While I understand their reviews, I think this board would still satisfy a lot of people. Custom keyboards are still quite unaccesible, so an option like this will still attract a lot of people even with its setbacks I wouldn't buy this though, but do think it's a step in the right direction. Maybe NZXT can listen to the criticism and do a better job with a revision.
A few keyboard enthusiast UA-camrs have already reviewed this keyboard... they were not kind. NZXT did a lot of things that wouldn't attract someone to the enthusiast market (like using hot glue on parts internally and the issue that if you try to take the keyboard apart, you actually bend the frame). Since it's not really an enthusiast keyboard even though they try to make it out like it is, it becomes an overpriced OEM.
I guess that's the downside of sponsored videos. I'm pretty sure the keyboard is ok to type on but it really has some flaws which should at least be adressed.
Yep. As an example the LK67 is $60 barebones, but has features like an actual volume knob and Bluetooth connectivity. Then you can get 70 gateron yellows for $25 and a random Amazon key cap set for as low as $15-$20. Total you’ll have spent $100 ish dollars and gotten a much better keyboard than this. By comparison NZXT key caps alone add $50. You also have to pay an assembly charge for $10. Total for a fully built keyboard from them you are going to pay $150 for a keyboard that’s possibly lower quality and definitely less customizable
@@TTKChristo Full size keyboards a bit less popular, but if you're going to buy a barebones instead of a completed board you're probably going to at least want the option to do some customization yourself. With the hot-glue, shoddy construction, and north facing LEDs you're going to run into a lot of problems that were definitely avoidable by NZXT at this price point. With full size boards the pickings are slimmer, but if you're looking for anywhere from a TKL and down in size you can pretty much find any combination of features you want for right around that price point. For $90 you can get a hot swappable full size board with a very similar feature set that includes caps and switches. Really I'd hesitate to tell people to go for one of these compromised boards to save a few bucks though. You're still going to be spending at least around 130-150 for the barebones, caps, switches, and shipping in the end. With the number of Chinese manufacturers that are selling kits directly to consumers with in-demand features like programmability, knobs, your choice of materials for plates/cases/whatever, it's really difficult for something like this to be competitive. I personally spent around that price for my Keydous NJ80, and for that money I got a machined aluminum knob, brass plate, remappable keys, RGB, bluetooth, 2.4ghz wireless, preinstalled poron foam, the whole nine yards. The NZXT board is probably not going to really disappoint anyone just looking for a mechanical keyboard, but the market has really moved on past what they're offering for your money here.
Me: Ohh, nice they seem to use minimal amounts of plastic in their packaging, that's nice. Me a few minutes later: Cables in form fitted plastic things? Why?
@@PaulRosenow theres a decent few you can find off youtube reviews. i don’t remember the names but many go off bluetooth and have a battery built in. might have to foam around it for a good sound profile if youre about that stuff
100% agreed, im building a tester84 with akko cs silvers and gmk arctic clone keycaps, and the tester 84 absolutely wrecks this pos. For 40€ it feels super premium and heavy, the stock stabs are some of the best ive used ever. For the moment im just using my old sh*tty outemu blue switches. And even they sound and feel pretty damn nice in the tester84
I was looking into this and ended up buying a keychron q2 and am very glad I did. Keyboard UA-cam has steered me right so far in finding my first mechanical keyboard. To answer the question in the title. Yes this keyboard was my gateway drug just not in the way they intended.
Keychron are awesome. The only thing I regret about my purchase was getting Blues instead of linears, and that's the buyer's problem (me) not theirs. The wireless options works great for productivity and light gaming, too.
@@reptarien I'm liking my keyboard so far but I'm kinda wishing I'd gotten the q1 and kept my function row. I have some switches in the mail but I'm liking the gateron blues more than I thought I would and might just end up keeping them over the black inks I ordered. Next up is definitely a wrist rest though
Im buying a Q1 knob version next week, it's also interesting how they didnt mention the shittier details about this peripherals unlike other reviewers that did pont them out and found these are pretty subpar when comoared to other offerings from other brands
@@DiegoLopez-of4xv Sponsored videos on this channel are noticably more shilly than their other work. They probably get paid well to gloss over the worse qualities of things in a lot of these.
The price is ridiculously expensive for a plastic board with hot glued ribbon cables and overpriced switches. Just spend the extra $30 and get the Keychron Q1 which is a great beginner/enthusiast level board that is easy to mod and comes preassembled.
3:49 Although those north facing leds make that ENTIRE point obsolete because the middle row will have compatibility issues with I think cherry profile key caps (one of the most popular)
This depends on the switch as well, I think the newer gateron switches don't have clearance issues. Most switches on the market still have this problem tho
yeah, when using long poll switches like holy pandas or boba ut4's for example, there wont be any compatibility issues with cherry profile keycaps, but with standard length polls there could be some interface
most switches and keycaps will not have interference issues with North facing. I have used a ton, never had issues. The only chances are with certain switches and generally the GMK keycaps in particular and i don't think anyone at this range can afford them
Most custom keyboard enthusiast are going to advise against buying these products for several reasons. The most important being that they are too expensive for what they are. Better boards can be found elsewhere for a better price.
