Tt eSPORTS Challenger Pro Review – A gaming keyboard from Thermaltake. Computer Resource Y SM Using Thermaltake Tt eSPORTS Challenger Pro Keyboard

How often do you use macro commands in various games? Yes, there are still players who have not even tried them in action, and do not understand that it is very convenient and effective. Perhaps this is due to the fact that multifunctional gaming keyboards that allow you to create and use macros are too expensive. Today we would like to present to your attention a budget gaming keyboard from Thermaltake. Meet Tt eSports Challenger Prime in front of you. Let's take a closer look at this new product.

Video review

Contents of delivery

The device comes in the usual packaging on which you can find all necessary information about this keyboard. At the time of writing the review, the average cost of the device, according to the YandexMarket service, was approximately 2550 rubles. Package Included:

Tt eSports Challenger Prime Gaming Keyboard
User manual
Warranty card

Peculiarities

Backlight: 3 colors
Cable length: 1.5 m
Fabric braided cable
Full size keyboard
Keyboard type: Membrane
Production material: plastic
Full N-Key Rollover
Additional keys: 9
Multimedia keys
3 game profiles
Macro Manager
Number of macro keys 6x3
Button resource up to 10,000,000 clicks
Cyrillic / Latin layout
Article KB-CHM-MBBLRU-01
Weight: 1437 g
Connection interface: USB 2.0
Height/Width/Length: 24/239/508 mm

Appearance

The device received under its control high-quality materials and excellent assembly, it is made of black plastic. The good news is that plastic does not emit unpleasant odors of cheap plastic. In addition, you can see matte and glossy inserts around the edges, giving the keyboard a premium look.

The arrangement of the main block of keys is made in the usual way, except for the shortened Enter and the additional Fn key.

On the left side of the main block of keys, additional keys for macros T1-T6 are displayed.

On the upper part, multimedia keys are separately displayed, next to which you can see the keys for changing the profile.

Between them is a backlight brightness control wheel. Initially, the idea that it is responsible for adjusting the volume comes to mind, and the developers decided to go further and added an interesting feature.

The key travel is long, and the sound is very soft and pleasant, but you can still hear it, especially if you are going to play your favorite game after everyone has gone to bed. The font used is very readable.

I was pleased that the block of cursors, Insert-PageDn and number keys remained without any changes.

A palm rest has settled on the bottom of the device, the good news is that it is long enough so that the hands do not hang in the air while playing or working. Of course, ideally, you could still push it towards yourself. The dragon logo is located on the central part.

There are rubber feet on the bottom of the keyboard to prevent the device from slipping. There are also folding legs that allow you to increase or decrease the angle of inclination.

Particular attention will be drawn to the special holes needed to drain liquids in case you spilled water on the keyboard, for example. That is, the device received protection from water, but this does not mean that the keyboard can be washed under the tap and dipped entirely in water.

The power cable received a fabric braid and its length of 1.5 m is enough to install the keyboard in any place convenient for you.

Setup and functionality

Let's start with the fact that on the official website of the company you can download the software for this gaming keyboard, from where you can fully configure all the necessary functions and set up macros. The software itself is very simple and easy to use, which allows even the most inexperienced users to understand all the manipulations.

Here you can also create several profiles, for example for each game. If you are not interested in macros, then any other commands can be assigned to additional keys. I was pleased that the functions of the keys from the main panel can also be changed. You can save the profile and not worry about its safety, which allows you to use your settings even when transferring the keyboard to other PCs.

The backlight received three colors: red, blue and purple. In addition, you can switch the backlight to pulse mode. The device shows itself perfectly in the dark. Thanks to the backlight brightness control, you can always set the optimal value for yourself.

The macro keys have a convenient location, you can freely reach them with your little finger and use the necessary commands. In addition, the device can store up to three profiles and to switch between them, specially derived keys M1/2/3 are used. That is, macro keys can become 18, instead of 6.

For convenience, the developers have installed multimedia function keys on the top panel: "my computer", browser, return to the home page in the browser and media player function control keys. In addition, using the Fn + PrtScr key combination, you can go to Game Mode, thereby disabling the functions Windows keys. Besides, additional functions, which work in combination with the Fn key, are located on the F1-F12 keys.

Results

Let's sum up the Challenger Prime gaming keyboard. For a small price, you get an almost complete replacement for expensive solutions. Among the advantages, the following can be noted: high-quality assembly and materials, excellent design, additional control buttons, the ability to create macros, the availability of software, good lighting and, of course, the price. Of the minuses, personally, nothing caught our eye. The device fully justifies its cost. The choice is yours, we can only show and tell.

