INTRODUCTION

   Although the trend of our days demands from all the latest keyboards to feature Cherry MX mechanical switches/keys both Mad Catz and SteelSeries have proven beyond doubt that normal membrane keyboards are still alive and kicking. Now that i look back my first serious keyboard was the quite impressive (for its time) Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite back in late 1998 but it wasn't really until 2005 that i actually turned around and purchased my very first gaming keyboard the very innovative Logitech G15. Of course thanks to the massive differences and features it carried since then I’ve never used a normal keyboard again unless it was absolutely necessary (how many of you wish that laptops also had gaming keyboards attached?). Today we will be checking out yet another mechanical gaming keyboard that packs quite a few impressive features called the Durandal Ultimate manufactured by Tesoro.

   Tesoro Technology USA Inc, a team of U.S.A gaming enthusiasts. With the objective of designing unique products specially catered to the gamers. We focused on PC gaming and our mission is to create products with better design, increase and reach for peak performances. In the recent years the gaming industry has developed into the ultra-competitive market that we see today. While we are still a relatively young company, established in 2011. Tesoro will continue to strive for the best and continuously evaluate our performance against the very best of the best. Tesoro could not exist without the gaming community who inspire us to excel in the design and production of our award winning gear. As a gamers company, we will continues to expand into new horizons and push the limits further with each product unveiling. We Strive to develop innovative cutting edge computer gaming peripherals to help improve your gaming experience. We maximize our ability to meet the needs of the fast changing PC gaming industry.

   The Durandal Ultimate (G1NL) is currently available in 4 different versions each featuring different Cherry MX mechanical keys (Red/Blue/Brown/Black) so we are actually starting off great since Tesoro has immediately covered pretty much every potential customer out there regardless of what switch type the may want (we got the MX black version). Other features include keyboard backlit illumination with 4 different levels (and on/off), Full N-Key Rollover (USB), 2 USB 2.0 ports, headphones and microphone ports and 5 profiles stored on the 128kb onboard memory. As a matter of fact as you will see later on the Durandal Ultimate has by far the strongest key illumination we've ever see with a mechanical keyboard so this is definitely something many people will love about it. Unfortunately due to a mix-up in the warehouse our sample arrived without the wrist rest so since it would take too long for Tesoro to dispatch it we chose to proceed with this review without it (thus we will not be making any comments about it). So let's see what the very first mechanical keyboard we got our hands on from Tesoro has to offer.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Tesoro uses a very nice purple cardboard box to ship the Durandal Ultimate in that also has a small clear plastic opening at the front from where you can see the right side of the keyboard.

Over at the right side Tesoro explains from where the name of the product was taken.

Six small images placed on the left side point to the 6 main features of the unit.

Both the layout of the keyboard along with the Cherry MX switches used are placed at the top.

Tesoro has packed the Durandal Ultimate between two foam spacers and beneath an clear plastic cover.

Aside the wrist wrest which was missing from the bundle inside the box you will find the Durandal Ultimate Backlit Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, user's manual, Tesoro product catalog and a software CD.

THE DURANDAL ULTIMATE

Most of the keyboard looks like most mechanical ones in the market but thanks to some "extras" by Tesoro (specifically the LED area) it's actually quite better than most. Size-wise it measures 455mm in length, 206mm in width and 43.4mm in height with a weight of 1.4kg.

The company logo is placed right in the middle of the lowest end.

Much like most keyboards out there the F keys double as media keys (F1 through F6) profile selection keys (F7 through F11) and can also be used to turn gaming mode on/off (F12).

The LED area is perhaps the best looking part of the Durandal Ultimate and it only gets better when the keyboard is powered on.

Here we see the Cherry MX Black switches (featuring up to 50 million keystrokes) paired with large red LEDs.

Underneath we see four anti-slip rubber feet and two stands which are also rubber coated.

The stands raise the keyboard roughly 15mm from the desk.

Right above the right stand we see two USB 2.0 ports and the typical microphone and headphones 3.5mm ports.

The Durandal Ultimate comes with a 1.55m braided cable that ends on a single gold plated connector and the 3.5mm microphone and speaker jacks which are also gold plated.

USING THE DURANDAL ULTIMATE

Ok since the Durandal Ultimate comes with a software CD you have two options, either use the control panel version included or download the latest one (if there is one) from the Tesoro support page.

Once you connect the keyboard to your system the Tesoro logo lights up on the LED area (looks nice doesn't it?).

The control panel is extremely easy to use but it really doesn't offer much in terms of customization so the only thing you can do is to enter up to 10 macro commands and store them to each of the 5 available profiles.

Leaving the control panel out you can adjust the illumination of the keys via the 8 and 2 keypad keys in conjunction with the Fn key. The available illumination settings are low/medium/high/pulse/off (above you see the off/Low/High settings).

CONCLUSION

   This review would had been much better had we received the wrist rest as well, however if you place the Durandal Ultimate right next to the 6Gv2 by SteelSeries the similarities are quite staggering so naturally since we had no issues using the 6Gv2 we can't say that we did with the Durandal Ultimate (still it would be nice if we had the wrist rest). Now as you all know the Cherry MX Black switches are the toughest ones of the available 4 (blue/red/brown/black) and so they are not very recommended for serious gamers since that feature can mostly come in handy with RTS titles since you won't have to worry about pressing a key accidentally. Also the Cherry MX Black switches offer almost no tactile feedback and so consumers who spend many hours typing may not like that. Still the Durandal Ultimate comes in all 4 flavors so switch issues matter very little especially since they come down to personal preference. Overall the Durandal Ultimate has a very good build quality and coupled with one of the strongest backlit illuminations we've ever seen it should satisfy even the most demanding consumer. My only problem with it is that the illumination is fixed and so aside from red there's nothing else you can use. I know that this will not be much of a problem for most people but i do hope that Tesoro takes steps to improve on that area in the near future. Also the two USB 2.0 ports along with the headphones and microphone 3.5mm ports is not something we see every day so that's also a plus.

     With prices currently starting (they vary according to the switch color used) from USD129.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 109Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the Durandal Ultimate Backlit Mechanical Gaming Keyboard by Tesoro is indeed priced higher than many mechanical keyboards but lower than others so we consider that as being quite balanced especially when Tesoro offers backlit keys (perhaps the strongest illumination at that) something we don't see a lot especially with mechanical keyboards. Overall i can't think of a reason one can go wrong by purchasing the Tesoro Durandal Ultimate (unless you want a plethora of backlit colors) and that's why it walks with our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Cherry MX Switches (Red/Blue/Black/Brown)
- 2 USB Ports
- Headphones & Microphone 3.5mm Ports
- Gold Plated USB Plug & 3.5mm Jacks
- Braided Cable
- Backlighting (4 Modes)
- Control Software
- 128KB Macro And Profile Memory
- Up To 50 Macros (10 For Each Profile)
- Laser Etched Caps

CONS

- Single Backlit Illumination Color
- Single USB Connector May Not Provide Enough Power for Some Devices
- Price (For Some)