Saitek Eclipse III - Review

JamesXP · 05-09-09, 06:13 PM

Hey guys, just got this keyboard a few days ago and thought i'd write a short review for y'all.

This is Saitek's keyboard the 'Eclipse 3' this is their latest keyboard in the eclipse line, It is advertised as a 'Multimedia/Office Keyboard' this keyboard retails at around the £40 mark, This puts this keyboard around the level of other keyboards such as the Logitech G11, Razer Arctosa, Microsft Recluse and the Microsoft Sidewinder X6.

It is a very large keyboard, it measures at (Width, Depth, Heigh): 9.3 Inches x 1.4 Inches x 18 Inches, This keyboard is so large that it doesn't fit in my keyboard tray, if this is where you are planning on putting your keyboard be sure that you have the space to accomodate it. They keyboard is made out of a solid plastic, the keys are laser etched and there is also a wrest that you can fit to the keyboard if you need it.

In my opinion, one of the best things about this keyboard is the backlighting, It is very consistent across the board with the exception of it being slightly brighter at the left control key, You can choose several different colours for the backlight, including:

Blue
Purple
Pink
A darker pink
Red

Video of backligh changes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR23R...eature=channel (best viewed in HD)

You can control the backlights brightness in 4 steps, and you can also have the backlight completely off, There is a top bar on the keyboard which contains all the controls for the backlighting and volume, also there are keys to control your media player. There is a nifty volume bar which when you have the driver installed The light moves up according to what volume you set.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42BHAkItHBY (best viewed in HD)

Another nice feature of this keyboard is the Microphone/Headphone audio pass through, although if your 3.5mm jacks have a large casing they may not fit in the small gap that the keyboard provides, I also find that the angle which they plug in at can be awkward at times.

The keyboard also has 6 shortcut keys on either side I do not think there is a way to change what these keys do, but they all work very well but sometimes I can accidently hit them while in a game, which can be annoying, but it is happening less recently, as I get used to the keyboard more.

Conclusion:
I think this keyboard is wel worth the £37/$56 I payed for it, it has lots of nice features and the backlighting; I think is one of the best going. I would reccomend this to any type of user, whether you be a gamer, casual user or a crazy student who writes lots of essays

If you need any more info just ask

hi-yield · 05-09-09, 06:55 PM

Thanks for the review. I bought an original version because the "II" keys smeared after a relatively short period of time. Hopefully the "III" is better.

jamesman32 · 05-09-09, 07:31 PM

I had the Eclipse II for a while, but that became unresponsive, and was replaced by the Cyborg, the cousin and predecessor of the Eclipse III. I must say, it is a terrible keyboard. The plastic looks cheap, fingerprints add up quickly, keys seems to grind on their way down when pressed, making an annoying sensation, and the back lighting went very quickly on mine, before some of the keys randomly snapped in half, such as the space bar, which was probably weakened by the two springs supporting it, instead of one, causing it to bend and eventually shear, which is ironic because the space bar and WASD keys were reportedly made of "steel".

Bottom line: Saitek has disappointed me multiple times, I wouldn't buy from them again. After a year or so of average use (8 hours a day on the PC), both my Eclipse and Cyborg began to die.

Jolly-Swagman · 05-09-09, 07:37 PM

Nice review JamesXP, thanks for the input.

might just have to have a look at this board, for my next keyboard purchase,

JamesXP · 05-09-09, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamesman32

I had the Eclipse II for a while, but that became unresponsive, and was replaced by the Cyborg, the cousin and predecessor of the Eclipse III. I must say, it is a terrible keyboard. The plastic looks cheap, fingerprints add up quickly, keys seems to grind on their way down when pressed, making an annoying sensation, and the back lighting went very quickly on mine, before some of the keys randomly snapped in half, such as the space bar, which was probably weakened by the two springs supporting it, instead of one, causing it to bend and eventually shear, which is ironic because the space bar and WASD keys were reportedly made of "steel".

Bottom line: Saitek has disappointed me multiple times, I wouldn't buy from them again. After a year or so of average use (8 hours a day on the PC), both my Eclipse and Cyborg began to die.

I also didn't like the look of the cyborg, fortunately my keys seem fine so far, I have been using this keyboard for around a week now and hopefully I will get many years of service from this awesome keyboard.

SeasonalEclipse · 05-09-09, 07:52 PM

Im on a Eclipse II and I love it. Though the III looks a lot better...

