Gadgetory

have you ever heard of Das Keyboard this is one of the few companies that makes minimalist pure mechanical keyboards ones that don't provide all the flashiness of typical gaming designs well it was just a matter of time since they launched a new gaming lineup called division zero Pro today we've got the X 40 pearl priced a hundred and thirty dollars is it a yay or a nay the - keyboard moved too far from their simple roots we'll find that out but before that quick look at our sponsor Toshiba now offering OCC products that are awesome and affordable like the Rd 400 TR 150 and vt1 80 that are backed by advanced warranty program now stronger than ever under Toshiba the first thing I noticed after unboxing is the loud gaming slab of decorated aluminum the aggressive styling might suit your taste but I have mixed feelings about it if you're not a fan of the silver and black color scheme you can swap the top panel for a different design in this case they have five different options that include a limited edition Fox layout Defamer mustard and silver striker olive and finally strike a red which is the extra panel that I have here all you have to do is remove the eight screws with the included allen key and install the new panel the problem is each faceplate costs $30 and unfortunately - keyboard doesn't allow the option to order the X 40 with your design of choice pre-installed really disappointing on a positive note the build quality is top-notch the chassis alone is made out of some hard plastic material but the top panel is crafted in metal which adds weight to the keyboard plus it refines the structural integrity of the keyboard which is nice you'll find a single USB 2.0 pass-through along with the audio jacks at the back of X 40 I suggest they add another port next time plus please make it a free point of standard it's 2016 the lack of a dedicated wrist rest could be a negative factor for this keyboard for some people but not me coming from my daily driver the epic little white fox which doesn't feature a wrist rest I didn't feel left out but it is something to be aware of especially at this price point one thing I should mention is the screws holding down the faceplate actually protrudes upwards that means depending on your typing position your hands may brush up against these it can be pretty frustrating especially with these screw closest to the spacebar Plus having your hands rest on aluminum during a cold day is absolutely uncomfortable I'm not sure if this is just me but I finally think braided cable to be a little annoying since it doesn't Bend easily there is good braiding and bad braiding but with this cable I miss a simple rubberized coating I like to keep my setup as clean and minimal as possible but this cable is just not easy to route plus the fabric started fraying already on my samples so be mindful of that there are appropriate flip-out feet for angle adjustment and the rubber pads at the bottom do a pretty good job holding the keyboard in place the media buttons are programmed to the function keys but I want to hear your thoughts about this implementation would it be better to have a dedicated section for playback control on a keyboard of this size or are you fine with them being programmed to the function keys let us know in the comments down below on the left there are five dedicated macro keys that can be programmed on-the-fly this can be done by pressing the function key and the f12 key pick the macro key of your choice and start programming commands characters or anything that suits your convenience make sure to hit the function and f12 key again to save the recording the windows lock button is programmed as function plus f3 so you don't accidentally swing back to the desktop mode while gaming it is certainly nice to have the keyboard that saves your setting locally but I should also mention that there isn't any accompanying software here that means functionality will be limited when compared against similarly priced competitors - keyboard has designed a new switch for the X 40 called the alpha Zulu switch and they come in linear and tactile variants both have 1.7 millimeter actuation distance versus the 2 millimeter on em X cherry switches and both have 45 grams of actuation force with a total of 4 millimeters of travel distance it's like their own version of MX red and brown switches with the Zulu tactile offering a softer actuation point it's somewhere in between a brown and blue feeling but with a slightly lighter press comparing to the MX blue on the white fox the Zulu tactile is much softer switch that reduces finger fatigue especially if you're performing really fast keyboard strokes for many many hours when compared to the strafe RGB that features cherry MX red switches I notice that the keys on the X 40 required a tiny bit of actuation force to register this could be due to the tactile force on the Zulu switch and I think that the linear variation of this switch would yield similar results like the MX Reds let's do a sound test after playing Battlefield 1 I noticed that my movement throughout the gameplay was a lot smoother plus my fingers were more comfortable without in cramping also take note that the X 40 supports full and key rollover so the switches are nice but does it grandiy X 40 such a premium status for keyboard enthusiasts maybe s the switch is high quality and has unique actuation properties but if we're talking about the entire package it's hard to ignore cheaper alternatives like the Corsair straight with real MX cherry switches of your choice and that's the we can look past the lack of driver software but the lighting system leaves more to be desired it's only red illumination with brightness control but that's it the strafe RGB that costs $10 more than the x40 comes with more features and better lighting that can be customized through a dedicated driver software although no doubt the faceplate customization on the x40 is unique and I think that's the main selling point combined with the awesome alpha Zulu switches but in such a competitive market it may take some time more to stand out we wish the top light customization at the time of purchase was more open letting us choose which play we want by default and RGB lighting is expected at this price it makes sense for their gaming line to be totally different from their professional series but - keyboards are known for the simplicity and that certain elegance and perhaps some stealth black panels for the x40 would appeal more to their already established and graphic overall this is a very good gaming keyboard with interesting homegrown mechanical switches but lacks some features I've come to expect at this price point so let us know your thoughts about the X 40 pro gaming mechanical keyboard from - keyboards would you pay $130 for this or are they any alternatives that you might pick up like the strafe RGB looking forward to your responses I mean both hearken acts think it's much watching and we'll see you in the next one