In the past few years, many non-traditional peripheral brands have invested in the peripheral product market, especially the brands of cooling equipment, chassis and power supply, and have launched their own brand peripheral products. With the gradual maturity of the market, peripheral products have gradually shown obvious differentiation, and the design has become more and more targeted to meet the needs of different user groups for mice and keyboards.
Recently, NZXT (Enjie) launched the NZXT Function mechanical keyboard and the NZXT Lift esports mouse, and it will soon be available in China. As a well-known computer hardware brand in the field of chassis, power supply and radiator in the DIY market, its product design has a strong brand style, this time NZXT, like many peers, chose to enter the keyboard and mouse field and expand new markets. Recently, we got the NZXT Function mechanical keyboard to see how NZXT, a rookie, will perform.
Packaging and appearance: strong brand design style
The entire NZXT Function series of mechanical keyboards is available in both black and white colors, as well as three pairings. The Function Tenkeyless has a 87-key layout that reduces the right numeric keypad, and a 60% compact 68-key layout called The Function Minitkl. At the moment we are getting a Function, a product with a white color.
On the outer packaging, the NZXT Function mechanical keyboard continues the design style of NZXT products, with a white background on the front and back and purple on both sides. The product itself is black and white, and in order to match the hue of the outer packaging, the RGB lamp color is rendered as violet. There are more product feature descriptions on the sides and back of the outer package, so that consumers have a basic understanding of this keyboard. The package includes the keyboard body, magnetic wrist rest, USB cable, key puller and shaft puller.
NZXT Function mechanical keyboard adopts a white spray color aluminum alloy panel and suspension shaft design scheme, the overall shape is relatively flat, the design continues the style of NZXT products, it is very square, rigid and simple, and it feels lighter to hold in the hand. There are oval non-slip feet on the bottom of the keyboard to ensure stability, and there are two-stage adjustable support feet to accommodate different user input angles. The matching magnetic wrist lift has a round non-slip pattern with an ABS base and non-slip foot pads. In addition to the general keys, multimedia control buttons have been added to the left side of the NZXT Function mechanical keyboard, including a volume adjustment wheel and three shortcut keys.
The NZXT Function mechanical keyboard uses a key-splitting scheme and provides a braided cable from USB Type-A (computer side) to Type-C (keyboard side) for good portability. In addition, the NZXT Function mechanical keyboard supports four different sets of profiles, which can be switched and controlled by the FN key combination and set for different use scenarios.
The Function series is a mechanical keyboard that supports customized modifications and is one of the selling points of NZXT's publicity. NZXT offers customization services including panel color matching, shaft body selection and wire color matching, etc., to bring different looks and feels. Thanks to the support for the 5-pin Cherry MX shaft body, users can also do it themselves, replace different shaft bodies, and also choose different materials, different colors, personalized design of keycaps, to create their own unique combination.
Hands-on experience: light percussion, crisp rebound
At present, the NZXT Function series mechanical keyboard only provides the Gateron red axis, with a linear hand design, 45cN trigger force and 2mm of trigger stroke. In the process of using NZXT Function, the first feeling is that the percussion is very light, the bottoming and rebound are relatively crisp, the continuous tapping is also smooth and comfortable, and the sound of the percussion is not large, the echo of the spring is very crisp, and it will not feel too loud in the dead of night. In addition, the side-mounted volume adjustment wheel and shortcut keys are convenient for everyday use, and the stitching between the keyboard and wrist rest is good and strong. Personally, the NZXT Function mechanical keyboard is more suitable for users with small hands and who need to continuously tap input for a long time.
The NZXT Function series of mechanical keyboards supports full-key RGB backlighting, which is now standard in many of its kind. The lighting effect mode and color can be adjusted by NZXT CAM, and the white spray color aluminum alloy panel can refract the effect of the light. The lighting effect of NZXT Function is relatively uniform and soft, and the brightness is not high, which does not make users feel dazzling.
NZXT Function as a mechanical keyboard that supports customized modifications, if the original configuration can not meet the needs, you can choose to replace your favorite shaft type and keycaps, which is also the Function series of playability is very high. At present, there are many standardized shaft bodies and personalized keycaps sold on the market, and users can adjust the appearance, shaft body tapping sound and feel according to their own use requirements.
However, the NZXT Function mechanical keyboard has several slight deficiencies that can be improved in future products, including: first, the keyboard is somewhat low, and the wrist rest is relatively flat, and the support is not enough; second, the keycaps feel a little loose; third, it is easier to mistakenly touch in daily use, and the response of the keys is slightly sensitive.
NZXT CAM
If you have used some of NZXT's other products, such as the integrated water-cooled radiator, you should be very familiar with NZXT CAM. Like many manufacturers, NZXT has its own regulation software, and NZXT CAM is a tool for adjusting and controlling the performance, functionality and lighting effects of its products. In the new version of NZXT CAM, support for keyboard and mouse has been added.
NZXT Function in NZXT CAM, divided into two functional modules: lighting and remapping buttons. The former offers nine different light effect presets, each with more granular options, such as setting individually for individual keys or areas of light color or effects. The latter allows the user to set the function of each key or record macro actions, and save the settings in four on-board profiles, and can be switched with shortcut keys.
Summary: Customization brings high playability
The entire NZXT Function series mechanical keyboard continues NZXT's consistent product design style and has a very high degree of recognition. It provides two colors of black and white, as well as three kinds of matching columns, providing users with a more complete choice. As one of the most classic and common matching columns, NZXT Function completely instills the design concept of NZXT. The design scheme of white spray color aluminum alloy panel and suspension shaft, coupled with the simple fuselage design, has a high value. Although this is only the first time the keyboard has been introduced, NZXT offers the market a product with a high degree of completion.
In recent years, if you pay attention to the mechanical keyboard market, you will increasingly hear the word "customization". Many mechanical keyboard enthusiasts, from the shaft body, shell, PCB, data cable, keycap to the keyboard itself, make meticulous adjustments in all dimensions, so that the customized mechanical keyboard becomes their own exclusive item. The customization idea introduced by NZXT in the NZXT Function series mechanical keyboard is well adapted to the development of the mechanical keyboard market and the user's demand for a new generation of mechanical keyboard. The new generation of mechanical keyboards is not only a manufacturer's own tuning, selling its own brand-specific products to the market, but also needs to provide more playable space for users to participate in.
In terms of price, the NZXT Function series mechanical keyboard is 1099 yuan, Function Tenkeyless is 999 yuan, and Function Minitkl is 899 yuan. It is understood that the NZXT Function series mechanical keyboard will be listed in April, and interested users can pay attention to the e-commerce platform.