company like razer. they are by far the most reactive companys ive ever seen in gaming. 
 
 

Im Hit! 

eviling 

im sorry i did miss a detail. the keyboard LED's are letter only highlights. gamers preference, nobody likes the whole board lit. their are 3 selectable colors. some what surprising, consideirng the strike 7 offered any color you desired. i found some of the colors extremley cool. a light teal makes a very distinctive keyboard and is cool gaming in the dark. i am nosure of the colors, you can look that up pretty easily.  

I certainly will be picking them both up :) and i will do a perosnal review much like i did with the strike 7. i also currently own a steel series sensei fnatic. which is an awsome mouse, the only problem ive had with it is the software doesntr seem to recicnize the mouse and wont let me go through the settings but the 2 default dpi settings work well for me and the mouse drivers work.  

perosnaly i didnt desire a new mouse, but i LOVED my mamba and was half considering a new one, i only sold my mamba cause it was pretty old and was looosing performance. battery never did fully become shot though, just rather inefficiant. i mostly used the cord anyways, the wax coated fiber wraped cords work best because they hold position and are very light so you dont feel the cord because you can perch it in such a way it wont want to move. as you cna see, ive had lots of gaming experience XD perhaps i have a gaming problem.  

franbunnyffxii  

Nothing beats the Naga Epic, nothing.  
However I'd love a razer keyboard with purple backlights :/  

  

i accualy threw the nagga off as a parler trick when it came out, it was just as the number mouses were coming out and seemed like just another mouse. the nagga epic was a real treat of a mouse though, very mmo friendly. ive heard allot of wow players praise it in game, as well as a few people in guild wars 2 which i jsut picked up. i do suggest it, its a great game  

 
The Sensei Fnatic is my favorite mouse, hands down. Since my review, it has been my main mouse for gaming. Sorry to hear you can't get the utilities to behave. But did you know the mouse comes with the utilities built-in to the mouse as well. Just hold the settings button down for 3-4 seconds and then release. Look at the LCD screen underneath. Using the mouse wheel and the setting button you can go to town changing all manner of settings options right there on the mouse' LCD screen. 

The Ourboros is not out. But you can check the evga gaming site towards the end of the month. I will have a review up then. 

 
 
yeah idk whats up with the software ive checked the site like 5 times since ive had the mouse. did NOT know about the display, harldey even knew it was their to be honest only found it last month hahahaha. its a great mouse, but i have a laggin pinky issue, i am a large fan of pinky wrest, only a few gamer mice with pink rest support. the nagga, the RAT9 and so on. but thise razer should be a real treat, i plan on also doing a review on it.  probobly a 2 in one much like this little piece. 
 
 

EVGATech_DaveB 
, don't like the missing 10key, and I really don't care about the touch screen, I like the small controls for your media player, but otherwise, to me its fancy stuff for the sake of being fancy stuff.  

 
 
you'd be surprised at how well you addapt to these gadgets, me i am a very gadget heavy gamer, but also a clasicly trained old scrhool gamer so i can game with out toys, hanmd mew down mice keyboard combos, broke 3 legged chair. I had the strike 7 for 3 weeks roghly, i set it up as if i planned on owning it, which i did till cyborg pissed me off. but anyways, i did enjoy clearing up my desk top and just using the launcher and after sending it off, i found my self going to launch an application from my keyboard..only to be disappointed lol 

EVGATech_DaveB

  KB is a no go for me.  I really don't care about the touch screen, I like the small controls for your media player, but otherwise, to me its fancy stuff for the sake of being fancy stuff. 

 
Same for me.  I won't downgrade my keyboard.  No interest in the mice either.

Well, I'm using a Razer keyboard (Lycosa) and mouse (Deathadder) at the moment, and have *LOOONG* used Razer mice (personal fave is the Boomslang 2007 CE...damn, what a fine mouse - used it to death, basically literally), but...never really got their software to work.
 
Here's the issue - I'm the primary user on my PC, and run an administrative account.  All the way back to Windows XP (on 7, now, obviously), I've used 'fast user switching', so I can just lock the screen and walk away...and the wife can seamlessly log on to her account (not an admin - she's a "limited" user, as she has a habit of clicking on things in emails she shouldn't), do what she needs to do, and then I can always hop back on later just as easily.
 
At least...it works that well when you DON'T have Razer's software installed at all.  If you DO?  Holy crap, the software *does not* like multiple users simultaneously logged in AT ALL.  It just barfs all over the place.  Some earlier versions of it even managed to bluescreen a Vista box I had in that situation - and that takes some serious effort!
 
