1STPLAYER DK5.0 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard - Quiet Red Switches, Ergonomic for PC Gamers | Perfect for Esports & Office Use

The keyboard rocks all the things you'd expect out of your modern day keyboard, with the exception of the vintage typewriter-style keycaps: full key rollover, media and quick launch keys (shared with the function row), a 1.6 meter braided cable, four rubber feet to prevent slipping, two of which fold out for extra elevation, and RGB lighting. The board is pretty solid and the keycaps are double-shot ABS plastic, so they'll probably last you forever and a day, assuming you don't type like your fingers are hammerheads. The switches used are CIY Outemu Blues, and five extra switches are included in the box (as well as a manual, driver disk that I never touched, a keycap puller, and a switch puller) in case one of them decides to call it in early, which should be fairly unlikely, since Outemu Blues are rated for about a 50 million click lifespan. 1stPlayer also sports a water and dust resistance rating of IPX7, which I'm a bit skeptical of - more on that shortly.As for lighting effects, you get your pretty standard roster: Gaming modes with selected keys highlighted for different circumstances (and the ability to customize your own), locking the device to a static color of either red, blue, green, yellow, purple, cyan, or white, a per-key type lighting effect, a rainbow wave (not a gradient, but more like layers of colors that don't blend well as they move, so not quite my favorite implementation), a marquee effect, another type lighting effect with a ripple pattern, a third type lighting effect that shoots lights out towards the lateral keys, a flowing wave kind of effect, a standard breathing mode, and lastly, a color shift. If applicable, each of the effects have speed and direction control, as well as the option to lock to a specific color mentioned earlier (one of the static ones).In terms of usage, I like Outemu Blue switches a lot. My favorites to date are Cherry Silvers (linear), with Cherry Blues and Browns (tactile bump) coming in at a close second / third, but Outemu Blues (also tactile bump) are a really nice alternative. If I were to be stuck using this switch for the rest of my life, it wouldn't leave me much room to complain. The implementation here is no exception - the board performs well with no double taps or dropped responses in my usage. I would like to note that while many other keyboards sport a subtle curve as you move from the bottom of the board to the top for a more "ergonomic" fit, this keyboard is entirely linear. It wasn't an issue for me, but I did notice the difference when I started typing for the first time. The keycaps feel pretty nice. They're concave to catch your fingers, and due to the circular shape, you'll know when you're dead-center or off target. The secondary functions are not transparent to allow light to pass through, which is a bit unfortunate for those of you who like to go about your business in the dark, but aside from that, they're sturdy and satisfying to type on (which may require some adjustment if you're accustomed to the traditional shape), and they leave me little reason to fuss (though, I will note that using the keycap puller on round keycaps feels a bit awkward). The font is a bit on the gamer-oriented side, but if you really don't like them, they can be replaced, as the stem is standard. If that's the route you'd like to take, I suggest looking at 1stPlayer's Firerose keyboard, instead (almost the same thing, except with more traditional keycaps).The keyboard has served me well so far, but there are a couple of things I'm less fond of. First off, the braided cable is black and red, which is fine, for a black and red keyboard. It's a little more on the distracting side when you're trying to color coordinate your setup with your fancy, new RGB keyboard. There's also a Steampunk Lite branding in red above the arrow keys, though that color is a little darker and subdued, so it's not as jarring. It's a petty complaint, but for $60 (at the time this was written), I want the liberty to be a little picky. There's no included wrist rest, which I feel would have been a nice bonus, but some people don't feel too strongly about them, so that's up to your personal taste. The last thing I want to mention is the water resistance rating I briefly alluded to earlier. A rating of IPX7 means it should survive under water up to a meter deep for half an hour, though they also say not to submerge it in water, which makes the IPX7 claim feel a little thin. Due to that, I opted not to go boogie-boarding, so I'd probably suggest being careful with it (as you would with any normal keyboard, right?), if you've got any open beverages around.In conclusion, it's a pretty standard keyboard, set apart by its interestingly niche keycaps. You'll find a lot of comparable mechanical keyboards from $40-50 USD (sometimes upwards of $80 or as low as $30, depending on the switch, form factor, or extra features), so whether or not the typewriter-style keycaps is worth the pricetag is up to you. If you're worried about the quality, I can promise you it's there.Now, before I get into the actual review, DON'T GET THIS CONFUSED WITH THE RGB VERSION (the one that changes colors). I'm saying this because 1ST PLAYER (the company who made this) sent one of the RGB keyboards for review to a youtuber BulletBarry. He made a review and left the link in his description, so I clicked it and bought it thinking it was the