Wolf King Timberwolf gaming keyboard - bit-tech.net Forums

Da Dego · 30th Jun 2007, 03:58

http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2007/...ing_keyboard/1

Just another in a long line of pants keyboards for gamers, or a device to finally challenge the Logitech G15? We find out.

Firehed · 30th Jun 2007, 04:55

I've had one of those for ages - I was always quite happy with it for gaming, but likewise didn't love it for daily use thanks to the cramped keyboard.

Neogumbercules · 30th Jun 2007, 07:02

Seems decent. The picture on the box is STUPID.

Tyinsar · 30th Jun 2007, 07:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Article

It would have honestly seemed a better idea to remove the 1-9 buttons, which are already repeated on the gaming pad

What about the shift states of those keys? For those of us that use the "1-9" above the qwerty keys that would have made this an almost useless keyboard. (Since first playing around on an IBM-XT clone I've used the "numpad" as cursor keys (there were no mice at the time) and the top keys as numbers)

But then again - since I can't play FPS (motion-sickness), and since I'm a lefty, all can say is meh

[cibyr] · 30th Jun 2007, 09:13

For those who are worried about the keyboard being crap for typing on there's also the Wolfclaw Devour, which is just the keypad bit from the left side, with some extra buttons. I'm thinking pretty hard about getting one for when I take my lappy to LANs.

identikit · 30th Jun 2007, 10:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by [cibyr]

For those who are worried about the keyboard being crap for typing on there's also the Wolfclaw Devour, which is just the keypad bit from the left side, with some extra buttons. I'm thinking pretty hard about getting one for when I take my lappy to LANs.

That's a far better design. Maybe having one of those and a wireless keyboard for regular typing would be a good comprimise, you can easily take the wireless keyboard and move it off your desk when you want to play some games.

HugoB · 30th Jun 2007, 11:37

Watch out though, as Joe said here this keyboard has some problems when trying to write hyperlinks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by CardJoe

Quote:

Originally Posted by DougEdey

You could link to the original article

Link added

Was my bad, could have sworn I put the link in, but I guess I must have missed it. Blame the new keyboard I'm reviewing...

Tim S · 30th Jun 2007, 16:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archangel

Watch out though, as Joe said here this keyboard has some problems when trying to write hyperlinks!

TTmodder · 30th Jun 2007, 16:58

possible modding victim. cutting off the "normal" part of the keyboard and leave the circle part as a stand alone functional (of course or the idea of modding is gone). So when in normal use you use a standard (standard as in more comfortable to use for other things then gaming) keyboard thats more comfy.

HugoB · 30th Jun 2007, 17:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by TTmodder

leave the circle part as a stand alone functional

You mean like this (bottom of the page) like cibyr already mentioned

-equilerex- · 30th Jun 2007, 21:14

heh, what they really should have done was making a round standalone keyboard of the gaming area that could be added to the standard keyboard, now that would be a real crowd winner

Tyinsar · 30th Jun 2007, 21:22

-eq... look up one post above yours

xPaladin · 30th Jun 2007, 22:19

I prefer the zboard MERC to the wolf king designs because of the numeric placement up top above the middle finger. I didn't like the wolf king put the numbers in a complete 180 arc, since that means I have to take my pinky off control/shift/alt/z.

The only annoying thing about the merc is a lack of ZX keys, which wolf king has.

CardJoe · 30th Jun 2007, 23:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by [cibyr]

For those who are worried about the keyboard being crap for typing on there's also the Wolfclaw Devour, which is just the keypad bit from the left side, with some extra buttons. I'm thinking pretty hard about getting one for when I take my lappy to LANs.

Hopefully, we'll get our hands on that soon too...

Nix · 30th Jun 2007, 23:18

I got the timberwolf and love it for gaming, and actually like the main keyboard though i didnt realise it was shrunk down until u said. The only tricky thing was getting used to the enter key.

I broke my other one accidently (thanks jackson and coke) and it seemed to freak out and landed up grinding to a halt. But i bought another one cause its comfortable easy to use and the best for fps games imo.

