Are gaming keypads feasible for rts gamers?

[mindwind]

Would anyone be willing to offer their experiences with these devices when playing RTS games?

I've recently purchased an IBM Model M and I love this keyboard for my everyday typing, but for gaming the buckling spring switches are not as responsive as I would like them to be, and the loud noise of the keys can be quite distracting in-game. I do have an older gaming keyboard I've been using (Steelseries 6Gv2) but my Model M takes up nearly all the space available, and it's a real chore having to switch out these heavy keyboards on my desktop every time I feel like playing a game.

It's for these reasons why I'm finding these gaming keypads so appealing. They look very comfortable to use and won't occupy so much space on my desk. I could easily have one of these devices sitting on my desktop next to my Model M and not have to constantly rearrange my desktop.

But are these devices suitable for RTS games? I play other types of games, but my passion is RTS games (SC, WC3, DoW, CoH, CnC, AoE, RoN, and many others), and I don't know whether or not these devices would work well with these types of games. After some online research, I've been looking at these two devices:

Razer Orbweaver Chroma

Koolertron Single-Handed Keyboard

Any and all opinions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[rune2h]

They are indeed suitable, in fact you may find them to be an overall better experience, since you will have all kinds of mapping options and software capabilities.

I cannot comment for RTS specifically, but I had a Razer keypad when I was much more of a gamer back in the back to play various RPGs. I eventually settled on a mouse with an enormous amount of buttons, but a keypad seems better for you since you are essentially looking to nearly replace your keyboard.

I mean as long as it works with your system from a software point of view, it's going to be a matter of your preference as to whether you like using it or not.