Thermaltake Challenger Pro Gaming Keyboard & Black Gaming Mouse review

[siopao1984]

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Thermaltake Challenger Pro Gaming Keyboard & Black Gaming Mouse review by VR-Zone.com

Tt eSPORTS is a relatively newly found subsidiary company of Thermaltake, aiming to develop, manufacture and ultimately provide gamers with high quality gaming peripherals. The company currently has a long list of high performance keyboards, mice, headsets and other parts. Today we are having a close look on two of their more popular products, the Challenger Pro Gaming Keyboard and the Black Gaming Mouse.

Manufacturer features and specifications

Challenger Pro Gaming keyboard

• Red illumination back light
• 2 x USB 2.0 ports
• User Interface
• Macro Keys
• Multimedia Keys
• 64KB On Board Memory
• On Board Profile Switch
• Backlight switch
• Fan Device
• Windows Dummy Keycaps
• 8 additional removable keycaps
• Tt. Breakaway Gold-Plated USB Connection Cable(2 Meters in Length)
• Tt eSPORTS Dragon-Red key backlighting
• 6 Easy Access Multimedia Keys
• 10 Customizable Macro Keys
• 10 Million Keystroke Lifespan
• Body dimensions (LxWxH): 505x 195x 27mm
• 6,000 RPM Tt. Breeze Hand Cooling Fan (Life Expectancy of 50,000 hours)

Black Gaming mouse

• Model: BLACK Gaming Mouse (MO-BLK002DT)
• Dominating Gaming Laser Sensor 4000 DPI Engine (400/800/2000/4000 DPI Adjustable), with Visual Indicator.
• Ideal for FPS or MMORPG Game Genres, equipped with Philips 4000 Laser Engine for Optimal Precision & Accuracy.
• 1.8 meters Braided USB Cable with Gold-Plated Connector.
• Teflon Material Feet as Extra Layer of Durability and High Degree of Mouse Handling.
• Superb Customizable Graphical UI for Macro Keys, Advanced Performance, and Lighting-Effect Options.
• Industrial Grade Rubber-Coating Finish for better Hand Grip.
• On-Board 64kb Memory Storage for 18 Macro Keys in 3 Game Profiles.
• Weight-In Design for Perfect Handling Mouse Movement: (5 x 4.5g, up to 22.5g max)
• Body Dimension: 120mm (length) x 70mm (width) x 40mm (height).

[siopao1984]

Thermaltake supplies the Challenger Pro keyboard in a sizable, black and red accented box. The artwork on the box revolves around a picture of the product itself and a metallic, militaristic background.



Information concerning the keyboard’s features is printed around all sides of the box but most of it can be found by prying the top side of the box open.



Inside the box the keyboard is well secured and wrapped inside a thick cloth carrying bag.



A relatively rich bundle awaits those who will purchase the Challenger Pro keyboard. Inside the box we found a manual, a warranty policy leaflet, a software CD, the gold-plated and sleeved USB cable, a carrying pouch for the cable, a tiny cooling fan, two caps for the windows keys, a pouch with 8 red replacement keys (A,W,S,D and the four arrow keys) and a key removal tool.



The Black Gaming mous comes supplied in a cardboard box with a theme identical to that of the Challenger Pro keyboard. Once again, the artwork focuses on a picture of the product itself over a metallic background.



Once again, the front side of the box opens up, revealing a lot of information on the features of the mouse but also offers a clear view of the mouse itself.



Inside the box you will also find a manual, a small leaflet and a carrying pouch.

[siopao1984]

The Challenger Pro Gaming keyboard sports a futuristic design, with straight lines and sharp edges. A large red logo of the company can be seen at the middle of the wrist rest and the keyboard is sprayed with a matte black paint, with the exception of the small glossy areas at the left and right sides of the keyboard where Thermaltake placed the macro keys. It is not a mechanical keyboard or any other “special” kind of keyboard; this model is using classic rubber dome keys, which are slightly curved for higher comfort.





A total of ten macro keys can be found equally split between the two sides of the keyboard. Up to 3 groups of commands can be programmed into the macro keys, bringing the maximum number of macro commands up to 30. The command group can be selected via the key found at the uppermost right corner of the numpad.



At the top of the keyboard, four LEDs indicate the status of the keyboard’s functions. Besides the three typical LEDs, which are the Caps Lock, Num Lock and Scroll Lock indicators, there is a fourth group of smaller LEDs indicating the selected macro commands group.



Probably in an effort to make this keyboard a little more compact, Thermaltake squeezed the F keys together and placed them close to the main keyboard area. This can become problematic for people who are frequently using the F keys and/or games which require frequent use of one or several F keys. It is not rare that F5 (Editor’s hint: Quicksave) is one of the most frequently used keys during a game.



At the top left and right side of the keyboard there are two rubber stoppers. By removing either of them you can install the tiny cooling fan Thermaltake provides, which is supposedly designed to keep your hands cool. This is probably something inspired by someone who visits the bowling lanes a bit too often, where high-level players dry their hands before taking a shot. We hardly think that this will be of any use to any gamer, no matter how long the gaming hours may be. Furthermore, a very small physical blow would easily destroy this fan and given its position we do believe that it is nothing less than an accident waiting to happen.



