Custom PC - UK (2020-06)

T

heVigorGK30onlycosts£40,which
makesit oneofthecheapestunitsin
thegrouptest,alongwiththe
excellentCorsairK55RGB.TheMSIpunches
aboveitsweightwhenit comestoitsRGBLED
lighting,though.It hassixlightingzones,which
is twiceasmanyastheCorsair,andtheuseofa
translucentmembranelayerlendsthewhole
unita smart, attractiveglow.
Therearenoneoftheissuessurrounding
inconsistentorweaklightinghere– unlikeon
the£45Razerdevice– andMSI’sDragonCenter
apphasa reasonablerangeofeffectsavailable.
Crucially,though,onlysevencoloursare
available,soyoucan’tpickanyRGBLEDshade.
Thebiggestlightingissueisthebandof
RGBLEDsinstalledontheright-handside
ofthewristrest.It’sfarbrighterthantherest
ofthelighting,andit’softendistracting.And,
whiletheMSIdoestechnicallyhavea wrist
rest,it’ssosmallthattheymayaswellnot
havebothered.
Elsewhere,thefeaturesetis slim:thereareno
mediaormacrokeysandnoUSBpass-through.
It’ssimilarheretotheRazer,buttheCorsairis a

MSI VIGOR

GK30 /£40 inc VAT

SUPPLIER scan.co.uk

farbett

anda la

TheV elming

plastic,a uildqualityis notgreat.Itschassis

is flimsierthantheCorsairand noticeably

weaker than pricier mechanical keyboards that

are bolstered with metal. It’s spill-resistant, like

the Razer and Asus units, which bodes well for

gaming with drinks around.

MSI’s switches include a plunger mechanism

that’s designed to provide a more controlled,

precise feel than conventional membrane

switches. They’re also rated to 12 million

keystrokes, which is roughly double typical

membrane switches, though a long way off the

over 50 million keystrokes of true mechanical

switches. The Vigor’s switches do offer a crisp

initial feeling, and they have a pronounced

bump, just like Cherry MX Blue keys – and

they’re just as loud, too.

They’re not nearly as satisfying, though. The

buttons have decent speed, but they’re lighter

and less comfortable than their mechanical

inspiration and even when compared with the

keys on the Corsair. The buttons bounce when

they bottom out too, which makes the typing

action feel too spongy.

The MSI’s keys aren’t awful, but neither

are they markedly better than decent-quality

membrane switches. They’re light, spongy

and aren’t comfortable when compared with

theCorsair,whichalsocosts£40.Stepupa

littletothe£45RazerCynosaLiteandyou’ll

get a membrane keyboard that’s light, fast, and

consistent without the irritating spongy feeling

that you’ll find on the Vigor.

Elsewhere, the MSI has 6-key rollover, which

is only good enough for mainstream gaming –

even the cheap Corsair was better here. It’s the

lowest rollover figure in the Labs.

Conclusion

The MSI Vigor GK30 has good RGB lighting,

with a consistent and bright glow across its keys

and underneath all of those buttons, but that’s

the only area where this unit outpaces its rivals.

The wrist rest is so small as to be pointless,

and there are no extra buttons. It has mediocre

build quality, and its loud, fast buttons suffer

because they’re light and bouncy – not

comfortable compared with the more solid

Corsair options and the rapid units on the Razer.

When those rivals offer better typing and

more features for hardly any extra cash, it’s

tricky to recommend the MSI – unless you’re

really committed to having a keyboard with

bold, bright lights.

VERDICT

Good lighting, but few features and

underwhelming typing hinder this unit.

VIGOROUS

+Bold,versatilelighting

+Lowprice

+ Compact design

LETHARGIC

• Springy,disappointing
  typing


• Few extra features


• Poor rollover figure

SPEC

Connection Wired, USB

Cable 1.8m, unbraided

Material Plastic

Switch type Membrane

Backlighting 6-zone RGB

Extras Wrist rest

DESIGN

26 / 40

FEATURES

25 / 35

OVERALLSCORE

68 %

VALUE

17 / 25

littletothe£45RazerCynosaLiteandyou ll

teroptionif youwantthoseextrabuttons

arger,morecomfortablewristrest.

Vigoris madefromunder elmin

andbuildqualit

VI