INTRODUCTION

   Gaming keyboards are perhaps the hottest products in the gaming peripherals market right now and although most models seem to follow the trend of our times and thus use mechanical switches (and the majority of those use RGB ones) there are always those equipped with the all-time classic membranes and aimed towards casual users and gamers who are just not willing to spend much. The problem is however that most manufacturers no longer focus their resources in the design and manufacture of membrane keyboards so consumers are usually left with second rate models to choose from. Sandberg recently entered the gaming peripherals market for good with their Thunderstorm Gaming Keyboard and their Blast Gaming Mouse and although we have both here we decided to check out their keyboard first.

   Sandberg stands for quality and user-friendliness. If it is important for you that accessories are high quality and easy to figure out how to use, then choose Sandberg. Our ideology "IT is for everybody" is part of everything we do. Since its inception in 1985, private consumers, institutions and companies have benefited from this simple philosophy. Distributors and dealers appreciate the availability, range, simple procedures and the exceptionally low failure rate. Every year over half a million Sandberg products find their way to users in more than 30 countries. Choosing Sandberg means choosing a safe and conscientious product that meets all applicable regulatory requirements. A product manufactured by subcontractors who are committed to following Sandberg's Code of Conduct to ensure decent working conditions and reduce the environmental impact of the production and waste disposal.

   Just looking at the new Thunderstorm gaming keyboard by Sandberg you can tell that it was designed with gamers in mind (and young ones at that) since its housing features a layout that reminds us a lot of some Warcraft related gaming peripherals launched in the market a few years back. To be more precise the keyboard features a pattern of lightning bolts (also seem like cracks on the earth) spread throughout its top surface and thanks to the three available backlight LED colors (red, blue and purple) these actually look quite nice. The Thunderstorm was designed as a driverless keyboard so all its functions can be controlled directly from its keys (Fn key) and in terms of features Sandberg has used a metal plate as its "base" to ensure stability when used with fast passed games and has placed a total of 10 dedicated multimedia keys for more demanding users. Can three backlight LED colors however compete with full RGB illumination and what about the membrane based keys?