NZXT's New Keyboards Combine a Simple Design With Hot-Swappable Switches

Speaker 1: Personalized mechanical keyboards are all the rage these days. And NCX T has lept into the fray with the launch of their own customizable keyboards. Aply named function featuring hot swappable switches, a standard bottom row and per key RGB lighting. There's a lot to impact with these. So let's get into it. The function keyboards come in three different form factors. You have your full size 10 keyless and NCX T's special mini T [00:00:30] K L form factor, which has all the keys found in the TKL model is cramed within a smaller frame at an even cheaper price. I mean, look at this, those keys are really packed in there. They even manage to squeeze an F 13 key and a dedicated macro key. Speaker 1: Although it does not come with a risk rest, like the other two, without a doubt, the most important feature of the function. Indeed. The very thing that sets it apart from many other entry level mechanical keyboards on the market is the fact that [00:01:00] X T went with a hot swappable PCB board for all three models. Now, for those new to mechanical keyboards, I can already imagine what you're thinking. What the heck does that mean? And why should I even care? Let me tell you hot swappable switch sockets mean that the switches you choose are not soldered onto the board and therefore you are free to remove them as you please. Ultimately, this allows you to extend the life of your keyboard, replacing parts as [00:01:30] they fail over time, et cetera. While there are plenty of hot swappable keyboards out there NZXT is one of the few big brands to embrace the hot swappable design for their flagship products. Now NZXT sent me these keyboards to review, but the opinions expressed here are entirely my own. And I hope this video helps you decide which mechanical keyboard set up is right for you. I'm not saying you'll be an expert by the end of the video, but [00:02:00] I will leave you with some build that I recommend in the description, right? Without further ado, let's sum box. These Speaker 1: First off, I like the simple eco-friendly packaging that these keyboards arrive in Inside. We find the keyboard preassembled with our switches and key caps that we chose online included with the each is a switch puller to patchable USBC cable, a key cap remover and spare key switches. These tools [00:02:30] are worth holding onto you'll need them in the future. When you swap out a key switch, The functions aluminum top plate not only allows for easy cleaning, but it also provides some heft and help stabilize the switches. There wasn't any flexing of the board when typing that I could notice, and all three options appear to have a layer of foam sitting between the aluminum plate and the PCB board to dampen vibrations. The whole package adds up to produce a pleasant typing sound with no annoying echoes or pings. [00:03:00] When bottoming out the keys, Speaker 1: [00:03:30] The stabilizer bars on these keyboards do not come lubed from the factory, but we can work with this. You may not have thought about stabilizer lubrication, but personally, I was glad they didn't come prelude because that just made it easier to apply my own instead of having to crack it open and painfully remove the factory stuff first for the enthusiast sum among us, that aren't [00:04:00] afraid to get their hands a little dirty. I highly encourage you to order a keyboard lube kit from Amazon and just take a weekend to lube them yourself. Not only will it feel a lot better when typing, but it will sound quieter too. Here's a quick example Speaker 1: In short, a little lube makes a big difference and it's so easy to do it yourself. On the left hand side of the [00:04:30] keyboards are a volume knob and just under that are a few buttons that control the mute, the wind lock feature and the L E D brightness, the full size and TK L variance feature, a wrist rests and status sites for cap lock numb lock and scroll lock. While the mini TKL does not have status sight, but rather it makes the LEDs white underneath the impacted key. Instead, all of these feature, 100% anti gosing and in key rollover, when building your [00:05:00] keyboard online DXT lets you choose from five Gator on switches. You've got your typical clicky blues, your linear reds, and tactile brown options along with a couple of special silent switches that are ideal for streamers that said you can use any cherry profile switch of your choice on these keyboards. It will work totally fine. Personally. I like the alias silent, tactile switches, which utilize rubber dampeners built into the stem piece for a quieter keystroke when bottoming out Speaker 1: [00:05:30] Perfect for streamers that don't want their mic picking up the sounds of their keyboards. Although users looking for maximum quiet will need to lube those noisy stabs that I mentioned earlier. So in XC or cell two versions of this keyboard, a retail version that you can buy off the shelf, which defaults to Gator on red switches, black abs key caps and a white top plate. And then there's the direct to consumer version, which gives you far more options, but is only available to order online. Just something to keep in [00:06:00] mind. In case you were thinking about buying one at a physical store, ordering online allows you to choose from two PBT key cap colors, black or gray, black key caps allow a light to shine through them. But the gray key caps do not. There is also the option to purchase color. Accent. Key caps for 10 bucks is coming yellow, red, blue cyan, and purple that isn't enough for you. Speaker 1: They offer colorful matching braided USBC cables for an extra $10. And I think they did a [00:06:30] good job of getting the cables to accurately reflect the color of the accent, keys, vibrancy, and tone. I mean, at least for purple color, mine didn't have it, but I think the cion accent with the gray key caps would look amazing because the cion cable looks awesome in concert with the gun metal gray, the RGB lighting within function is pretty basic. The L E D lights are bright and the color reproduction is good. Although the animation speed and the transition [00:07:00] between different colors leaves a bit to be desired. The lighting is fully customizable via NCX T's cam software with individual per key lighting. There are color gradients and reactive lighting profiles to play around with. Plus your typical RGB rainbow waves. My only real of gripe here is that the LEDs just seem to have a slow animation rate resulting in reactive lighting effects that look rather choppy and a little behind the curve for 2022. Speaker 1: [00:07:30] While we're talking about the software that controls the lighting, it's worth mentioning that the NZXT cam software lets you record pros, but they're incredibly basic in their functionality. At this point in time, there are no macro toggles. For example, you cannot create an auto run macro, but you can create simple to execute macros that run once and are done. NCX T's other newest edition to the peripheral family is this ambidextrous five button gaming mail us that I think [00:08:00] is worth mentioning. It features an on the fly DPI switch and RGB, ambient lighting that pairs well with the keyboard by default, it lights up when you left or right click, which is pretty snazzy. It's lightweight at 67 grams and it's low drag pair, cord USB cable pairs nicely with large skates on bottom. They give it a smooth glide across the mousepad. It comes in either white or black and it sports the same accent color options as the keyboards. Speaker 1: So [00:08:30] with all that said, there are my overall thoughts on these keyboards without a doubt. These are solid entry level mechanical keyboards. I applaud N ZX T for choosing to implement hot swappable switch sockets into their debut keyboard design. Since this just opens a whole new world of potential with a lifespan of these things, I really can't stress the amount of freedom this gives you and how this makes the function an excellent choice for those first time mechanical keyboard buyers, looking to [00:09:00] dip their toe in on the mechanical keyboard hobby, you are not tied down to one specific switch for the rest of your keyboard's life. Instead, you can experiment with different switches to find the one that simply resonates with you the most. This is also why building your own mechanical keyboard is so special. It's something that you worked on. It's personal, it's now a part of you and this is ultimately what it's all about. Well, I think that covers it for XTS function, series keyboard [00:09:30] and their new mouse. If this is your first time buying a mechanical keyboard, what the heck to hook you so long? Let me know what made you decide to make the switch to a mechanical keyboard down in the comments below. I'm genuinely curious. And while you're there, check out the links in the description and be sure to hit that like and subscribe button. So you don't miss out on our next keyboard video until next time, chase out.