Those cables come in solid cardboard boxes and then have a huge plastic insert...for a cable. I think packaging materials should be scrutinized much more.
Let me do *EVERYONE* a favour and recommend the KBD67 Lite R3/4 or NK65 Entry Edition for *ACTUAL* entry level "premium", way more than off the shelf options like this or other big brands. Both hot swap, both can be tinkered with (lube stabs, Various case colour options, internal foam/dampening, I think you can even swap stabs entirely on the NK65/ KBD67). VIA compatible as well so changing your layout is super easy. Can snag a KBD67 Lite R3 from Canadian/American vendors or straight from KBDFans if that makes more sense for you shipping wise. REALLY solid budget option instead of the standard Tofu with a dz60 like most people start with (including myself). It may be a few more bucks (aprrox $128 for the KBD67 Lite R3 vs $100 for the NZXT tkl) but absolutely worth it. Stay away from big brands cashing in on the keyboard craze and look into smaller vendors who actually care about the keyboard space.
I 100% agree with your recommendations but if were talking about entry level enthusiast keyboards I think the better recommendation would be either Epomaker or Keychron since most of their keyboards can be modified and overall are just really good prebuilts.
Adding Zoom65 to this list If you’re able to get in on the restocks. Wireless budget board with a knob and tons of options for colors. And it has a shiny weight
@@Thebadbeaver9 There are much better options out there than the gmmk Pro, not sure if they fixed the problem with stabilisers or not but still the likes from qwertykeys, cannonkeys, akko, keychron, melectrix etc have much better options for the price
Here are keyboard manufacturers/vendors (THAT SPECIALIZE IN KEYBOARDS UNLIKE NZXT!) that actually deserve your money: Akko, Canonkeys, Keychron (Q series specifically), Novelkeys, KBDFans, Elboards, QwertyKeys, Upgrade Keyboards, Divinikey... the list goes on and on and that's not even mentioning smaller designers like Owlabs and Wuque. BONUS! these vendors wont overcharge you for switches. Please. I'm begging you. Do not buy this.
Being from both PC and Keyboard communities, don't let this be your first keeb. In custom pc terms, it's basically getting an OK looking prebuilt but it has a soldered on-board CPU and RAM chips. Sure it's a fine CPU and it's enough RAM, but it's fine for now. Why NZXT glued the freaking daughboard connector is beyond me.
Especially when you turn on a video in the middle of the night and your speakers are on full blast. Rapid turning down of volume is nice.
2 роки тому+133
I like how the market is expanding for more enthusiast mice and keyboards but NZXT really missed the mark here. Maybe gen 2 will be better but this is starting to be a product you should avoid in this space.
@@custardstuff5178 In oversimplified terms, it's no different from a $5 keyboard that comes with pre-built computers. Compared to every other enthusiast/custom keyboard on the market, this one is a joke. It looks like they put together a product without doing any research on the market itself. If all you care about is a keyboard, this isn't "that" bad. If you care about a quality custom keyboard you can mod and customize to your liking, this is horrible....
@ I don't wish to be rude, I genuinely want to understand, but all you've given me is a lot of words for "it's bad" I've never seen a $5 keyboard with swappable gateron reds, ABS caps and customizable dipped options... Can you give me some concrete reasons or at least point me to a link or vid that does?
@@custardstuff5178 keyboard enthusiasts can’t. They are just angry Karen’s. All I have seen in comments is them crying that it isn’t an enthusiast grade keyboard when it isn’t even fucking advertised as one. Then again I don’t expect intelligent arguments from weebs and morons that spend hundreds of dollars on dog shit keyboards that look cool but have a slower response time than my wireless Logitech keyboard.
@@custardstuff5178 its all depending on the price and what you get out of it. This is somewhat of a nightmare to take apart and mod to your liking (for example foam, tapemod, bandaid etc). Thats why its frowned upon. I havent really gotten too deep in the rabbithole myself, but it does seem like this keyboard is just following the trends "everyone else does" and not really bringing in anything new except taking extra because its NZXT. Personally im more stoked about xtrfy's new customisable keyboards, and for more of a budget case with most value, id recommend checking out the QK65 (dont know if the group buy is over, but from the reviews it seems insane for what it costs).
I understand that this is a sponsored video, but man, you would be better off buying something from Logitech or razor for pre built and from keychron or royal kludge for beginner enthusiasts. All the above do significantly better for the same or less, and those are the common brands you see people insult
You can work out a deal with any sponsor that you will make an honest review - regardless if the items were free, or the video was paid for. To be honest - i think this is a combination of getting paid by NZXT and genuinely not knowing much about keyboards. Look what happened when they sent this board to actual enthusiasts to review - they all said it was [mostly] terrible.
@@coleydotmp4 They now even have a keyboard enthusiast on staff, so you could get a more competent opinion even from LMG. They just chose not to even consult him, apparently.
I've got a fairly expensive setup that I've dumped thousands of dollars into over the past 6-7 years(3080, 5800x, full custom loop) and I'm still using an open box G710+ with Brown switches I got like 5 years ago off Newegg's ebay page for like ~$80 CAD
Are there any big name brands in tech that don't extremely overcharge for their products compared to lesser name brands? PC stores, monitors, keyboards, mice, laptops, pretty much everything. I do like this mouse, but it looks like the Logitech G203 that cost me $20 new.