Adragontattoo · 05-09-09, 11:03 PM

Eclipse I in my lap, Eclipse II on the desk next to me, and I have never had a complaint about either. The Keys have held up well with no issues, the KBs are both sturdy though the II in a bit chunkier.

Ill check out the III but it looks a lot like the Razer Tarantula and if it is anything like that I wont be going any closer then a check it out look.

JamesXP · 05-09-09, 11:29 PM

It is alot thicker than the tarantula, but i'm not much of a keyboard expert, I like this keyboard alot because they keys aren't mushy like on alot of keyboards.

jmdixon85 · 05-09-09, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hi-yield

Thanks for the review. I bought an original version because the "II" keys smeared after a relatively short period of time. Hopefully the "III" is better.

I have the Eclipse II and havn't had a problem yet. How is it even possible for the keys to smear when they are laser etched??

Marshmallow64 · 05-10-09, 07:30 PM

Eclipse I for a few years now for fps games, no smears and no problems =)

Vipersfate · 05-10-09, 11:10 PM

The Eclipse Keyboards were always nice in my opinion. I'm currently on a Saitek Cyborg, and the Eclipse III looks a bit better than this.

pejsaboy · 05-10-09, 11:47 PM

Not being able to re-map the side buttons is a bit of a bummer, I could probably overlook that though. How long is the cord on it? I'm currently using a bluetooth wireless setup, but the more gaming I do with it the less I'm impressed with the bluetooth aspect. It has inherent 'features' that don't mesh well with gaming.

SuperMiguel · 05-11-09, 09:37 AM

well done

JamesXP · 05-11-09, 09:38 AM

Unfortunately the corsd isn't very long i'd say around 1.5M, but it works.

Aynjell · 06-10-09, 01:28 PM

I had a saitek eclipse I, and it was the worst design I've ever used in my life. Yes, ergonomically it was nice, and the lighting is great, but the keys smeared off much too easy. On top of that, it was incompatible with games that used joysticks (unless you went into the hardware menu and disabled the volume keys)... but this was partially their fault and microsoft's.

All I know is, I wouldn't ever trust one again. Plus I'm one of those smarmy folks that swears by mechanicals. Even my girlfriend has caught the bug of mechanical keyboards, and now percieves mechanical keyboards as being of higher value and being easier to use.

sandyduff · 06-10-09, 03:42 PM

pretty colours.... im stuck with blue on my G11... id give anything for a bit of variety....

OnDborder · 06-10-09, 04:33 PM

Thanks for the review JamesXP.

Ditto on the Eclipse II. I like it blue.

ghettogeddy · 06-10-09, 04:35 PM

i got the cyborg and i wish it went blue lol i get 2 shades of green but no blue
it is a well made keyboard but you would think for a gaming keyboard you would be able to hit more then 2 keys at the same time my 19 buck microsoft will let me do about 5

so i always have it around when i do climbing maps in css

{PGA}AfterShock · 10-07-10, 04:19 AM

+1 on the 2 keys at a time, I'm using a microsoft keyboard that I got for $20 that only lets me use 2 at a time which really sucks for fps games. I had the saitek II but the clip on the bottom of the spacebar broke so the spacebar would only work if you hit it right in the middle which was a pain in the butt so it got recycled into the firepit for some nice colors and black smoke.

raIDERgeek · 10-08-10, 07:56 PM

Nice review! I bought like 10 refurbished Eclipse II for $17 2 years on black Friday at fry's. I may look from more this year hehe.

