A cheap, simple but good quality keyboard and mouse. (Gigabyte GK-7PB Keyboard and Mouse)

Member Name: C-J-C

Product:	Gigabyte GK-7PB Keyboard and Mouse
Date:	12/08/09 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good quality, cheap, optical mouse

Disadvantages: PS2 not USB

About a week ago I was happily typing away on my computer and suddenly found that some letters were missing from what I had typed. A check showed that the entire bottom row of letters, except for some reason B and N, were not working, along with the comma and full stop. I tried the usual troubleshooting, unplugging it, plugging it in another USB port, restarting the computer, shaking it, hitting it, hitting it with a sledgehammer (ok, I didn't go that far, I don't have a sledgehammer at home), and still it wouldn't work. Thankfully windows comes with an on-screen keyboard, which allows you to click the keys with the mouse, so I could survive. The only spair keyboards I could find either had the old style big round connectors, which I have an adapter for but have no idea where, or were the one that I'd had previously that also missed certain letters. From the amount of abuse my keyboards get, I'm not surprised they fail, they do get a lot spilled on them.

I obviously wasn't going to use the on-screen keyboard for ever, it's far from fast, even for just a few letters (which seemed to be used at least once almost every word), so decided I needed a replacement. Currently I'm a poor student, and have only just recovered from the shock of replacing a big chunk of my computer, and am saving up for a holiday, and a new camera, so really didn't want to spend more than I had to. Amazon usually comes up with the goods, and once again I quickly found a suitable solution, the Gigabyte GK-7PB Keyboard and Mouse.

What you get is a basic keyboard and mouse. The keyboard is a standard UK layout 104 key windows QWERTY keyboard, with a PS2 connector. Whilst PS2 is outdated and replaced by USB, it really makes no difference, the only thing it lacks is hot swapping (the ability to connect devices whilst the computer is on), but what use it that for a keyboard really? Good news is it frees up a USB port, and you can never have too many USB ports IMHO. The mouse it optical, so no more dirty ball problems, and has 2 buttons plus a scroll wheel, just like the majority of mouses out there. By the way, before anyone thinks I've made a mistake, mice are small rodents, the correct plural for a computer mouse is mouses, according to my ICT tutor anyway. Like the keyboard, it's also PS2, so another free USB port.

Despite being cheap (I paid just £6.99), both the keyboard and mouse have a quality feel and look to them. They are in grey and black, which makes a nice change to the usual white, and have a quite modern curvy design. They are nice and comfortable to use, they keys, buttons and wheel all have a good feel to them. They keyboard actually has a metal bottom to it, and is fairly heavy (by keyboard standards, but not to the point where using it on your lap would be uncomfortable), which adds to the quality feel, and means it's not going to easily move around. The only little downside IMHO is the legs, which do seem a little flimsy, but then you're not exactly putting a lot of weight on the keyboard most of the time. It also lacks a wrist support, but my desk has one built in, so I wouldn't have used it anyway.

As I've said, the mouse keys and wheel have a nice feel to them, and the wheel is precise and accurate. The optical part works well too, offering a good degree of precision. Due to the layout of my desk, I can't quite a fit a mouse-pad, so just use the mouse straight onto the desk, and it works fine like this, and and moves nice a smooth despite the slightly rough surface. My previous ball mouse was always getting dirty, and would loose precision, requiring the ball and rollers to be cleaned, which isn't a problem with this. I'm left handed, but have always used a mouse with my right hand, so often find precision work with the mouse difficult or uncomfortable, but it's so much easier now.

Can't comment on reliability or longevity, as I've only had them a few days, but no obvious problems yet, and they feel like they should last a while. At that price, there practically disposable anyway.

Basically, you get exactly what you expect, a keyboard and a mouse. They aren't anything fancy, but you're looking at doubling the price before you get too fancy. They are good quality though, which I value more than lots of features I'll rarely use. If your after a basic keyboard and mouse, then this is for you, if you want lots of extra buttons etc, then try something else. Make sure your computer has PS2 connectors (the small round ones) though.

Summary: A basic keyboard and optical mouse.

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