Razer has always been pretty crazy with its product names, but the newest product, the Razer Tartarus, borrows its name from the deepest depths of Hades, the mythological prison of the Titans. Yeesh. Gaming keypads are specialized half-keyboards used by gamers wanting more comfort and control. Like the Logitech G13 Advanced Gameboard and the Editors' Choice Razer Orbweaver, the Tartarus combines both for a gaming accessory that is anything but hellish.
Design and Features
The Tartarus, like other gaming keypads, is made up of three distinct sections: a keypad, thumb-control module, and molded wrist-rest. Made for use with the left hand only, the gaming keypad puts fifteen programmable keys into an adjustable, ergonomic form factor. The Tartarus measures 2.2 by 6 by 7.3 inches (HWD), extending from 7.3 inches to 7.9 inches long thanks to a two-position wrist rest. The keypad connects to your laptop or desktop via USB 2.0, with a 6-foot braided cable.
On the bottom of the Tartarus are large rubber feet to keep the keypad firmly in place even during a heated battle. The whole keypad is done up in matte black, with a molded plastic wrist-rest that offers your left hand the same sort of palm and wrist support that you'd get from a well-designed mouse.
The keypad has 15 programmable buttons--three rows of 5 keys each--placed directly under the fingertips, making keyboard controls as comfortable and accessible as a well-designed mouse. The center keys are set by default to the common WASD controls, but can be reconfigured to any keys or commands you choose. The fifteen keys are numbered, so that they are easy to keep straight, with subtle arrows on the WASD defaults. The black keys glow with a green backlight, letting you game on in dark or dim lighting.
On the right-hand side of the device are two additional thumb-buttons and an 8-position thumb-stick. The thumb controls use the same superb design seen on the Orbweaver, with a lever-design and light-click buttons providing comfortable precision control.
The Tartarus may look extremely similar to the Razer Orbweaver, but while there are similarities, some of them are only skin deep. For example, both the Tartarus and the Orbweaver allow you to customize fit for different hand lengths by letting you adjust the horizontal position of the palmrest, but the Tartarus has only two positions, and doesn't offer the pitch adjustment or repositioning of the thumb module that the Orbweaver did.
You'll also see (and feel) a difference in the keypad. The number of keys has been reduced to 15—the Razer Orbweaver has 20—and the keys have switched from mechanical key switches to less expensive silicone dome switches. As a result, button presses aren't as crisp, the tactile and audible response isn't as bright, and the switches themselves aren't as durable. Despite these differences, the keys are still responsive and well placed, and the switch from mechanical switches to silicone dome switches drops the price significantly.
While the Tartarus may not offer all of the physical customization of the Razer Orbweaver, it does match it in the ability to remap the controls and program extensive Macros. The keypad works with Razer's Synapse 2.0 cloud-connected dashboard, providing a simple tool for customizations that can then be accessed across a wide range of devices and all current Razer peripherals.
All 15 keys, two thumb buttons and the 8-position thumb-pad can be tweaked and customized, with lightning fast switching between as many as 8 different keymaps. Whether you're remapping the buttons for use with MMO keybinds or just want your WASD controls in a more ergonomic form factor for long FPS tournament play, the Tartarus easily adapts to whatever game you want to play. You can even set controls specific to each game in your library.
Performance
I tested the Tartarus in several games, including Team Fortress 2, DC Universe Online, and the demo for the currently-in-development game Superhot. In all cases, the Tartarus offered excellent control. I never found myself wondering where essential commands were located, and I never had to break from the keypad to find something on the standard keyboard. The one issue I had with the Tartarus is the same one I had with the Orbweaver, namely that the default WASD keys have only the slightest bit of tactile distinction from the other 11 keys, making it easy to lose track of which key is which on occasion. However, with the reduced number of total buttons, this was less of a problem. The thumb buttons and thumb-stick are also consistent and comfortable.
The combination of hand and wrist support with intuitive, dedicated controls makes the Razer Tartarus one of the better gaming keypads I've reviewed. While the Editors' Choice Razer Orbweaver is still the preferred of the two, the Tartarus provides an extremely good alternative for nearly half the price. If ergonomic adjustments and mechanical switches don't sound like that big of a deal to you, then the Razer Tartarus is a very good gaming peripheral at a great price.
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