The best modern gaming keyboard! (and why)

Chyros · 23 Apr 2019, 09:54

(note, due to what seems to be a rendering error there is no sound in the intro)
I've thought about this long and hard, and this is my conclusion!

vvp · 23 Apr 2019, 12:19

Nice.
Well, we still need a programmable force curve to get an ultimate keyboard switch

Chyros · 23 Apr 2019, 14:05

vvp wrote: 23 Apr 2019, 12:19 Nice.
Well, we still need a programmable force curve to get an ultimate keyboard switch

Haha, wouldn't that be something! xD

Telstar · 23 Apr 2019, 15:01

oh i have to watch this

Sangdrax · 23 Apr 2019, 23:07

Good choice, Thomas. I can always count on some quality taste in your reviews. I just wish they made these in a full case instead of floating switches and had integrated stuff loaded in the keyboard instead of having an external program running. Then it would be perfect. But I think you already said pretty much the same thing in your original Wooting 1 review.

Findecanor · 23 Apr 2019, 23:23

And I do wish that they would release some tactile switch variant. They have only two linear variants and a clicky, which has less tactility than even a Cherry MX Blue.

vvp · 24 Apr 2019, 15:23

Sangdrax wrote: 23 Apr 2019, 23:07 I just wish they made these in a full case instead of floating switches and had integrated stuff loaded in the keyboard instead of having an external program running.

Does not not work without special drivers?
Does it work on mac or linux?

Telstar · 24 Apr 2019, 15:55

Findecanor wrote: 23 Apr 2019, 23:23 And I do wish that they would release some tactile switch variant. They have only two linear variants and a clicky, which has less tactility than even a Cherry MX Blue.

I have the clicky one. It sounds better than MX blue. Not as good as clickbars though. Tactility can be improved with heavier springs.

Telstar · 24 Apr 2019, 15:57

Sangdrax wrote: 23 Apr 2019, 23:07 I just wish they had integrated stuff loaded in the keyboard instead of having an external program running.

The profiles can be saved in the firmware.
But there are other bugs to the analog mode that basically prevent me from using it, unless I was playing a game that could use those features.

Findecanor · 24 Apr 2019, 16:24

vvp wrote: 24 Apr 2019, 15:23 Does not not work without special drivers?
Does it work on mac or linux?

The keyboard works with all operating systems, but every configurable option has to be changed in the "Wootility" program. Nothing is configurable on the keyboard itself.
The program is for Windows, macOS and Linux but 64-bit x86 only.

When I got mine (the original Kickstarter), I was dual-booting 32-bit Windows and Linux, and I think there was only a 64-bit Windows version available for over a year. You could not even disable the backlight or change it from the default rainbow pattern.

Telstar wrote: 24 Apr 2019, 15:55 Tactility can be improved with heavier springs.

Have you tried it? It's usually the opposite: a heavier spring will mask a tactile bump that stays the same, as the resistance from the bump becomes relatively smaller.

Menuhin · 24 Apr 2019, 20:08

I'm curious about Chyros' verdict and found this intriguing keyboard I've seen in his previous review.

A few thing before such a thing can be my daily driver:
- high-profile bezel for the case
- nicer linear switches or at least I want to know how to lube these optical switches
- programmability with layers like as flexible as QMK and TMK (I know it's impossible given the unique proprietary customizable actuation travel distance per switch) on multiple OS platforms
- HHKB layout possiblity, i.e. split backspace (and 1.75u R_Shift) even when it's a TKL

vvp · 24 Apr 2019, 20:17

Findecanor wrote: 24 Apr 2019, 16:24 The keyboard works with all operating systems, but every configurable option has to be changed in the "Wootility" program. Nothing is configurable on the keyboard itself.
The program is for Windows, macOS and Linux but 64-bit x86 only.

If the configuration is saved into the keyboard and the keyboard behaves according to it afterwards then it is good enough.

Findecanor · 24 Apr 2019, 21:05

vvp wrote: 24 Apr 2019, 20:17 If the configuration is saved into the keyboard and the keyboard behaves according to it afterwards then it is good enough.

Good for you that it works in your setup, but then there is no point in posting about it. Nobody is interested in that. What is important for people is what snags they could get themselves in and how to get around them.

Telstar · 24 Apr 2019, 21:09

Findecanor wrote: 24 Apr 2019, 16:24
Telstar wrote: 24 Apr 2019, 15:55 Tactility can be improved with heavier springs.
Have you tried it? It's usually the opposite: a heavier spring will mask a tactile bump that stays the same, as the resistance from the bump becomes relatively smaller.

No, not yet.
What you say it's usually right, but when I put a 78g spring in a mx blue it didn't reduce tactility, so probably something between 67g and 72g would work in the flaretech clickies.
Stock they are a tiny bit heavier than cherry blues, which I don't dislike except for the terrible rattle sound.

vvp · 25 Apr 2019, 16:04

@Findecanor:
Fair enough. The conformability limitation would not matter much for me but it may matter for others.

To tell the truth it is definitely not a keyboard for me. Not because of conformability (despite my keyboard being on the fly configurable without a host application) but because it is not ergonomic enough. Whatever fancy switches can not make for that disadvantage. But that is just me

joedon · 29 Apr 2019, 05:08

Nice review. It has a simple design but with outstanding features.