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?

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The Thunderstorm gets shipped inside a large box that has a product image at the front along with several thunderbolts/lightning bolts around it.

A few words about the product are printed at the rear in 24 languages.

The front of the box opens upwards to reveal the keyboard behind a clear plastic window and a few pictures showcasing the available colors.

Unfortunately the box contains just the keyboard (no manual no nothing).

THE THUNDERSTORM

The 1.1Kg heavy Thunderstorm gaming keyboard measures 467mm in length, 204mm in width and 31mm in height.

Sandberg has placed their logo at the top center of the keyboard.

A line with ten multimedia keys spans all the way from left to right just beneath the Sandberg logo.

You can change between the three available LED colors and off via the Fn key and the flashlight next to it.

The page up and down keys can be used to control the brightness levels of the LEDs.

Turning the keyboard over we find two rubber feet and two height adjusters.

When used these height adjusters raise the keyboard roughly 15mm from the desk.

Sandberg has equipped the Thunderstorm with a 1.8 meter long braided cable with a gold plated USB plug.

Here we see the all-time classic membranes.

Unfortunately the Thunderstorm has just 3 available LED colors and you can't use them all at once.

AUDIBLE FEEDBACK

Many people ask my opinion on what keyboard they should get for their needs. Some want a “silent” model for use in their living room or even in their bedroom while others ask for a model with good audible feedback for use in the office or for gaming. Because of this I decided to test keyboards by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically over each keyboard (5cm distance) and typing NikKTech a total of 6 times with each (after that the max recorded number - max hold - is placed in the graph). I have to admit that this may not be 100% accurate but it does give a good idea on what you can expect from each model since aside the type of switches used keycaps and keyboard material also matter.

CONCLUSION

   I've always enjoyed using products made by Sandberg but I do have mixed feelings about the ThunderStorm gaming keyboard. Its build quality is relatively good and its design may appeal to younger audiences but it does fall short on several other things. First and foremost the membrane keys are very soft and provide no real feedback something which gamers and people who need to type quite a bit will obviously not like (at the same time if you want a quiet keyboard this is for you). Then we have the three available LED colors a feature which although not half bad compared to regular membrane keyboards still is nowhere close to what many other keyboards in the market offer especially if we go to mechanical RGB keyboards. The driverless feature was really expected from the ThunderStorm since it honestly doesn't pack that many features to begin with.

   As I always say price may save or “break” a product but does it save the ThunderStorm gaming keyboard by Sandberg? Well with a current price tag set at USD66.80 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 75Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) I just don’t think so and the reason is all the mechanical gaming keyboards available at around the same price point which are far more durable and certainly offer more bang for your buck. If SandBerg can successfully lower the price of the ThunderStorm to around USD50/45Euros then I do believe it will be enough to boost sales to a significant level but until and if that happens there’s just too much competition. Of course we do recommend taking a closer look at the ThunderStorm Gaming Keyboard especially if you happen to find it at a discount.

PROS

- Overall Quality
- Design (For Some)
- 10 Dedicated Macro Keys
- Braided Cable With Gold Plated USB Plug
- Driverless
 

CONS

- Price (Compared To The Competition)
- Only 3 LED Colors
- Very Soft Keys
- Bundle (Or Lack Of)