Razer Arctosa Keyboards, Silver and black

Merlin5 · 12 Aug 2010 at 04:53

I'm considering the Arctosa. The Lycosa is very nice, but don't think I need to spend that much just for backlit keys. Apparently the Arctosa black version has black print on black keys, and the reviews talk about it. So that's a no-no for me. I'm interested in the silver edition.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=KB-038-RA&groupid=702&catid=23&subcat=1258

Anyone here have experience of it and is it a recommended keyboard? I do a fair bit of fps gaming.
Low profile keys on it I think will be good.
The attached wrist rest is important for me, and there aren't really any or many other keyboards with this, or certainly not as deep as this rest.
How about the glossy finish, does it get annoying with all the smudges?

Some bad things about it I read though, would these be fair?
"Build Quality: Abysmal, the whole keyboard flexes when I just push down on it a little. The key labels look like they are just press-on stickers. The little touchpad buttons are rather hard to press, and I hear they break rather quickly anyway. Wrist-rest is not adjustable, and feels extremely slippery; it almost feels difficult to keep my hands on this keyboard. I might go spray a coat of something on the wrist rest to make it a bit less slippery. "

"The keys are a bit noisy, especially when I'm typing fast. "

dmcg · 12 Aug 2010 at 07:13

Although I have the Lycosa which is pretty much the same but just costs more I agree with those comments the build quality isnt that great and I have constant problems with the drivers where keys just randomly stop working or the music button keys go on a spaz and flickr through every song I have on the play list.

I would stay away from any razer keyboard/product tbh always have problems with them

Merlin5 · 12 Aug 2010 at 14:15

Thanks dmcg. Well, that's one non recommendation.

Anyone else with good or bad things to say about it? Shame, really nice looking keyboard. What else can I get with that sort of functionality and low profile keys for similar price?

Reaper652 · 12 Aug 2010 at 15:28

I was going to buy one, but saw hundreds of comments like dmcg's and that put me off. The microsoft x4 looks to be quite good, but the wrist rest might not be deep enough.

Merlin5 · 12 Aug 2010 at 15:29

Ok, I just spoke on IRC to a mate who's a great quake player. He has the Lycosa without the drivers installed, and says he has no problems at all, and all functions still work. If that's the case, I'm wondering if the Arctosa would be as good without drivers installed.

[WU-TANG]GZA · 12 Aug 2010 at 19:37

Lycosa and Copperhead and Deathadder owner here

Had no problems on any of them for years of heavy gaming.

Gary* · 12 Aug 2010 at 19:40

dmcg said:
Although I have the Lycosa which is pretty much the same but just costs more I agree with those comments the build quality isnt that great and I have constant problems with the drivers where keys just randomly stop working or the music button keys go on a spaz and flickr through every song I have on the play list.

I would stay away from any razer keyboard/product tbh always have problems with them

I've found the build quality to be pretty great in all honesty, I never could get away with the likes of Logitechs G15 or such and as for Razer drivers, these are indefinitely pants, their only downfall I've found so far.

Ryan-3 · 12 Aug 2010 at 19:42

I have the Arctosa and a Lachesis, and I have to say its a good keyboard and a great mouse.They both perform well, and the build quality is very good. Never had a problem, even with my old Habu (says Microsoft, but its a 1st gen Copperhead underneath), which eventually got a fault after 2 years, of a sticky left click, but still works fine on the other PC

mattjd · 12 Aug 2010 at 19:51

Im an owner of a Lycosa Mirror edition.

Its true about the whole thing bends when pressed down. But thats when you put a considerable amount of force on it, so it doesnt bend when you type.

Build quality is pretty decent to be honest doesnt feel cheap and it feels great to type on.

Wrist wrest for the mirror edition is a glossy plastic so grip is great but its a finger print magnet! The wrist wrest for standard one is fine as well.

Drivers are pretty decent. But its true about the music tracks changing on there own sometimes (Happens on iTunes about once every 4 days for me, all you ahve to do is go into keyboard configuration change to another media player like WMP, apply then choose iTunes again then apply).

Customer service is great my original standard Lycosa had a really unstable media control panel it went unstable almost every day. They replaced it with my current mirror edition (US layout not that big of an issue) all they wanted was a letter with problem stated, serial sticker peeled off back and usb header cut off.

Both keyboards the USB header on the back to plug other items in is crap. Plug my iPod in and it charges then stops then charges again its pretty unstable. Probably be better for usb sticks.

Merlin5 · 12 Aug 2010 at 22:49

Excelllent! Thanks guys.

Mixed reviews, but clearly some happy Arctosa/Lycosa customers here. I'm gonna go for the Silver Edition Arctosa, which has some nice glossy bits but not as much I don't think as the Lycosa. If it doesn't work well without drivers installed, well, I'll just install them and see what happens.

Final question. The more I think about it, the more I'm tempted by the Lycosa Mirror Edition because backlit keys in blue would look so cool. But I'm concerned that if I want to switch off the backlit keys, the keys are hard to read apparently. Is it worthwhile spending more for the Lycosa, or should I just save money and go for the Arctosa? I'm definitely going to buy one of them.

