Logitech UltraX - Nice silent keyboard

Seal · Post by **Seal** » Mon Dec 22, 2003 4:23 pm

my usb keyboard works in bios by default... always has.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Tue Dec 23, 2003 4:40 am

lenny wrote:
wisefool wrote:I own a couple of these, they retail at around 38 bucks in Newegg.

Yes, it is PS/2 only.
Just ordered one from NewEgg, $31 with free shipping.

I know most modern BIOS has support for USB keyboard under DOS, but they seem to be turned off by default. Can you use a USB keyboard to get into the BIOS screen?

Not necessarily the first time, but you can get into the BIOS with a PS/2 keyboard and enable the feature called "USB Legacy Support" and you'll then be able to use a USB keyboard in the BIOS.

Be forwarned though, some USB keyboards (at least ones that I've used) are real touchy in the BIOS for some reason. One keypress will give you multiple presses in the BIOS. If this happens you just need to use a really light, quick touch on the keys.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Tue Dec 23, 2003 4:44 am

BTW - There's a fairly big thread about this keyboard (along with some big pics near the end of the thread) over at Anandtech. There's one guy who recently got one and isn't too thrilled with it due to the keys having a flat or almost convex surface. He claims his fingers slip off the keys while he's typing...

Sam Williams · Post by **Sam Williams** » Tue Dec 23, 2003 4:48 am

Well, I received my UltraX this morning. It really is excellent. The key action is optimal - exactly what I'd hoped for from a 'notebook-style' key mechanism. It feels much faster than a regular keyboard; my fingers are racing each other now, instead of following each other. It's about half as loud as an MS Office keyboard, and the profile of the noise is much more muted, more expensive-sounding. In fact, the overall build quality is much superior to either of my Microsoft Office keyboards. They seem to wobble around and flex slightly on the desk; this is a much more solid, immovable-feeling unit.

My major concern had been the way the six extra buttons would be implemented. They're really slick though - I'm positively glad they're there, rather than neutral about them. I hot-plugged the keyboard into the PS2 socket and immediately they worked, complying with my system defaults (e.g. "WWW" launches Firebird). The only installation issue was that the repeat rate seems to be about half that of my Office keyboards. A quick trip to Control Panel cleared that up.

All in all, this is fantastic! Thanks CHHAS for picking this one out - I can't recommend it enough.

PS. Just saw Ralf's reference to that more negative review. The keys on the UltraX are still slightly concave - but much less than on an Office keyboard. I haven't had any finger slippage problems though. I'm already typing faster than before, and there seems to be room for further acceleration.

I think that having a degree of familiarity with notebook keyboards will make a big difference to how well people get on with this one initially. I used a notebook keyboard for six months or so, a couple of years back, and the muscle memory seems to have come back quite quickly for me.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Tue Dec 23, 2003 6:40 am

Sam Williams wrote:
PS. Just saw Ralf's reference to that more negative review. The keys on the UltraX are still slightly concave - but much less than on an Office keyboard.

I think that having a degree of familiarity with notebook keyboards will make a big difference to how well people get on with this one initially. I used a notebook keyboard for six months or so, a couple of years back, and the muscle memory seems to have come back quite quickly for me.

Yeah, I bet you're right. That guy probably wan't used to the type of keys that you find on a laptop.

The keys on my PSK5000 have a pretty shallow concaveness(?) to them but having used laptop keyboards, this doesn't bother me at all.

Looking forward to getting my UltraX tomorrow or Friday!

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Wed Dec 24, 2003 5:07 am

Got my UltraX yesterday* and I love it. It's just as nice (seems identical actually, except for a different font on the keyboard lettering) as my PSK5000's except that it's PS/2 instead of USB so it works with my KVM.

I have 2 brand new in the box, unopened USB PSK5000's that I'm going to sell, if anyone's interested. Here's the link to the PSK5000's.

*you gotta love Newegg. Ordered it Monday morning, got it Tuesday late morning even though it's 2 days before Christmas!

CHHAS · Post by **CHHAS** » Fri Dec 26, 2003 12:06 am

Cool, great to hear you guys like it as much as I do. I've already convinced most of my friends to get one too, and I think I'll pick up a spare or two, just to be on the safe side if it should break and I won't be able to order a new one.

Seal · Post by **Seal** » Fri Dec 26, 2003 8:11 am

ordered mine, cant wait for it!!! hehe

Mats · Post by **Mats** » Fri Dec 26, 2003 2:21 pm

I looked at CHHAS pics but couldn't determine wether it had a power button or not.

Please tell me, guys!

