16:46 Mat can i just thank you for doing that section so clearly and showing them side by side - i like how transparent you are and showing everything in the open without trying to cover things up. REally value your reviews for keyboards and mice. very honest
yeah that section is weird - do NZXT not know the samples they sent Mat are retail then? they thought it was a pre production sample he originally got? Im confused, but it looks like they are as well. What a mess. I love the look of these board too, very cool, and nice to give a key puller tool in the box so modders can get them off. but having it scratch the paint off the keyboards? what ?
@@Itsameamario-ns3se mmmmm. You reckon they would have tested this during the development. if they had laquered the paintwork would likely have stopped this happening.
@@buyingastairwaytoheaven5252 they could have made the key puller a tough rubber or plastic material. If the paint is appled without a final treatment of course its going to come up if metal rubs against it.
Lovely keyboards really like that white version the RGB makes it look so clean. My only grips is that non centred shift key icon being at the top of the key rather than the bottom where it belongs.
I bought a NZXT Function 2 Keyboard today. Took me a while to work out the software and lighting settings, and whilst what I come up with is ok it needs more tweaks to get the multi colour of keystrokes layering out - I prefer a pretty simplistic colour scheme. "It has much noisier keystrokes" than I would have liked, but mine doesn't sound near as loud as your review model. I got it on sale for a very good price, hence I nothing much to complain about. 👌
Very pleasant sound test from 10:15 would really like to try this keyboard out. Quite a stern review there from Mat but guess NZXT could do better especially with that tool.
I nearly spat my tea out over my own keyboard. They glued in the cable because they connector they used isnt good. And instead of giving it a clip system and doing it properly, they used a glue gun. Wow, just wow. And they key switch remover is a tougher metal than the keyboard so it scratches the white paint off. Its badly built. but it looks good. I wish NZXT would put a bit of effort into checking their products before shipping. Its almost like they no longer are even trying.
Thanks mat, you sounded quite disappointed. I like how you go into videos with an open mind and just test what they send. Great video. I feel for NZXT, they need to get in some staff who will test the products to stop things like this happening. Not like it hasnt happened before.
This is the problem with NZXT. Everything they do is not tested properly. They come up with a great design aesthetic which a lot of people love, then the products ship and its not been tested at all. I mean you could maybe overlook the glue as you could pick that off if you wanted to put the effort in - but supplying a key tool which removes the paintwork around the keys - thats amateur level. They could have made that tool rubber, or coated the paintwork to make it more resistant.
Any keyboards that you recommend that are: full sized, hot swappable, low latency and wired? This is the only one I can find after going through hundreds of keyboards.
was hoping you would review this Mat as I trust your testing. This is very disappointing for me. Would you recommend the keyboard to someone who never plans to take it apart? just curious - whats your go to keyboard in this price sector?
Some of their products aren’t bad but u can’t believe the product manager for this has locked it down internally so bad. The whole point of this sector is to mod the hardware.
Someone who wants to spend that much money on a keyboard from a big name, widely available brand with ISO-layout support should just get a Keychron V-Series keyboard with some nice custom keycaps. The value and quality will be significantly better.
@@KitGuruTech Q3 and V1, though, I also have mechanical keyboards from Ducky, Varmilo, Razer, Logitech and Corsair, so my preference for Keychron it's not entirely ownership bias.
Azoth is one of the best prebuilts out there if you don’t want to make your own keyboard. Varmilo is another good choice for prebuilt mechanical keyboards.
Great looking keyboard but I fail to see how they think they could make it so locked down inside and get away with it. I suppose you could melt the glue and work from there but what are they thinking.
Think maybe it's a bit harsh about glueing that wire. May have been a production decision to keep it together during shipping. It's not like an apple product where the drown the entire thing in glue. Having said that this is the PC community and people like to mod things and NZXT know the community they are aiming at so really should bear that in mind in the future;.
I dont think it matters if you are happy with the keyboard out of the box and just use it. but this product targets the audience who will want to tweak it. NZXT also supply a tool which damages the finish if you remove the keys - I dont think he was harsh enough.
@@vegmario Thanks, though i already bought another keyboard. after listening to some sound tests and some more reviews, I picked up a Keychron K8 Pro instead yesterday.
Moving away from mechanical switches was misguided. They should've fixed up what was wrong with the Function 1 because the miniTKL format is quite excellent. Oh well!
