The well-known hardware manufacturer MSI has paid much attention to the e-sports peripheral market in recent years, whether it is the GK50Z game mechanical keyboard that focuses on entry-level users, or the high-end positioning VIGOR GK70 and VIGOR GK80 game mechanical keyboards that have won the favor and praise of many users. Recently, MSI has brought a new VIGOR GK71 SONIC game mechanical keyboard, using a new design scheme, and equipped with a new custom shaft body, with MSI CENTER driver software can also achieve more key functions and linkage effects, but also for MSI fans to bring new gaming keyboard options. Next, let me bring you a review of this keyboard.
Packaging & Accessories:
The product packaging adopts white as the main tone, with various colors of text, pattern embellishment, simple style is also more pleasing to the user's eyeballs. The package provides information such as product model, keyboard display diagram, keyboard feature introduction and shaft body scheme, which is convenient for users to quickly understand product characteristics and other content.
Accessories provide product manuals, key pullers and separate hand rests, all of which are decent in content and highly practical. The detachable hand rest adopts ABS material as the body frame, and the front adopts the artificial leather wrapped memory foam scheme, which is delicate and soft to the touch, which can provide better support for the wrist and make it more comfortable to use.
Appearance & Details:
The MSI VIGOR GK71 SONIC gaming mechanical keyboard uses the more common 104 key layout and adds a separate multimedia control area. The body size is about: 442mm x 138mm x 41 mm, which is not too large for desktop space. The keyboard adopts an aviation-grade aluminum alloy panel with a suspension shaft body scheme, the aluminum alloy panel adopts sandblasting process treatment, the touch is delicate and smooth, the metallic texture performance is also very outstanding, and the suspension shaft solution can also bring a better visual perception to the user with the divergence effect of the light. The keyboard as a whole adopts a dark color collocation scheme, which looks cold and calm, and the overall design style is still somewhat similar to the VIGOR GK series game mechanical keyboard.
The keyboard corners are polygonal and angled, which can avoid accidental bumps and damage, and the design is more user-friendly. The overlapping design of the left panel and the ABS material bottom shell also makes this keyboard look more layered and has a better look and feel. The keyboard is equipped with a transparent double-layer design, and about two-thirds of the area at the bottom is transparent, which has higher light transmission and can bring more brilliant lighting perception.
As a multimedia control area is added to the upper right corner, the keyboard light is moved to the upper left position of the arrow keys. Using a vertical arrangement, three oblique status indicators are provided, which provide the status of the number keypad, the case state and the game mode state, which is still very convenient for the user's daily identification and use. Some keys also added a key combination function, and the keycaps are also illustrated to facilitate users to achieve light control, profile switching and other functions.
The multimedia control section provides up and down track switching, start/pause, volume adjustment, and quick mute function, which is still very convenient for daily use. The right knob provides a double-layer rotation adjustment scheme, the user can achieve volume adjustment function through the top and side of the knob, and press the top button to achieve a quick mute function. The knob adopts an infinite rotation scheme, the damping is light, the scale sense is clear, and it is convenient for the user to accurately adjust the volume. However, the knob as a whole uses a synchronous rotation function, and after adjusting the volume, the top logo cannot maintain a positive angle, which is not very friendly for users with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The multimedia buttons support the light transmission effect, which is consistent with the keyboard RGB backlight effect, improving the overall aesthetics while ensuring ease of use in dark environments. The knob part also supports touch lighting effects, and users will have dynamic wave lighting effects when adjusting, which is very cool.
The bottom of the keyboard has a left-right symmetrical layout that provides a rich routing trough to make it easy for users to organize the desktop cables. The keyboard cable adopts a non-detachable design, which supports the three-way cable outlet scheme, which can better adapt to the desktop layout of different users. The diagonal cable troughs on the left and right sides can provide users with "X" cable routing channels with the bottom of the handrail, which is convenient for users to walk through other cables such as headphone cables and charging cables from the bottom of the keyboard, and fixing the cables can also make the desktop more tidy. A one-piece foot support on both sides makes it easy for the user to find an input angle that is more suitable for him, ensuring comfort when using it. Multiple non-slip feet also ensure that the keyboard is firmly placed, avoiding errors caused by sliding, displacement and other situations under intense operation.
The wire part provides a braided thread with a length of about 1.8 meters, the material of the wire is hard, with a good bending performance, and there is no problem with daily bending and pulling. The cable is also equipped with an anti-interference magnetic ring, which can reduce the interference of electromagnetic interference on the transmission of keyboard signals in the use environment. The rubber cable belt also makes it easier and more convenient for users to store and organize, and it is still very thoughtful and intimate to consider.
The split hand rest does not use magnetic or snap fastening methods, but the multi-slip foot pads at the bottom have a good anti-slip effect, so that the hand rest is placed firmly without sliding. The separation scheme is also convenient for users to separate or use at any time, which is more convenient to store and perform better. The hand rest material is light and soft, the support effect is good, it can alleviate the fatigue of the keyboard for a long time for the hands and wrists, and the comfort performance is still very good.