Stewardess isn't the longest left hand typed word... I mean Stewardesses is 2 characters longer even... but even that falls short by 2 letters at only 12 characters. According to Wikipedia: The longest words typable with only the left hand using conventional hand placement on a QWERTY keyboard are tesseradecades, aftercataracts, and the more common but sometimes hyphenated sweaterdresses.
For about USD50, you could get a Tecware Phantom keyboard that features a hot swappable PCB, kailh switchs and double shot keycaps. They also sell aftermarket key switch sets and key caps. I use them at home and at work. And only 1 right CTRL fail on the PCB after 6-7 years of use. At that price point, I could just buy a new one, and even recover the switches and key caps.
Watch the Hipyo tech showcase of this keyboard. There are some extremely big design flaws such as a glued down connector, limiting people from taking it apart at all.
NZXT has really released some very interesting things as of late. Specifically great for the "I want to try this, but I'm scared because I am not techie enough" area. These more "friendly" entry level options have really impressed me for what they are. First the NZXT BLD kits and now these keyboards.
I do like the knob on the left.. I have multiple customs and an apex 7 pro and I've never understood why the control center is on the right side of the keyboard. I have to take my hand off my mouse to use it, would make more sense on the left side for your keyboard hand on wasd.
Can you use that volume control knob to scrub a timeline while editing, or scroll a webpage??? I want to see more keyboards include that functionality!
What i'd like someone to do is to revive the idea behind the tessoro Gram XS, a super slim mechanical keyboard, like the old aluminium Apple keyboard thin, while still having removable keykaps and RGB(I'd prefer plain white but damn is that RGB beautiful/oversaturated)
I am full on in love with what Keychron is doingt. Really love their hotswappable Boards. I use one for my Mac, and it even has a Hard Switch to change between Windows and Max Layout.
@@Daniel-dj7fh I had the luck to buy them from an importer based in Europe. Wasn't that steep actually. 120 euros for the fully decked K8 hotswappable rgb all with gather on browns, and kW caps for windows and Mac included.
@@HoJSimpson Yeah the 30 bucks shipping is quasi included there, if I remember correctly depending on which keyboard you're trying to get they go for around 70-100 bucks + the 30bucks shipping. So if you paid 120, you didn't really pay less.
@@Daniel-dj7fh Sure but considering i would need to pay additional 19% of sales tax upon importing the Keyboard to Germany. And that 19% is unfortunately not included in the 99 Dollar price. So it was still a pretty good deal. A Keyboard with all these feature for that price? Any day my friend.
If there will be an ISO design, then i see the replacement for my Logitech G610 Brown. I have a pair of G610 and there is no replacement for it so far. Only problem with it - the space-bar and caps-lock are not standard size, so its impossible to find replacement caps for all the keys.
think what this is missing is maybe explains how it differs from a ethusist keyboard. I think this is pretty good. I use a k100 from Corsair, my first mechanical keyboard. can only swap the caps. be nice to have option of changing out the switches too.
Just fyi, if recoring minecraft your mouse needs to have a pollingrate of 250 or below or else you will have stuttering on the recording and these NZXT mice don't seem to allow it. Braided cables are also a nightmare when you get a kink and you always will especially if you move the accessory alot (headphones & mouse)
How's this compare to the ASUS one that was on here before? If the NZXT one could do Smart Colour I'd def get it but doesn't seem like it does. Would be nice to see my cpu temp in colours on my keyboard the way I have it on my laptop's built-in
I’ve owned one thing from NZXT, I will never buy something by them again. I bought a case about a year ago. Within that year the glass shattered under its own weight, the USBC slot didn’t perform well enough to do anything but charge small electronics, the headset port stopped working after 6 months, the fans were annoyingly loud, the cooling was awful. Swapped it out to an Asus case that cost the same about $100, night and day difference. Nothing in this video makes me think it’ll be any different for anything else in their line up.
The volume wheel being next to the escape key seems like a terrible idea. You use escape pretty often for menus in game, I can see accidental volume adjustments happening often. Also the plastic in the cable boxes is just atrocious, so unnecessary.
As a current enthusiast, maybe pick somebody who is actually a subject matter expert to review the board next time. This just came off as very basic and ignorant of the existing mechanical keyboard space.
As a left handed mouse user i hate when companies tell that their mouse is ambidexterous, and then put buttons only to the left side. Those mouses are just as useless to me as the completly "right hand designed" ones.