05-09-09, 06:13 PM	Thread Starter #1
JamesXP Epic Fail Guy Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: England	Saitek Eclipse III - Review Hey guys, just got this keyboard a few days ago and thought i'd write a short review for y'all. This is Saitek's keyboard the 'Eclipse 3' this is their latest keyboard in the eclipse line, It is advertised as a 'Multimedia/Office Keyboard' this keyboard retails at around the £40 mark, This puts this keyboard around the level of other keyboards such as the Logitech G11, Razer Arctosa, Microsft Recluse and the Microsoft Sidewinder X6. It is a very large keyboard, it measures at (Width, Depth, Heigh): 9.3 Inches x 1.4 Inches x 18 Inches, This keyboard is so large that it doesn't fit in my keyboard tray, if this is where you are planning on putting your keyboard be sure that you have the space to accomodate it. They keyboard is made out of a solid plastic, the keys are laser etched and there is also a wrest that you can fit to the keyboard if you need it. In my opinion, one of the best things about this keyboard is the backlighting, It is very consistent across the board with the exception of it being slightly brighter at the left control key, You can choose several different colours for the backlight, including: Blue Purple Pink A darker pink Red Video of backligh changes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR23R...eature=channel (best viewed in HD) You can control the backlights brightness in 4 steps, and you can also have the backlight completely off, There is a top bar on the keyboard which contains all the controls for the backlighting and volume, also there are keys to control your media player. There is a nifty volume bar which when you have the driver installed The light moves up according to what volume you set. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42BHAkItHBY (best viewed in HD) Another nice feature of this keyboard is the Microphone/Headphone audio pass through, although if your 3.5mm jacks have a large casing they may not fit in the small gap that the keyboard provides, I also find that the angle which they plug in at can be awkward at times. The keyboard also has 6 shortcut keys on either side I do not think there is a way to change what these keys do, but they all work very well but sometimes I can accidently hit them while in a game, which can be annoying, but it is happening less recently, as I get used to the keyboard more. Conclusion: I think this keyboard is wel worth the £37/$56 I payed for it, it has lots of nice features and the backlighting; I think is one of the best going. I would reccomend this to any type of user, whether you be a gamer, casual user or a crazy student who writes lots of essays If you need any more info just ask __________________ Intel i5 3570k @ 4.2GHz 8GB Kingston HyperX DDR 1600Mhz nVidia 8600GT ASRock Z77 Pro4 128GB Samsung 830 SSD Corsair VX450 My Saitek Eclipse III Review Last edited by JamesXP; 05-09-09 at 06:22 PM.
	QUOTE Thanks

