Redragon K683WB FIDD Magnetic Gaming Keyboard Review: Magnetic Switches on a Tight Budget

Redragon has developed a solid reputation for itself in the budget sector of the mechanical gaming keyboard world. Like the keyboards on our list of best gaming keyboards, Redragon's keyboards balance compelling specs and features with a very budget-friendly price. 

The new Redragon K683WB FIDD is out to offer a low-cost alternative to the trend-setting Wooting 60HE. This keyboard features fast, programmable magnetic switches with customizable actuation points and Rapid Trigger technology for competitive gaming. The keyboard normally retails for $89.99, but it's currently available with a 40% off coupon — bringing the price to around $50. It's an affordable option, but it's also a pretty bare-bones one.

Redragon K683WB FIDD Specs

Design of the Redragon K683WB FIDD

The Redragon K683WB FIDD is a simple but colorful ultra-compact mechanical gaming keyboard. It doesn’t take any liberties with the layout but embraces a bright teal and white color scheme to help it stand out. But when it comes to its core design, well, if you’ve seen one 60-percent keyboard, you’ve pretty much seen them all.

The K683WB FIDD gives you all of the basic keys — letters, numbers, and modifiers — and nothing else. There are no arrows, no media controls, and no volume roller. Instead, most of these functions are accessible as secondary commands by holding the Fn button and tapping each associated key. 

On this front, I have to give kudos to Redragon for using a layout that actually makes some sense. The Fn button is directly to the right of the spacebar, so you can press it with your pinky to access the secondary layer of keys and restore many of the missing functions. The arrows are mapped to WASD, which is where your left hand will probably be anyway, and the navigation keys (Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down) are positioned more to the right on the K683WB FIDD than they are on many compact keyboards. The paging keys on the bottom row are still cramped, so this keyboard doesn’t solve the problem of finger acrobatics on 60-percent keyboards, but it's not the worst I've seen. 

However, unlike some of the other 60-percent keyboards on the market, such as the Logitech G Pro X 60 or the SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini, there are no media controls mapped by default. There’s also no Print Screen button for quick screenshots. If you want either of these functions, you’ll need to map them yourself using the keyboard’s software.

The K683WB FIDD is also missing any kind of side legends to let you know what its pre-mapped secondary functions are — which makes a steep learning curve significantly steeper. During my test period, I had to keep the manual out on my desk until I had it memorized (and I’m very familiar with miniature gaming keyboards, at this point).

It does look great, though. Redragon has dropped the usual gunmetal gray, black, and solid white of most gaming keyboards for a mix of teal and white, which extends to the case as well. The steel top plate is painted white while the plastic bottom is matching teal. The feet on the bottom of the keyboard are also white, tying everything together. 

The keycaps are also pretty good. They’re made of doubleshot PBT plastic and are quite thick, so they should be extra durable. The density of PBT is higher than its competing keycap material, ABS, which makes it more resistant to wear and tear over time. The keycaps are tall and cylindrical, similar to the OSA keycap profile found on many AKKO keyboards. They’re quite comfortable to use but their taller height might also increase the learning curve — especially if you’re used to typing on a laptop or on an Apple Magic Keyboard.

Beneath those keycaps, the keyboard uses magnetic Hall Effect switches that are both unnamed and undescribed. Unlike a traditional mechanical key switch, these switches have embedded magnets hidden in the stem. They match with a sensor directly below that can tell precisely how far they’re being pressed. This technology allows for some very exciting features, such as custom actuation points and Rapid Trigger, where the actuation point and reset point are identical for improved responsiveness. It also allows Redragon to offer features such as Dynamic Key Strokes, where one action can be sent when the key hits a certain distance, a second when it hits further down, and two more when the key travels back up.

Magnetic Hall Effect keyboards also have the benefit of not having directly-touching electrical components that introduce interference known as debounce delay. The lack of delay allows the keyboard to be measurably more responsive, though this is more of a marketing point than anything. The difference is there, but it's so small that only a machine can reliably tell. 

If you'd prefer to try a different switch, it’s simple using the included tool. Like mechanical keyboards with hot-swap sockets, these can simply be pulled out without the need to desolder. You’ll need another magnetic switch to replace it, however — traditional switches won’t work, and with Hall Effect keyboards being so new, there's no standard yet that ensures everything is cross-compatible. The only way to really tell if a magnetic switch will be compatible is to read reviews and/or try them out yourself. This is another area in which a little clarity from Redragon would go a long way.

What’s more impactful is the keyboard’s 8,000 Hz polling rate. While most gaming keyboards have a polling rate of 1,000 Hz, meaning they report to the PC 1,000 times per second, the K683WB FIDD communicates at eight times that rate — or 8,000 times per second. This lowers input latency from the standard 1ms to 0.125ms.