If someone actually wants to get into the hobby of customizing and modding keyboard I suggest just getting a tm680, any of the royal kludge keyboards with hotswap, or a hotswap Gk61. GK61 has a pretty universal pcb so you can get some pretty cool cases later down the line. Royal kludge keyboards are cheap and easy to mod. And the TM680 is a pretty nice keyboard with a volume knob that doesn’t completely suck for under 70 bucks.
unfortunately north facing, so the standard bottom row doesn't really help with compatibility as most cherry profile caps (which is most) don't work with north facing LEDs
I always like how they have a dedicated channel for unboxing. No review or recommendations, just James trying a product. Would never buy this keyboard, mainly if I am paying for an enthusiast kb, I would want an enthusiast kb
You know why they have this channel where they just do unboxings? Because they can advertise the shitty ass products big companies make and get away with it
if you want an enthusiast entry level board. I would 110% recommend the DNA65 WAY before this. there's less point of sale customization but you get a pretty decent keyboard for very cheap (considering pricing of other stuff) as well as it being completely hot-swappable and moddable. I have a BUNCH of keyboards and my DNA65 is still my daily driver with the holy panda's I have in there. if you don't plan on modding your keyboard at all: the nzxt keyboard isn't a bad option, if a little overpriced for what you're getting. if you want to get into keyboards as a hobby, only get keyboards like the nzxt or other OEM ones to experience what a difficult modding experience is like.
no idea why they didnt go with the standard size of 75 percent or 68 percent. i dont want that extra row but its definitely a keeb im thinking about buying because no one makes low profile cases like this. they all block the sides of the switches.
What you should get over this: RAZER Huntsman Mini (kinda hate this, but still better) FNATIC Streak 65 LP (got this over a custom for low profile switches; comes with coiled cable) Hyper Alloy Origins 65 ANY OF THE DUCKY KEYBOARDS Literally anything else. I can’t really think of any other good options besides the 65% ones bc I was looking for a 65%, so.
For anyone considering buying these, I'd advise watching Optimum Tech's review first, not just an unboxing/first impressions!
Imagine sponsoring a video and seeing this comment xD
You're right. This video is about nothing.
While I understand their reviews, I think this board would still satisfy a lot of people. Custom keyboards are still quite unaccesible, so an option like this will still attract a lot of people even with its setbacks
I wouldn't buy this though, but do think it's a step in the right direction. Maybe NZXT can listen to the criticism and do a better job with a revision.
@@lyoozero I feel like getting something like the Nuphy air 75 would be a lot better for a similar price.
@@lyoozero there are MUCH better keyboard options for less. Doesn't have to be custom
A few keyboard enthusiast UA-camrs have already reviewed this keyboard... they were not kind. NZXT did a lot of things that wouldn't attract someone to the enthusiast market (like using hot glue on parts internally and the issue that if you try to take the keyboard apart, you actually bend the frame). Since it's not really an enthusiast keyboard even though they try to make it out like it is, it becomes an overpriced OEM.
Hipyo Tech **huhum** what?
@@mastertchift6415 Took the words right out of my mouth lol.
if someones trying to become an enthusiast stay away from big branded "custom" keyboards
@@mastertchift6415 _They glued the wire!_
I guess that's the downside of sponsored videos. I'm pretty sure the keyboard is ok to type on but it really has some flaws which should at least be adressed.
5:27 first mouse to come with omicron switches
I just starting watching this, and going from the custom mechanical keyboard, I feel like NZXT didn't even try making a decent keyboard
Yeah it's shit
Especially when you have options like the NK65 EE
There are too many good, reasonably priced, high quality boards out there these days to justify something like this for $130 bucks.
True, Ducky One 2 is the same price and objectively better
Yep. As an example the LK67 is $60 barebones, but has features like an actual volume knob and Bluetooth connectivity. Then you can get 70 gateron yellows for $25 and a random Amazon key cap set for as low as $15-$20. Total you’ll have spent $100 ish dollars and gotten a much better keyboard than this.
By comparison NZXT key caps alone add $50. You also have to pay an assembly charge for $10. Total for a fully built keyboard from them you are going to pay $150 for a keyboard that’s possibly lower quality and definitely less customizable
What other 90$ full sized barebones can I get that are as good though?
@@TTKChristo
Full size keyboards a bit less popular, but if you're going to buy a barebones instead of a completed board you're probably going to at least want the option to do some customization yourself. With the hot-glue, shoddy construction, and north facing LEDs you're going to run into a lot of problems that were definitely avoidable by NZXT at this price point. With full size boards the pickings are slimmer, but if you're looking for anywhere from a TKL and down in size you can pretty much find any combination of features you want for right around that price point. For $90 you can get a hot swappable full size board with a very similar feature set that includes caps and switches.
Really I'd hesitate to tell people to go for one of these compromised boards to save a few bucks though. You're still going to be spending at least around 130-150 for the barebones, caps, switches, and shipping in the end. With the number of Chinese manufacturers that are selling kits directly to consumers with in-demand features like programmability, knobs, your choice of materials for plates/cases/whatever, it's really difficult for something like this to be competitive. I personally spent around that price for my Keydous NJ80, and for that money I got a machined aluminum knob, brass plate, remappable keys, RGB, bluetooth, 2.4ghz wireless, preinstalled poron foam, the whole nine yards. The NZXT board is probably not going to really disappoint anyone just looking for a mechanical keyboard, but the market has really moved on past what they're offering for your money here.
@@TTKChristo If you want a an affordable fullsize keyboard, the only good ones I see are Akko Mod 4 or Cannonkeys stacked 1800
Me: Ohh, nice they seem to use minimal amounts of plastic in their packaging, that's nice.
Me a few minutes later: Cables in form fitted plastic things? Why?
"you see the rgb light there?" Yeah I sure do gotta love north facing leds
For anyone who wants to buy this to dip into the mech keeb hobby: don't
get akko, tester68, LK67, monstagear tkl
Akko mod series is bussing
Are there any wireless enthusiast grade mechanical keyboards?