Wolfe · 1st Jul 2007, 03:57

I'm a little curious about Bit-Tech's attachment to macro and volume keys.

Personally, my computer has volume shortcut keys (though no macro keys), and I often find that my computer runs dramatically faster when gaming if I shut the shortcut key process down.

Now, I've not tried every product, but my experience with logitech, at least, has lead me to find that the macro or shortcut software tends to be terrible resource hogs. Personally, I prefer having to press two different buttons to losing 5-10 fps, particularly when I'm just barely making 30 fps.

I play Both FPSes, and RPGs, and I cannot really see any time where I need to use a key sequence longer than 2-3 keypresses regularly, and in those times where i do, there's generally some slight variance that would render a macro useless. (maybe they're usefull in RTSes).

Overall, I would imagine that the general disinterest in products is that can handle macros is that they slow everything down.

It might be a good idea for Bit-Tech to measure the memory and CPU utilization of all those macro and shortcut key services. If there's a keyboard that is really efficent, people might be more interested.

Omnituens · 1st Jul 2007, 04:08

that fact is, is that it isn't a big issue for most people who own a G15, because usually their machine would be able to hand a few small processes running in the background with no inpact on performance.

even on my old laptop (which im currently using because my 8800 fried) the performance hit (if there is one) is not noticable.

I would not change my G15 for any other keyboard currently on the market.

Amon · 1st Jul 2007, 06:21

Not much of an improvement over the setup I already use in Quake 3 Arena. I'd give the product a 6/10 on layout alone (I use EDSF instead of WSAD)

Wolfe · 1st Jul 2007, 16:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Omnituens

that fact is, is that it isn't a big issue for most people who own a G15, because usually their machine would be able to hand a few small processes running in the background with no inpact on performance.

even on my old laptop (which im currently using because my 8800 fried) the performance hit (if there is one) is not noticable.

I don't know.

On my machine (Pentium M 2.00 ghz, Geforce go 7800 GTX, 1 gb ram, yes, it's a gaming notebook), I get a pretty significant reduction in performance.

I still think it's an area of interest.

30th Jun 2007, 03:58	#1
Da Dego Brett Thomas Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Cleveland, OH USA Posts: 3,906	Wolf King Timberwolf gaming keyboard http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2007/...ing_keyboard/1 Just another in a long line of pants keyboards for gamers, or a device to finally challenge the Logitech G15? We find out. __________________ "Frankly that seems overkill. iluvtrees2 arguing with spec is the intellectual equivalent of a bunny rabbit taking on a pissed-off lion." - Nexxo

30th Jun 2007, 04:55	#2
Firehed Why not? I own a domain to match. Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: An hour north of Boston Posts: 12,576	I've had one of those for ages - I was always quite happy with it for gaming, but likewise didn't love it for daily use thanks to the cramped keyboard. __________________ hire me @ eric-stern.com - web developer and php ninja pics @ my smugmug :: Twitter @firehed :: blog @ firehed.net 40D\|580EXII\|285HV\|AB800\|70-200f/4LIS\|17-50f/2.8\|150f/2.8Macro\|50f/1.8 MacPro @ 8x2.8GHz, 10GB FBDDR2, 3TB HD :: MBP @ 2x2.2GHz, 4GB DDR2, 320GB HD

30th Jun 2007, 07:02	#3
Neogumbercules Ultramodder Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,495	Seems decent. The picture on the box is STUPID. __________________ Abit AB9 Pro, Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 CPU, 2GB Corsair DDR2 6400, nVidia 8800GT, Seagate 160 GB HDD.

30th Jun 2007, 09:13	#5
[cibyr] Sometimes posts here Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: A sunburnt country Posts: 749	For those who are worried about the keyboard being crap for typing on there's also the Wolfclaw Devour, which is just the keypad bit from the left side, with some extra buttons. I'm thinking pretty hard about getting one for when I take my lappy to LANs. __________________ I guess aTrack being no longer supported by bit-tech means it really is dead...