For a pleasant immersion in the game, not only the "stuffing" of the computer is important, which allows you to enjoy high FPS in any modern games, but also peripherals. In this case, we will talk about keyboards, of which there are a great many on sale now, both from simple office models to very expensive models with displays and other “bells and whistles”. Thermaltake, known for its cooling systems and cases, decided to try their hand in this area.

For this, the eSports division was formed, which began to develop and release gaming devices. At the moment, the product list includes 2 mice, 4 keyboards, 2 headsets, 2 mousepads and a gaming glove. I got 2 keyboards for tests - this is Challenger And Challenger Pro. I decided to start with the latter, because. more expensive and more difficult is not always better.

A distinctive feature of the Challenger keyboard series is the presence of a fan. As planned by the developers, he should blow his palms during hot battles. Is it so? Let's check.

The Thermaltake Challenger Pro comes in a huge black cardboard box that holds both the keyboard and accessories quite securely.

The keyboard is in a black case with logos of the developer and model name. This kind of thing is more a tribute to fashion than a necessity, because. this cover will be used a maximum of a couple of times. But when you take the keyboard out of the box, you get the feeling of a quality and solid thing.

The device itself is made in red and black colors with a predominance of the latter. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to convey this in the photo, but the quality of the materials on high level. Dimensions are 505x195x27 mm. To be honest, while photographing the keyboard for review, I ran into some difficulties due to its size and the highly reflective finish. Although it fits on the table without problems.

Let's move on to accessories:

In the kit you can find:

* Instructions in 15 languages, Russian is present.

* Cable USB - Mini USB with gold-plated contacts in a fabric cover.

* Another case in which the keys instead of red are arrows and wasd. Also 2 "plugs" for the Win keys, a tool for removing the keys and a spare plug for the fan connector.

* Software disk.

I will immediately express my doubts about the cable - what is the point in gold-plated contacts when motherboards cost normal? Another tribute to fashion? It should be noted that the cable is braided and has a turned mini USB plug, which is very convenient when the keyboard is located in a limited space. Next to the keyboard connector, there are 2 more - these are full-size USB 2.0. True, it is convenient to use them only if the keyboard is located far from the monitor or on a retractable tray, and even then you will have to deploy the device.

I will also express my “fi” about the stubs - in the keyboards of other companies, the problem of pressing a key Win solved much simpler and more elegant: either a separate button or a switch.

The keyboard has 4 backlight level:

You can control the backlight both through the software and with a special key. In the dark, the necessary illumination power is provided only by the 4th level, i.e. the other 2 are essentially for show. The Tt logo can also be disabled via the software.

Now let's move on to the software. The utility is called Challenger Avenger.

In the illustration above, I tried to describe the functionality of the program as fully as possible. The main interest is the setting of 10 additional keys located on the sides of the main layout. They can be assigned as ordinary operations performed by a combination of burning keys or by right-clicking the mouse, then the ability to select all text (called "All"), run any .exe file or run a macro. And if everything is very clear with the first two points, then macros should be analyzed in more detail.

An arbitrary macro can be assigned to any of the 10 additional keys. It is very simple to do this: press the "Record" button, then enter the required sequence of keystrokes and press "Stop". The program records not only the sequence, but also the intervals (delays) between clicks, each of which can then be set manually. You can also save the macro to a file or vice versa, load it from a file.

In general, the software interface is quite friendly, it is difficult to get lost in it, there are tooltips for buttons with icons. I would call the functionality sufficient: the ability to customize the backlight, save and load profiles from a file, quite extensive options for setting up 10 additional keys, including macros. I will also mention 4 independent profiles, which are stored in 64 kb of built-in keyboard memory and are switched by the corresponding key on it. At the same time, you can understand which one is selected by the light indication: the LED glows red, blue, green or purple.

It's time to return to the keyboard itself. To begin with, I would like to say about the fan, which Tt positions as one of the main features of the keyboard. In total, you can install 2 of them, but 1 is included in the kit. Considering that in most cases one hand is on the keyboard and the other on the mouse, one is enough. The flow of air is felt and really blows over the hands. However, due to the wrist rest, the hand sweats a little in the lower (if you place your hand with your fingers up) area of the palm, respectively, and the fan is practically a necessity, without which it will be somewhat uncomfortable in hot battles. In order to create at least some tangible flow, a fan of this size needs extremely high speed rotation. And this affects the noise - the fan is noisy, and very noticeable. The connection connector also contributes to this, which has some play, which causes vibration. Unfortunately, I don’t have a sound level meter, but on the Internet, figures of 39-40 dB jumped, I would compare it with the noise of a GTX470/480 stock turbine at 60-65% of rpm. And although the noise is local in nature, i.e. from 3 meters it is almost invisible, at night against the background of a quiet system block fan will be heard.