@@PaulRosenow theres a decent few you can find off youtube reviews. i don’t remember the names but many go off bluetooth and have a battery built in. might have to foam around it for a good sound profile if youre about that stuff
100% agreed, im building a tester84 with akko cs silvers and gmk arctic clone keycaps, and the tester 84 absolutely wrecks this pos. For 40€ it feels super premium and heavy, the stock stabs are some of the best ive used ever. For the moment im just using my old sh*tty outemu blue switches. And even they sound and feel pretty damn nice in the tester84
@@Cpmnk so happens im in the mids of building my gf's tester84 with akko cs rose reds and gmk olivia clones
I was looking into this and ended up buying a keychron q2 and am very glad I did. Keyboard UA-cam has steered me right so far in finding my first mechanical keyboard. To answer the question in the title. Yes this keyboard was my gateway drug just not in the way they intended.
Keychron are awesome. The only thing I regret about my purchase was getting Blues instead of linears, and that's the buyer's problem (me) not theirs. The wireless options works great for productivity and light gaming, too.
@@reptarien I'm liking my keyboard so far but I'm kinda wishing I'd gotten the q1 and kept my function row. I have some switches in the mail but I'm liking the gateron blues more than I thought I would and might just end up keeping them over the black inks I ordered. Next up is definitely a wrist rest though
Im buying a Q1 knob version next week, it's also interesting how they didnt mention the shittier details about this peripherals unlike other reviewers that did pont them out and found these are pretty subpar when comoared to other offerings from other brands
Ya. The big thing that jumped out at me was how terrible their reactive lighting is compared to on my Keychron, which is pretty entry level and basic.
@@DiegoLopez-of4xv Sponsored videos on this channel are noticably more shilly than their other work. They probably get paid well to gloss over the worse qualities of things in a lot of these.
“Omicron” switches, the signal transmits very easily, and this switch is widely spread across the globe in top tier mice.
tell me a switch that doesn't transmits signal "very easily"
The price is ridiculously expensive for a plastic board with hot glued ribbon cables and overpriced switches. Just spend the extra $30 and get the Keychron Q1 which is a great beginner/enthusiast level board that is easy to mod and comes preassembled.
3:49 Although those north facing leds make that ENTIRE point obsolete because the middle row will have compatibility issues with I think cherry profile key caps (one of the most popular)
This depends on the switch as well, I think the newer gateron switches don't have clearance issues. Most switches on the market still have this problem tho
@@patcharaong ah ok thanks for clearing that up.
yeah, when using long poll switches like holy pandas or boba ut4's for example, there wont be any compatibility issues with cherry profile keycaps, but with standard length polls there could be some interface
most switches and keycaps will not have interference issues with North facing. I have used a ton, never had issues. The only chances are with certain switches and generally the GMK keycaps in particular and i don't think anyone at this range can afford them
I love how everybodys already seen the reviews from keyboard youtubers. This makes my day
Most custom keyboard enthusiast are going to advise against buying these products for several reasons. The most important being that they are too expensive for what they are. Better boards can be found elsewhere for a better price.
I'd recommend anyone tempted to customize this keyboard to watch hipyo tech video on these
Those cables come in solid cardboard boxes and then have a huge plastic insert...for a cable. I think packaging materials should be scrutinized much more.
This thing has north facing LEDS. RIP.
Let me do *EVERYONE* a favour and recommend the KBD67 Lite R3/4 or NK65 Entry Edition for *ACTUAL* entry level "premium", way more than off the shelf options like this or other big brands. Both hot swap, both can be tinkered with (lube stabs, Various case colour options, internal foam/dampening, I think you can even swap stabs entirely on the NK65/ KBD67). VIA compatible as well so changing your layout is super easy. Can snag a KBD67 Lite R3 from Canadian/American vendors or straight from KBDFans if that makes more sense for you shipping wise. REALLY solid budget option instead of the standard Tofu with a dz60 like most people start with (including myself). It may be a few more bucks (aprrox $128 for the KBD67 Lite R3 vs $100 for the NZXT tkl) but absolutely worth it. Stay away from big brands cashing in on the keyboard craze and look into smaller vendors who actually care about the keyboard space.
You can definitely swap the stab on the kbd67
@@patcharaong Cheers I thought I read something along those lines at some point but I stand corrected.
I 100% agree with your recommendations but if were talking about entry level enthusiast keyboards I think the better recommendation would be either Epomaker or Keychron since most of their keyboards can be modified and overall are just really good prebuilts.
Even the DNA65 is a better option and that's not a very high bar XD
Adding Zoom65 to this list If you’re able to get in on the restocks. Wireless budget board with a knob and tons of options for colors. And it has a shiny weight
I would not recommend this keyboard for anyone wanting to join the kb community, I would recommend something like a kbd67 or something similar.
me, here on a kdbd67 lite: BASED
its amazing. went from a gmmk tkl to this. both boards are good, but this is such a good gateway
Do you know a white one with backlightning, and volume control as well ? Been seeing the gmmk pro for a while but no alternative
Gmmk pro is another great option, although a fair bit more expensive.
