Introduction

I would like to thank Saitek for making this review possible.

Saitek is an established company and has made a name for themselves with their gaming devices. They also offer chess computers and audio solutions.

This is how Saitek describes itself:

Founded in 1979, Saitek entered the gaming market in 1993 and since then has grown to become a major brand in gaming peripherals for the PC. All our products are designed by gamers for gamers, to help them get the best out of their favorite PC games.

Our 2004 range includes many exciting new products, as well as enhancements to our existing product range to improve their performance further. We’ve also refined our manuals and programming guides to make it even easier to install and customize Saitek controllers.

We pride ourselves on the quality of our products. All our controllers are produced in our wholly-owned factory to ensure that they perform to the highest standards today and for many years to come. Saitek PC Gaming – superb design; total control.

We had the pleasure of reviewing the Saitek Pro Gamer Command Unit not to long ago. The Saitek GK200 on the test bench now, is the company's budget gaming keyboard.

Packaging & Contents

The very sturdy, full color box shows the keyboard with the red back-light. Saitek decided to insert a window in the front to show what the special gaming keys look like. The back features a picture of the keyboard's media buttons and some, somewhat less exciting text in multiple languages.


The keyboard itself is of normal size. It could be mistaken for a normal media keyboard if it were not for the gray keys.


Saitek has included a set of normal WASD and cursor keys to replace the special ones already on the keyboard. A key remover is also included in the package to ease the replacement process. It is made of plastic with fairly thin prongs, which makes it somewhat fragile. There was no driver CD or fancy extras included with the gaming device - only a manual and a pamphlet with service addresses in case there is anything wrong with your Saitek device. It is good to see that that there are a lot of locations all over the world.

A Closer Look

The left top buttons are shortcut buttons, which open up the most prominent programs in Windows. As there is no application included for the GK200, you will not be able to change the function of these keys. To the right of the shortcut buttons the media controls can be found. These are straight forward.


The gaming keys do not just look interesting, they are constructed very well. The light gray material used is soft and their feel can be compared to a soft eraser. Each of them has the function embossed on them. This means you can take a look, when you forget what they are for.


To replace the keys on the GK200, simply push the key puller down on a key until it snaps into place and then pull up. You could also remove keys with a butter knife or something flat like a screw driver, but those tools would certainly scratch or damage the key over time and odds are that the key will fly across the room or worse, at a dark LAN party. The top part of the special keys is made of rubber, while the bottom part consists of the same hard plastic with which the normal keys are constructed. The overall construction of these keys is great and you should not have to worry about them coming apart.


The Saitek GK200 may have the overall looks of a normal office keyboard, but it also has the features that set it apart as a gaming device. The right side houses microphone and headphone jack, while the right side features a USB connector for the mouse. These features make the GK200 perfect for LAN parties or heavy gamers. The cable actually houses all the connectors as well. Saitek opted for two USB connectors instead of a hub inside the GK200 keyboard. The green cinch plug features a pass-through plug, so that speakers can still be connected - simple, but a great addition.


The keyboard height can also be adjusted. The somewhat small stand can be flipped up to raise the keyboard about one centimeter.