There are arguments to be made about whether this difference in input latency is noticeable (especially on a keyboard), but it's a surprising feature to see on a keyboard at this price point regardless. It was only a few years ago that such a high polling rate was reserved for the most expensive and prestigious gaming keyboards out there. Also, while an 8,000 Hz polling rate won't truly benefit most gamers, it does remove the glass ceiling so you know you're playing with the highest report rate currently available (and speed and responsiveness is presumably high priority for gamers looking at magnetic switch keyboards). 

The keyboard is also fully programmable: you can remap keys, record macros, and adjust the keyboard's per-key RGB lighting using Redragon’s software for the keyboard, which is available on a model by model basis on its website. We'll get into the details of the software later, but while it's functional, it's not nearly as polished as I would like to see from a company that has been around for as long as Redragon has.

Apart from these features, this keyboard is very “what you see is what you get.” The switches are a mystery; there’s no reverb-dampening foam or interesting mounting structure. The sound is pretty hollow but is otherwise standard for a small gaming keyboard. The stabilizers are pre-lubed but feel slightly mushy due to how much grease is layered on them. Also, the USB Type-C port is on the left side of the keyboard (instead of the back) and the keyboard comes with an L-shaped USB cable to match. 

Beyond the K683WB FIDD's appearance and the magnetic switches, it's really fairly standard, without any extra frills. But you also wouldn't necessarily expect frills at this price — and the doubleshot PBT keycaps and 8K polling rate are pretty impressive at this price point. Plus, it's not black, gray, or solid white.

There are a few things that bother me, however. First, the lack of clarity about the switches is criminal in 2024 — all we know is that they're linear and magnetic. There's no information about actuation force, and that's a very important facet for potential buyers.

One image calls these switches “Lekker switches,” and they are absolutely not Lekker switches. For those of you who don't know, Lekker switches are the custom switches included in Wooting keyboards — Redragon’s direct competitor. They're one of the things Wooting fans love most about Wooting keyboards, and they're a major selling point for Wooting. Again, I repeat, the switches on the Redragon K683WB FIDD are not Lekker switches. These are Lekker switches and they are produced by Gateron. The switches here appear to be made by Kailh but are branded as Redragon. I find this to be deliberately deceptive. 

Additionally, if you dig into the product reviews for the K683WB FIDD on Amazon page, you’ll soon find customers praising an entirely different keyboard. This occurs when there are multiple product versions on a single listing (not the case here) or when the seller has swapped in a new product for an old listing in an effort to retain the positive star rating. This is also deceptive — it's a trick that essentially uses fake endorsements from unsuspecting customers to promote a completely different product. 

The reality is this: Redragon doesn't tell us much about this keyboard. That doesn't mean it's a bad keyboard, per se, but it is a bad practice when competitors readily share details on switches and specs. You're forced to trust the brand, which is difficult to do when they also appear to be using deliberately deceptive marketing techniques.

Typing Experience on the Redragon K683WB FIDD

The K683WB FIDD offers a decent experience for normal typing, but it doesn't do much to make it stand out from the many other 60-percent gaming keyboards. Because its switches lack physical contacts with electrical components, they're natural very smooth and appear to have a light coating of lubricant to enhance the experience. The keyboard's sound signature is bright, but the thick doubleshot PBT keycaps add a deepness to the sound that you won't find in most keyboards around this price point. The case lacks any kind of foam for sound dampening or acoustic tuning, however, so it still sounds relatively hollow.

I found the tall keycaps to be quite comfortable, but I thought the typing angle was too shallow. The keyboard is nearly perfectly flat by default, and its small tilt feet only provide a minor amount of extra leverage. It's not a keyboard you'll want to use with a palm rest.

The switches, despite being unknown, are pretty good. Their smoothness is a perfect match for their linearity. They aren't switches that immediately stand out in any particular way, but their performance is good for the price and they didn't leave me wanting. The stabilizers are pre-lubed — a bit too generously; they don't rattle, but they feel a little mushy.

I used the K683WB FIDD for a couple of weeks, alternating with my main keyboard. As configured, this keyboard wouldn’t be my first choice for typing. However, it becomes much more capable with some customizations. The default key mappings are better than many 60-percent keyboards but they're difficult to memorize without side legends, which makes the keyboard challenging to use for productivity. 

In terms of sheer typing speed, the K683WB FIDD didn’t slow me down at all. My average typing speed is around 110 wpm and I averaged 108 wpm across multiple typing tests on MonkeyType while using the K683WB FIDD. If you’re used to lower profile keycaps, it’s likely that your typing speed and accuracy will take a hit as you adjust to higher-profile keycaps.  

The keyboard’s customizable actuation point is a very useful feature for typing. I tend to be a heavy-handed typist that bottoms out more often than not, and lowering my actuation point outside of games nearly eradicated typos. I chose to shift the actuation point of all switches from the standard 2mm to 3.2mm and I saw a noticeable improvement with the amount of errors in my writing.