@@Thebadbeaver9 There are much better options out there than the gmmk Pro, not sure if they fixed the problem with stabilisers or not but still the likes from qwertykeys, cannonkeys, akko, keychron, melectrix etc have much better options for the price
@@latitzouri keychron q something, their 75% offering. with knob barebones its $130, built is $170
>make a point to learn touch typing
>make the keyboard do pretty colors while I type without looking
5:03 JAMES, IT'S MICE!
Here are keyboard manufacturers/vendors (THAT SPECIALIZE IN KEYBOARDS UNLIKE NZXT!) that actually deserve your money: Akko, Canonkeys, Keychron (Q series specifically), Novelkeys, KBDFans, Elboards, QwertyKeys, Upgrade Keyboards, Divinikey... the list goes on and on and that's not even mentioning smaller designers like Owlabs and Wuque. BONUS! these vendors wont overcharge you for switches.
Please. I'm begging you. Do not buy this.
Well put, Sir.
@@stevemoon2136 technically Ma'am but you can call me Sir any day homie
any recommendations for german/iso keyboards?
Frankly there's more good vendors than bad ones. It's just that the bad ones tend to invest more into marketing.
Currently, the zoom65 and QK65 are absolutely nutty for the price
Being from both PC and Keyboard communities, don't let this be your first keeb.
In custom pc terms, it's basically getting an OK looking prebuilt but it has a soldered on-board CPU and RAM chips. Sure it's a fine CPU and it's enough RAM, but it's fine for now.
Why NZXT glued the freaking daughboard connector is beyond me.
except it's also overpriced
I have to say, all the keyboards with a real volume knob are the best. easy volume adjustment is amazing to have.
Especially when you turn on a video in the middle of the night and your speakers are on full blast. Rapid turning down of volume is nice.
I like how the market is expanding for more enthusiast mice and keyboards but NZXT really missed the mark here. Maybe gen 2 will be better but this is starting to be a product you should avoid in this space.
Why?
@@custardstuff5178 In oversimplified terms, it's no different from a $5 keyboard that comes with pre-built computers. Compared to every other enthusiast/custom keyboard on the market, this one is a joke. It looks like they put together a product without doing any research on the market itself. If all you care about is a keyboard, this isn't "that" bad. If you care about a quality custom keyboard you can mod and customize to your liking, this is horrible....
@ I don't wish to be rude, I genuinely want to understand, but all you've given me is a lot of words for "it's bad"
I've never seen a $5 keyboard with swappable gateron reds, ABS caps and customizable dipped options...
Can you give me some concrete reasons or at least point me to a link or vid that does?
@@custardstuff5178 keyboard enthusiasts can’t. They are just angry Karen’s. All I have seen in comments is them crying that it isn’t an enthusiast grade keyboard when it isn’t even fucking advertised as one.
Then again I don’t expect intelligent arguments from weebs and morons that spend hundreds of dollars on dog shit keyboards that look cool but have a slower response time than my wireless Logitech keyboard.
@@custardstuff5178 its all depending on the price and what you get out of it. This is somewhat of a nightmare to take apart and mod to your liking (for example foam, tapemod, bandaid etc). Thats why its frowned upon. I havent really gotten too deep in the rabbithole myself, but it does seem like this keyboard is just following the trends "everyone else does" and not really bringing in anything new except taking extra because its NZXT.
Personally im more stoked about xtrfy's new customisable keyboards, and for more of a budget case with most value, id recommend checking out the QK65 (dont know if the group buy is over, but from the reviews it seems insane for what it costs).
I understand that this is a sponsored video, but man, you would be better off buying something from Logitech or razor for pre built and from keychron or royal kludge for beginner enthusiasts. All the above do significantly better for the same or less, and those are the common brands you see people insult
You can work out a deal with any sponsor that you will make an honest review - regardless if the items were free, or the video was paid for.
To be honest - i think this is a combination of getting paid by NZXT and genuinely not knowing much about keyboards. Look what happened when they sent this board to actual enthusiasts to review - they all said it was [mostly] terrible.
The razer boards are subpar at most but those are better than the nzxt ones, it seems like they didn't even try to make a half decent keyboard
@@coleydotmp4 They now even have a keyboard enthusiast on staff, so you could get a more competent opinion even from LMG. They just chose not to even consult him, apparently.
Wouldn't it actually be "stewardesses"? Or are they only counting non-pluralized words?
Searched for this comment before posting the same thing.
It's funny on how he was excited about the lighting profiles when I've had this same ones on my Steel Series TKL.
Finally a keyboard with the volume knob on the left side
GATERON KEYCAPS?!?!?! PLEASE GET THE KEYBOARD GUY TO DO KEYBOARD STUFF PLEASE I BEG YOU
lmao when i heard him say that i genuinely thought they were keycaps manufactured by gateron and i was so confused for a minute
Yeah, i just realized that they do have a keyboard guy in the studio(the guy who spent $70 on a single custom keyboard cable)
@@user-jb9kn5xu1p i know it pissed me off when they didnt get him for this video :(
That "switch puller" is a super common and super cheap IC puller that have been around for decades.
keychron q2
I've got a fairly expensive setup that I've dumped thousands of dollars into over the past 6-7 years(3080, 5800x, full custom loop) and I'm still using an open box G710+ with Brown switches I got like 5 years ago off Newegg's ebay page for like ~$80 CAD
Are there any big name brands in tech that don't extremely overcharge for their products compared to lesser name brands? PC stores, monitors, keyboards, mice, laptops, pretty much everything. I do like this mouse, but it looks like the Logitech G203 that cost me $20 new.
