Drakken Tech Spektrum Gaming Keyboard - [Matte Black] : Hot Swap Mechanical Kailh Blue Switches - Customizable RGB Lighting - Programmable Macro Functionality

Prototype tester as well. This is my first time using/purchasing a mechanical keyboard, and I am blow away by its quality. Not only does it work extremely well on my computer, the lights are very easily programmable and the keys are very easy to switch out should I ever need to replace them. I enjoyed the prototype so much that I went ahead and purchased the real thing upon its release, and I am not disappointed at all. It has improved even on what I already thought was great, adding in a brightness wheel on the keyboard and functionality that allows me to change the coloring and patterns of the lights without having to even launch Drakken Impulse. On that note, Impulse is great if you aren't satisfied with the default light patterns as you can manually program your own patters with it. I could not recommend this keyboard enough!

One thing to say before I list the pros and cons, I've never used a mechanical keyboard before, so I'm no expert on the matter, but so far I really like it overall.Pros:1: It is very heavy and feels far sturdier compared to my old membrane keyboard I've been using for the past 10 or so years, this thing does not flex at all.2: The keycaps and switches are easy to swap out.3: My old keyboard only had red backlighting, so the full RGB backlighting on this is really nice to have.4: My old keyboard had glossy plastic around the keys, so it got dirty very quickly. The rubberized coating of this one, while it does attract fingerprints a little, is much better than the old one.5: They included a some extra switches and a fairly nice keycap and switch remover.6: It's actually smaller than I expected it to be, it's a bit taller than my old keyboard, but quite a bit less wide, so I have more room on my desk now.Neutral:1: I don't really think I'm a big fan of the clicky switches, it's a bit too loud for me (and everyone else in the house lol) But, you can easily swap the switches out whenever you like, so I'm not listing it as a con.2: The font on the keycaps isn't great, and they feel a little cheap, but you can swap them out for whatever you like, so I'm not listing that as a con.3: The button and dial thing on the top right of the keyboard is a little redundant since you can do the same things with the FN key, but I don't think that's really worth listing as a con.4: Doesn't have dedicated macro keys like my old keyboard, but I rarely used those anyways so I don't really mind.Cons:1: When the keyboard arrived the right shift key didn't work, so I had to swap out the switch with one of the included spares. One of the metal pins on the installed switch was bent. It was easy to swap out, but it should've been working out of the box.2: The button in the middle of the dial wasn't installed properly, so I had to remove it and put it back on correctly. that and the previous con makes me think that they didn't test the keyboard at all before shipping it out.3: The 'lock' keys (Num Lock, Scroll Lock, Caps Lock, and Windows Lock) don't light up the same way as the other keys, they only light up when on (For example, when you use caps lock to type in all caps) and are always off otherwise. Also, they are always blue and don't match the colors of the rest of the keys. Maybe you can change the way they work in the software, but I haven't tried that yet, I might try that later and update my review afterwards.So overall I think it's a really good keyboard for the price I paid ($49.99 USD), my requirements for a new keyboard was that it needed to be very durable, easy to replace things if a key or something did mess up, easy to customize if I didn't like the default switches, have RGB backlighting, and feel nice to type on. It passes those requirements perfectly fine at a much lower (at least half) price than other keyboards I looked at.

first, the good:the keyboard itself is pretty solid. not matter what switch you choose, you instantly know you are typing on something solid. even the cheaper kailh switches feel ultra premium on this thing. there is absolutely no flex to the board, at all. the included puller is a nice touch, and the switches are easy to remove. the sound of typing on it is really awesome.the not so good:these complaints are more subjective... some will like them, some wont. the thickness of this board is insane. at its thinnest point, its over an inch and a half thick, without keycaps. this thing is an absolute tank.the rubber coating on the exterior is... odd. its not bad, its just weird. it doesnt really help with looks... and it doesnt really serve a purpose but it does make it impossible to stick anything to (for example, magnetic wrist rests)the bad:the first majori issue i had, was the software. it is about the worst software i have ever dealt with on any keyboard. the macro functionality is ok... but the lighting is damn near impossible to fine tune. i simply wanted a white static color - it couldnt do it. it was there as an option, but everything i tried to get it to a solid white, would default the board to a pink/purple color. i contacted support, and it took days to get a response from their tech support who simply said to "change them one key at a time in gamer mode" (which still wont work). if you are ok with the rainbow rgb or one of their prebuilt effects, then this might not matter much to you.the cable is ridiculous. they crammed all cables into a single braided sleeve, so you are left with a single cable that is around as thick or thicker than your pinky finger. they had no forethought in putting the usb pass through on the right hand side of the board... right where most people have their mouse. so you have the mouse cable right where you are trying to use the mouse, and constantly in the way. same with the audio cables... why you would want your headphone cable coiled up next to or on top of your mouse is questionable. made no sense. putting it on the back of the board would solve that issue.the 'wheel' doesnt do anything. not sure if mine is defective, or if this is a software bug, but they have shown that its used to swap color profiles - mine literally did nothing.the logo. i dont really care to have branding staring me in the face from the keyboard... but it doesnt really bother me. however, if you are going to take the time to put it on there, at least center it and make it straight. mine was offcentered, and rotated a few degrees. just sloppy.this was a really good first attempt at a mechanical keyboard, and i give them props for doing something unique, and at a good price point... but this one misses the mark pretty badly. i hope they learn from this one, and the next one is better.