Razer Tarantula Gaming Keyboard
The Razer Tarantula Gaming Keyboard is the first definitive keyboard created For Gamers, By Gamers. A cutting-edge companion to Razer’s suite of gaming peripherals, it is specially engineered to empower competitive gamers with seamless control and unparalleled flexibility.
User Ratings and Reviews
2 Stars A Pretty big let down
I was really excited to get this keyboard, now I wish I had bought something else.
1. The whole keyboard doesn’t light up. (but you probably knew that)
2. It takes 2 usb ports just to run.
3. Probably won’t work until windows boots up. (good luck with your bios)
4. The software for this thing is horrible. Seems razor is more interested in marketing and looking cool than producing something functional.
5. Profile key is worthless. You should be able to set up 2 profiles and toggle between them with the profile key. I tried to setup a simple profile to disable the windows key. The only time it works is when the configuration program is loaded and running in the background.
6. Home, end, delete pg up and pg down keys are not in a standard layout.
7. It’s expensive.
3 Stars Not worth the money.
Just got it, so no say on durability yet. May update later about it.
The good points are:
{
its shiny black.
can press more than 3 keys at once and have them register.
has easily pressed keys.
has reprogrammable keys.
media keys, and a port for expansions.
has a shuffle list key.
can bind programs to macro keys.
profile key can be used with other keys to cycle profiles.
friendly tech support, with some helpful tips. they haven’t seemed to have gotten around to outsourcing their techs, so i can actually understand what they say to me.
a tool for popping out keys so i dont have to pull out a butter knife or something. (how i broke the space bar on my g15 while trying to clean it.)
}
the bad.
{
the audio/headphone ports require that the keyboards headphone/microphone jacks to be plugged into the pc. while many would say duh, that makes sense. i’d reply why have them unless i just feel like having my headphones closer to the keyboard?
also it DOES need 2 usb ports to be used fully. basically that extra line gives two usb ports connected to the keyboard. so really only 1 extra usb port gained.
as another review posted, the keyboard’s play/pause DOES NOT WORK with winamp. it does w/o the software drivers. but after its just screwed. had to resort to using windows media player *shivers*. the keyboard actually functions better with media players without the driver/software.
the media keys DO NOT WORK with anything other than the selected player. why they decided to go from the universal controls, i have no bloody clue. i used to be able to go to any player i wished, and have it work. no software needed.
the media keys are not movable, or reprogrammable. i dont like having to take my mouse hand off the action to swap songs. would be much better if the keys were movable/remapped.
can not bind any keys/macros to use home/delete/windows etc etc. can’t insert them, cant move around anything. can’t click the times in milliseconds to modity them if dont want the standard timing.
now for the anti ghosting. yes, you can press 10 keys at once. sadly only 6 of them ever work for me. that is with the software installed too. granted 6 is better than 3, which i hardly did more than anyhow. i unfortunately wield usb 1.0 ports on my pc, so that is probrably why. not likely to ever use more than 6 keys at once anyway. i use more than 3 for stuff like descent 3 or freespace. after burner, turning up left/right, while banking left/right, while dropping chaff is sometimes needed. or when i have to hold shift to walk, and move diagonally and jump at same time.
the battle dock is completely useless. can buy an overpriced web cam, or a gimpy ineffective light. i dont see why i should have to hang a light over my keyboard to see the keys. if they can’t have glowing keys, maybe a trim with lights, like it is on some of their mice. or more translucent casing in some areas or glow in the dark paint for letter keys, with the ability to toggle the light. also a little fan or something might be nice, or expandable keyboard memory. and a nice case to carry all that extra baggage.
no lcd display. i liked it on my old g15. would have made a nifty battle dock accessory.
the wrist rest is not removable, or adjustable. all for the sake to have a glowing snake emblem.
no disable windows key button either. have to remap it. i actually use the windows key often, so remapping it is a pain. there is an option for keymap a, keymap b, but, thats only for profiles not stored on keyboard, in other words, not standard. thats because the first 5, which are stored on the keyboard (for the rare case i’d actually drag it’s ultra expensive butt some where else), only can have one keymap. the key maps are basically where i can rebind all the keys on one setting, hit profile and get the b side, with the normal goods. so basically i’d have to carry a flash drive if i want accurate functionality.