SOOO...for the keyboard...I'm very excited they are doing a chiclet-style-keys board.  I do a lot of typing on laptops, and it's nice to have a desktop keyboard you don't need to "relearn" the feel on the keys every time you start working on it, again.  But I think I'm probably going to lean towards the regular Deathstalker (that lacks the LCD side-panel) instead of the Deathstalker Ultimate.  I'm just not holding my breath their software has improved enough in multi-user situations to be worth dealing with the hassle on*.
 
* So, please, please, PLEASE any reviewers who do take a look at the Deathstalker Ultimate...if you could test Win7's standard multi-user mode with the Razer software, I'd be VERY interested in hearing how that turns out.  It's really the only reason I'd go for the standard board over the LCD-equipped version.

EVGATech_DaveB

@eviling
I'm sure I could adapt, but I have no desire to.  While I have high end gear, I approach it with a minimalist attitude, I wanted mechanical with back-lighting, one of my friends has a different brand one with all the bells and whistles (LCD and whatnot) I personally don't care for it.  Not saying it's bad, and if you like that style, have at it.  Also, no 10 key, ACK, that's horrendous.....  I liked the little flip up deal on the G15, nice idea, run monitoring from there, I heard those had a bad failure rate, but more I liked the idea.

@Knightsilver
That's a tie Interceptor, different wing design.    Sorry, grew up on original trilogy and playing Tie Fighter.  :D

@xanderf
I know man, CE2007 was awesome.  Wish they would put my Taipan's guts into that chassis.  I miss my old school Boomslang chassis, nothing fit my hand better.

Oh my lord. The Boomslang!!! I remember that thing well! Nice one.
 
 

Im Hit!

So I'm pretty much done testing the Deathstalker and the STRIKE. Annnnd.... <drum roll> you're gonna be so surprised...

Mechanicals are still the best thing under the sun for gamers. Surprised? The STRIKE mimics mechanical function quite well for not being fully mechanical. The keys are like a softer MX Blue or Brown. The modular system is neat. But I really like the rudder/thumb wheel and the extra red button also near your thumb on the wrist rest. I was able to map some great functions to those.

LCD... Neither does hardware monitor, which is a shame. With all the apps that can run right on the Deathstalker's capacitive touch screen, why was MSI, FRAPS folks, Playclaw or EVGA not contacted to inforporate Precision,  Afterburner or those others? I want even more. This tech is so far behind if they want to make it compelling. I would love to see some built-in video recording and image capturing. Show me captured screens on the touch screen so I can stay in game.  

On the Deathstalker, you can browse the internet and run apps for for twitter, facebook, gmail and youtube. But no hardware monitoring?!?! It does function as a single trackpad, which is neat but gimmicky. MadCatz did incorporate Teamspeak to a great effect, on the STRIKE.  You can see all the channels, join them with a finger tap and see everyone who's in a given channel. Names light up when someone is speaking as well. Pretty handy. 

Each LCD focuses on something different. The STRIKE is best for launching programs and it's TS collaboration. The Deathstalker is better as secondary input device and on-keyboard web browser. But I found no way to change the homepage from razerzone.com, which is so self-serving in a gastric-churning kind of way.

More in my full reviews. ultimately i prefer typing on near-mechanical keys of the STRIKE but I much prefer the elegant look and the capacitive keyboard of the Deathstalker. I do like the extra rudder and button on the writs rest. But I could see hardware monitoring coming to that high-resolution screen before it makes it to the STRIKE.

youll see those monitering apps in the cominhg months as app makers get ahold of the sdk whitch razer has made avilable 

xanderf

Im Hit!

More in my full reviews. ultimately i prefer typing on near-mechanical keys of the STRIKE but I much prefer the elegant look and the capacitive keyboard of the Deathstalker. I do like the extra rudder and button on the writs rest. But I could see hardware monitoring coming to that high-resolution screen before it makes it to the STRIKE.

Soooo...any thoughts on the latest edition of the Razer software with the keyboard in Win7's multi-user mode?

Still crap?  Or does it actually work?

Darn it I was hoping no one would ask that before I put up the review. Blow blows blows. It is buggier than a roach motel landlord calling TerminX to come deal with insect infestation. I can't believe how many time the updated Synapse 2.0 has crashed. 

xanderf

*sigh*

Well, that's really not what I wanted to hear, but honestly, I was kind of expecting it.

They make nice hardware (I *really* love those Boomslangs), but their software is...Creative-level.

Ouch!!! so true. But shshhh! Don't tell my X-Fi sound card that.
 
I can't see why they would go the Synapse route. Synapse should be optional. Razer's utilities are getting worse and worse. Clunkier with each new iteration. Someone needs a new software engineer.