(just noticed, silver edition now out of stock, and thought ocuk sold the lycosa, but they don't seem to)

mattjd · 12 Aug 2010 at 23:30

Merlin5 said:
Excelllent! Thanks guys. Mixed reviews, but clearly some happy Arctosa/Lycosa customers here. I'm gonna go for the Silver Edition Arctosa, which has some nice glossy bits but not as much I don't think as the Lycosa. If it doesn't work well without drivers installed, well, I'll just install them and see what happens.

Final question. The more I think about it, the more I'm tempted by the Lycosa Mirror Edition because backlit keys in blue would look so cool. But I'm concerned that if I want to switch off the backlit keys, the keys are hard to read apparently. Is it worthwhile spending more for the Lycosa, or should I just save money and go for the Arctosa? I'm definitely going to buy one of them.

(just noticed, silver edition now out of stock, and thought ocuk sold the lycosa, but they don't seem to)

Yeah Razer are out of stock of UK layout Lycosa's thats why they sent me a US layout one instead for my replacement. Try looking on ebay or a site named after the biggest rainforest in the world

Merlin5 · 13 Aug 2010 at 01:18

mattjd said:
Yeah Razer are out of stock of UK layout Lycosa's thats why they sent me a US layout one instead for my replacement. Try looking on ebay or a site named after the biggest rainforest in the world

Oooh, I just cant think what you mean

Merlin5 · 13 Aug 2010 at 15:26

Ok, I just purchased a Lycosa

But not mirror edition. That would get too annoying having to clean off smudges all the time, but it sure looks beautiful.
Got the rubber backlit one instead which still has black glossy bits, and ordered a Steelseries QcK mini gaming mouse pad while I was at it.

mattjd · 13 Aug 2010 at 15:49

Merlin5 said:
Ok, I just purchased a Lycosa But not mirror edition. That would get too annoying having to clean off smudges all the time, but it sure looks beautiful.
Got the rubber backlit one instead which still has black glossy bits, and ordered a Steelseries QcK mini gaming mouse pad while I was at it.

Yeah I ahve to clean mine regularly

But they supply you with a Razer cloth

Watch out with the rubber coated keys if you get any acidic stuff on your fingers it creates a green finger print on the rubber coating

Stupid lemons

Defunkt · 13 Aug 2010 at 16:33

I have the Lycosa and have never had a single problem with it in 6 months of use. A friend bought 1 (after using mine) and had nothing but problems (all like the other comments above) He contacted Razer and it turns out it is all down to a bad batch. They replaced his. I think it was the keyboards with serial number starting "MC" (i think) they quoted to him as the bad 1's (which his was) i'm not certain that is the serial number or not so don't quote me on that.
My serial number starts "MT" and is not 1 of those affected by their known defects.
It comes down to having a bit of luck when purchasing 1 of these boards it seems.
If you have an MT you are lucky

Razer seem to have good customer service from what I know and my friends experiences with them. Those with problems really should just contact them and get a replacement. They are aware of issues so won't quibble.

Merlin5 · 13 Aug 2010 at 17:16

Cheers Defunkt, I'll check the serial number when it arrives on monday.

mattjd said:
Yeah I ahve to clean mine regularly But they supply you with a Razer cloth

Watch out with the rubber coated keys if you get any acidic stuff on your fingers it creates a green finger print on the rubber coating Stupid lemons

Yeah. My main concern are things like that. Also read that some people have had the rubber start to peel off after some use, yet others have no problem with that. Also heard that the backlit keys are relatively dim, but somewhat brighter on the mirror edition.

Rebel=UK= · 13 Aug 2010 at 17:21

Defunkt said:
My serial number starts "MT" and is not 1 of those affected by their known defects.
It comes down to having a bit of luck when purchasing 1 of these boards it seems.
If you have an MT you are lucky

Ive had no problems with my mirror edition, but my serial does start with MT so that could be it. The finger prints r a pain and i have a black glass desk aswell :eek:

stiv121 · 13 Aug 2010 at 21:08

dmcg said:
Although I have the Lycosa which is pretty much the same but just costs more I agree with those comments the build quality isnt that great and I have constant problems with the drivers where keys just randomly stop working or the music button keys go on a spaz and flickr through every song I have on the play list.

I would stay away from any razer keyboard/product tbh always have problems with them

mines has been fine for nearly a year ?

Merlin5 · 18 Aug 2010 at 14:04

I've got my Lycosa now, and love it. Wanted to ask though, does yours have uneven backlighting? Take a look at these 2 images I took, can you see where the light is darker in places, like for instance all the symbols above keys 2 to 7 (dollar, pound, percentage, etc). On my colon symbol, the top dot is darker than the bottom dot.This is all over the keyboard. While it's not really a problem and is fairly minor and I can see what I'm doing, is it acceptable? It does rather cheapen the effect a little. It's a bit like if the keys were painted and bits of paint had come off. Maybe all backlit keyboards suffer from this?

http://j.imagehost.org/0653/Key_2.jpg

http://j.imagehost.org/0680/Key_3.jpg

[WU-TANG]GZA · 19 Aug 2010 at 01:19

My keys are like that too - can't say it bothers me in the slightest - still working great and an amazing keyboard to game on. Don't think I could go back now...