Are NZXT claiming this keyboard was made for modifications? At the price its definitely the modding audience, but I bet they say they are selling it as it is and you arent meant to open it. Then again they may find it argue to claim you arent supposed to remove the keys either - when they supply the tool to do that in the box.
Optical switches benefits over mechanical are so minor, and the ecosystem is so sparse and disjointed, I don't know why they even bothered marketing the hotswappable side of it. Just sell linear/tactile/clicky/light spring versions and call it a day. It's not like you can go choose from hundreds of different aftermarket switches with different feel, sound, and tactility. "Gateron" doesn't even narrow it down, Gateron makes two completely different optical switch form factors, and IIRC only one of them is compatible with switches from other manufacturers. They could have gone with hall effect, which provide tangible benefits over other switch types for NZXT's target market, despite the options being limited.
Poor build quality -metal bent easily. switch changer tool scratches paint off exposing black underneath white. used a glue gun on the internals. didnt know the amazon sample was same as one sent first time. 🧐
16:46 Mat can i just thank you for doing that section so clearly and showing them side by side - i like how transparent you are and showing everything in the open without trying to cover things up. REally value your reviews for keyboards and mice. very honest
yeah that section is weird - do NZXT not know the samples they sent Mat are retail then? they thought it was a pre production sample he originally got? Im confused, but it looks like they are as well. What a mess. I love the look of these board too, very cool, and nice to give a key puller tool in the box so modders can get them off. but having it scratch the paint off the keyboards? what ?
@@Itsameamario-ns3se mmmmm. You reckon they would have tested this during the development. if they had laquered the paintwork would likely have stopped this happening.
Thanks Bob. Glad you enjoyed it
@@buyingastairwaytoheaven5252 they could have made the key puller a tough rubber or plastic material. If the paint is appled without a final treatment of course its going to come up if metal rubs against it.
It’s a great honest detailed review. Agree.
This ladies and gentlemen is how you review a product. Brilliant work.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the comment 👍🏻 - Mat
Lovely keyboards really like that white version the RGB makes it look so clean. My only grips is that non centred shift key icon being at the top of the key rather than the bottom where it belongs.
I bought a NZXT Function 2 Keyboard today. Took me a while to work out the software and lighting settings, and whilst what I come up with is ok it needs more tweaks to get the multi colour of keystrokes layering out - I prefer a pretty simplistic colour scheme. "It has much noisier keystrokes" than I would have liked, but mine doesn't sound near as loud as your review model. I got it on sale for a very good price, hence I nothing much to complain about. 👌
Mat bringing the heat today thanks for the honest review mate.
Good review Matt!
Thanks!
Very pleasant sound test from 10:15 would really like to try this keyboard out. Quite a stern review there from Mat but guess NZXT could do better especially with that tool.
That keyboard sounds awful. Just compare the sound to a proper prebuilt such as a Varmilo.
I nearly spat my tea out over my own keyboard. They glued in the cable because they connector they used isnt good. And instead of giving it a clip system and doing it properly, they used a glue gun. Wow, just wow. And they key switch remover is a tougher metal than the keyboard so it scratches the white paint off. Its badly built.
but it looks good. I wish NZXT would put a bit of effort into checking their products before shipping. Its almost like they no longer are even trying.
The glue isnt the end of the world for me but they sure got the tool for the key remover wrong
In the video you explain that it would not be possible to open programs for example using the key remap. Is this not part of the macro functionality?
Just watched this before heading into work. Shame they seemed to cut corners on a lot of the aspects people may want to tune and tweak
Hey Matt great review bud ! keeping it honest !
Always!
Thanks mat, you sounded quite disappointed. I like how you go into videos with an open mind and just test what they send. Great video. I feel for NZXT, they need to get in some staff who will test the products to stop things like this happening. Not like it hasnt happened before.
U nailed it. More testing.
This is the problem with NZXT. Everything they do is not tested properly. They come up with a great design aesthetic which a lot of people love, then the products ship and its not been tested at all. I mean you could maybe overlook the glue as you could pick that off if you wanted to put the effort in - but supplying a key tool which removes the paintwork around the keys - thats amateur level. They could have made that tool rubber, or coated the paintwork to make it more resistant.
considering that the sound test was also on a desk mat, that sounds pretty awful. Good review
I liked the sound of this keyboard but guess its all subjective isnt it.
