Razer Nostromo, is it worth it?

Well I am a laptop gamer. And although I love the portability, I've discovered that gaming on a laptop is kind of uncomfortable after a half hour or so. Mostly because you have to conform to the laptop to use the keyboard. Which means that the position is uncomfortable, and the screen is uber close to you, which gives me a headache. I stumbled upon the razer nostromo, which is a gaming pad. It's basically a left side keyboard with added features. With this, it looks like i could be gaming more comfortably, position wise, and i can move the laptop back about a foot or so more. The price tag is 70 bucks. Now that's the price of a nice keyboard. I never used the nostromo, so is it worth it? Pros, Cons? Design? Or should I just get a keyboard? Thanks

Razer Nostromo-
Newegg.com - RAZER Nostromo Black 16 fully programmable hyperesponse keys Normal Keys USB Wired Gaming Expert Gaming Keypad

Razer keyboard-
Newegg.com - RAZER Black Wired BlackWidow Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

Also, feel free to offer other suggestions, thanks.

 

Depending on what games you play (ie: hardcore FPS/MMOs vs quasi-casual action games and below) I've found that any decent wireless keyboard/mouse will do. I personally have a Logitech G700 wireless gaming mouse and plan on picking up one of Logitech smaller wireless keyboards for when I game on the couch with my notebook hooked up via HDMI to my TV when I'm sitting on the couch. I've sadly gotten used to notebook keyboard gaming (minus the inconvenience of hitting left control for most games that require it).

Regarding the Nostromo, I've gamed with a few people that have used it and swore by it. I'm sure it'll just come down to a learning curve of getting used to it. Razer makes great products, however I've always felt that Logitech's products have been the best bang-for-your-buck product for gaming or productivity, so I'm a little biased.

 

Looks interesting. It appears as if it could help in certain games for those who aren't comfortable using a keyboard or for use in Action titles such as Batman Arham City. If I were you, I would try it out. If you don't like it, just return it. If you live near a Best Buy, I know they carry them. That way, if you don't like it, you don't have to worry about shipping it back.

 

It's worth every penny. Your hand will take a day or two to get used to the shape, but once you do, it's the most natural-feeling keypad you'll ever use. And it's way more portable than any compact keyboard.

 

Funny you say that left control gives you problems. Same here which is why it's mapped to my Mouse 4 button on my G700. The G700 is one bad mouse man. I love it. If your comfortable holding it, I don't need anyone making a better mouse currently. Logitech Flagships use some of the best, if not the best laser sensors on the market. When it comes to the Sensors, Logitech has the ability to knock the smaller players out of bidding for the sensor manufacturers business.

 

i like the razor but i hate how its missing a row of keys. f it had another row it would be perfect but its alright. it is a bit ackward at first and i am even debating on taking off the hand rest because i find the stock hand rest annoying but it might be i haven't used it enough. for like 50-60 bucks its worth a try. also some shooters wont work because it doesn't have enough keys. i forgot what game it was but i was trying to ma every key to play this one shooter and it just wasn't practical.

 

I mainly use mine on mmos, I love the macro function (I use it to spam skills so I don't have to repeatedly press a button, less fatigue on long gaming sessions), then having the directional pad which frees 4 fingers for skill spamming as opposed to using wasd and tying up 3 fingers.

I love it so much I have an unopened spare lol.

Also had the logitech g700 I think which I tried to love but died on me in less than a year


As for if it's worth it, to me definitely but to a guild mate of mine... He bound all the buttons to a single key, set it on the floor and used it as a glorified push to talk button.


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I have the same issue. Most games I play use the top row #1-6, QWER, ASDF, Shift-V. That means it takes 4 rows of keys. The nostromo only comes with 3 rows, so if you want to use it on any game you have to reassign keys and make custom profiles. It get cumbersome and old and I just don't use it anymore.

