Alienware Pro Wireless keyboard review: Just shy of greatness

Cost When Reviewed

$199.99

Finest Prices Today: Alienware Pro Wireless keyboard

I’ve evaluated lots and lots of keyboards over several years, and yet I do not believe I’ve ever seen the marketplace as competitive as it is at the minute. And if there’s one section that’s especially hot, it’s this extremely particular one: 75% mechanical boards, targeted at players, with a soupçon of functions from high-end custom-made boards included. It’s so hot that even Dell, by method of its video gaming sub-brand Alienware, desires in on this action.

The Alienware Pro Wireless Keyboard is a severe competitor in this undoubtedly hyper-specific classification. It has a lot going all out, consisting of a compact and elegant body, dual-function wireless, exceptional switches, and strong typing. Its excellent hardware is let down by half-baked software application, a tune we’ve all heard before, and the high cost might discourage otherwise thrilled purchasers.

More reading: Finest cordless video gaming keyboards

Alienware-branded keyboards are absolutely nothing brand-new, however compared to the sub-brand’s intricate desktops and laptop computers, they have actually seemed like an afterthought. Like their Dell cousins, they were simply the things you got with a brand-new computer system purchase, absolutely nothing to be looked for by themselves. Even costly designs like the Tri-Mode Wireless Gaming Keyboard provided little that wasn’t currently discovered somewhere else in the market in a much better bundle.

The Pro Wireless Keyboard has a lot going all out, consisting of a compact and elegant body, dual-function wireless, and outstanding switches.

The Pro Wireless Keyboard, in addition to the Pro Wireless Mouseappears like Alienware’s effort to take its peripherals to a brand-new level. Apparently created with input from over 100 professional players with the long-running Team Liquid name-dropped, this board is intended directly at the pros … with the typical interest basic customers accompanying for the trip. A couple of great touches from the custom-made keyboard world aid round out the style.

And the style is actually rounded. The switches of the keyboard pop right out of an aluminum deck that gently curves to a plastic lower body, happily contrasting with the more angular and aggressive lines of the majority of mechanical keyboards. This drifting switch setup, in addition to avoiding the pattern of a devoted volume knob, makes the board feel seriously compact. In regards to pure measurements it’s not really that much smaller sized than other 75% boards like the BlackWidow V4 Prohowever the rounded body makes it feel smaller sized in the hand, as if it’s all set and excited to come along in your bag.

Other options provide a comparable feel. The Wireless Pro features a USB Type C dongle, still a rarity even amongst high-end devices, showing that Alienware desires you to utilize this with the most recent laptop computers and desktops. The dongle vanishes into a spring-loaded cubby hole in the body, a really good touch. The cordless setup provides fast changing in between the 2.4 GHz dongle and approximately 3 Bluetooth gadgets. This makes it a ready buddy for tablets and other mobile gizmos, though “real” players would be loath to endure Bluetooth’s greater cordless latency. It’s a bit on the heavy side at 29 ounces (.82 kgs), which I’m putting down to that curved aluminum deck and a massive internal battery. Alienware declares 72 hours of full-brightness RGB video gaming, or almost 800 hours– more than a month– with the lights off and 2.4 GHz mode active.

While we’re discussing mobility, look beneath the body. Here you see the curved style continued with a fairly substantial angled rack, which I’m thinking is real estate the battery, and single-stage feet that fold out at an angle for much better stability. There’s a long silicone strip that runs nearly the whole width of the keyboard at the base, which I was informed exists to keep the important things from moving around. That does assist, I expect … though a little screening does not reveal it as visibly much better than smaller sized pads. It appears that in keyboards, as in life, it’s not smart to associate huge feet with much better efficiency.

Other functions of the board are obtained from the semi-custom styles that have actually ended up being so popular, within the video gaming area and without. The Pro Wireless includes some exceptional switches pre-installed (more on them later on), however you can switch them out to any MX-standard style if you want. And though the body isn’t indicated to be taken apart and tailored as suggested by a substantial quantity of enforcing Torx screws, within are double layers of vibration-absorbing foam. Alienware likewise uses the board in white or black to match your battlestation visual, though I believe the white actually flaunts its extra-bright RGB LEDs to the very best impact.

Speaking of visual appeals: note that this board has a non-standard setup on the bottom row of keycaps, with various sizes for the Ctrl, Win, and Alt secrets on the. That’ll make discovering a replacement set of keycaps much more difficult than with a “basic” 75% board– you’ll likewise need to represent the reduced Shift secret and 1x modifiers on the best side.

How is the Alienware Pro Wireless for typing and video gaming?

