Introduction

Today At TLR we are going to be reviewing the Keysonic KSK-8020 . Over the years of being a gamer I have never been one for spending a lot of money on keyboards. I have invested in mice and mousemats and felt they have been worth the extra money for the performance they brought. But first using this keyboard I was very impressed compared to the cheap supermarket keyboards I am used too.

Special Features

• Full-sized keyboard with especially slim design and promising high quality due to the brushed, full aluminum body
• Integrated HUB: 2× USB 2.0 for high-speed data terminals (bus-powered)
• 4× multifunctional keys for volume up, down, mute as well as PC standby
• Extremely silent stroke and tactile feedback due to high-quality X-Type membrane technology
• Tilt feet for adjustment of the tilt angle for ergonomic operation
• Appealing blue status LED's for Caps, Num and Scroll Lock
• Plug & Play installation without any special driver
• Available in various country layouts
• Appealing retail packaging
• Perfect for all home and office applications with exclusive
design requirements

Technical Data

Packaging

The keyboard comes in a pretty simple packaging . On the front it describes that the board is a full size keyboard compared to some of the smaller keyboards that keySonic produce. It also has a round window showing the contents of the box being the keyboard itself. Moving to the back of the box , we see a lot of useful information. We have descriptions in 3 different languages being German , English and french giving the special features of the keyboard as described above. We also have information telling us the keyboard is designed to work with Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Contents

Opening the box and obviously we find a keyboard nicely rapped in a protective plastic rapper with wires tied neatly to keep them together. We also come across a very useful operations manual again presented in the 3 different languages of German, English and French. Within the Manual we again see the special features and technical data as mentioned above. We also have within the Manual information in installing the keyboard, which some people might think is not needed, but I think its a nice touch if you do happen to come across any problems. As noted in these instructions the keyboard works for a number of different operating systems including Windows 98SE / SE / ME / 2000 / XP / VISTA .

A Closer Look At The Keyboard Top

The KeySonic KSK-8020 HM is a slim line keyboard. It is a very attractive keyboard to look at with its white keys and stylish Aluminum finish. The layout of the keys feel reminiscent of a laptop's keyboard, they are very flat and close together. The logo of KeySonic is featured once on the keyboard but in a very nice way blended into the Aluminum. The keyboard itself feels quite heavy, but I don't feel this is a bad feature as such, with the keyboard being placed on a desk all the time. Moving on we see the keyboard contains 4 buttons for media controls, which is located in the top right of the board. These seem very useful as a feature, with the option to control the speakers to your system and also being able to put your computer into standby mode. Also located in this area are the NUM, CAPS and Scroll lock LED lights which I have to say in blue look really nice and work well with the overall look of the board.

Keyboard Underside

The underside of the keyboard is as pretty plain as it can be. With a white finish and sturdy legs we also see a product information sticker located within the middle of the board. Also on the underside are 2 rubber sections , which are placed for traction whilst the board sits on a desk.

Testing

Typing

This keyboard design and aimed at the business market and typing and general use is a important part , I felt this keyboard is very comfortable and was had a nice feel when typing. I got the impression with the laptop feel of the keys you could type at a fast rate . The keys also were not too noisy, which some keyboards do suffer from.

Gaming

Although the keyboard isn't designed with gaming in mind, I still wanted to find out how it faired in a fire fight. First impressions seemed promising, and my CS:S skills didn't appear compromised. A problem I came across was that when having to move quick to play different moves with the game I was catching wrong buttons, which I feel this was because of the shallow buttons and this became very frustrating. Apart from that the board performed very well and didn't differ from any other board I have used for gaming.

Conclusion

Overall I was very pleased with the keyboard. The board has great looks and really does stand out. It wasn't a easy keyboard for me to get used to with what I am used to previously, but over the 4 days of me testing it has grown on me. The price of the board I think is great value. For day to day typing and general use the keyboard is very comfortable, I also feel the addition of the USB 2.0 ports to the side of the board are a great option. The board isn't designed for the gamers market , but for general office use I am sure people will fine it a pleasure to use.

We would like to thank Keysonic for giving us the opportunity to review this board .Available at CCLonline £32.19 inc VAT