At the back of the keyboard, one can find two USB 2.0 ports. These ports are not powered and each can supply up to 100mA to a device, meaning that high-power USB devices (such as 2.5” HDD drives) cannot be powered up by the keyboard. Bluetooth and RF dongles, as well as many other self-powered or low power devices can be used.



There is also a storage slot for the tiny cooling fan, to be installed when not used and during transportation.



The bottom of the keyboard is relatively simple, with two keyboard risers and rubber anti-skid pads. The lower end area of the keyboard has a red accent.



Even though this keyboard is equipped with a variable brightness backlight, even at its maximum setting the backlight is very soft and subtle. This is a good thing which playing a game inside a dark room since you would not want a strong light drawing your attention. The lighting looks slightly uneven, a counter effect of lighting up the area beneath the keys and not the keys themselves.

[siopao1984]

he design of the Black Gaming mouse matches the futuristic theme of the Challenger keyboards perfectly. As the name suggests, this Thermaltake product is entirely black but not the entire surface is finished with the same tone. The sides of the mouse are darker than the center and a glossy plastic surrounds the mouse wheel. The textured matte “rubberized” paint improves grip and comfort. It also makes it impossible for fingerprints to form. This mouse is asymmetrical and designed for right-handed people, so it will be at the very least uncomfortable to use if you are used to handling a mouse with your left hand.

Another noteworthy part is the braided USB cable with the gold-plated connector. We are certain that the gold plating is more of a marketing trick than anything else but the braided USB cable does a great job by reducing the cable’s friction and increasing its hardness, allowing the cable to follow the movements of the mouse more freely. Finally, it also significantly improves the durability of the cable.



In an effort to improve the grip of the mouse even further, Thermaltake added a rubberized area with small bumps on the left side of the mouse, right over where the gamer’s thumb will be. They also installed a single browser forward/back button. By using either the top or the middle of your thumb, you can either move forward or backwards while browsing.



The center section mouse wheel is notched in order to improve precision and grip, while its sides are clear to allow for the lighting effect to manifest. Right below the mouse wheel Thermaltake installed two buttons, intended to be used to control the DPI level of the mouse “on the fly”. If you are the kind of person who does not ever change the sensitivity of the mouse while gaming, you can also re-program these keys to perform other functions through the included software. At the left top side of the mouse Thermaltake placed four LEDs which indicate the current DPI setting of the mouse. While we were using the mouse, we realized why Thermaltake made the area around the wheel glossy and not rubberized like the rest of the mouse; it actually allows your finger to skid better while using the wheel by limiting friction down to an absolute minimum.



The underside of the mouse is plastic, with the exception of the large Teflon feet. According to its specifications, this mouse is using the Philips 4000 laser engine which is capable of delivering a sensitivity of up to 4000 DPI. This sensor specifications include a response time of 1ms and a polling rate of 1MHz, meaning that it sends tracking data to the computer up to 1000 times per second.



A door at the underside of the mouse hides the extra five 4.5gr weights which Thermaltake installed for some limited weight tuning, all of which are pre-installed inside the mouse. Unfortunately the five 4.5gr weights can only reduce the weight of the mouse by 22.5gr total, which is a small fraction compared to the total weight of the mouse.



Much like the Challenger Pro keyboard, the Black Gaming mouse glows red in the dark. Not the entire mouse, only the company logo at the top front side of the body and the sides of the mouse wheel. Some illumination beneath the mouse would look amazing but we suspect that it could reduce or hinder the accuracy of the sensor.

[siopao1984]

The Challenger Pro Gaming Keyboard and the Black Gaming Mouse are some of the first products Tt eSPORTS released, both of which quickly became popular among gamers and led Thermaltake towards the release of several more products. We can understand why since behind the aggressive, futuristic design and fancy lighting we also found two very well made products.

The Challenger Pro Gaming Keyboard is a well made, sensibly priced gaming keyboard with ten programmable macro keys and background lighting. Using common rubber domes it is the simplest type of keyboard currently available but it is comfortable, functional and reasonably priced for the features it offers. We especially liked the removable braided USB cable, which can also be replaced with any other mini-USB to USB cable if it gets damaged or lost, and the high quality finish of the keyboard’s plastic surfaces. The adjustable background lighting is a very nice feature as well, as well as the included red keys. We do not think that the cooling fan will be of much use to anyone and we would have liked to see an on-the-fly macro programming/recording feature which does not require the use of the included software.



Although it was the very first gaming mouse Thermaltake eSPORTS released, the Black Gaming Mouse is actually better than what most people would expect from a product priced at 38$ USD. It is a very well made gaming mouse, feels very solid and has an excellent design and finish. It would be an excellent addition to the desk of any gamer. All we would like to see improved is the weight tuning system, which offers very limited options and there is little difference comparing the weight of the device with the weights installed and not.

[eXpLoDe]

i like the mouse kay naay weights. para dako sa wrist muscles. hehehe

[3kster]

nice review,.. plan bya jud ko palit either TT or Razer nga KB n Mouse,...

[nonoyxp]

Nice Upcoming Gaming Gears