Hardware Ozone Strike Review

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/08/10/ozone-strike-review/1

 

So you'd rather spend more money on a keyboard that's not even FULLY mechanical just because it has an aluminium body?

This is from the Corsair's review. Yet now you say it's "something that feels special"?


It could be made out of gold for all I care, if it's not fully mechanical, and it costs as much, or more, then it's not better than a fully mechanical keyboard.

 

TBH, I'm tempted to get one of these for work rather than gaming!

 

Mechanical keyboards are a bit of an oddity to me. Last year, after having ruined a board thanks to an adventurous cup of coffee, I decided to dive in and get one. It was recommended that I look into Filco, so I researched and went for a Majestouch-2 with Blues. I wouldn't say it was a mistake as such but I just found out that I didn't really appreciate many of the qualities that people often seem to pride in mech keyboards. I was, at the time, used to typing on a normal travel keyboard, although I never enjoyed it much and could type much faster on my macbooks one. I found out later that I could get quieter switches, but by then it was a bit late, I just found the loud clicking so aggravating.

Personally I like not to hear my peripherals, I find it really distracting during a game to be able to hear my keyboard hammering away over the sound; ruins the immersion. I just didn't think it would be as loud as it was. The travel was a big issue for me too, again I just prefer having very little key travel, personal preference. I find with a large key travel I make make more mistakes, again not entirely sure why but I just know it to be the case. So after a not too pleasant experience riding on a keyboard that had been highly recommended, I cut my losses and plonked it on ebay. In the end I opted for one of those apple low profile boards (I can imagine how painful that must have been to read) as I can type much faster, can't hear it and well it doesn't exactly look bad either, nor is it too costly so if it breaks it's not the end of the world.

Would I go mechanical again? Probably, although I'd have to first make a pretty detailed list of the features I want and then ask the pros for some help choosing the right bits that get the job done right, something I didn't do before hand.

 

Why not buy one from unicomp (http://pckeyboard.com/)? They are the real "heir" of the IBM Model M and a lot cheaper.

 

Whats wrong about paying slightly more for a product that has a better looking design?
There's only £10 difference between the k60 and the ozone strike, i know if i were limited to these two keyboards i would chose the k60, as it has a much better looking design (personnel preference of course) that may sound trivial, but why not? if i'm spending a good chunk of money on a product that i will be using daily i see no problem in paying a bit more for aesthetic design.

Its not like the ozone is much better product in a functional sense, based on the two reviews they seem pretty equal, the ozone has a full mechanical set of keys, the k60 does not. The k60 has dedicated media keys, the ozone does not.

As the review mentions whether this is big deal comes down to how you use your keyboard.

 

Personally I would choose the k60 over this. Whats the point of spending £70 on a keyboard and it looking like a £5 one. That and the fact the k60 is backlit which is quite a big plus for me, and I do use the media keys on my logitech quite a lot.

 

probably because those look so bloody awful?

 

The strike IS a technically superior keyboard to the Corsair K60. The strike is made by costar, the same oem that makes the legendary Filco, so you know the build quality is very high. I would also like to point out that this is 100% the exact same model as the usually more expensive Thermaltake Meka G1 asides from the branding. Definitely a good choice if would only buy locally and want a full size with black switch, otherwise there are still some better choices in this price range if import or would like a smaller tenkeyless the CMStorm Rapid is another great mechanical value contender, also costar.

 

Buckling springs doe! They aren't really that well built either, but buckling springs have their own distinct sound and feel. To some that's worth the money. That said, mechanical keyboards are still a subjective experience.

What I will say though is, if you're splurging, at least test it out first. What I did was buy a used Model M for cheap. I think I got the bug.

 

Yeah I haven't tried the buckling springs.. That said, after going through ten mechanical keyboards, I think I'm set with the brown cherries. For now.

 

I'm still using my Raptor Gaming K1

http://www.raptor-gaming.com/raptor/raptorUK/Produkte/k1.htm

Had it for about 7 years!! Still love using it

 

Yeah the Raptor K1 (Cherry G80-1800) is a great board. Too bad Raptor forsake Cherry in favor of cheaply made domes boards after that.

 

Exactly! I bought one for my desk at work too...just in case my home one ever went faulty, so I could do a secret switcheroo on the sly

 

I have one of these keyboards and I use it both for gaming and intensive writing. With regards to gaming the felling is excellent the response given by the keys creates even a more intensive experience. Also in gaming the keys make some noise but with some nice headsets I have no problems on that.

At typing if you use this keyboard in a public place or you share your space with someone, they will hate the noise that this keyboard makes. So for typing i recommend a more discrete keyboard. If you do not have anyone around the typing felling is still excellent, the keys give a good response.

On the overall the design is sober but nice, the key switches have an excellent quality(as described they are black cherry) the had rest is comfortable. However this is a noisy keyboard (I saw a review were they point that Steelseries was more noisy, thus, I can not comment on that).

regards,
ziza

 

Well I paid £70 for my g80-3000 a couple of years ago now, so I guess you've just been looking at the wrong boards if price was an issue. It seems most of the expensive boards are just regular mechanical boards with a "gaming" rebrand. For some reason, people pay the difference.

 

Black cherries are the least noisy to be honest. If you want noisy. Look no further than buckling springs or CHerry MX blues.

 

There's no mention in the review of n-key rollover, which can be important for gaming - I found on a different review it has full n-key rollover support, definitely a plus point worth mentioning, I feel.

 

If you want Cherry why not buy (or al least test) a Cherry?