Any keyboards that you recommend that are: full sized, hot swappable, low latency and wired?
This is the only one I can find after going through hundreds of keyboards.
oh dear. That’s shocking. Thanks Matt for opening it up and showing us all this 😮
You're welcome! :) - Mat
Would have liked to have seen that full sized model in white rather than black I think.
was hoping you would review this Mat as I trust your testing. This is very disappointing for me. Would you recommend the keyboard to someone who never plans to take it apart? just curious - whats your go to keyboard in this price sector?
Some of their products aren’t bad but u can’t believe the product manager for this has locked it down internally so bad. The whole point of this sector is to mod the hardware.
Thanks for the warning.
No worries!
Someone who wants to spend that much money on a keyboard from a big name, widely available brand with ISO-layout support should just get a Keychron V-Series keyboard with some nice custom keycaps. The value and quality will be significantly better.
Which Keychron do you own?
@@KitGuruTech Q3 and V1, though, I also have mechanical keyboards from Ducky, Varmilo, Razer, Logitech and Corsair, so my preference for Keychron it's not entirely ownership bias.
Have you tried the ROG Azoth yet Mat? I'll never buy another keyboard after it. Expensive but so premium.
Azoth is one of the best prebuilts out there if you don’t want to make your own keyboard. Varmilo is another good choice for prebuilt mechanical keyboards.
Great looking keyboard but I fail to see how they think they could make it so locked down inside and get away with it. I suppose you could melt the glue and work from there but what are they thinking.
Think maybe it's a bit harsh about glueing that wire. May have been a production decision to keep it together during shipping. It's not like an apple product where the drown the entire thing in glue. Having said that this is the PC community and people like to mod things and NZXT know the community they are aiming at so really should bear that in mind in the future;.
I dont think it matters if you are happy with the keyboard out of the box and just use it. but this product targets the audience who will want to tweak it. NZXT also supply a tool which damages the finish if you remove the keys - I dont think he was harsh enough.
Yeah that tool causing the damage kind of sucks!
I am thinking between this one, the corsair K65 plus and the Ducky One 3, which one would you recommend?
ducky one 3 is way better built than corsair and NZXT
@@vegmario Thanks, though i already bought another keyboard. after listening to some sound tests and some more reviews, I picked up a Keychron K8 Pro instead yesterday.
Moving away from mechanical switches was misguided. They should've fixed up what was wrong with the Function 1 because the miniTKL format is quite excellent. Oh well!
Was about to post the exact same comment 😢
Are NZXT claiming this keyboard was made for modifications? At the price its definitely the modding audience, but I bet they say they are selling it as it is and you arent meant to open it. Then again they may find it argue to claim you arent supposed to remove the keys either - when they supply the tool to do that in the box.
Optical switches benefits over mechanical are so minor, and the ecosystem is so sparse and disjointed, I don't know why they even bothered marketing the hotswappable side of it. Just sell linear/tactile/clicky/light spring versions and call it a day. It's not like you can go choose from hundreds of different aftermarket switches with different feel, sound, and tactility. "Gateron" doesn't even narrow it down, Gateron makes two completely different optical switch form factors, and IIRC only one of them is compatible with switches from other manufacturers. They could have gone with hall effect, which provide tangible benefits over other switch types for NZXT's target market, despite the options being limited.
NZXT never seem to learn. Test the products before releasing them.
Coming from a stock Keychron Q6 the NZXT sounds incredibly cheap in comparison and stock Keychron are not exactly known to sound great.
I’m not sure what to say after watching this.
Say what you think, always the best way 😉
Its a decent looking board, but NZXT dont want you touching this - which is not the market they are targeting. big mistake
No QMK, no way! *8')
Poor build quality -metal bent easily.
switch changer tool scratches paint off exposing black underneath white.
used a glue gun on the internals.
didnt know the amazon sample was same as one sent first time.
🧐
No QMK keys either.
I cant get my head around the botted views and likes
Be*er 😂😂 what happend to the t?
Stay away from mainstream keyboard manufacturers, boys. Two more duds from NZXT.
Quite disappointing to see that
AND THIS IS WHY THE NXZT BRAND 100% SUCKS .....
That’s a bit harsh. They do make some decent stuff
Shame on you Nzxt 😮
Great review!!