 

Should have called Logitech and they would have shipped you a new one. That is not like a Flagship Logitech mouse at all. They use some of the best, if not the best sensors available for their Flagship mice. I still have a Logitech MX700 from 2003 and still works like the day I bought it. In fact, I keep all of my Logitech mice and out of the 12 I've owned in the past 13 years, I have never had one die on me. I'm sure it happens because it happens to every manufacturer but for the most part, they are very well made.

 

...and people call me a brand-loyal fanboy.

 

I would say go with the Logitech G13 gamepad. More buttons than the Nostromo and (IMO) a far better joystick. Best PC purchase I ever made.

 

LOL...You should see me with Android....

Seriously though. I've tried other mouse brands and I tried to like them. I think the main reason why I always run back to Logitech is because of the Logitech design that has stayed the same for the longest time. It's just what I'm used to. I wouldn't mind trying one of the Mionix mice though. If they make a wireless mouse, I would probably try it but only because the design looks like a Logitech rip.

 

I did, but I bought it in Hong Kong and it broke a few months after I got back to my country.

contacted Logitech about it and told me the only time I could have it replaced is if I returned it in the retail store in Hong Kong...

in any case, the G13 is also a good option, although I like the D pad of the n52te more than the thumbstick of the g13.

the LCD panel on the G13 also helps to show who's talking on vent, or durability of your gear, stats of your character etc...

 

Joystick sucks as pointed out above, and the "spacebar" is crud, because it has a tendency to bind if you hit it off-centre.

Apart from that, if you like this sort of thing then it's not a bad device. I learned that I prefer a keyboard in the end, something like the Sidewinder X6 gives me the best of both worlds - a decent keyboard, and a left-hand pad.

 

i have one as well and the only problem is that there are no keys in front of where the wasd are, and there are no keys right of r f and c, so you need to remap them to the dpad and the extra thumb clicky button, or the scroll wheel. also the dpad is just a dpad, its not an analogue stick, although that would be really nice.

 

Although I really love my Nostromo, I have to say it is somewhat lacking in buttons. It would be hard to fit all the buttons required for a certain game. I'm mainly an FPS player and it sometimes gives me a hard time setting up the buttons.

 

I don't know about the nostromo, but keep in mind that the G13 analog stick is not truly "analog", they're just mapped as "wasd" buttons. I wish if I could use a modded driver to fix it.

 

I have the Belkin N52 (original) and N52TE (before Razer took it).

I much prefer my N52 over my N52TE. The DPad is much easier to use N52.

I understand that Razer introduced gimp/buggy software for their version of the N52TE.

 

Protip: you can remove the joystick thing from the D-pad, makes it a little easier to operate.

 

@minnus The N50 was the original...anyway

Back in the day when I played FPS there was nothing better once you got use to using it. I loved it! But back then gaming mice and keyboards were not what they are today.

I have not used my old N50 for many years it was rough getting drivers to get it to work right with vista. So it sits in a old chest collecting dust getting moved around now and then when I'm looking for something

 

Ooo, can it? Do you have any references on instructions? or is it as simple as snapping it off?

I bought mine second hand.

 

Just bought it today and its pretty nice. The d pad cover snaps off to reveal the d pad buttons. BTW sweet m18x you're getting.

 

Thanks niko!

 

There was also a mod floating around to replace the analog thumbstick for the g13 using parts of an xbox controller.

@minnus just pull it out, it attaches on the dpad (unless it was glued in )

 

are you still using the nostromo? is still as good as when you first used it? any difficulty adjusting to it the first time? was it worth the money or would a keyboard be a better choice? if it was worth the money, would you recommend the razer orbweaver?

 

This thread is more than 2 years old...

 

hello，It sounds very interesting, if you buy a one and use comfortable, I also consider get one, euh, I'm interested in just some games recently



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I'm trying to find a used one. I don't want to spend $80 on a new one. If I do like it, I'll probably spend the extra money for the orbweaver.

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Can anyone with the Nostromo tell me if it is possible to use with my right hand? I am left handed gamer

 

Nope. Can't use it right hand unless you drop the dpad use.