Sam Williams · Post by **Sam Williams** » Fri Dec 26, 2003 5:12 pm

Mats, there's no power button. There are six non-standard keys/buttons:

- Media
- Play/Pause
- Mute
- Favourites
- E-Mail
- WWW

I just use Ctrl-Alt-Q to run a shortcut to "shutdown -s -t 0" - works nicely in XP.

Seal · Post by **Seal** » Fri Dec 26, 2003 6:11 pm

in most bioses these days u can program any button on the keyboard to power it up, this includes key combinations! eg, a password of some sort or just hit the space or enter key...

Mats · Post by **Mats** » Sat Dec 27, 2003 5:51 am

Thanks! Since I'm only been using older computers, I didn't know those possibilities.

I think it's alright with some extra buttons, as long as won't turn the keyboard into a stupid, big, plastic "Multimedia keyboard" that takes half the space on your desk (I think Microsoft are the worst!). I like the UltraX layout, and I like notebook keys, so this is really something for me. It seems (at least in Sweden) like this is a new product. Most stores will get it within 2 weeks, so I'll just wait and see if I can get it in my city.

Seal · Post by **Seal** » Sun Jan 25, 2004 6:25 pm

Thread revival!

I got mine at last after about 4 weeks (the company took a long christmas holiday and in the meantime i went to uni and it was delivered to my home address...)

anyway i absolutely love this keyboard. Its taking me a little while to get used to typing with these half height keys and also getting used to it again switching from a natural keyboard - i can feel the strain of rsi kicking in a little :/ gotta take it easy.

The keys themselves are perfect, they feel very crisp and positive, as if they were lifted from an expensive apple laptop. Good response with nice return, a little stronger pressure than i would like, but give it a while to wear in a little.

Anyway, it completes my new setup like an absolute dream!!!!! It looks awesome and fits in perfectly with my monitor. Ive been waiting for my kb for a long time so i can show off my computer. Here it is:

And

What do you think???

Also pics taken with my brand new digital camera, its so sexie!

Seal

lenny · Post by **lenny** » Mon Jan 26, 2004 12:04 am

Those big speakers - don't look very silent to me.

Just kidding

Mine's more silent - Sennheiser HD-280. Great for blocking out the racket made by 6 Xeon processors folding just behind me at work.

You should give the Logitech MX310 mouse a try. Color looks like a perfect match for the UltraX. Looks like you're using the Intellimouse Explorer?

Actually the UltraX is still a little loud for my taste, but it feels great and looks beautiful. I miss the POWER button though. I'd happily swap "Media" and "Favorites" for a POWER button.

BTW, does your keyboard spell it as "Favorites" like mine, or is it "Favourites"?

Seal · Post by **Seal** » Mon Jan 26, 2004 5:44 am

lol yeah i use my computer for everything, music, movies etc... c'mon, i cant have a monitor like that and not watch movies on it!!!!

... and oh yeah it says Favorites, isnt that how you americans spell it?

A google on that word returns 12.8 million websites with that word in it spellt just like that... including the microsoft website lol.

Yeah and i'd trade the mute and "favorites" button with a next track, previous track button, they almost got it right... with media and play/pause.

Did you use any special drivers with it? I might try and reprogram some of the buttons. Also for the power button, in most bioses it lets you set a hotkey to powerup your comp. Check.

As for mouse, yeah its an original intellimouse explorer so its slightly larger than the latter ones. Mouse wise, yeah i might get something new soon, i want something smaller though as my hands are small and i find this intellimouse a "handfull" lol.

Seal

lightforce · Post by **lightforce** » Mon Jan 26, 2004 6:49 am

how is the height on this keyboard compared to more standard ones? is it all flat on the desk? for optimal typing isnt a certain height required?

my old hp keyboard im using right now is:

46cm x 16,5cm

and the height for the keys is 3cm (front) and back (f-keys) is 4,5cm high

i think that's pretty standard for older keyboards like hp, keytronic etc. not sure a very lower keyboard would be optimal for typing. it could be softer keys and a lot more quiet though

lightforce · Post by **lightforce** » Mon Jan 26, 2004 6:56 am

very clean desk there seal, you should see mine

very hard to find some stuff some of the time (most of the time)

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Mon Jan 26, 2004 7:47 am

lightforce wrote:how is the height on this keyboard compared to more standard ones? is it all flat on the desk? for optimal typing isnt a certain height required?

It lays pretty flat on the desk. There's only a .5cm difference between the height of the front keys to the back keys. The ergonomic people recommend that the key board be flat, not slanted up in the back. Article about Ergonomics and Computers.