I'm impressed he didn'þ mention the F13 key on the Minitkl
Stewardess isn't the longest left hand typed word... I mean Stewardesses is 2 characters longer even... but even that falls short by 2 letters at only 12 characters. According to Wikipedia: The longest words typable with only the left hand using conventional hand placement on a QWERTY keyboard are tesseradecades, aftercataracts, and the more common but sometimes hyphenated sweaterdresses.
Keychron
Keychron
Keychron
For about USD50, you could get a Tecware Phantom keyboard that features a hot swappable PCB, kailh switchs and double shot keycaps. They also sell aftermarket key switch sets and key caps. I use them at home and at work. And only 1 right CTRL fail on the PCB after 6-7 years of use. At that price point, I could just buy a new one, and even recover the switches and key caps.
yeah included with the new omicron switches
Watch the Hipyo tech showcase of this keyboard. There are some extremely big design flaws such as a glued down connector, limiting people from taking it apart at all.
NZXT has really released some very interesting things as of late. Specifically great for the "I want to try this, but I'm scared because I am not techie enough" area. These more "friendly" entry level options have really impressed me for what they are. First the NZXT BLD kits and now these keyboards.
Why is the LED north facing?!
"this is a sweet little knob."
If I had a nickel for every time...
4:42 Stewardesses though, if you think about it
I do like the knob on the left.. I have multiple customs and an apex 7 pro and I've never understood why the control center is on the right side of the keyboard. I have to take my hand off my mouse to use it, would make more sense on the left side for your keyboard hand on wasd.
THE LINUS FACE GOT ME SO GOOD HAHAHA
Can you use that volume control knob to scrub a timeline while editing, or scroll a webpage??? I want to see more keyboards include that functionality!
Surely "Sort Shirt Kit" would be a kit to build a machine that sorts shirts?
The amount of mistakes in this video is so "Linus" but it's not even Linus in it 🤣😂
damn those Omicron switches at 5:28 are killer
9:52 That is *NOT* all the keys of a TKL. The Windows key is missing. There are also added "NZXT" and "F13" keys for some reason.
WELCOME BACK JAMES, HAVENT SEEN YOU IN A VIDEO FOR A LOOOOONG TIME
Pretty light for a full size, even my old 60% ducky mecha mini was of a similar weight, my current 65% comes in at about 1,7 kg...
plastic thin board lol
no.
Knew you would be here
What i'd like someone to do is to revive the idea behind the tessoro Gram XS, a super slim mechanical keyboard, like the old aluminium Apple keyboard thin, while still having removable keykaps and RGB(I'd prefer plain white but damn is that RGB beautiful/oversaturated)
I am full on in love with what Keychron is doingt. Really love their hotswappable Boards. I use one for my Mac, and it even has a Hard Switch to change between Windows and Max Layout.
Their only issue is Shippingprices, 30 bucks those crazy mofos
@@Daniel-dj7fh I had the luck to buy them from an importer based in Europe. Wasn't that steep actually. 120 euros for the fully decked K8 hotswappable rgb all with gather on browns, and kW caps for windows and Mac included.
@@HoJSimpson Yeah the 30 bucks shipping is quasi included there, if I remember correctly depending on which keyboard you're trying to get they go for around 70-100 bucks + the 30bucks shipping. So if you paid 120, you didn't really pay less.
@@Daniel-dj7fh Sure but considering i would need to pay additional 19% of sales tax upon importing the Keyboard to Germany. And that 19% is unfortunately not included in the 99 Dollar price.
So it was still a pretty good deal. A Keyboard with all these feature for that price? Any day my friend.
4:38 and with your right hand: lollipop :)
If there will be an ISO design, then i see the replacement for my Logitech G610 Brown. I have a pair of G610 and there is no replacement for it so far.
Only problem with it - the space-bar and caps-lock are not standard size, so its impossible to find replacement caps for all the keys.
I beg you, for the price there are far more sensible options
I highly recommend keychron
dont do it!
I really wish they would include USB-C-to-C cables as well as C-to-A for MacBook purposes.
Use a dongle, you asked for it!
You can get a USB C to A adapter
think what this is missing is maybe explains how it differs from a ethusist keyboard. I think this is pretty good. I use a k100 from Corsair, my first mechanical keyboard. can only swap the caps. be nice to have option of changing out the switches too.
Just fyi, if recoring minecraft your mouse needs to have a pollingrate of 250 or below or else you will have stuttering on the recording and these NZXT mice don't seem to allow it.
Braided cables are also a nightmare when you get a kink and you always will especially if you move the accessory alot (headphones & mouse)
5:27 they have got Omicron switches 🤣👍
4:42 STEWARDESSES GET IT RIGHT
120 is pretty steep for a plastic keyboard which has meh stabs.
80 for a barebones roughly competes with gmmk's tkl and is also mehmeh.