You can create your own layout on the K683WB FIDD that works for your flow using the keyboard's companion software. You can also replace any keys that may be missing from the stock layout, such as Print Screen and assorted media controls, and change the position of the Fn button. 

Once you customize the keyboard, it's much more useful for day-to-day writing and typing. If you're not willing to spend a half hour or so to customize the layout, you'll probably be better off with a larger keyboard or a 60-percent board with side legends.

Gaming Experience of the Redragon K683WB FIDD

The Redragon K683WB FIDD offers a good gaming experience, especially for the price. Its small form factor might not be perfect for productivity, but it's great for gamers who want extra space for their mouse hand. If you're the kind of gamer who angles your keyboard to maximize desk space, a 60-percent layout is perfect. It's a stellar choice for shooters that benefit from high-DPI, low-sensitivity mouse settings, because it's much easier to accomplish big mouse sweeps with this keyboard.

One of the main reasons to opt for a magnetic keyboard is the Rapid Trigger feature. While a traditional switch needs to come most of the way back up before it can be pressed again, magnetic switches allow you to dial in both a custom actuation point and a custom rest point — and these can exist at the same spot along the key's travel. What this means is that the instant the key starts moving up it can be pressed again, and this makes every key Rapid Trigger is applied to feel more responsive. Combined with the K683WB FIDD's 8,000 Hz polling rate, and you've got a keyboard that feels exceptionally alive during intense matches.

While the best use-case for a feature like this is a game such as Osu, I’ve started enjoying it in Battlefield 2042 and Call of Duty. It's nice to be able to peek from cover in quick flutters when I know there may be an enemy just around the corner. It's also useful for changing positions quickly — dropping into prone (and back again), similar to what you can do with a custom gaming controller.

Dynamic Key Strokes, or DKS, is a magnetic switch feature that lets you tie up to four different commands to different points along the switch's travel. While I didn't find many uses for this feature outside of shifting from running to sprinting, there's certainly potential here.

The programmability of the keyboard is also an asset, but it’s hindered by the fact that it only supports one onboard profile. You can remap keys and assign macros, as well as Windows shortcuts, media controls, lighting settings, and program launches, on both the “top” layer (your physical keys) and a secondary layer (accessed with Fn). But the issue here is that Redragon locks all of the keys with default commands, even if those commands are remapped elsewhere — meaning many keys aren't remappable.

Overall, the keyboard provides a decent, if limited, gaming experience.

Software for the Redragon K683WB FIDD

The Redragon software for the K683WB FIDD is functional but unpolished, and it's a bit tedious to engage with. You can use it to remap keys, assign macros and shortcuts, and program the keyboard's RGB lighting and adjust the Hall Effect-specific settings. But it's definitely unrefined.

For example: when you load up the software, an entirely different keyboard model is listed at the top (and is called a “keyabord"). There's more broken English and sparse descriptions throughout. If you want to assign DKS settings to a key, you'll find the setting hidden under a tab labeled "Senior Keys" — and it's not clear what it's supposed to do until you click through and piece it together via graphics and trial and error.

I also ran into an issue where my settings wouldn’t always save to the keyboard — even after clicking the Download button to save them to the keyboard. The only reliable way I found to ensure they saved was to save the base and Fn layers separately.

Programming Rapid Trigger and actuation point settings is more straightforward — thankfully — but should you ever need to calibrate the keys (sometimes necessary if you travel with the keyboard), change switches, or if you just happen to have a key that's not perfectly aligned out of the box, good luck. I've run into these issues on multiple keyboards, and the best usually provide an option to calibrate all keys at once. With this keyboard, however, you'll need to click through each key, start calibration, and wait around 10 seconds for it to complete — over, and over, and over again.

So, while the software does work, and allows you to accomplish roughly the same level of programming as most other magnetic switch keyboards, it's very rough and, frankly, a pain to use.

Bottom Line

The Redragon K683WB FIDD is a fairly simple 60-percent gaming keyboard with magnetic switches. It stands out mostly for its price, which is good to begin with and is excellent on sale. However, it's also very clear that you get what you pay for — the trade-offs are evident every time you use it. You'll never not feel like you're using a budget keyboard.

If you're able to spend a little more, there are plenty of good options on the market — especially if you need a slightly larger layout. The Redragon K701, in fact, costs less and offers virtually identical features in a 65-percent layout. Drunkdeer also has several good options, including the A75 — which is slightly larger but much better built, and uses an online configurator instead of dedicated software.The Gamakay TK75 is another good option with a higher-quality typing experience for just $10 more.

If you're on a tight budget and you must have magnetic switches, the K683WB FIDD will get the job done. None of its problems are game-breaking, but considering it does have several issues, I'd recommend saving up a little more for a keyboard that won't require you to compromise as much.

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