the RGB one. It shows up, I'm excited and I turn it on. You can probably imagine my disappointment when I found out it was only LED. Now, this only happened because 1STPLAYER gave him THE WRONG LINK. I BOUGHT THE WRONG ONE BECAUSE OF 1STPLAYERS MISTAKE. I did tell BulletBarry about it, so he changed the link to the correct one to prevent further confusion. Here's the video if you're curious: https://youtu.be/ca2YxYy8k6c?t=4m42s . Yeah I could've returned it, but we were going on a vacation literally 2 days from then, and we were busy and my mom didn't have time to return it. So we vacation for about 2 months, I come back to return it, and I can't because the time period to return it is over. I was mad, because nobody on let-go wants it and I couldn't do anything about it. That's why I'm only giving it 4 stars. Now without furhter a-do, let's talk about the keyboard.Things That Come With It:- This keyboard, even with only it's LED is pretty amazing. When you open the beautiful packaging, you're greeted with the keyboard and a plastic baggy containing 2 different key pullers, and 5 EXTRA SWITCHES! I wasn't expecting this because I've never seen it before, but I've never had to use them yet, but I guess it's the thought that counts.Appearance:- The first thing I noticed about the keyboard, is there aren't any dedicated macros. Dedicated macros are super helpful to me and I hope 1STPLAYER makes a keyboard with them soon.- This keyboard has a nice, sleek black design and even has some rubber stumps to hold up the keyboard if you need it.- Now, the wire isn't braided. I'm not saying this because it upset me, but because I know a lot of people really care about that kind of thing and sometimes won't even buy keyboard because of it.-This keyboard is a lot heavier than others, but I got used to it pretty quickly. When I first got it, I thought it was attached to the table because I couldn't lift it because I thought it would be lighter, just so you know.Key Functions:- This keyboard has pretty much all the same keys as every other keyboard I've used, except for the Fn. I know Fn is a common key, but this is the 2nd keyboard I've ever used with one. You can use Fn to control keys like the F# keys for certain uses like volume, brightness etc. The most important one though, is the Fn and INSERT key. This controls the LED and it's patterns, but I'll talk about that later.- It has a windows lock key! I didn't even notice this until now, but if you have fat fingers and press the windows key a lot while gaming, then consider buying this keyboard!Is it Good For Typing?:- If you like clicky and loud keyboards (which I do) then this one would appeal to you. It makes very satisfying clicks and is AMAZING to type on. It increase my typing speed by 10 words a minute (which isn't much but I only type at 70 words a minute)!- The keys are slanted a little but down the middle making it even more comfortable to type on, and ergonomic so you are always comfortable using this thing.The LEDs:- As I've already previously stated, this keyboard DOESN'T CHANGE COLORS! It doesn't change colors, that part is true, but what it lacks in color it makes up for in patterns. See, instead of changing colors, it can: - Light up the keys you press - Have a breathing effect where it goes from black to color - Slowly flash up from both sides towards the middle - Keep the WASD keys illuminated - Have a slow black to color transition that moves from the left to the right. This was my review for the 1STPLAYER STEAMPUNK LITE LED keyboard. If everything I said up above rings with you, get this keyboard! If you have 10 extra dollars to spend, BUY THE RGB VERSION!! I hope you found this review helpful!I expected a cheap keyboard and this definitely feels very cheap. Keys have a really pronounced metallic clanging sound. That said, it's a low price full size mechanical keyboard, it serves it's purpose of avoiding bringing an expensive one to leave at work, but that's about it. It's ok for light typing but I don't think it would be a very good experience for gaming or a profession/hobby where you are typing on it for hours a day.This keyboard is absolutely amazing in regards to performance. It is quick, responsive, and the switches offer a bit of resistance which offsets the usual complaint about red switches: often they cause key chatter and mistypes. Not on this board though! Typing and gaming have been a dream on this board.Having said that, there's a couple things to worry about. 1) this board is the tallest I have ever handled, and you may want to get a wrist rest. 2) people have complained that after a few months some keys become less reliable or begin to chatter. I will update my comment if I start to have this problem, but so far it is perfect.3) the switches are not hotswappable, which would make replacing them 100 times easier. If they were, you could easily overcome the eventual problem of keys becoming unreliable.Altogether though, this is the best gaming keyboard I have ever had (and I've had some that costed over $120). On top of that, people have claimed that the warranty team on these are incredible and will replace your board if you have issues.Long story short. They first sent me a blue switch keyboard when I requested a brown switch. Had to do a return and repurchase to get the correct one. Overall very simple looking keyboard with a good feel to it. Love how it has multiple lighting controls and a app to control everything. Very pleased and recommended if you don't want flashy but a RGB keyboard that performs well