OK I have read a lot of reviews, tried to get through at least three reviews for each board plus some user feedback.
Razer Black Widow Ultimate does indeed look very good (and it's mechanical) but it just doesn't suit me as the F key clusters are too close together (F5/F9 quicksave/load, I like spaces there) and it has no NKRO (still fine for most gaming though) and it's pricey.
Lycosa is another fine option from Razer if the BWU is too expensive.
Logitech G19 is even more expensive (over €130 here!) has some awesome features and the best backlighting I've seen but there are some reported issues with the LCD display and it's huge and requires it's own power supply!
Gigabyte K8100 is a very interesting new offering and I wanted the yellow one, but alas they only do the plain black one with Euro key layout - red and yellow are US only . The programmable keys are also a little bit too far away from the normal keys but otherwise this is a very promising introduction from Gigabyte, the software looks excellent.
Cyborg V7 has variable backlights but I really don't like the design, it's a strange step backwards from the awesome Eclipse II IMHO.
Roccat Valo has some very impressive features and looks slick but the reviews and user experiences are shocking, seems to be serious issues there. Roccat has another board due out this year which sounds promising if they can sort the issues.
X4 looks the best budget board overall, very good features and a great price (under £35).
But I will be going with... *drum roll*... the Steelseries Merc Stealth. It does look unusual and many don't like the numberpad/arrow key cluster but I don't really use that. It has Red, Blue and Purple backlights (just like my Eclipse II), all the usual Macros (which I may start learning to use), two USB 2.0 ports (yay!) and mostly very positive feedback.
Thanks for all the info and suggestions.
