HK GAMING GK61 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard - 61 Keys Multi Color RGB Illuminated LED Backlit Wired Programmable for PC/Mac Gamer Tactile (Gateron Optical Brown)

Ill start off with saying this is my first mechanical keyboard, and this feels wayyyy better than a rubber-dome keyboard. The RBG doesnt look too bad and I like the feel of it. The Software for customization isnt terrible but I dont have much to go off of. 2 year update: after using this for 2 years Ive begun to see the issues and problems this has such as the wobbly keys and stabilizers. the software which i havent touched in almost a year the software is okay but that is it, nothing too impressive and the profiles are very confusing and pretty useless adding trouble when i try to use the arrow keys and wasd at the same time.

1) Responsive. 2) Deskspace. 3) Customizable I bought the Malibu version of the GK61 with the yellow gateron switches and they are super responsive to touch. It seems like you can blow on the keys and they could type lol. The very responsive yellows could be a turn off to people who don’t like sensitive keys but I also have the blue switches so they are a great option as well. The yellow switches definitely give me an advantage for fast response games like COD and Fortnite. As an artist and a student I need a lot of space on my desk and full sized keyboards took a lot of that space. With the Gk 61 I free up so much space and I can store it in a little drawer. If you’re looking for a 60% keyboard to free up your desk space and provide a great gaming experience this is the keyboard for you. In these picture I show how the Gk 61 can be customized. Very cheap to customize along with an already budget friendly keyboard means that you have more bang for your buck!

This keyboard has lasted me over 2 years and I only upgraded because I didn’t want a 60%. Very good keyboard especially for price

Keyboard is by itself is perfect, but the software used to update it is awful. I have no issues with keyboard itself, mines came in perfectly intact with every button working and clicking very nicely from the red gateron switches. The color profiles had plenty of options and I settled for pink lighting to accompany the pink theme my keyboard had. Then it came to updating the software... my keyboard shut off and became unresponsive with every attempt I tried. So in turn i stopped using it. I used the latest the version from their U.S website, to note. Every other experience with this keyboard has been great however, and while I wish I could get more use out of its software, the end result is still the same. Very good keyboard for its price, just skip the software entirely in my opinion.

This keyboard is highly recommended, its a great keyboard in terms of responsiveness and Build quality, while also being hot swappable. One thing I disliked about this keyboard however is the malfunctioning of led on the home row and a failed led on the d key.

Excellent product, it have very good quality.

An excellent mechanical keyboard with optical switches that is around $60.00 dollars. That sentence feels crazy to say, but its the gosh darn truth. This review is mainly for the Gateron Red Optical switch version of this keyboard. Pros 1. Hot-swappable. If a switch dies just pull it out and replace it (not likely to happen considering no metal leaf), or get some different Gateron Optical switches like blacks or yellows to change the entire feel of the keyboard. Example, these red switches are incredibly easy to press. I really like how smooth the linear switch is, so Id probably want to get some Gateron Optical Black switches. 2. Programmable. A really underappreciated plus is definitely going to be the software of this keyboard. Its not in English, but it definitely still gets the job done. There are also Macros which I have started to use more often. Example, I was able to change around my Home and End keys so that they are more comfortably near the Function key. 3. That FAST response time. There is a noticeable difference between pressing a Cherry MX Blue switch down and having the character move and pressing this linear optical switch down and having the character move. I think there are two reasons for this. a. The reason that actually matters, the switch actuation point is higher at 1.5 mm versus a Cherry MX Blue being at 2.00 mm. b. The optical nature of the switch is said to have a response time of 0.2 mm. I dont know if this actually matters in the long run, but its good to know that it may be faster. Cons 1. The key caps are okay, but I do think these switches need O-rings to be perfect. I think the sound of the key caps is my biggest issue with them; they just sound cheap and the O-rings keep them from hitting the bottom plate. My second issue is that they dont have a lot of texture to them so theyre kind of like in-between being smooth and textured which is just not a good feeling at all. 2. Certain keys are not programmable. For some reason all of the keys that change lighting effects and swab profiles cant be disabled. I think this would be my only real problem with the keyboard on the software level. 3. THIS IS A PET PEEVE. I like the RGB, the screws guys, but come on. Theyre not black nor are they white, just plain silver. I cant not see them. They stare at me between the key caps. Neutral 1. Theres a microphone in the keyboard for the Music back-lighting mode. I plan to mod this keyboard more, so Ill probably end up desoldering the microphone anyways. I wish it was more software and went by the audio playing on the computer since that would be sick. Current modifications: PBT key caps and O-rings. Queued modifications: Better stabilizers, desolder microphone, I plan to replace the O-rings with some type of foam insert that will dampen noise more and result in less fatigue, and I want to refine my function key layout and figure out some macros.

This keyboard is AMAZING for the money. Good quality Gateron switches of your choice, good solid heavy plastic, cool RGB lighting with preset modes, quality USB-C cable. The software for the RGB is hard to use and figure out, but the keyboard does have plenty of preset lighting modes, so it doesnt really matter all that much. This keyboard is also hot-swappable, so in future you can switch out the key caps, the key switches, and the stabilizers. ALSO, the stabilizers come pre-lubed, which I really only see in higher end brands and keyboards. The keyboard also comes with key cap and switch remover tools which is another bonus. The only thing I can complain about is the key caps are not the best caps, so some of the larger keys (space bar) have a slight stabilization problem. But it is not that distracting and can easily fixed with some custom keycaps (which arent that expensive). Overall, Im really impressed with this!

I received a US variant, and because of that I cant use the software to program my own layers. This is not a massive deal breaker, but its annoying because Im unable to use some hot key combinations because the arrows keys are on a Fn layer but the CTRL/WIN/ALT keys are not. There supposedly used to be software available on the companys website, but the companys website no longer exists. Theres one in Chinese, but the software doesnt recognize the US products. If you plan to buy this as an intro keyboard, its great. You can replace the plate, PCB, switches, case, etc. Id probably recommend replacing the PCB first if you want to go step by step simply because the included PCB isnt programmable. Overall, youre better off just getting a DIY kit and just doing your assembly up front, but if youre short on cash and just want to get a 60% keyboard that you can slowly upgrade, then by all means get this. If you want a portable keyboard, by all means get this. But if you want a programmable keyboard to fully replace a larger keyboard, this might not be your best shot.

The GK61 was my first 60% mechanical keyboard, after about 19 months of using the HyperX Alloy Elite with linear switches. I decided to make the jump to this form factor really because I wanted more space for my mouse movements (I mainly play first-person shooters like Counter-Strike and Call of Duty) and the fact that I rarely used the number pad and keys like Home, Delete, and Page Up/Down. When I found this keyboard, I was surprised that it was this cheap for a 60% with Gateron switches. Upon receiving the keyboard, I immediately tried to customize the lighting on the keyboard, and just like how the reviews I watched on YouTube said - the keyboards software wasnt good. I couldnt put custom hex codes, even though there were places in the software to do so. In the end, I stuck with just a plain white backlight. Another thing that I did was pull out a keycap and switch to figure out how both the keycaps were and how to replace switches. When I pulled out the keycap, I ended up chipping a part of it off and putting a black mark on the white keycap, which is okay because i dont really look at my keyboard a lot. Would I recommend this keyboard? Well it depends. If youre someone who wants to customize your RGB lighting settings a lot, then this keyboard isnt it. If you just want a small form factor keyboard that works for what it is, then yes- I would definitely recommend this.