In the not so distant past, it was widely assumed that if you wanted quality PC gaming peripherals you would have to go to companies like Razer, Logitech, or SteelSeries to satisfy your high quality peripheral needs. Recently companies who have previously never offered gaming peripherals in their product line are now throwing their hats in the arena, attempting to dispel the belief that only established companies can offer really good gaming mice, headsets, keyboards, and other input devices.

Some people, us included, upon hearing that companies like Corsair and CoolerMaster were entering the PC gaming peripheral realm were incredulous. “Who is making PC gaming peripherals now? They are soooo gonna fail!” However, after reviewing a few of the gaming products from non-traditional sources, they have proved us wrong.

Today we bring to you our review of the Challenger Pro Gaming Keyboard released almost two years ago by Tt eSports, a division of Thermaltake. Let’s see if the Challenger, which has already received very good reviews elsewhere can convince us to shut our yaps even more about companies like Thermaltake not being able to deliver quality gaming peripherals.

Packaging

The Challenger Keyboard comes in a large box showing a graphic of the actual keyboard and lists the many features the keyboard includes. The keyboard itself is matte black, with the Tt eSports logo found on the lower part of the board in red. No question, the board is a looker.

A number of accessories and extras are found when opening the box. This includes a fan you can mount onto the keyboard to keep your fingers cool while using the keyboard, a carrying bag for those who like to travel with their keyboards to such events as LAN parties, and a smaller travel carrying bag to store the keyboard’s cable, and any other small stuff you want to take with you.

The Challenger Pro also comes with a driver disk (containing the software for the keyboard) and also a very hefty instruction manual. The manual itself includes instructions in multiple languages, but doesn’t go into much detail about the many functions the keyboard has to offer. We found it to be kind of strange a manual this thick would only give the basics.

You also get some additional red keys that you can use to replace some of the existing keys on the board such as the W, A, S, D, and arrow keys. To us this is more an aesthetic option then an actual functional upgrade, as any experienced PC gamer will tell you they can find the keys they use most with their eyes closed. Regardless, it is a nice option to have, and does lend some visual flair to things.

The keyboard itself utilizes a rubber dome mechanical system, per Tt eSports. The board has red LEDs that illuminate the bottom of the keys as well as the Tt logo found on the lower part of the board. The Challenger Pro is pretty durable, and feels like would survive a few accidental drops onto the floor, and a bit of whacking against your desk when you lose a yet another match due to being on a suck team, or that raid boss just continues to whoop your — [Editor's Note: That's it, Trembledust, we're switching you to decaf. And making you play Hello Kitty Online.].

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