Our favOrite feature of the Level 20
RGB is the kitchen sink Thermaltake has
thoughtfully included on the underside.
Oh ho! No. Just our little joke. There’s
no kitchen sink. But that’s about the only
modern convenience the company has
deemed unworthy of this heavy, huge
collection of features masquerading as
a keyboard. Really: It is crazy stacked,
like the foot-wide Swiss Army knife they
keep in that one case at the front of the
outdoors store. But this is not just a
gimmick. It’s a keyboard. And it’s good.
Let’s get its big annoyance out of the
way. There’s a notched cutout, as is
the fashion, but Thermaltake has placed it
on the front, in line with the top-mounted
RGB strip, which separates the main
body of the keyboard from the navigation
cluster and 10-keys. Sure, this looks
great, but it has incredibly sharp corners;
depending on the size of your hands and
the angle at which you hold your wrists
to type, you may find that it irritates your
delicate right palm. Reminds you that
you’re alive, we suppose. There’s also
no wrist rest, possibly because of the
awkwardness of that notch.
Apart from that, it’s a cavalcade
of features worthy of Thermaltake’s
traditionally exorbitant Level 20 line.
Dedicated media cluster with volume
roller? Check. Full RGB? Check. And let’s
add a light ring around the base of the
keyboard (and the aforementioned top-
mounted light bar) for good measure.
Game mode and Windows key lock? Psh,
of course. On-board profiles? Six, and
you can customize them either on the
keyboard itself, through the driver, or
with TT’s somewhat wonky smartphone
app. There’s N-key rollover withFully loaded, and full of flair
Thermaltake Level 20
RGB Titanium
8
verdict Thermaltake Level 20
RGB Titanium
TiTanium Absolutely dripping
with features; pleasing key feel and sound;
great lighting.
WhyTanium Uncomfortable cutout; thick
cable; slightly confusing.
$150, http://www.thermaltake.comSPECIFICATIONSSwitch Type Cherry MX Speed Silver
Form Factor Full size
media Keys Yes
macro Keys Customizable in software
LEDs Per-key RGB
n-Key Rollover Yes
Pass-Through USB 2.0, 4-pole 3.5mm jack
Dimensions 18.9 x 7.3 x 1.7 inches
Warranty 12 monthsantighosting, because of course there is.
Would it be churlish for us to moan that
there are no analog keys, given that’s the
new tech on the block? It would, because
analog keys are silly and niche.
The real question is how well this big
brown paper bag of features has been
packed. We’re happy to say that the bottom
of the bag remains intact, and the bread
hasn’t been crushed: The combo has
been pulled off perfectly. That lighting,
through clear-based Cherry MX Speed
Silver switches on a matt black base,
looks glorious, beaming out lurid brights
and pastel shades with equal aplomb.
The switches, Cherry’s high-actuating
version of its moderately resistant silent
Red switches, feel beautiful and act
fast, and they’re mounted on a heavy
and sturdy case, which offers more than
enough stiffness while typing, along with
reassurance while thrashing around in
games. They also sound pleasant when
bottoming out—this could well be the
best experience we’ve had with Silver
switches yet.
Around the back, we’re impressed
(though unsurprised) that Thermaltake
has also crammed in both USB 2.0 pass-
through and the same for a four-pole
jack, meaning you can easily extend a
headset—though, if we must pick on
something, the wired-in braided cable
is thick and unwieldy, and given that
we’re starting to see USB 3 keyboards
that can carry pass-through with a
thinner, replaceable cable, we’d say
that’s a notable omission. The volume
roller could probably be smoother (it
feels a little cheap), and the on-board
effect controls, while numerous, aren’t
exactly intuitive. Plus points, though, forthe ability to hook it up to both TT’s RGB
Plus system and, through that, Razer’s
Chroma lighting, for those who like their
rainbows to be all in sync.
All in all, this is a very decent and
accomplished keyboard that inevitably
has the features you want. We’re happy
to recommend it. If we didn’t feel like we
needed every one of these features, we’d
likely choose something cheaper (and
there’s plenty cheaper), or more special
(such as Razer’s optical Huntsman,
which we’re still a little obsessed with),
but there’s something about having
everything that’s attractive. –alex COxmaximumpc.com Aug 2019 MAXIMUMPC 87