Sunday, September 25, 2016
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Review: 1byone Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
It's not secret that I love gaming on my PC and am a complete sucker for RGB lighting. It should come as no surprise that the Mechanical Gaming Keyboard from 1byone had a certain allure for me with it's tantalizing RGB chroma animations and Kailh Blue mechanical keys. The real question is, how well does it handle in gaming? Let's find out.
I also appreciate other small details such as the braided USB cable, the aluminum backing, subtle honeycomb design accents, and red LED accent lighting that doesn't detract from the overall design aesthetic but compliments it rather nicely.
I'm not a huge fan of the large 1byone logo between the keyboard and space button, it just feels out of place to me and could have been much smaller and more subdued and detracts from the rest of the design.
Another thing that just feels is that the buttons are assigned equivalent keys from a keyboard, with some of the letters being displaced. For example, instead of "QWERT", you have "QWERP," then you have "ASDFB" instead of "ASDFG." You also have the Tab, Shift, and Ctrl keys, but without the spacing from the Caps Lock key.then there's a 'G' between Ctrl and Alt. This makes key bindings insanely difficult if you are switching between keyboards, and since this is a "half keyboard" you'll still want your main one plugged in. I was playing overwatch and had to remap some of the specials keys since a lot of keys got shuffled from switching, keep this in mind when you get this keyboard. I think the idea was to be able to write quick gaming acronyms such as "GG" and "PB."
Kailh Blue mechanical switches with key travel of 4.0 mm, plus full anti-ghosting ensures great feel and accuracy.
All I can say is that it's a HUGE difference over my dome keyboard keys. I love the tactile-ness they keys have and how every move in my games feel deliberate.
However, this is where things get a little rocky. The 28 keys that are mechanical are fantastic, but then there's that nifty space button. This button is, unfortunately, not mechanical as far as I can tell and feels EXTREMELY squishy and laggy. It sticks out like a sore thumb in contrast to the other lovely mechanical keys and is one of the most used buttons. I have learned to adapt to it over some time now and it's not near as bothersome as it was initially, but I can tell that it still affects game play often enough to be rather irksome. I would have been okay with adding $5 to the cost to make that critical key mechanical like the rest so it doesn't interfere with game play.
Design
This keyboard, simply put, looks stunning. I love the angles and aggressive black look with gray accents. The RGB LEDs are stunning with great brightness and refresh rate. It just has a hypnotizing look that is hard to describe and which videos do no justice. I love the design of the "space" button and how it's situated next to a very large wrist pad. It makes more sense to me in this design since it fits theshape of your hand quite comfortably.
I also appreciate other small details such as the braided USB cable, the aluminum backing, subtle honeycomb design accents, and red LED accent lighting that doesn't detract from the overall design aesthetic but compliments it rather nicely.
I'm not a huge fan of the large 1byone logo between the keyboard and space button, it just feels out of place to me and could have been much smaller and more subdued and detracts from the rest of the design.
Another thing that just feels is that the buttons are assigned equivalent keys from a keyboard, with some of the letters being displaced. For example, instead of "QWERT", you have "QWERP," then you have "ASDFB" instead of "ASDFG." You also have the Tab, Shift, and Ctrl keys, but without the spacing from the Caps Lock key.then there's a 'G' between Ctrl and Alt. This makes key bindings insanely difficult if you are switching between keyboards, and since this is a "half keyboard" you'll still want your main one plugged in. I was playing overwatch and had to remap some of the specials keys since a lot of keys got shuffled from switching, keep this in mind when you get this keyboard. I think the idea was to be able to write quick gaming acronyms such as "GG" and "PB."
Feel
I am by no means a mechanical keyboard-phile, in other words, I have a hard time telling the difference in minor nuances between all the different color switches. Here's how 1byone describes them:Kailh Blue mechanical switches with key travel of 4.0 mm, plus full anti-ghosting ensures great feel and accuracy.
All I can say is that it's a HUGE difference over my dome keyboard keys. I love the tactile-ness they keys have and how every move in my games feel deliberate.
However, this is where things get a little rocky. The 28 keys that are mechanical are fantastic, but then there's that nifty space button. This button is, unfortunately, not mechanical as far as I can tell and feels EXTREMELY squishy and laggy. It sticks out like a sore thumb in contrast to the other lovely mechanical keys and is one of the most used buttons. I have learned to adapt to it over some time now and it's not near as bothersome as it was initially, but I can tell that it still affects game play often enough to be rather irksome. I would have been okay with adding $5 to the cost to make that critical key mechanical like the rest so it doesn't interfere with game play.
LED
As I mentioned earlier, the LEDs on this keyboard are stunning. There are 7 (6 animated and then various static colors) primary lighting modes, I don't know the names of them, but I made a quick clip demoing them below:
The escape key is used as the switch for F1-F5 and 1-6 and is easy to use. The WASD keys are used for speed and brightness. Overall it's very simple and easy to toggle.
Conclusion
There is a lot to love from the keyboard: the mechanical keys, the RGB lightning, and overall build quality and feel. However, the space button's squishy and non-responsive behavior is a huge detraction from a solid keyboard. The funky key placement isn't that big of a deal and more of a preference things for me. I will say though, that with time, the space button has bothered me less and less, but it still catches me off gaurd often enough to remind me that I don't like it. Overall, it's a good value mechanical keyboard and one I am still using for regular Overwatch game play. If you're looking for a mechanical keyboard with RGB on a budget and need it for gaming, than I highly recommend this as an alternative to a full keyboard. However, if you're willing to save for a little longer then there are some full-featured keyboards that are worth keeping your eyes on.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Monday, September 5, 2016
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