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Review on MechanicalEagle Z-77 75% Mechanical Keyboard Aluminium Panel Clicky Blue Switches Rainbow LED Backlit N-Key Rollover 87-Key Tenkeyless Hot Swappable Spare Switches Included by Mark Hobbs

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Very loud out of the box, but worth it. Add O-rings to spare your ears.

I've decided to join the world of clackers and buy a mechanical keyboard -- something I haven't used since perhaps my childhood.This keyboard, I must tell you, is very loud when you first start using it if you've never used a mechanical keyboard. It will seemingly drown out your music, smother the noises your housemates make, and rattle the fillings in your teeth.Maybe not that last bit, but it is definitely loud enough to prompt me to turn my music up just a couple of notches.First time clackers, coming from a membrane keyboard? You'll learn to not bottom out: you don't have to press the key all the way down until you feel the firm stop of the key being depressed. Being able to just listen and feel for the initial click of the switch activating, about half-way down will guide you toward quieter keystrokes, though it probably won't solve all of the problem: the initial click is still fairly audible and can irritate coworkers.I've ordered some o-rings to try out, in an attempt to solve the noisiness issue.In the box, five additional blue switches ship with the keyboard, so if you have a switch failure, you can use the included puller tools to get the questionable switch out and a replacement one in. This keyboard does NOT require soldering skills to switch them out. Simply pull the keycap with the cap puller tool (on the right in this picture), and then pull the switch with the metal switch pulling tool (on the left).The important thing for me is that the keyboard's lights turn off when the computer is sleeping. This is very important for me, as this machine sits in a bedroom, and the LEDs are fairly bright.First timers looking for additional switches should be able to use any brand and color of SMD switches, from what I've been told.** An update, two months later:I got the O-rings that I mentioned for the keyboard, and it makes a world of difference in just how audible this piece of hardware is. Applying the o-rings for just the letter keys makes the keyboard significantly quieter in the evenings when I decide to have my late night chats with friends online. You can only hear the switch clicking, which is nowhere near as audible as the full-on bottoming out keypress that is broadcast if I overdo the number keys, which I left un-ringed for audible comparison. Outemu Blue switches are still really nice for the amount of typing I do, with what seems to feel right to my hands as I hammer away.As this keyboard is designed to allow for switches to be swapped without soldering needed, I am considering ordering some different switches to use with this keyboard, in an attempt to figure out what switch type I like the most.

img 1 attached to MechanicalEagle Z-77 75% Mechanical Keyboard Aluminium Panel Clicky Blue Switches Rainbow LED Backlit N-Key Rollover 87-Key Tenkeyless Hot Swappable Spare Switches Included review by Mark Hobbs



Pros
  • Keyboards
Cons
  • The clicky blue switches may not be suitable for typing long documents or emails