#Microsoft sidewinder x6 switch design windows#

Unfortunately, this feature won't work with Windows XP. If you're playing games in Vista, a dedicated Game Explorer button will allow you to instantly navigate and choose which game to launch. While some might call this cheating, it's certainly useful for mundane tasks you may have to do in a role-playing or real-time-strategy game. In addition, there's an interesting 'cruise-control' button that lets you teach the keyboard a specific keystroke (up to four buttons pressed simultaneously) which it will then repeat for you whenever you'd like. We had great success with this feature when buying weapons at the start of a Counter-Strike match. During gameplay, you can press a button that will log any sequence of keystrokes you wish. Not only can the keyboard learn three 'modes,' it can record macros on the fly. These custom layouts will automatically load along with the game they're bound to. Through the included software, you can also assign specific configurations to particular games. A convenient button on the top row allows you to switch through these profiles at any time. You can also store these keys in one of three save states, which gives you a way to switch between a work mode and play mode, for example.

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Once you install the bundled software, you can customize the 30 'S' keys found on the detachable keypad along with a row parallel to the left-most side of the standard keyboard. Note that this wonвЂ™t work with macros, sadly, but it will accept up to four standard keys just fine), as well as recording macros in-game.The X6 has a number of hot-key features that enhance the overall gaming experience.

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Along the top-left side, the keys for launching the Games folder, engaging Cruise Control (this should be fairly self-explanatory вЂ“ you hold a button as well as Cruise Control, and are then free to release both, while the input from the key is still registered. Regarding special gaming/macro keys, the X6 is almost in a league by its own. We would have liked to see an option to reconfigure this to launch iTunes or VLC Media Player. Our only gripe here is that the Play/Pause button, if it is pressed while no media player is open, will launch Windows Media Player вЂ“ even though users might prefer a different player.

As would be expected, the multimedia keys function perfectly fine with a number of media players. To the right is the dimmer for the backlighting, while the volume control is located in the top-right corner of the keyboard. Play/Pause, Skip Back, Skip Forward, and Mute buttons are available. The aforementioned multimedia keys are located above the F-keys, slightly offset to the right. Seeing how the X6 was intended to be a gaming and multimedia keyboard from the beginning, the inclusion of corresponding keys is only appropriate.

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Next to the aforementioned dimmer for the backlighting, you will also find a second knob for regulating the volume вЂ“ neatly indicated by a small, discreet pop-up that will appear on your screen if you change the volume (and have the appropriate Windows Intellitype driver installed). Additionally, the X6 features a variety of additional keys, including four media control keys (more below), a shortcut key to Windows VistaвЂ™s Games folder, a never-before-seen вЂњCruise ControlвЂќ key, as well as two keys for recording macros and switching macro modes respectively. Furthermore, the keys that form the Numpad double as macro keys, customizable to the userвЂ™s heartвЂ™s desire.

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A big plus here is that the backlighting can be steplessly adjusted with one of the two knobs located on the top of the keyboard.ДЄs one would expect from a high-end gaming keyboard, the X6 features a full 104+ key layout, along with a row of 6 dedicated macro keys along the left side of the keyboard (more about these later). Not only do they illuminate the keys from below, but the light also shines through between the keys themselves, making typing in dark conditions an absolute pleasure. One of the features of the X6 keyboard is the LED backlighting вЂ“ red LEDs are spaced throughout the keyboard to achieve this. Naturally, the original Sidewinder mouse also goes very well with this design scheme.

The X6 keyboard clearly takes many design cues from the X5 gaming mouse вЂ“ the use of black matte and shiny plastic as well as red LEDs reflect this, not to mention the sharp, jagged styling both share.