Copy or Competing Product?
Answering this question isn’t as easy as one might think. The Kalih coloring system is identical to Cherry, which was probably done on purpose, but the feel of the switches is somewhat different. Kailh isn’t new to the field of switches. For almost 24 years, they’ve been making everything that clicks and clacks in a wide variety of industries.
The difference between Cherry MX Blue and Kailh Blue lies in the small details of the spring and the characteristics of the switch. It’s barely perceptible while writing, which is also reflected in the almost-identical specifications and curves presented in the diagrams below.
| Cherry MX-Blue | Kailh Blue | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Switch Type: Tactile Feel, "Click" Differential Movement | Switch Type: Tactile Feel, "Click" Differential Movement | ||
Switch Actuation Feedback Character: Precisely Felt | Switch Actuation Feedback Character: Precisely Felt | ||
Switch Actuation Travel: 2 mm from Initial Position 4 mm Total | Switch Actuation Travel: 2 mm from Initial Position 4 mm Total | ||
Actuation Force: 50 g to Depress Key App. 60 g Peak Force to Actuate Switch | Actuation Force: 50 g to Depress Key App. 60 g Peak Force to Actuate Switch | ||
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The only thing that really jumps out in a direct comparison is the resistance after the actuation point — passing it isn’t as pronounced for the Kailh Blue. This can actually be a good thing, since it lessens any problems with bottoming out. With a bit of training, there might even come a point where writing becomes a bit quieter, since less force is used intuitively. Don’t get us wrong, though, this is still a tactile switch with a very pronounced actuation point.
The keycaps are okay and pretty much what you would expect. The letters are recessed as per the usual solution, but the colors’ finish is quite thin. How durable these ABS keycaps will turn out to be is anyone’s guess. We can’t really do a practical test in our lab without going long term. Consequently, we chose the second-best option and tried to simulate long-term use with a buffing wheel. The color withstood this treatment for one minute. This gives us at least a bit of hope, since we’ve seen much worse.
Another question that can’t really be answered at this point is if the mechanical durability suffers due to the shorter pieces in the keycaps. The OEM has made the keycaps even more minimalistic, which makes them a lot simpler and cleaner-looking than those built into keyboards by other manufacturers.
Font, Readability and Lighting
The font used on the keys is clear and easy to read. The manufacturer actually put some thought into this, and it shows. It’s a nice change of pace from the frippery that others like to engage in when it comes to their key labels. The lighting isn’t as optimally done due to how the keys are built. The characters are on the lower half of the keys, whereas the LEDs are positioned at the top. It’s not really much of a problem, though.
Unfortunately, there isn't any lighting for the Caps Lock and Scroll Lock keys. These keys are only lit if they’re activated, in which case they stay lit. Otherwise, complete darkness is all that greets the user. This choice might be controversial, but it’s certainly one way of doing things.
The brightness can be adjusted in several steps using the Fn and F11/F12 keys, which is good enough. The bright blue LEDs, in combination with the perfectly shaped letters, result in a very easily readable keyboard, no matter the ambient light level.
N-Key Rollover
The Tt eSports by Thermaltake Poseidon ZX avoids both ghosting and jamming perfectly.
PS/2 and USB Issues
The Poseidon ZX "Tenkeyless" doesn’t feature the two-device solution that would have been the ideal way to transfer data. Consequently, it’s a pure 6KRO keyboard.







1) It's significantly slower to type numbers or serial codes. In other words, for a whole bunch of the office work that you're saying it's so good for.
2) It means you can't use a program like autohotkey to turn the number pad into a macro pad.
3) All you say is that if you can live without one and that you shouldn't hesitate to switch to tenkeyless... You're making it out as though it's a BAD thing to have a keyboard with extra functionality, when it's absolutely not.
1) It's significantly slower to type numbers or serial codes. In other words, for a whole bunch of the office work that you're saying it's so good for.
2) It means you can't use a program like autohotkey to turn the number pad into a macro pad.
3) All you say is that if you can live without one and that you shouldn't hesitate to switch to tenkeyless... You're making it out as though it's a BAD thing to have a keyboard with extra functionality, when it's absolutely not.
But really if you're that hard pressed for space then just get a bigger desk or a laptop please. The number pad has many unsung properties and is quite useful for any user in a variety of situations.
1) It's significantly slower to type numbers or serial codes. In other words, for a whole bunch of the office work that you're saying it's so good for.
2) It means you can't use a program like autohotkey to turn the number pad into a macro pad.
3) All you say is that if you can live without one and that you shouldn't hesitate to switch to tenkeyless... You're making it out as though it's a BAD thing to have a keyboard with extra functionality, when it's absolutely not.
DarkSable, I agree with you... it is all subjective... this is no longer a "News" report, but rather an advertisement... it favors an opinion rather than reporting facts... a lot of articles have been trending this way...
Many companies/industries pay writers to mix opinions to sway to a particular product in their favor. I think they're termed kick-backs. They defend positions with true facts, and willfully neglect others that would otherwise be a deficiency, as you pointed out.