The height of the keys is quite small, it is comparable to that of laptop keyboards. However, at the same time, the key travel is very large, they are pressed clearly, no noticeable backlash was found. The aforementioned wrist rest is almost perfectly shaped when the hand is in the wasd layout. But when typing, the low height of the keys, coupled with the stand, creates certain inconveniences: if you press the space bar with the side area of the thumb (namely, the finger lies comfortably on most keyboards), then it constantly rests against the stand. There are also inaccuracies during fast typing, when out of habit you use the entire area of the key, and not just its center: in this case, pressing is tighter and less precise. And if you can get used to it in 10 minutes, then it is very difficult to put up with a gap. I wrote the first part of the review, dedicated to the Challenger Pro, from it, and the second part about a more simplified version of the Challenger (without the Pro prefix), respectively, from the second keyboard. Both of them do not have Russian letters on the keys, but for the majority this is unlikely to be a problem.

So, let's move on to the pros and cons, as well as the final verdict.

Pros:

*Aggressive and attractive design. Personally, I like it and it creates a feeling of a quality thing.

* Availability of 4 levels of key illumination.

* Playability at a fairly good level: 10 additional keys, 4 profiles, the ability to create macros.

*Keys are pressed relatively quietly.

*Keyboard case, a set of accessories - things, although not very useful, are more of a plus than a minus.

*Fan(s).

Minuses:

*Fan makes a lot of noise. Two fans are even worse, but the second is not needed.

*A fan is more of a necessity given the stand than an advantage over other keyboards.

* Certain inconveniences when typing.

As a result, I will say the following: this keyboard is an ideal gift for an undemanding gamer. He will be pleased with accessories, and appearance keyboards. It will find a use additional keys may even use macros. You will get used to some inconveniences with time. If you are looking for a serious gaming keyboard, then my advice to you is to pass by. For the recommended price of $75 (it’s quite problematic to buy it in Russia, I managed to find it somewhere in Murmansk and from one of the 3logic partners, the prices are at the recommended level) you can buy much more interesting models from Logitech, Razer, Microsoft (Sidewinder X6) - they much more thoughtful for the game, in terms of functionality and quality they surpass the model from Thermaltake. On the other hand, the Challenger Pro will definitely find its buyer, but hardly among experienced players.

The next part will look at the Tt Challenger keyboard and compare the two models.

Special thanks to Ivanova Marina.

As a rule, professional gamers have two requirements for input devices or, as they are also called, devices: functionality and durability. Even impact resistance. However, the developers of Tt eSPORTS Challenger (Black) went further and added originality to the design. No pretentiousness, a strict black keyboard with a hand-cooling fan. Here you have both functionality and durability in a stylish bottle.

Let's start with the fact that the original fabric cover is supplied with the keyboard. It is convenient when you often have to carry the keyboard with you, go to competitions, etc. Of course, for ease of cleaning - a key puller and 2 dummies for the Windows function key.

Separately, I would like to consider the design: in this case, size matters. Yes, the Challenger keyboard is quite wide and long, and it's also wired (no worries about the cord, the thick silicon wire won't wear out). However, small and flat keyboards in the gaming class are not in demand. The device is suitable for confident male hands. But all the keys are located so well that the hands themselves fall on the desired combinations. Pressing the buttons is smooth, but with a clear sound and responsiveness, the fingers do not get tired.

How do we distinguish the original keyboard? Just pay attention to the keys: the F1-F12 function engraving is blue, the Tt logo is lit in the bottom center of the keyboard. Infernal red backlighting also surrounds the key indicators (Caps Lock), ( Num Lock), (Scroll Lock), an original solution that catches the eye not only in the dark.

An innovation that the developers have included in the design of the Challenger (Black) keyboard is a compact fan slot and USB port. To connect a convenient cooler, you need to use the function keys and connectors, ideally hidden under the rubber pads. So, we work and have fun all day long - a pleasant breath of fresh air will caress and stroke your fingers. Joke, of course. But the thing is irreplaceable.

There are a few other nice highlights from the developers:

Rubber pads on the bottom (4 pieces) are enlarged, preventing slipping;
At the back there is a niche for the wire - just an indispensable invention for a gaming portable keyboard;
The software is available and clear interface in the characteristic red and black colors.

