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

I had never bought a ~60% keyboard before since I work in a pharmacy and the software we use makes heavy use of the nav keys and number pad, so usually I wouldnt have even considered such a board. In fact I came across this board as I was buying the parts to build a 96 key keyboard because I do game a fair bit so I wanted something smaller to give me more desk space while still have the Numpad and arrow keys so I can lug it to work and be as efficient and quick as I am with a full size or enter alt-codes or do taxes at home. This board caught my eyes for two reasons: Hot-swappable and Optical switches. The very small form factor is kind of a turn off for me because I can only comfortably use it for gaming, but I figures the hot-swappableness would make it a good test board the packs of switches Id just bought (more on that later). The packaging was not impressive, not that I care, I just thought Id mention it. I was very surprised by the build and even the fit and finish at this price point, however. The keycaps are the cheap double shots with the stenciled lettering so Im not a fan of the look, but its not too gamer-y and they can easily be replaced if it really starts to bother me. Its a plastic case, but the keys are mounted in a metal plate, and its a minuscule form-factor, so it feels very sturdy; it doesnt flex /at all/ and is heavier than I thought itd be. Thats impressive to me for this price, but what prompted me to write this review was the fact that it sounds /incredible/ because all the stabilizers are lubed /out of the box/ and they dont budge /at all/. That astonished me as I have bought several mechanical keyboards at various price points: An MK Typist with box whites, a Logitech G Pro with GX Blues, A James Donkey 007 with Gat Browns (smoothest cherry brown clones on the market), a Logi G613, a logi 610 Orion with cherry reds, and a few cheap mechs on top of that. None of them came with lubed anything straight out of the box and the result, combined with the Optical Gateron Blacks I opted for making this one of the smoothest, best-sounding and most satisfying keyboards I have ever typed on and Im usually a tactile-switch guy. Really nice bang for the buck if youre into smaller keebs like this. --Side note: I get the impression the switches are less complex and therefore, cheaper, which allows more attention to be paid to fit and finish. HOWEVER. The Board /is/ hot-swappable, but /only/ with other optical switches, which means no traditional mechanical keyswitches, whether theyre cherry, gateron, khail, or a boutique switch can be used at all. Period. The switches are basically just little plastic boxes with a spring that when pressed, block an infrared(?) laser to signal actuation, which is why I think the switches are very cheap to manufacture, and its also why they are so unbelievably smooth, even compared to a lubed cherry red. -- The software was confusing and not that great but I personally didnt feel the need to use it since I dont care all that much about RGB or macros so it didnt bother me too much, though your mileage may vary in that regard. In conclusion, if you are a fan of the form factor and want to try optical switches, buy it. The build is solid and (assuming all boards have pre-lubed stabs like mine did) its lubed! For $50! I personally cant use it for more than just gaming or typing up this review, so its not optimal for me, but if you just need a small board with enough keys for gaming or chatting on discord this will be plenty for you.

Its not a full sized keyboard, im frustrated using it on my sons pc whenever i do so, he likes it for gaming but typing anything on it is painful coming from a standard keyboard (which is all fine and good as this isnt a standard keyboard!) but my dislike is the cheap feel of it - the sound, the feel, the bounce of the keys just isnt nice - this is all very subjective so YMMV but id never want to use this long term. On the plus side - LED lights :) - it seems that everything must have glowing lights on it for it to be used for gaming.. so this does as well. full spectrum lights - just because. It comes with a keycap puller so i guess you could customize the heck out of it if you really wanted to but im VERY sure it will stay as it is. just MEH by me.

The keyboard has a fantastic build quality for its price. Its got exactly the 61% shape with the addition of my Home/pageup+down/arrow keys etc. The software.. oh dear. You have to google how to find the software, They dont even tell you about the software besides one leaflet in the box saying compatible with example.exe Its all dominatnly Chinese, they didnt even both doing a a full English translation of everything. There JUST enough english to scrape by, but the learning is all on you. Try to change a color? good luck, you have to figure out how to make a profile, then try to choose a color. HOPE that when you press save (if you find that button) that the color actually saves. In order to get a color of Aqua blue, no effects, I had to trick the software, but making multiple frames of that one color, do the hokey pokey with it, save and hope it stayed put. Once I figured out how to apply it... No aqua blue, just black. and now shift doesnt work. So I gave up for today and stuck with its default colors (the whole reason I got this and not another was because it included RGB to match my desk.) Get it for the keyboard, dont get it for customizing. You are going to be at the mercy of some poor team of programmers who were given a day to create it.

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 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.

At first, it worked wonderfully; granted the new spacing took some time adjusting, but beyond that, the keyboard worked and sounded great. But just one month in (unfortunately RIGHT after the return period was up), the p-key stopped working. Either it wouldn’t write the letter at all or it spammed it—you never really know which one you were going to get. Regardless it was so annoying having to copy and paste that letter each time I wanted to use it so now the keyboard’s just collecting dust, real ironic considering it was basically brand new. I am extremely disappointed by this defective situation. The only thing abstaining me from a single star is that it at least worked well for a little while…

The keyboard is the best I’ve ever used the keys feel great and the keyboard fits any setup I do wish the software had more options but noticing time can’t fix

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.

I bought a blue and a red keyboard (both silent brown), and this is the first time Ive not had to sacrifice quality for out-of-the-box design. I also like the range of backlight color, because I like to lower the intensity but still have them. I also like the smooth keycaps because they dont suck up crud as much. I prefer keyboards without any tray for crud to build up in, which this does have--although I like that the switches are raised a bit so the crud doesnt get into them. Still requires popping all the keys off to get into the corners. Id prefer the arrow keys werent hidden behind the FN key, and if there was a 68 key version with dedicated arrow, del, home, and pg up/down, Id be in heaven. I didnt mess with the included software and just used an opensource program to change some keys I didnt like. One of the best buys Ive made in a while when it comes to computers. I rarely leave reviews, but these are solid and perfectly priced.

The item was exactly as listed and arrived quickly, thanks to the seller for a quick and easy delivery.