Typing on the Pro Wireless feels great. Shockingly excellent, in truth, thinking about the short experiences I’ve had with previous Alienware-branded styles. The keyboard is used with just Red switches, provided by Alienware and pre-lubed from the factory. I’m particular that Dell is sourcing them from another business like Kailh or Gateron, however their transparent plastic bodies (total with an included lens to boost the keyboard’s LEDs) are unbranded.

Wherever they originate from, the “Alienware direct” reds are outstanding. They’re not the very best switches I’ve ever utilized, however they’re well above the requirement for video gaming boards, using super-light and smooth operation. Incorporating the body and the keyboard deck produces absolutely no flex in the switches, which feels respectable to me, though you may believe it’s a little stiff if you’re utilized to a plastic tray or gasket install. Integrated with the strong, foam-filled body, PBT keycaps, and above-average stabilizers on the long secrets, extended sessions of composing on the Pro Wireless are enjoyable and comfy.

Ditto for video gaming sessions. In long plays through Cyberpunk 2077 and Far Cry 5 I discovered that the quick and responsive setup was particularly helpful for first-person video games. Here’s where the strong stabilizers on the area bar and left-side Shift secret made a huge distinction versus other video gaming boards. The super-long battery life was likewise valued, as I choose to video game untethered, and I do not have the super-human understanding required to discover a distinction in between having fun with the cable television and the 2.4 GHz dongle. If, in truth, there is a distinction at all.

In spite of Alienware’s claim that this board is for professional players primarily, it strolls a remarkable tightrope in between benefiting play and useful for work, something I constantly value in a keyboard. I value its absence of a wrist rest rather less, specifically at this rate– I needed to provide my own quite rapidly to stay comfy.

How is the software application?

If the Pro Wireless is Alienware’s effort to bring itself approximately more specific competitors like Razer, Corsair, and Cooler Master, then its software application is revealing simply how difficult that can be. None of the software application chauffeur bundles for video gaming devices are especially fantastic, with a couple of like Asus Armoury Crate being downright awful. Alienware’s “Command Center” isn’t rather that bad, however it’s absolutely on the lower end of the spectrum.

Of all, it continuously requires that I set up the Dolby Access app from the Microsoft Store, most likely due to the fact that it consists of combination with Alienware headsets. As I do not have an Alienware headset, I decreased … and decreased once again, whenever I restarted my computer system and the Alienware software application popped back up. It likewise has a nasty practice of losing connection to the keyboard with the 2.4 GHz dongle plugged in, even while I continued to type on it. That does not appear to matter too much, given that you have to plug in the keyboard to really make any modifications … something that’s not interacted to the user at all in the user interface, and lost even more of my time.

As far as really handling the board, it might be even worse. You have the typical essentials of macro and per-key programs, lighting choices (about a lots pre-programmed impacts, no combination with other systems), and alternatives to disable Windows and alt-tab in video game mode. You can designate particular programs to release with particular video games (presuming the software application hasn’t misplaced the board at that point) and conserve profiles to the keyboard’s internal memory.

It works. The majority of the time. This is certainly the low point of the Pro Wireless experience, and something Alienware requires to enhance drastically if it desires to compete with other gamers in the market at their rates. Mentioning which …

Is the Alienware Pro Wireless Keyboard worth it?

Dell desires 200 American greenbacks for the Alienware Pro Wireless Keyboard. That appears excessively enthusiastic to me. Think about that it’s more pricey than Razer’s BlackWidow V4 75%, our top choice in the video gaming classificationThat style includes a more mod-friendly construct, subjectively much better switches, and a soft wrist rest, with an absence of cordless being the just huge downside. The Alienware is just $10 less than the Keychron Q1 Maxwhich likewise has dual-mode wireless and includes a huge, sturdy metal body and a volume knob.

As great as the Pro Wireless is, and its software application shortages regardless of, I ‘d like to see it priced $30 to $50 less expensive before I offer it an unreserved suggestion. Undoubtedly, that may be due to the fact that I understand Dell’s access to definitely huge economies of scale implies that it’s more than efficient in providing this style at a lower cost. I compose as a tech geek, a player, and most significantly a customer. This keyboard requires to use a little something more– or to request a little something less– before it can sign up with the ranks of the very best on the marketplace.

As great as the Pro Wireless is, and its software application shortages regardless of, I ‘d like to see it priced $30-50 more affordable before I provide it an unreserved suggestion.

The Pro Wireless is an excellent keyboard, with strong typing and video gaming efficiency and long battery life. The curved white design may appeal particularly to players who desire a distinct appearance. Its worth proposal and software application jankiness keep it from accomplishing achievement. If you can discover it on sale, or if Dell chooses to re-evaluate its rather high price, it may be worth a much faster purchase.

Finest Prices Today: Alienware Pro Wireless keyboard

Author: Michael CriderStaff Writer