Software and Lighting
Having the ability to make some lighting adjustments without the need for dedicated software is a nice feature to have, but many users find themselves wanting to dive a bit deeper into the lighting and macro options available to them. Thankfully, the Patriot Viper V770 offers both types of configuration options. The eight dedicated lighting controls at the top of the keyboard can be used in combination with the FN key to adjust each lighting type’s settings. Those wanting more options can install the V770 software application to get more precise control of their gaming hardware. The V770 application uses a single screen to configure the keyboard’s lighting, macro, and profile functions. The left 1/3 of the program is where all of the changes are made, while the right 2/3rds show a visual representation of the keyboard.
LED
Lighting configuration changes are made via a simple drop-down menu and associated color palette. Patriot provides a long list of lighting effects that include: Static, Breathing, Wave, Reactive, Sidewinder, Ripple, Spectrum, Raindrop, Vortex, Spotlight, Radar, and five custom lighting profiles. Each effect has a bit of customization available to get things looking just right. The wrist rest lighting can also be configured, and does not have to match the keyboard lighting scheme. Want a static color on the keys, but a rainbow wave on the wrist rest? No problem.
Profiles
The “Profiles” button brings up a small window that lets you import or export your custom lighting and macro settings for sharing or backing up. Simply configure the V770 how you want and then export the profile, saving it to your PC. Now you can share the profile with other users, or restore from a backup if you make changes you don’t like.
Macros
The “Macros” button brings up a window that lets you record up to 32 macros, each up to 47 characters in length and assign them to any key other than the Windows key. The five dedicated macro keys on the left side of the keyboard is a great place to start. We recorded a simple macro that types out “www.thinkcomputers.org” when you press the first dedicated macro key. The macro recorder has the option to delay between keystrokes, as well as the ability to loop the macro if needed.
Lighting
As we previously mentioned, the V770’s lighting can be customized to suit your style. The per-key customization, as well as the ability to adjust the lighting on the wrist rest gives you plenty of options to choose from. We do wish that the lighting zones on the wrist rest could be individually addressed, but they are not. Still, the provided options for that area are more than what any non-lit wrist rest offers. Take a look at a few of the lighting modes below.
