Ttesports Challenger Gaming Keyboard Review

Serious gaming will often lead to high pressure moments in which sweating may occur. Those with especially sweaty hands know all too much about this dilemma, how may one game when the WASD keys are drowned in a sea of sweat? Ttesports, partnered with Thermaltake, has recognised such a problem and thus, created the Challenger Gaming Keyboard. Its defining feature is the fan, perhaps tied with its attractive price. Yet, it’s natural to question - What else does this keyboard have to offer? A review should surely fill in the blanks.

A bold statement of ‘dominate like no others’ decorates the front of the package, building certain expectations. The keyboard is tucked away in the firm box, together with some other contents. These include a key remover, dummy keys, extra rubber caps, manual, driver cd, warranty policy and the fan. Being rather lightweight, the keyboard is quickly chucked onto any setup. The lack of weight is brought about by the plastic construction and thin form. Moving on to the face, keys have a typical layout and a neutral font. Top row function keys are invaded by multimedia buttons, a Windows disable button and a profile toggles.

Accessing the mentioned requires pressing the blue function key which replaces the left Windows key. The blue colour is rather a surprise, combined with red strips to the side.  Taking a central position in the plastic wrist rest, which provides sufficient support, is the ‘Tt’ logo which lights up in a breathing motion using the red plastic to create a red light. To the top right, above the number pad, are the outlines of the lock keys which exercise a saturated red highlight when lock keys are activated. A row of dots populates the furthest point up the keyboard with rubber pieces at the ends.

Removing them reveals the two positions in which the fan may be installed. Speaking about the fan, a storage compartment for it can be found on the cable side, for when it isn’t required. The cable is a considerate 2m of braided goodness finishing with a gold-plated USB 2.0. A strong connection allows for a USB pass through to the right of the cable.  Flipping over the hardware allows viewing of the four rubber feet, retractable legs, product details and a sparse routing system which allows the cable to exit a little bit to the right. Everything is packed into a keyboard measuring 480x 205.5x 25 mm in dimensions.

The experience was certainly unique with the fan, but there are other points to mention about this product. As expected for this price and weight, membrane keys are utilised, reducing tactility along with noise levels. For such a keyboard, keys feel great using a bit more actuation force than expected and a 10 million keystroke lifespan.  Typing and gaming should be met with a fair amount of accuracy from a 500Hz polling rate. However, there are no backlighting options to view keys at night – the logo illumination is much too weak and not placed well for the task.  Also note, that anti-ghosting is only introduced when holding the spacebar, which is not an option for most games.

The slim and brushed plastic build makes this keyboard more portable, but extremely vulnerable to flex under pressure.  Retracting any legs will induce an uglier flex effect, but isn’t needed anyway with such a thin aesthetic. Though, flex can still be felt when placed flat.  Build quality is a weak point for this peripheral. Ticking some more positive points, is the accessibility of the Challenger Keyboard. A full set of multimedia keys are usable with the function key long with a windows key disable toggle. This toggle is a bit controversial, since the product comes with a key remover and dummy keys to remove the Windows key for gaming and is boasted about on the design of the box – unnecessarily hassling when one can simply use the quick function.  

Apart from that, 6 macro keys are programmable anywhere on the keyboard using the software. Installed from the given disk on Windows 10 (even though on product details it only mentioned windows xp, vista and 7), 3 profiles can be made with different macros. Lighting can be toggled and memory imported onto the 32kb of internal storage. Immediate interchanging of profiles thorugh function keys makes 18 macros only two button presses away. The software is simple and one will only use it for macro programming, which is not complicated, and not the gimmicky feature of a timer.  It is worthy to note, that utilising function key combination to adjust media or switch between profiles will stain the display with a rather tasteless thick green font. Colour scheme is rather confused on this peripheral; green, blue and red all find a place.

Enough beating around the bush; let’s talk about the fan. As mentioned before, two holes represent the possible locations for the fan to be placed. The position above the number pad is going to be the less popular side, for those who use the number pad and arrow keys. Although there is ventilation over number keys, this keyboard is an obvious nope for use at a workplace. Spinning at 6,000 rpm, it produces airflow of 2.7 CFm for a life expectancy of 50,000 hours. For those who fail to understand the units, the little fan produces a subtle airflow. Noise levels peak at around 21.7dB; personally, since my computer isn’t the quietest system, the fan noise was barely noticed. Those whose ambient noise is lower than around 20 dB will hear easily, but we game with headsets for the most part anyway. So, does the fan affect gaming? Yes, it does. The gentle coursing of air dries fingertips to ensure the best grip possible over brushed plastic. Long gaming sessions have seen the keycaps stay dry and precision remain constant. The concept is implemented very well by Thermaltake and gives this keyboard a singular identity among others

With summer crawling into the year, heat is something to watch out for. Gamers will still feel the radiation, although most gaming occurs indoors. Keeping fingertips cool and prices down, is the TTesports Challenger Gaming Keyboard for €50. You’re not just buying it for the fan, but the accessibility of multimedia keys, macros, USB pass through and portability.

Who it’s for;

• Budget gamers who need macros and USB I/0
• Budget gamers who don’t care for lighting effects
• Gamers with well-lit areas for night time gaming to view keyboard
• Those looking for a solution to sweaty fingers
• Those ready to try out a fanned gaming experience
• Those who don’t mind membrane keyboard gaming and lower build quality
• Portable gamers

Who it’s not for;

• Budget-less gamers who need mechanical switches
• Those who need a sturdy build quality
• Employees at work place
• Gamers in well-ventilated setups or who don’t’ struggle much with sweating
• Those scared to try out something unique
• Gamers selective about colour scheme in setup

Get yours now from The Gamers Lounge; http://shop.gamers.com.mt/product/86/ttesports-challenger