The height of the keys on the UltraX are 1cm in front and about 1.5cm at the function keys.

Seal · Post by **Seal** » Mon Jan 26, 2004 7:58 am

Yeah i measured my ultrax keys front comes in at 1.5cm and the rear is 2cm or 2.5cm if you have the feet up. The ultrax has laptop keys.

I think its better if its lower as there is less bend in the wrists and i can use my desk as my keyboard rest.

lightforce · Post by **lightforce** » Mon Jan 26, 2004 4:03 pm

ok i guess im just used with a higher keyboard, but it does come with feets if i want it a little higher. i will go checking it out.
but it's not wireless. isnt that a big deal to you?
im thinking of buying a new keyboard and have been looking a little at the wireless ones available. (along with mouse)

lightforce · Post by **lightforce** » Mon Jan 26, 2004 4:05 pm

according to that link i do quite a few mistakes, my elbows are lower than the keyboard for instance.

this is a good link though, thanks ralf

lenny · Post by **lenny** » Tue Jan 27, 2004 12:36 am

Seal wrote:... and oh yeah it says Favorites, isnt that how you americans spell it?

Most of my education was in British-style English

I was just wondering if Logitech bothered to customize it for specific markets.

Seal wrote:Did you use any special drivers with it? I might try and reprogram some of the buttons. Also for the power button, in most bioses it lets you set a hotkey to powerup your comp. Check.

Didn't try searching for drivers. Besides, it just feels wrong to need drivers for keyboards

I did use one with a wireless keyboard, but only so that I can see the status of caps lock / num lock key as tray icons.

My BIOS allows me to use different keys to power up, but unfortunately not to power down. I suppose I can always reach for the power button, but, man, it's like 2 feet away!

lazyfly · Post by **lazyfly** » Thu Jan 29, 2004 7:48 am

For any Aussies out there looking for one of these kb's you can find them at http://www.surpass.com.au/content/stand ... info=17252 for $58AUD or at Scorptec for $90AUD errrrrrrrrrr - wakey wakey.

Mats · Post by **Mats** » Mon Feb 16, 2004 7:58 am

Just got my keyboard, I like it very much! Me and a friend ordered together but his keyboard was DOA. I picked the right one out of the box, yes! :D

Seal · Post by **Seal** » Mon Feb 16, 2004 9:06 am

hahaha nice! yeah ive been using mine for a few weeks now, im finding it very nice although it makes my wrists sore (rsi) i think its because i cant get used to it again having to switch from a natural keyboard. very quick and responsive in games too because of the very low travel of the keys.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Mon Feb 16, 2004 11:01 am

Two thumbs up from me too. I've been using mine for almost 2 months now and have no complaints at all. It's the best keyboard I've ever used.

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Mon Feb 23, 2004 1:50 am

I got my UltraX a few days ago after reading about it on here, and I love it. As a few people have said, the feel of laptop-style keys is really nice, very comfortable to type on. It's a pity IMO that there aren't more laptop-style keyboards with a "standard" layout, I think a lot of people would go for it if it was more available.
Not to mention that it's gorgeous silver and black, I'm a sucker for silver PC kit

I had some concerns about it being very flat, even with the feet extended, compared to my old cheap and nasty keyboard, but in fact I prefer this one.

I also really like the extra keys. You do need Logitech's iTouch software (available freely on their website) to make all of them work, but play/pause and mute work out of the box, on XP at least. You can remap Favorites, E-Mail and WWW, but the others are fixed.

It's hard to track down here in the UK, I could only find it at the two places Sam Williams suggested higher up the thread. I got mine from easyetrader and it cost me just under £22 inc VAT and delivery, which is amazing for a quality keyboard like this.

My parents have already bought one themselves having seen mine.

So, this is a comfortable, quality, quiet keyboard, at a fantastic price, and I can't recommend it enough.

Seal · Post by **Seal** » Mon Feb 23, 2004 4:23 pm

WELCOME to the forums Chris!!!

yeah i got mine from easyetrader too from the uk. Just found the logitecs itouch drivers from here http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/downl ... entid=6028

am downloading them now to try them out.

hitman47 · Post by **hitman47** » Sun Feb 29, 2004 3:51 pm

I've looked but can't find it anywhere - can someone please tell me the dimensions of the UltraX keyboard?
Not thickness, just width and depth please - oh and err metric please, i'm in good 'ole blighty

Many thanks

Seal · Post by **Seal** » Sun Feb 29, 2004 5:18 pm

35.9cm by 15.8cm ish

btw metric means cm right?

Logitech UltraX - Nice silent keyboard

Functions

Love this keyboard