Keycaps & Shafts:
MSI has also launched a stand-alone axle tester that offers four different shafts for players to try out. For most gamers, the axis body designed with a linear feel is more suitable for game use with a straight up and down feel, moderate pressure and shorter key range, such as CHERRY MX black axis, red axis is the more well-known axis type of this kind of shaft body, of course, there is more biased towards the game use of CHERRY MX silver axis, the trigger force is lighter, the key range is shorter. These several axes can take into account the user's daily typing, games and other different use scenarios. Of course, there are also some users who prefer to use shafts with a paragraph feel, like cherry MX tea shafts, green shafts are also the type of shafts that are quite concerned in this type of shaft, and the light paragraph scheme of the tea shafts has a good balance in the feel of tapping and noise, which is more suitable for daily use. The blue axis also brings users a more immersive tapping experience with a clear and clear paragraph feel and "Click" sound. However, due to the paragraph scheme and the pressure parameters and key range design, these two axes are still slightly inferior in game performance.
The keyboard is equipped with MSI Sonic Red Shaft, developed by MSI in collaboration with Kaihua, which uses a linear hand feel scheme of straight up and down, with a trigger pressure of 35g, a total stroke of 4mm, a trigger stroke of 1.9mm and a trigger life of 70 million times. Lighter trigger pressure and slightly shorter trigger strokes provide a quick response to the user's pressing operations, reducing finger fatigue caused by prolonged use. In terms of hand performance, this shaft body is light and smooth to press, rebounding with the hand, bottoming out solidly, and tapping is very brisk. The overall performance is still very good, and it can take into account the game confrontation and daily use. The big key position adopts the satellite axis scheme and is lubricated, the hand feeling adjustment is crisp and clean, the noise shaking control is also very good, and the overall performance is still on the middle.
With the keycaps, this keyboard is equipped with a set of double-layered translucent keycaps, and two-thirds of the keys and hats adopt a fully transparent scheme, which has a better light transmission effect and can create a more gorgeous and dazzling look and feel for the keyboard. The keycap adopts OEM height, radium carved character scheme, and the top position adopts the coating process treatment, the touch is delicate and warm, and the hand feel performance is still very good. The light transmission character is moderate in thickness, which can bring better light transmission effect and make it more convenient for users to identify.
RGB backlight:
MSI VIGOR GK71 SONIC game mechanical keyboard supports RGB backlighting, and built-in a variety of different lighting effect modes for users to choose, with the key combination function, you can achieve light effect switching, brightness adjustment, color switching, dynamic light effect speed adjustment and other functions, no drive state also has a good playability performance. With the blessing of the double-layer translucent keycap, it also has a stronger RGB color rendering effect, the lighting atmosphere performance is more colorful, and the key position looks more crystal clear, with excellent visual performance. At the same time, through the MSI Center driver software, the lighting linkage effect of compatible equipment can also be realized, which can create a more immersive lighting atmosphere for the user's desktop, and the performance is still very good.
Driver settings:
Through the MSI Center driver software, users can customize the key function and light effects. On the key function setting page, users can make changes for the independent key function, support macro recording and editing functions, and facilitate users to adjust the key function according to personal habits and obtain better performance. The lighting section is preset with a variety of lighting effect modes, and users can choose the settings according to their personal preferences. Users can also set the light color, light brightness, dynamic speed, dynamic direction, etc., and support key lighting custom settings, further enriching the lighting play, but also convenient for users to adjust and set the lighting effect more intuitively. The keyboard is also equipped with built-in storage, users can save the set key function, lighting effects, and switch to use at any time.
Usage test:
MSI VIGOR GK71 SONIC gaming mechanical keyboard provides two no-punch schemes of full-key no-punch and 6-key no-punch, which will be automatically identified and judged according to the built-in chip, which can effectively avoid the situation of operation error caused by key signal conflicts. The 6-key no-flush mode can be compatible with specific operating systems such as mac OS, avoiding the situation that the keyboard is not recognized or the key position is confused.
MSI VIGOR GK71 SONIC game mechanical keyboard supports on-board memory and provides 3 on-board profile storage, users can quickly switch between different profiles through key combinations, which can better adapt to different usage scenarios and eliminate the cumbersome process of downloading driver software resets. At the same time, through the combination of key functions, it is also possible to achieve Win key locking, calling MSI Afterburner software, keyboard reset and other functions, and the practicality is still very high. The independent multimedia control area is convenient for users to quickly control track playback and volume, and it also has good convenience for daily use.
MSI Sonic red axis also brings better hand performance, the button tapping is light and soft, the shorter key range can also respond quickly to the key operation, with the full key no punch program, you can also get better performance in the game. The light button feel and soft and comfortable full-size hand rest can also effectively reduce the fatigue caused by long-term use, making the use experience more relaxed and comfortable. The double-layer translucent keycap also further enhances the appearance of the keyboard, and a variety of lighting modes also make the look and feel more colorful.
summary:
MSI VIGOR GK71 SONIC game mechanical keyboard design is simple and generous, rich lighting effect gameplay and double-layer translucent keycaps also make it have better performance in appearance and lighting effects. The aluminum alloy panel with the suspension shaft body scheme also has a more solid button feel and durable performance, and with the new MSI Sonic red axis, the feel is lighter. The response is faster, and it also brings a new feel experience to the user, and the overall performance is still very good. This keyboard will be released in the near future, so users who like it should not miss it.