Point in-case mechanical keyboards are not exclusive to the gaming demographics (which I believe Thermaltake, with Tom's help is hoping to impress).
There's a lot of great information provided by Tom's to the masses. The question is, do they want to be the Time Magazine of the technology industry, or do they want to become it's National Inquirer?
1) It's significantly slower to type numbers or serial codes. In other words, for a whole bunch of the office work that you're saying it's so good for.
2) It means you can't use a program like autohotkey to turn the number pad into a macro pad.
3) All you say is that if you can live without one and that you shouldn't hesitate to switch to tenkeyless... You're making it out as though it's a BAD thing to have a keyboard with extra functionality, when it's absolutely not.
DarkSable, I agree with you... it is all subjective... this is no longer a "News" report, but rather an advertisement... it favors an opinion rather than reporting facts... a lot of articles have been trending this way...
Many companies/industries pay writers to mix opinions to sway to a particular product in their favor. I think they're termed kick-backs. They defend positions with true facts, and willfully neglect others that would otherwise be a deficiency, as you pointed out.
Point in-case mechanical keyboards are not exclusive to the gaming demographics (which I believe Thermaltake, with Tom's help is hoping to impress).
There's a lot of great information provided by Tom's to the masses. The question is, do they want to be the Time Magazine of the technology industry, or do they want to become it's National Inquirer?
I do too feel like this one is just a PR news release. I would rather instead have a big lineup comparing the features and build quality of a bunch of tenkeyless boards in a similar price range (sorta like tom's does with cases sometimes) rather than just reviewing one board and sometimes mentioning other boards for a comparison.
In fact I feel like the gaming peripherals market is very under looked here at tom's. Every once in a while I might see a link to tom's guide to some random peripheral (lately it's been corsair products) but that's it. Everything else is just news of a new product coming out from X company.
Why don't we just have a yearly keyboard and mouse lineup? Maybe have an article for the keyboard reviews and the mice reviews. In each article they would choose 15 products and divide them by three sections each containing five peripherals: Budget tier ($0-$20~), Mid tier ($30-$90), and High end ($100+).
So it would go like this:
Budget Tier
- Logitech K120
- Corsair Raptor K30
- Rosewill RK-8100
- CM Storm Devastator
- Gigabyte Force K3
Mid Tier
- Corsair Raptor K40
- Razer Deathstalker
- Microsoft Sidewinder X4
- Logitech G105
- Steel Series Apex
High End
- Logitech G19s
- Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2014 Edition
- Corsair K70
- Ducky Channel Shine III
- Rosewill RGB80
And in each category you would first give us a brief introduction to each board (packaging, features, build quality, included software,functionality, etc.) then compare each board by assessing the value of it and how useful the features are alongside the quality of the product's presentation. Then on the next article you just do the same thing but with mice. If you want I'll give you a tier list of mice as well.
The bottom line is that I would love an article like that. I would also ADORE tom's if they were to cover the topic of companies that produce mice sensors such as avago and pixart. Other good things to mention would be the misinterpretation of DPI and acceleration, flawless sensors (might require a bit of extensive testing), and mice switches (aka left and right MB). Just some ideas from a loyal reader.
That said I love my Ducky keyboard with green switches. I couldn't live without the tactile feedback and hypnotic click.
This review from me was published on German site first. We have there a lot of such reviews so it doesn't look like advertising. We have simply more bandwith in some kind of periphery
I'm using each product about I wrote for a longer period by myself to make a real-world test. Only 1 hour of usage ist too less for an objective conclusion
Ghosting, jamming:
http://www.tomshardware.de/tenkeyless-tt-esports-poseidon-zx-thermaltake-gaming-tastatur,testberichte-241598-4.html
The reason for 6KRO:
http://www.tomshardware.de/tenkeyless-tt-esports-poseidon-zx-thermaltake-gaming-tastatur,testberichte-241598-5.html
Ghosting, jamming:
http://www.tomshardware.de/tenkeyless-tt-esports-poseidon-zx-thermaltake-gaming-tastatur,testberichte-241598-4.html
The reason for 6KRO:
http://www.tomshardware.de/tenkeyless-tt-esports-poseidon-zx-thermaltake-gaming-tastatur,testberichte-241598-5.html
It's a good thing that I can read a little bit of german as well ^^
And I guess I understand what you mean.
I just feel like we need a bit of a broader introduction into keyboard and mice specs. Not many people understand them and the ones that do usually hang around specialty forums or groups where normal users are unlikely to hang out. It's mostly mice that are shrouded in mystery. I've met only a few who actually knew what DPI was.
Anyways I guess it's just a translation issue. It reads like an advertisement in english but in german it seems similar but with more emphasis on performance and feel rather than comparing a tenkeyless to a full board and why its better. Then again my german isn't perfect at all so I could be reading it wrong. I haven't flexed my language skills in a while.
(I know it's ok to copy these now.)