Interface settings allow you to additionally set macro parameters with the Repeat function, the backlight brightness level, as well as settings for 10 T-keys. The amount of memory is 32kb, by the way, in the keyboard interface there is a timer for the duration of the game round - in the right corner at the top of the window. So, the lucky winners watch and control the clock.

All in all, the Tt eSPORTS Challenger justifies the desire to buy it at low prices.

The wire here is already removable, it is connected to the keyboard using mini USB, and to the computer - with an ordinary USB plug. The wire, as in the previous case, is thick and covered with a synthetic cord. On the bottom panel of the keyboard there are four anti-slip rubber pads, as well as two folding legs for adjusting the angle of inclination and a groove for convenient placement of the wire.

There are no complaints about the stability of the Tt eSPORTS Challenger Pro. It stands securely on any surface.

Software

The manufacturer took care of the availability software included with both Tt eSPORTS series keyboards. The keyboard software is identical. The program interface is made in the style of the devices themselves: in red and black colors. On the top left are four game profile settings tabs. To configure them, you need to select the desired T-key and, using the Record button, record the combination of the necessary keys. While entering the combination, the delay time will be automatically saved. If necessary, you can always set up a keyboard shortcut with a macro by pressing the keys up . down or Delete or adjust the delay time.

In addition, you can optionally select options for Repeat macros. After setting all 10 individual T-keys in four profiles, you can save by clicking the "save" button located in the lower right corner of the program window. Or, conversely, add the configuration to the program using the "load" button. In addition, there is an "upload" button that can be used to save the configuration directly to the keyboard's built-in memory. For the older model, the amount of memory is 64 KB, and for the Tt eSPORTS Challenger - 32 KB. In the upper right corner of the program window is a timer that allows players to keep track of the total duration of the game. Also in the program window there are buttons for adjusting the brightness of the backlight: 0%, 25%, 75% and 100%.

Impressions from work

Both keyboards support operating Windows systems XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. It takes a lot of free space to sit properly on your desk; none of the keyboards can boast of compact dimensions; this is not true in the class of gaming accessories. Thanks to convenient stand for hands and a pleasant course of keys, hands do not get tired at all. If we compare the Tt eSPORTS Challenger with the Tt eSPORTS Challenger Pro in terms of typing convenience, the latter seemed more convenient to me because of the low-profile keys. However, this is a matter of habit. If you've used thin keyboards before then the Challenger Pro will definitely suit you better.

A fan for blowing the left (or right - depending on which keys you use to control in games) hands - the idea, at first glance, is interesting. In theory, it should blow over the fingers on the keys , , , : the fingers do not sweat, do not slip off the keys, and the keystrokes are error-free. At home, a fan is almost useless, but if you often play in stuffy clubs or other places, a fan can be useful. By the way, it is not as simple as it might seem at first. It rotates at a speed of six thousand revolutions per minute and works completely silently.

Thermaltake keyboards have no obvious shortcomings. I did not really like the execution of the Enter key - it is narrow, rectangular, very small. But you can quickly get used to this.

For convenience during games, you can lock the button Windows and also replace buttons

There are no complaints about the stability of the Tt eSPORTS Challenger Pro. It stands securely on any surface.

Software

The manufacturer took care of the availability of software in the delivery set of both keyboards of the Tt eSPORTS series. The keyboard software is identical. The program interface is made in the style of the devices themselves: in red and black colors. On the top left are four game profile settings tabs. To configure them, you need to select the desired T-key and, using the Record button, record the combination of the necessary keys. While entering the combination, the delay time will be automatically saved. If necessary, you can always set up a keyboard shortcut with a macro by pressing the keys up . down or Delete or adjust the delay time.

Impressions from work

Both keyboards support operating systems Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. It takes a lot of free space for a normal desktop layout; none of the keyboards can boast of compact dimensions; this is not true in the class of gaming accessories. Thanks to a comfortable palm rest and a pleasant key travel, the hands do not get tired at all. If we compare the Tt eSPORTS Challenger with the Tt eSPORTS Challenger Pro in terms of typing convenience, the latter seemed more convenient to me because of the low-profile keys. However, this is a matter of habit. If you've used thin keyboards before then the Challenger Pro will definitely suit you better.

Thermaltake keyboards have no obvious shortcomings. I did not really like the execution of the Enter key - it is narrow, rectangular, very small. But you can quickly get used to this.

For convenience during games, you can lock the button Windows and also replace buttons