05-09-09, 06:55 PM	#2
hi-yield Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Lockhart TX	Thanks for the review. I bought an original version because the "II" keys smeared after a relatively short period of time. Hopefully the "III" is better. __________________ Only Rig: BIOSTAR A770 A2+ AMD 5600+ Windsor @ 3.05 - Hammer Down! 4 GB KINGSTON Hyper X PC2-6400 WD Velociraptor 150, WD 640 BLK. SEASONIC SD12 Super Silent Series 850W ANTEC 300 Case BFG 9600GT OC 512 At least I have a rig! :>)
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05-09-09, 07:31 PM	#3
jamesman32 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Suffield, Connecticut	I had the Eclipse II for a while, but that became unresponsive, and was replaced by the Cyborg, the cousin and predecessor of the Eclipse III. I must say, it is a terrible keyboard. The plastic looks cheap, fingerprints add up quickly, keys seems to grind on their way down when pressed, making an annoying sensation, and the back lighting went very quickly on mine, before some of the keys randomly snapped in half, such as the space bar, which was probably weakened by the two springs supporting it, instead of one, causing it to bend and eventually shear, which is ironic because the space bar and WASD keys were reportedly made of "steel". Bottom line: Saitek has disappointed me multiple times, I wouldn't buy from them again. After a year or so of average use (8 hours a day on the PC), both my Eclipse and Cyborg began to die. __________________ Intel Haswell Core i5 4670K Corsair H55 (Push/Pull) Gigabyte GA-Z87MX-D3H 2x 8Gb Patriot Viper DDR3 1600Mhz 2x PowerColor PCS+ MYST HD7870 Tahiti LEs Creative SoundBlaster Z Silverstone ST75F-G 750w Gold Full Modular Mushkin Chronos 120Gb SSD Seagate 1.5Tb HDD Silverstone SG03
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05-09-09, 07:37 PM	#4
Jolly-Swagman Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Folding@Home in Downunder Australia.Victoria	Nice review JamesXP, thanks for the input. might just have to have a look at this board, for my next keyboard purchase, __________________ MyHeat I'm a Team 32 Folding Mentor - Ask me about Folding Jolly's CM-690 Acentos de Cobre E8500@4.27Ghz(450x9.5)\|GA-X48T-DQ6\|CoolIT VANTAGE ALC\|DDR3 4GB GSkill Ripjaws 8-8-8-27\|Evga-GTX-295 +9800GT\|EA-750W\| BenQ e2200HD 1080p OS-Win7 Ult x64 The Milestone Thread 4.0 \| TEAM32 Folding@home- FACEBOOK PAGE \| The Sled Acrylic Tech Bench www.gastephen.com
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05-09-09, 07:52 PM	#6
SeasonalEclipse Member Join Date: Feb 2006	Im on a Eclipse II and I love it. Though the III looks a lot better... __________________ The Beast(Main)- P5QL/EPU, Q9550, 4GB DDR2 800, 2X320GB Perp, 750GB Cavalier,8800GT(for now) Corsair 750 Watt PSU, Enermax server case, 2x Dell 1908WFP, Vista Home http://heatware.com/eval.php?id=51210
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05-09-09, 11:03 PM	#7
Adragontattoo Trailer Chasing Senior Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: 103 year old Victorian that I am renovat/moderniz-ing and fixing.	Eclipse I in my lap, Eclipse II on the desk next to me, and I have never had a complaint about either. The Keys have held up well with no issues, the KBs are both sturdy though the II in a bit chunkier. Ill check out the III but it looks a lot like the Razer Tarantula and if it is anything like that I wont be going any closer then a check it out look. __________________ Only ISP provided, .EDU, .GOV, .MIL e-mail addresses are Classifieds approved. Are you unable to access the Classifieds? Click here to find out why! The Forum Rules FAQ\|Classies Rules and Regs Prices, slashes and edits Quality over Quantity Pictures are NOT req. Adopt an animal if you want one, dont use a breeder!
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05-09-09, 11:29 PM	Thread Starter #8
JamesXP Epic Fail Guy Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: England	It is alot thicker than the tarantula, but i'm not much of a keyboard expert, I like this keyboard alot because they keys aren't mushy like on alot of keyboards. __________________ Intel i5 3570k @ 4.2GHz 8GB Kingston HyperX DDR 1600Mhz nVidia 8600GT ASRock Z77 Pro4 128GB Samsung 830 SSD Corsair VX450 My Saitek Eclipse III Review
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05-10-09, 07:30 PM	#10
Marshmallow64 Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: California	Eclipse I for a few years now for fps games, no smears and no problems =) __________________ :: Gaming Desktop :: CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1055T @ 3.9 Ghz 1.4v \| MOBO: MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 570 (732/1464/1900) \| RAM: 4 GB G-Skill DDR3 1600 SSD: OCZ Vertex 120 GB \| HD1: WD Black 640 GB \| HD2: WD Black 2 TB SC: Xfi Titanium Fatal1ty \| PSU: Corsair HX 620 W KB: Saitek Eclipse \| MOUSE: Logitech MX 518 CASE: Antec 1200 \| OS: Windows 7 x64 :: Laptop :: MOD: Macbook Pro 13” 2011 \| CPU: Intel Core i5 @ 2.3 Ghz RAM: 4 GB DDR3 1333 \| OS: OS X Lion 10.7.2
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05-10-09, 11:10 PM	#11
Vipersfate Member Join Date: Jan 2006	The Eclipse Keyboards were always nice in my opinion. I'm currently on a Saitek Cyborg, and the Eclipse III looks a bit better than this. __________________ The Rig: : AMD Phenom II X6 1090T @ Stock : Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H : 16GB DDR3 1333 Mushkin : Asus EAH5750-1GB : Big Daddy Server : Under Construction : The Lappy : Intel Centrino 1.6Ghz : HP DV1217US : 2GB DDR : Intel Extreme Graphics 2 : The Server : Pentium 4 3.0Ghz 1MB : Optiplex 280: 1GB DDR2 800 : ATi 3650HD :
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05-10-09, 11:47 PM	#12
