Are you of the mindset that an effective gaming keyboard should cost around $100?
If you are, Sharkoon's Skiller Pro gaming keyboard just might change your opinion. While it's not perfect, it's pretty darn good -- especially for the price.
Retailing for a mere $30, the Skiller Pro has almost all of the makings of a high-end gaming keyboard. It's not a mechanical keyboard -- which would disqualify it in the minds of hardcore PC gamers as a gaming keyboard right there -- but from its blue backlight to its memory functions, it fills the role nicely.
The blue LED backlight has 10 brightness levels, as well as an annoyingly-fast and distracting breathing effect option. It also has a suite of multimedia keys for quick access to volume controls, media players and the like. Furthermore, the Skiller Pro comes bundled with Sharkoon's own software that allows for three macro profiles that work with the keyboard's on-board memory. Macro programming is simple, and less advanced users should have little problem figuring it out.
While the features are mostly there, construction is raises a few eyebrows. The keyboard's body feels well built and sturdy, and it actually looks pretty nice. The keys feel pretty solid, even if they lack the clickity-clack feedback that mechanical keyboards are known for. Sharkoon claims the rubber dome keys are good for some 10 million strokes. The space bar, however, both feels and sounds hollow. When struck firmly or quickly, such as when playing twitch games, it seemed like it might pop right out of its housing. The keyboard's 1.5 meter braided and gold-plated USB cord should be long enough for most users.
For those on a budget or those who simply don't game enough on their computer to justify spending a Benjamin or more on a high-end gaming keyboard, the Sharkoon Skiller Pro is one worth considering. It'll do the job well enough, but it lacks the bells and whistles and construction of those higher-priced options.
This keyboard, which was supplied by Sharkoon for the purpose of this review, was tested on a Windows 7 machine for day-to-day productivity as well as on the following games: Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers, Fallout New Vegas and Total War: Attila.