Custom PC – October 2019

T

heGK60is MSI’ssecond-tier
mechanicalgamingkeyboard,after
theflagshipGK80.Assuch,youmiss
outona fewflagshipfeaturessuchasa USB
passthroughandRGBbacklighting.However,
youdogetanaffordablekeyboardwithaneven
redbacklightthat’seasyontheeye.Often,RGB
lightinghasa slightshimmeringquality,possibly
downtothewaytheLEDsregulatetheir
brightnessandmixofcolours.
Therealsoisn’tmuchlightleaking
fromthesidesoftheMSI’skeyswitches,
makingfora cleanoveralllook.
Thealuminiumtopplatehelpstoo.Its
anodiseddarkgreycolour,combinedwith
a slightlyreflectivebrushedfinish,looks
goodinisolationandprovidesanattractive
backdropforthebacklighting.It’salso
morepleasanttotouchthantheheavily
brushedfinishofCorsair’skeyboards.

O

pto-mechanicalkeyswitchesarethe
HuntsmanElite’sbigsellingpoint.
Insteadofusinganelectricalcontactto
triggera signal,thekeysopenandclosea light
path.Becausethesignalactuationisn’tphysical,
youdon’tgeta worncontactpointaswith
traditionalmechanicalswitches.Assuch,Razer
canclaima durabilityof 100 millionclicks,
comparedtoaround 50 millionformost
mechanicalswitches.
Razerhasalsoalignedtheactuationpointwith
thepointatwhichyouhearandfeeltheclickof
thekey– yes,Razer’sopto-mechanicalswitches
areonlyavailableinclickyvarietiesfornow.
There’salsoalmostnodebouncedelay– the
signalis sentthesecondthekeyis hit.They’re
muchliketheopticalswitchesoftheBenQZowie
CeleritaII (seep54),butRazerhasalsomade
thekeyswitchmorestablethantypicalCherry
MX-styleswitches,resultinginlesskeywobble.

MSIVIGOR GK60 /£83 inc VAT

/£200incVAT

SUPPLIER scan.co.uk

SUPPLIER Razer.com

The angular shape, dragon logos and font

on the keys are all a bit over the top. The top

row of number keys is also problematic, as the

numbers are quite small and difficult to read at

a glance. Thankfully, the use of standard Cherry

MX Red switches means it’s easy to swap

out the keycaps, plus the typing experience

and action in games is, of course, excellent.

We weresc p

claims, butthekeysfeelreallygreatinaction.

They’re just that little bit more precise, even

more than Cherry MX Blue switches. The

only downside is the lack of compatibility

with readily available replacement keycaps.

The rest of the keyboard is a delight too.

Razer has always had an eye for design,

and the Huntsman Elite looks fantastic. Its

all-black livery is an ideal backdrop to the

,

ofnotehere.Therearenoextrakeys,no

multimedia buttons, no USB passthrough and

no wrist rest. The USB cable is tethered and

doesn’t have a braided outer, although it’s a

plentiful 2m metres long. You get multimedia

secondary functions on the F keys but that’s your

lot. However, that’s also why this keyboard is so

much cheaper than the other models on test.

RGBlighting.TheRGBstriprunsaroundthe

outside of the keyboard and perfectly squishy

wrist rest – it’s a brilliant finishing touch. It

easily takes the crown as the best-looking

keyboard on test. It’s also sturdily built and

topped by an elegant, smooth aluminium top.

For extra features, you get dedicated

multimedia controls in the top right, including a

swish volume wheel, but no extra gaming keys.

LABS TEST / GAMING KEYBOARDS

Intermsofextrafeatures,there’snotmuch

/£20 0 incVAT

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