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Gigabyte Aivia K8100 Gaming Keyboard Review
Author: Will West
Published: Monday, January 24, 2011
Keyboard Layout and Features
Just because Gigabyte has kept the normal layout of the keys doesn't mean it is a plain keyboard, they added a lot of features to the keyboard that cannot be seen. One welcomed feature is the ability to hit up to 20 simultaneous keys without any ghosting. This has plagued some gaming keyboards over the years and opens up for some wild combo finger attacks.
Another unseen feature is the addition of elastic force to certain keys for more resistance, this helps with finger fatigue and ergonomics. The Aivia K8100 is based on a membrane key base over the mechanical keys. The change in pressure takes a little bit to get used to but is nice especially if you prefer quiet keyboard clicks.
In this day and age no true gaming keyboard is complete without lighted keys and the Aivia K8100 is ready to go with this feature. Red LED lighting is used to illuminate the letters on each key. The lighting appears to be rather dim compared to other keyboards however in a dark environment it will be just fine.
Dim lighting isn't as important as button placement to control the lights. Most keyboards keep a button on top for quick and easy access. The button on the Aivia K8100 is placed on the top right hand corner on the back of the keyboard. This may keep the keyboard layout clean but you should be able to adjust the lighting without hunting for the switch, especially in the dark.
Gigabyte has added the touch sensitive volume controls to the top of the Aivia K8100 which are very cool to see and mess with.
On the right hand side is the indicator lights that coordinates to the touch volume controls to let the user know what setting they are touching with a red arrow.
