[section_title title=”Performance”]Performance
Performance
It is worth noting at this point that the key type bears no resemblance to the score for this section, everyone has their own preference! The keyboard is equipped with the Kailh switches which are effectively cheap versions of cherry switches.
Gaming
To test the keyboard in its intended use, for gaming, a good session was had where a few games were tested to assess the keyboard in different game styles. The games that were used were
FPS: Battlefield 4
RPG: Guild Wars 2
MOBA: DOTA 2
RTS: Planetary annihilation
The keyboard performed well in all of these games. As one would expect. The ability to disable and reassign keys really helped as it helps miskeying. The bottom section of the keyboard below the thumb keys is just too small to act as a wrist rest (though I do have large hands so this could account for it). The thumb buttons became really handy for adding things to build queues in planetary annihilation and another good use I found was for programming up the spells for Magicka, which ultimately saved a lot of time in the casting process.
An incredibly useful function of the keyboard is the instant record functionality. To operate this, when in a profile and in game mode, you press the instant record button, then a thumb key. This sets the record button to start flashing. The keyboard will then record everything you do until you then hit the record button again. The recorded actions will now be repeated whenever you press the chosen thumb key. This is an incredibly useful tool as it means you can make macros on the fly in the middle of a gaming session without having to tab out or quit.
Overall I would be very happy to use this keyboard for gaming in any sense, as there is enough customisability in the software to make the keyboard behave and react however you want, it is comfortable and responsive.
General
The keyboard is a delight to have for general use. The switches feel nice, the keys are nicely spaced and the backlight really helps with glancing at the keyboard. I have used the keyboard solidly for the past few days and it is certainly a delight to type on. The media keys work nicely, but there is no function lock facility, this means that you have to always hold down the function key when you want to use them. Personally that may be preferable but I found it a bit of a hassle and would probably be just as quick to go and change the track with the mouse unless I was in a game. As mentioned before there is the a game mode button that toggles the keyboard between game and PC mode. This effectively just disables the Windows key which helps if you are prone to hitting windows instead of ctrl or alt.
