Saitek Eclipse II Backlit Keyboard (PK02AU)

The Eclipse II is an older keyboard, but as backlit keyboards go, still an excellent one. You get 3 colors for illumination. Red, Blue, and Purple. If you watch the video below, you’ll see purple is much brighter than red or blue, which indicates they simply shine red and blue together to achieve the purple. Still, all three illumination colors are nice and clean, with a dial brightness control knob. The keyboard comes with 104 keys, including multi-media controls. The keys can be a bit stiff and noisy to use. If you type with a heavy hand like I do, no problem. For a lighter touch, this might not be the best keyboard. Also when you type, it’s a bit noisy. Again, I type with a heavy touch, so nearly EVERY keyboard is noisy for me. Doesn’t really make a difference.

I like the keyboard colors. Silver and black always look good. The wrist rest looks decent, and can be removed. Each letter is laser cut to show the illumination through the keys. The Eclipse II is plug and play, and compatible with Windows 98 up to Windows 7.

There’s a bit of extra lighting that adds style to the keyboard. First, and actually useful, the brightness dial is clearly lit. So even in the dark, you can easily control the lighting. The Space bar is also illuminated, which is not always the case. While I don’t need to see the spacebar, it sure looks better with that long-width light shining from it. And, just for looks, not nearly enough light to be really useful, is the two side-lights. They really make the keyboard stand out. Not many keyboards add that, and it’s a very good-looking added style element.

The base is weighted, and the feet rubberized to keep the keyboard from sliding around in use. If you’re used to a lighter keyboard, it might take some getting used to. The length, at just under 20 inches, is typical for a full-sized keyboard. Not the biggest out there, but not the smallest, either.

One nice thing about an older keyboard, it has lots of time to establish a reputation. Out of over 5o0 customer reviews, it has an outstanding 4+ star average rating with plenty of very happy users. There weren’t many complaints, but of the few that existed, they were mainly of keys that stopped working after a while. The bigger problem is that, of those who did have a problem, nearly all experienced a lack of intelligent customer support.

Final thoughts: This is an all-round great keyboard. The ratio of happy customers far outweighs dissatisfied. The price is fair for the features and quality. I would be comfortable buying the Eclipse II.

Overall Rating:

Sale Price: $44.12

True-vu key illumination in 3 colors blue red & purple 104-key keyboard features patented blue led key illumination & backlighting zero-slope design & adjustable wrist rest for ergonomic comfort features plug-&-play design with usb connector variable lighting levels compatible with windows 98/se/me/2000/xp silver & black finish features black keys with laser-cut lettering.