![]() | Gateron Blue MT_Blue | $69.00 |
![]() | Gateron Black MT_Black | $69.00 |
Brand | Rantopad |
Model | MT |
Size | Full Size |
Switch Stems | MX |
Physical Layout | ANSI |
Logical Layout | US QWERTY |
Frame Color | Black |
Primary LED Color | White |
Control LED Color | n/a |
Hotswap Sockets | No |
USB Key Rollover | Full |
Switch Mount Type | Plate |
Built in Audio Port | No |
Built in Mic Port | No |
Interface(s) | USB |
Windows Compatible | Yes |
Dimensions | 7.50" x 18.30" x 2.00" |
Weight | 2.00 lbs |
This keyboard is quite nice overall, but the devil is in the details.
I've now had this one for about three months, and I've had quite a few problems with it.
First and for most - some buttons just shut down. Like that. Sometimes your press them and they work flawlessly, other times they don't work at all. That's the case with my down arrow key, which for me, as a programmer, is crucial. It doesn't work 90% of the time. And by that, I don't mean that 1/10 keystrokes register. 90% of the time it just doesn't work, then, sometimes, it magically starts working perfectly again.
The spacebar also sometimes has issues with double-presses. I know that Gatheron switches should be quite high quality and aren't known to do this often, so I can't help but blame the company producing this keyboard.
The above are the issues that I just can't live with. Now about the general pros and cons.
Pros: Pretty solid build quality (except for keycaps, later about that) especially the chassis is very well-built; Good, non-annoying lighting with three levels of brightness (as well as the ability to turn it off), minimal light bleeding; The keys feel quite nice, weight is consistent, butter smooth, even the longest keys are absolutely 100% free of binding; The cable is very nice. Sturdy and long, doesn't look like it'll break anytime soon; The keyboard came with a cloth to clean it up and a key puller, nice detail.
Cons: Very poor quality keycaps coming with the keyboard - almost paper-thin, and very brittle. Three of them came damaged, which leads to another issue; Packaging isn't very good. Didn't have any dampening material with the keyboard, which led to multiple keycaps being damaged, and almost all others were off the keyboard and in free flight, which also, in turn, leads to another one: The keycaps are very, very easily slipping off the switches. The numpad minus button pops every time I slightly hit it while moving my hand to grab the mice. It's not a very big issue, cause unless you'll be hitting someone with this keyboard, you'll probably be applying downward pressure at the caps. But still, less than ideal, especially while transporting it.
Some notes, also:
The awful green color - it comes off, it's magnetic. The keyboard is black underneath, and looks quite nice. Though, there are some issues with the LEDs being too bright and magnets being visible, it's not a big problem. One would've thought they'd make "skins" for the keyboard that you can buy and swap instead of the default one, but no, no such luck.
The keycaps are a bit smaller than usual? I don't know if there are any standards for keycaps top size, but those are just a bit smaller than usual. Nothing criminal, but takes getting used to the first time.
The switches sound and feel quite nice. Putting thicc, heavy keycaps would make it even more pleasant.
tl;dr: It'd be a very decent keyboard for the price, if not for the switch issues. I can easily give up many features, like the numpad or the LEDs, but I can't live with some switches not functioning. Not sure if it's a widespread issue, but I have reasons to conclude so. Also, the keycaps are pretty bad. If you're planning to buy this keyboard, you better look at a pack of those as well. Otherwise, it's actually nice.
Overall, without the keys registering issues it'd be a solid 7.5/10, but with this, 6/10 not more.