30th Jun 2007, 21:14	#11
-equilerex- Multimodder Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Estonia Posts: 183	heh, what they really should have done was making a round standalone keyboard of the gaming area that could be added to the standard keyboard, now that would be a real crowd winner __________________ -Project $0 scratch mod-

30th Jun 2007, 21:22	#12
Tyinsar 6 screens / 1 card Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: AB.CA Posts: 2,005	-eq... look up one post above yours __________________ It's not about how life treats you, it's about how you treat life.

30th Jun 2007, 22:19	#13
xPaladin Minimodder Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Brooklyn NY Posts: 31	I prefer the zboard MERC to the wolf king designs because of the numeric placement up top above the middle finger. I didn't like the wolf king put the numbers in a complete 180 arc, since that means I have to take my pinky off control/shift/alt/z. The only annoying thing about the merc is a lack of ZX keys, which wolf king has. __________________ -xpaladin

30th Jun 2007, 23:18	#15
Nix Multimodder Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bristol/Portsmouth(Uni) Posts: 197	I got the timberwolf and love it for gaming, and actually like the main keyboard though i didnt realise it was shrunk down until u said. The only tricky thing was getting used to the enter key. I broke my other one accidently (thanks jackson and coke) and it seemed to freak out and landed up grinding to a halt. But i bought another one cause its comfortable easy to use and the best for fps games imo. __________________ Project: Little Rascal - Mini-ITX Gaming Rig, available @ - Wizd Forums - Bit-Tech - The Mod Nation - SFFTech

1st Jul 2007, 03:57	#16
Wolfe Hypermodder Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: /root Posts: 768	I'm a little curious about Bit-Tech's attachment to macro and volume keys. Personally, my computer has volume shortcut keys (though no macro keys), and I often find that my computer runs dramatically faster when gaming if I shut the shortcut key process down. Now, I've not tried every product, but my experience with logitech, at least, has lead me to find that the macro or shortcut software tends to be terrible resource hogs. Personally, I prefer having to press two different buttons to losing 5-10 fps, particularly when I'm just barely making 30 fps. I play Both FPSes, and RPGs, and I cannot really see any time where I need to use a key sequence longer than 2-3 keypresses regularly, and in those times where i do, there's generally some slight variance that would render a macro useless. (maybe they're usefull in RTSes). Overall, I would imagine that the general disinterest in products is that can handle macros is that they slow everything down. It might be a good idea for Bit-Tech to measure the memory and CPU utilization of all those macro and shortcut key services. If there's a keyboard that is really efficent, people might be more interested. __________________ User subject to random acts of normality. Last edited by Wolfe; 1st Jul 2007 at 04:02.

1st Jul 2007, 04:08	#17
Omnituens Supermodder Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Stockport Posts: 412	that fact is, is that it isn't a big issue for most people who own a G15, because usually their machine would be able to hand a few small processes running in the background with no inpact on performance. even on my old laptop (which im currently using because my 8800 fried) the performance hit (if there is one) is not noticable. I would not change my G15 for any other keyboard currently on the market. __________________ Current Rig: i7 D0 2.66GHz, 6GB 1066MHz Corsair "Dominator", 285 GTX.

1st Jul 2007, 06:21	#18
Amon inch-perfect Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: cannoning into the reds, Toronto, Canada Posts: 2,456	Not much of an improvement over the setup I already use in Quake 3 Arena. I'd give the product a 6/10 on layout alone (I use EDSF instead of WSAD) __________________ Defunct Socket 939 San Diego 4000+::2GB PC3200::Radeon 9600 SE 128MB::200GB HDD::24" Dell 2407WFP-HC::WinXP x64/x86 dual boot Dell Vostro 1500 laptop::Socket P Merom T7100::2GB PC5400::Go 8600m GT 256MB::660GB HDD::15.4" WXGA+, 24" Dell 2407WFP-HC::WinXP::Fanatec 911 Wheel+Pedals