pejsaboy Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: nor-cal	Not being able to re-map the side buttons is a bit of a bummer, I could probably overlook that though. How long is the cord on it? I'm currently using a bluetooth wireless setup, but the more gaming I do with it the less I'm impressed with the bluetooth aspect. It has inherent 'features' that don't mesh well with gaming. __________________ Sunbeam Transformer Full Tower GA-EP45-UD3P, Q9400 R0 -> 3.6ghz 2x2Gb G. Skill 1066, Kingwin RVT 12025 Sapphire HD4870 1Gb, Vista Home Premium x64 Acer AL2216W, Acer X203W ASUS Eee PC 1001PX-EU17-BK Xbox 360 60Gb XBL! Gamertag - pejsaboy Sanyo 46" 1080p
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05-11-09, 09:37 AM	#13
SuperMiguel Super User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Florida, US	well done __________________ <(+_+)> §ûþê® (v)îgûê£ <(+_+)>
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05-11-09, 09:38 AM	Thread Starter #14
JamesXP Epic Fail Guy Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: England	Unfortunately the corsd isn't very long i'd say around 1.5M, but it works. __________________ Intel i5 3570k @ 4.2GHz 8GB Kingston HyperX DDR 1600Mhz nVidia 8600GT ASRock Z77 Pro4 128GB Samsung 830 SSD Corsair VX450 My Saitek Eclipse III Review
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06-10-09, 01:28 PM	#15
Aynjell Member Join Date: Dec 2008	I had a saitek eclipse I, and it was the worst design I've ever used in my life. Yes, ergonomically it was nice, and the lighting is great, but the keys smeared off much too easy. On top of that, it was incompatible with games that used joysticks (unless you went into the hardware menu and disabled the volume keys)... but this was partially their fault and microsoft's. All I know is, I wouldn't ever trust one again. Plus I'm one of those smarmy folks that swears by mechanicals. Even my girlfriend has caught the bug of mechanical keyboards, and now percieves mechanical keyboards as being of higher value and being easier to use. __________________ Do not break wind in the same room as a dark brother or sister; to do so is to invoke the wrath of Sithis. - Aynjell, in fond memory of Lucien LeChance
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06-10-09, 03:42 PM	#16
sandyduff Great Scot! Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Inverkeithing, SCOTLAND!!!	pretty colours.... im stuck with blue on my G11... id give anything for a bit of variety.... __________________ i7 920 D0 @ 4GHz XSPC Delta V3 Gigabyte x58-UD4 6GB Corsair DDR3 1600MHz 8-8-7-20 Gainward GTX 580 1KW Enermax Galaxy 500GB Samsung Spinpoint F1 and 750GB WD Cavier Green Samdung SA700D 1920x1080 @ 120Hz My steam name is "Sandy Ravage" feel free to add me "we should team up... dandy duff `n double bluff?" Bobbybubblehead
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06-10-09, 04:33 PM	#17
OnDborder Senior Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: HOT 'n Arizona	Thanks for the review JamesXP. Ditto on the Eclipse II. I like it blue. __________________ You're a plague and we are the cure. ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/2600k......MSI p67a-GD55/2600k CORSAIR Vengeance 16gb.......4gigZ Corsair 7970'z crossfire ....................Sapph 7870 crossfired X-Fi Elite Pro.........................H2O cooling 600gb Raptor/256ssd3..... .......40 Kingston ssd Siverstone 1500wt'r.....................Corsair1000HX MyHeat
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06-10-09, 04:35 PM	#18
ghettogeddy Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: antioch ca	i got the cyborg and i wish it went blue lol i get 2 shades of green but no blue it is a well made keyboard but you would think for a gaming keyboard you would be able to hit more then 2 keys at the same time my 19 buck microsoft will let me do about 5 so i always have it around when i do climbing maps in css __________________ Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R ATi xFx HD 5770 (juniper xt) 1gb Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer CORSAIR XMS3 DDR3 1600 6GB (3 x 2GB) OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W Intel 40gb SSD x2 raid 0 Samsung hd322hj 3x320 in raid 5 SAMSUNG 941BW 19" WIDE SCREENS x3 Das Keyboard & Logitech G500 Chief Tech Bravo case Enzotech SCW-REV.A and the rest of the loop lol
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10-07-10, 04:19 AM	#19
{PGA}AfterShock Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: 127.0.0.1	+1 on the 2 keys at a time, I'm using a microsoft keyboard that I got for $20 that only lets me use 2 at a time which really sucks for fps games. I had the saitek II but the clip on the bottom of the spacebar broke so the spacebar would only work if you hit it right in the middle which was a pain in the butt so it got recycled into the firepit for some nice colors and black smoke. __________________ AMD FX-8350 4.4ghz 1.368v cpu/nb freg 2400mhz 1.20v HT Freq 2600mhz 1.2v Corsair H100 <Res Mod> Asus Sabertooth 990fx 2x4 GB G-Skill Sniper ddr3 1600 7-8-7-24-34 1T 1.6v EVGA GTX 570 SC 865/1730/2000 256GB Samsung 840 Pro 468gig SAMSUNG HD400LJ NXXT Switch 810 Corsair GS800 PSU
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10-08-10, 07:56 PM	#20
raIDERgeek Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Cali	Nice review! I bought like 10 refurbished Eclipse II for $17 2 years on black Friday at fry's. I may look from more this year hehe. __________________ i7 26k MSI P67A-G43 ASUS Xonar Essence STX G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB Seagate 640GB 7200 RPM CORSAIR 750TX ASUS 4850 TOP Coolermaster 690 Corsair Hydro Series H50 push/pull
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