When I bought the Razer Tarantula OEM Version Gaming Keyboard off ebay for $50, I was concerned about the quality that might be different. However, after using it for over three months, it is clear to me that the significant difference between the retail version and the OEM version are the RED backlights and the Voodoo logo. This version is just as good as the retail version, and has all the qualities and features needed to make it any gamer's best friend.
Speaking of differences, one thing to be noted is that the OEM version doesn't come with a manual or a CD, but who needs these in the age of Internet when one can just look it up online and download the latest drivers from the official website. While some people might fuss over the lack of these accessories, I have no regrets. So it depends on the preference.
Moving on to the good parts, let's talk about the look of the Razer Tarantula. Razer is known for the stylish and sleek look of its products. The Tarantula is no exception. This Black Beast is smooth and reflective, and looks stunning. If you still think there is no difference between a Gaming Keyboard and a normal keyboard, the looks of the Tarantula alone is enough to kill that thought. The glows of the back lights make this all the more beautiful to behold. If you want to play in the dark and need some dim source of light that looks uber fantastic, then buy a Razer Battlelight that can be attached to the Tarantula for the ultimate thrilling look.
Next, let's talk about the other apparent difference between a Gamer's keyboard and a non-gamer's one: the macro keys. On each side are 5 macro keys, which can be setup according to any macro combination. What this means is that you can assign one key to perform the operation of a series of other key presses. If you want to increase your speed in gaming, then macro keys can help you achieve that: want to cast a spell which requires you to open many menus? Then simply assign the sequential button presses to a macro key and let that spell fly off in an instant. Want to assign a key to buy your weapons, ammo, vest and nades? Then macro is the way to go. Macro keys are also very useful for using applications like Adobe Photoshop. Of course, the Tarantula has media keys which look awesome, but since many other keyboards have this feature, it's not anything special. You also get 10 special FPS gaming related keys to use as the macros.
So how does it actually feel to use this monster of a gaming keyboard? Fantastic! I had used some model of Logitech before, and the difference in the feeling of the keystrokes is humongous. The Razer Tarantula feels light to the touch and responds to your will. In all my months of usage, I haven't felt the keyboard hard or bumpy. While it's not the quietest thing in the world, it does make significantly less noise than regular keyboards. During gaming, the precision of movement will amaze even the seasoned gaming players who have picked this up for the first time. To make things even better, the Tarantula has anti-ghosting technology that supports up to 10 key presses at a time. So never again will you feel your keyboard getting stuck when you are strafing, switching weapons and trying to jump at the same time, or some other critical situation where many key presses are required.
The Razer Tarantula software is very user friendly: you can assign anything to any of the keys, and save that to profiles (by anything I mean you can do crazy stuff like switch your CTRL key with your Enter key and even more). So for different games, you can have different profiles with different macro key combinations, and you can change profiles on the fly with the press of a button on the keyboard; in fact, if you load a game, the software knows which game it is and loads the appropriate profile. You can also save up to 5 profiles on the keyboard, which is a very neat technology; if you take your keyboard to a friend's or to a LAN event, you don't have to setup the macro keys all over again.
The features of the Razer Tarantula are amazing enough to make any Gamer drool over it. You can also connect a microphone or an earphone to the Razer Tarantula. Does it end? Maybe there are other interesting features I haven't covered, but the ones I've listed are proof enough of the greatness of this keyboard. I was glad that I bought the OEM version, because although it was slightly different than the retail version in terms of packaging and the color of the backlights (I miss the Razer logo though), the cheaper price was well worth. If you have around $50 to spare, buy a Razer Tarantula and enjoy every second of gaming pawning others.
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