Time for another keyboard… a Redragon!
Date: 2024-01-26
From time to time I feel the need to change my computing environment. Just like some Linux users are distrohopping in the hope to find their final destination, keyboard enthu2siasts might hunt for their end game piece.
However I just needed another keyboard, because lately I am playing lots of games, and I wanted other than a low profile, laptop type keyboard. Don't get me wrong, the Cherry keyboard I have is nice for typing, but I felt the limitations in game. I usually spend hours and days to do my research if I want to buy an item that I want to use for a long time. It is an investment, so the time researching absolutely worth it.
This is why I was surprised that a week ago, out of the blue, when I was in the city, I went into the nearby electronics shop and bought a GX Trust keyboard. A TKL with some lights on it (not RGB), and with Ansii layout, which is what I wanted. I went home, plugged it in, and it was nice. I liked the linear red switches (you cannot really get other than usual red, brown, blue stuff here), since I haven't tried those. But after a day or two, I started to really pay attention to the sound the keyboard made, the very metaly noise, you know the pinging sound. It was bad. I checked my old Magicforce keyboard, and it has very minimal pinging, only if I pushed the keys in a certain way, but the Trust keyboard was, like a bad dentist. It is a shame because I liked the lights, and even the font they used on the keycaps, but the sound was just unbearable. Luckily I could bring to keyboard back and choose another one to buy…
Why Redragon?
The Redragon K552 was always on my radar in the past few years. However as with everything, the price changed and I no longer considered it as an option. Plus here, it comes only in ISO layout, which I really didn't want. However I had to settle it on this version, and after just a few hours of use (last Thursday-Friday), I fell in love.
This keyboard is heavy, and it is a TKL. It is blocky, no rounded edges or modern stuff in it. It is basically a brick you can type on very well. Brick, in a good sense in the world. It has no detachable cable or braided one, but I don't really care. The cable is actually longer than I expected, so I can sit on my comfy bed and still play or write.
I never understood when testers wanted to bend keyboards, but if you want to crack this, you have to be strong, it is pretty tough.
What was the biggest surprise, that in the box, I saw a little package, a bubble wrap. After unfolding it, I smiled in joy, as I saw 4 spare red switches. I have never seen keyboard switches naked, only in keyboard. This also means, that this version of the keyboard is hotswappable. I haven't read which type of switch I can use - probably Redragon's own or something similar - but I am happy that I got one.
So, red switches… I don't know why, but I feel I can type faster with this then with brown, which is usually mentioned when it comes to typing. I made some mistakes here and there, but I think it is more about the spaces between keys and not the switch itself. Plus since I haven't used these it is probably just the matter of time, to type with it more precisely.
As for gaming, my movement greatly benefits that the switch is linear and feels more sensitive, and also precise. I am a keyboard and mosue when it comes to gaming for 3 decades now, and it feels really good to play with this.
RGB?
I have a confession. As I am getting older and still typing a lot, sometimes the hardest typing in the dark room during the night. I don't like to use lamps, because I am sensitive to light. So I thought it would be useful for me to get these fancy keyboard with lights, in order to see better.
When it comes to lights, there are few things to take into account. For example where does the led, under the switch positioned, and also the keycaps, and the font they use. The font is a nice futuristic looking one, not much gamer effect, very readable I would say. It has an Fn key, which has functions all over the F1-F12, and the cluster above the arrow keys (Home, End, etc), for controlling media player, start some programs, and switching between the different light effects.
We have 18 light effects, and we can switch colors for all these effects, which I think is very nice . The default one, which I also like, is a nice rainbow effect, starting from the middle, in a V shape. Looks good during the night, and it looks fantastic in a dark room. If you didn't like the fancy effects, you can switch it off simple, with Fn + down arrow. Up and down arrow controls the light intensity. You can also check out some simple one color configuration, with many colors.
I haven't tried it yet, but it is possible to make our own configuration with the OpenRGB software on Linux. For Windows users you can download the official Redragon software to make your fancy lights.
Beware that there are still version that comes with red light only which you can't customize. RGB lights are better anyway.
Keycaps
Let's talk about keycaps. I think it is just regular ABS one, because after half a day, I saw my prints on it. When you aren't using lights the fonts are not white of course, but greyish looking, since it has to be transparent for the light to come through. I like it, despite the fingerprint thing. I hope they last for a while. As I wrote, I like the fonts they used, especially since it is an ISO keyboard, so they had to use language specific letters on it, which sometimes can be hit or miss. Here we had some missaligned letters, which I just don't understand. But it doesn't bother me that much. I also have to say, that the fonts are looking much better with lights, so I use lights even during the day.
Final verdict
If you want a budget keyboard, that is good for everything, I can recommend this Redragon K552. It is still a solid one, after many years, despite there are probably better ones now in the category. It is however widely available in many countries and many layouts, so it has this as an advantage.
