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Tt eSPORTS MEKA G1 mechanical keyboard

Thermaltake doesn’t just make PC cases, they also have a comprehensive range of gaming peripherals for serious gamers, flying under the Tt eSPORTS label. For the past 24 hours I’ve been clacking away on a premium keyboard offering from Tt eSPORTS, the MEKA G1. Impressively, it’s a mechanical board – not membrane – featuring Cherry MX Black switches. For those of you unfamiliar with mechanical boards or the differences in switches, I won’t cover that ground in detail here, but be sure to check out our “mechanical vs rubber dome” article.

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Coming from a stint on a Logitech G15, the MEKA G1 was a remarkably positive experience. There are no flashy LCD screens or “G keys”, rather a modest looking tank of a keyboard. It’s heavy, it’s durable and it’s black. Once positioned on your desk, rest assured that this thing isn’t moving. If build quality is a concern of yours, you will not be disappointed, the MEKA G1 is designed to last.

It’s not just the chassis that is built tough, the Cherry MX Black keys will last up to fifty times longer than their rubber dome brethren. One slight downside is that the key cap characters are pad printed, not laser etched, so they may run into fading earlier than you may like. The feel of the surface and keys is a texture you won’t be unfamiliar with, being similar to most plastics keyboards you’ll have used in the past. Unlike most keyboards you would have used in the past, this is truly delightful to use. Each keystroke quickly becomes one of confidence, with a soft linear push path and sharp rebound. If your fingertips could have sex, it would probably feel something like this.

These Cherry MX Black switches, also found in popular gaming boards such as the SteelSeries 7G, aren’t necessarily for everyone though. There’s a good reason that demand is spread across the main switch variants, and that’s because what feels right is a subjective matter. Factually, these black switches require more force than any other mechanical switch from Cherry, meaning there is comparatively more effort involved in the use them.

Having previously used Cherry MX Red switches, these comparatively appear to need constant application of pressure for tasks such as movement. There’s the feeling that my forward key, being W, needs to be held down to keep moving forward, rather than just pressing it and leaving my finger there, however this sensation is one that many look upon favorably and has contributed to the success of these black switches amongst first person shooter communities. A rubber dome isn’t entirely different to this sensation, but here there’s a tightness, a precision and a consistency that you just won’t find with a rubber dome.

Because of the key firmness and that pressure characteristic, it should be disclosed that if you plan on writing university length essays, this mightn’t be the right switch type for you. Finger fatigue can be experienced over long periods of use, so it’s important you qualify your expected use before diving into a purchase.

While gimmicks were left at the door with the MEKA G1, this keyboard isn’t baron of features a gamer would appreciate. It still has a set of media keys to play, stop and skip tracks as well as alter or mute your system volume. These are operated using a function key which has replaced the left Windows key. This replacement is fantastic idea for gaming, but it must be considered that this could be a inconvenience for those that use Windows keys with any regularity.

Furthermore, the MEKA G1 has true USB 2.0 pass through with two ports made available on the rear of the board which you can plug your mouse into to keep things tidy, as an example. Sitting beside those USB 2.0 ports are audio jacks for headphone-out and microphone-in functionality, which is passed through from your sound card. My results with that pass-through audio varied across my three machines, from being perfectly fine to introducing additional line noise – it appears the audio quality will be somewhat dependent on environmental and hardware factors.

My only missed feature from my time using a Logitech G15 is the the back-lighting. Playing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive into the wee hours of this morning, in the dark, left me searching for my keys on occasion. Some form of illumination would have been a nice addition, but the lack of that is only a minor inconvenience.

Final thoughts:

This mechanical board, like most others, separates itself from rubber dome alternatives like day does from night. There’s little chance anyone will be happy gaming or writing on something the likes of a Logitech G15 after spending any time with a board such as the MEKA G1.

This entry from Tt eSPORTS is a worthy and appropriately priced addition to the growing number of Cherry MX Black keyboards available, with a seriously impressive quality of manufacture. For this reason it should be on your list of mechanical board considerations. We’re awarding it Pantheon’s Quality Seal.

Supplied by: Mwave.com.au