my hot fix would be to turn the razor key (which is really the right windows key/menu key) into a windows key, but apparently i cant.
no macros are able to be bound on any other key except the designated special keys. of which have an abysmal macro rate. on my old g15, i could store like 32 characters, this is more like 8. so before i could save entire commands.
tech support, basically almost any question about the functionality of the keyboard = me s.o.l. (and i dont mean satellite of love). They knew how to repair it, but not how to actually make it an acceptable piece of hardware for its high price. nice people though. so its not their fault.
the macros are executed very slowly.
the software only allows executables to be bound to macro keys. in order to bind files, batch files, or whatever, have to get the link manually, and input it into the open window.
over all my old logitech g15 owns this keyboard so badly, that i feel slightly sad i bought it. people might ask, why did i buy a tarantula if i had such a great keyboard. because i rode my old one so hard it started to fall apart. that is after a few years of hard service. one of the few logitech products that actually didnt break within 6 months. only minor annoyances.
the tarantula is not worth buying unless you absolutely need the extra few keys when gaming. if not, get a g15. it has better macro system, lcd display for looking at time, and winamp song. better media buttons, disable windows key switch.
dont misunderstand. this keyboard is actually a good keyboard. i do like razer products. they are overpriced in general, but usually worth having (at discount price). but this is no where near worth 80$, nor is it better than logitechs g15. which is the saddest part? me spending money on it, or the fact that this keyboard could actually dominate the logitech with a few minor changes? instead the tarantula tragically fails.
}
5 Stars A professional gamer’s keyboard.
The first thing you should do when you buy this keyboard:
*Download and update the drivers (for Vista, especially).
*Download and update the firmware after updating the drivers.
If you don’t do this you’ll run into compatibility issues with Vista and the keyboard won’t work until Windows loads (i.e. can’t press keys for BIOS or Windows boot menu). The firmware fixes this issue and the drivers that come with the unit are not Vista compatible, so they fail to install properly. A serious gamer is going to download the latest updates anyway, but I wanted to make it clear that the keyboard was originally released for Windows XP and not Vista, so drivers had to be written for Vista.
The functionality of the keyboard consists of 10 customizable keys (5 left, 5 right) that you can set macros on. The keys are backlit and can be changed out for a set of included keys that have various pictures on them (for gaming). On the right are play options for Windows Media Player (and others), shuffle and volume. On the left there is a home key that brings up your default browser. Rotate, zoom and 100% keys can be set to work with the Windows picture viewer, Photoshop and a few others.
The Home, End, Delete, Page Up and Page Down keys take some getting used to as the Delete key is huge and the End key is higher than it normally is. Another thing I noticed is the offset at which I had to place the keyboard in order to type with the home keys. As with any keyboard, it takes time to get used to a key layout and this isn’t an issue in my opinion.
The keyboard takes a minimalist approach to gaming, but caters to the professional gamer with nice programmable features. Some gamers like fancy key layouts and loads of oddball looking gadgets. The Tarantula bypasses the fluff and goes right to the source–giving you what you need as a gamer and not stuffing the keyboard with items that you won’t use anyway.
I changed from a Zboard (which still functions just fine) to this keyboard for a change in pace. If you’re a serious gamer looking for a sleek approach to a gaming keyboard then this is probably going to satisfy your needs.
Razer makes quality products. This is no exception.
5 Stars Excellent Keyboard
After using serveral other keyboards for gaming, the Tarantula has given me the best results. The keys are responsive and feel robust. Add the Battlelight and be the envy of your friends!
4 Stars not so spectacular.
It’s an ok keyboard. the looks is great, laptop keys are nice. but the the lights on keys are a bit dim and the keyboard is plain black when not lit. I like looking at my systems when not in use. lol…
Buy/More Info
Switching between “LCD programs” (like the clock, CPU+RAM monitor) is not very practical so I disable all programs but the CPU+RAM monitor. Also, none of the extra G15 functionality works when you hook it up to a KVM switch (it then acts as a basic keyboard, the LCD screen shows a big “G15″ and that’s it), none of the extra keys work via KVM. 