I do like the custom scroller wheel and buttons tho, it's not something you get on cheaper boards.
one stewardess two stewardesses what
the tkl one has a volume wheel? I've been looking for a decent brand with those specs for a while now.
"This is a sweet little knob."
If I had a nickel for every time I heard that...
For the right hand the longest word is lollypop
How's this compare to the ASUS one that was on here before? If the NZXT one could do Smart Colour I'd def get it but doesn't seem like it does. Would be nice to see my cpu temp in colours on my keyboard the way I have it on my laptop's built-in
I’ve owned one thing from NZXT, I will never buy something by them again. I bought a case about a year ago. Within that year the glass shattered under its own weight, the USBC slot didn’t perform well enough to do anything but charge small electronics, the headset port stopped working after 6 months, the fans were annoyingly loud, the cooling was awful. Swapped it out to an Asus case that cost the same about $100, night and day difference. Nothing in this video makes me think it’ll be any different for anything else in their line up.
Asus makes some awful cases too. Their ROG Strix GT15 has such bad cooling and overheats, crashes often
The volume wheel being next to the escape key seems like a terrible idea. You use escape pretty often for menus in game, I can see accidental volume adjustments happening often. Also the plastic in the cable boxes is just atrocious, so unnecessary.
Ehhh…. Just go for an nk87 for the price, or if you want a full-sized, Keychron has many full sized board options for less that are still customizable
Unfortunately you can't configure the scroll wheel on the keyboard... It only does volume...
"Stewardesses" is longer and still left-hand only
5:28 Omicron switches 😂
As a current enthusiast, maybe pick somebody who is actually a subject matter expert to review the board next time. This just came off as very basic and ignorant of the existing mechanical keyboard space.
As a left handed mouse user i hate when companies tell that their mouse is ambidexterous, and then put buttons only to the left side. Those mouses are just as useless to me as the completly "right hand designed" ones.
As someone who doesn't game but does do coding etc, my mouse side buttons are mapped to copy and paste. Incredibly useful.
Would love to know why they have a full Italian site, offer shipping and build services for Italy, but don't have Italian ISO as a layout option.
Linus overworked this poor fella
why are there two F3 keys in the mini?
There's no per switch configuration on their builder website which was unfortunate..
If someone actually wants to get into the hobby of customizing and modding keyboard I suggest just getting a tm680, any of the royal kludge keyboards with hotswap, or a hotswap Gk61. GK61 has a pretty universal pcb so you can get some pretty cool cases later down the line. Royal kludge keyboards are cheap and easy to mod. And the TM680 is a pretty nice keyboard with a volume knob that doesn’t completely suck for under 70 bucks.
You can also call the tm680 the gamakay lk67, since that's the Amazon name, easier for most of this channel's viewerbase to find
unfortunately north facing, so the standard bottom row doesn't really help with compatibility as most cherry profile caps (which is most) don't work with north facing LEDs
I really confused why the mouse has detachable plug but it actually wired mouse instead
I just want a keyboard with a solid frame with tangerine switches but I don't want to go through the headache of finding one
Love the Borat impersonation !!!
I just wish this would be cheaper in my country
4:45 it's stewardesses
2:48 "That's what."
-- She
3:43 what is that knocking noise, thought it was in my house and freaked me out
The mini has an F13 key i've never seen that before
I always like how they have a dedicated channel for unboxing. No review or recommendations, just James trying a product. Would never buy this keyboard, mainly if I am paying for an enthusiast kb, I would want an enthusiast kb
Unfortunately if you buy this keyboard, you wont get an enthusiast keyboard in the slightest.
You know why they have this channel where they just do unboxings? Because they can advertise the shitty ass products big companies make and get away with it
@@medi6892 sure, I also enjoy the niche products and watching Anthony talk about UNUX/LINUX centric products
To bad the right and left side mouse buttons can not be maped seperate
This is a sweet little knob
if you want an enthusiast entry level board. I would 110% recommend the DNA65 WAY before this. there's less point of sale customization but you get a pretty decent keyboard for very cheap (considering pricing of other stuff) as well as it being completely hot-swappable and moddable. I have a BUNCH of keyboards and my DNA65 is still my daily driver with the holy panda's I have in there. if you don't plan on modding your keyboard at all: the nzxt keyboard isn't a bad option, if a little overpriced for what you're getting. if you want to get into keyboards as a hobby, only get keyboards like the nzxt or other OEM ones to experience what a difficult modding experience is like.
no idea why they didnt go with the standard size of 75 percent or 68 percent. i dont want that extra row but its definitely a keeb im thinking about buying because no one makes low profile cases like this. they all block the sides of the switches.
Dont get it watch and actual review please
There is no such thing as 68% size, also 65% isnt even a standard layout
Really loved the keyboard
Could u make a video about ergonomic mouses
Thanks
What you should get over this:
RAZER Huntsman Mini (kinda hate this, but still better)
FNATIC Streak 65 LP (got this over a custom for low profile switches; comes with coiled cable)
Hyper Alloy Origins 65
ANY OF THE DUCKY KEYBOARDS
Literally anything else. I can’t really think of any other good options besides the 65% ones bc I was looking for a 65%, so.
Why so much plastic in the packaging?! Especially with those cables!