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)