Raijintek debuts MGA-68 aluminum hall-effect keyboard with 8,000 Hz polling rate
And a moderate price point.

Raijintek, a company specializing in PC cases, cooling, and peripherals, has debuted the MGA-68 aluminum keyboard with hall-effect switches. The MGA-68 boasts a 65% (69 keys) layout using the ISO format and comes in Black and Silver options. Although official pricing remains unannounced, preliminary listings suggest it will cost around $160.
The MGA-68's body is CNC-crafted from aluminum, which offers a unique sound signature and increases weight. Raijintek has outfitted this keyboard with south-facing LEDs and magnetic/hall-effect switches from Heijin, which have a rated lifespan of 50 million keystrokes. The Raijintek Axion application on their website offers features such as adjustable actuation distances, Rapid Trigger mode, customizable dead zones, and sensitivity to fine-tune the keyboard to your liking.
The keyboard is available in UK, DE, and Italy layouts and utilizes PBT or PBT+SUB keycaps arranged in the ISO format with an L-shaped Enter key. As the keyboard is hot-swappable, you can easily customize it with switches of your choice as long as they're compatible. Beneath the switches is a switch plate for proper alignment and rigidity, followed by a spill-resistant PCBA (Printed Circuit Board Assembly) and the bottom casing.
Note that this is a wired-only keyboard. The box includes a 2-meter-long USB Type-C to Type A + Type-C cable, two extra switches, and a 2-in-1 key puller. The keyboard measures 313x104mm, though the height is variable due to the wedge-shaped design for ergonomics. As the keyboard lacks a function key row, you can use the Fn (function) key in conjunction with the number keys at the top to mimic their functionality. Raijintek has added support for several hotkeys to control the RGB, switch actuation, and to reset to default settings on the fly.
The company did not reveal the pricing for this keyboard. However, we were able to find a listing online from the German retailer hiq24, where the keyboard is priced at $160. Depending on the manufacturer, aluminum hall-effect keyboards typically cost $150 or higher, so the MGA-68 is in a comfortable position when it comes to pricing. Subtracting the 19% VAT lands us at $130 which is an even better offer. US customers can expect availability at Amazon, Newegg, and Performance PCs shortly.
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Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he’s not working, you’ll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun.
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LostFate Not that I'd ever consider buying a sub full-sized keyboard (I type about 200 IP addresses a day, no thanks on trying to do it with the number row) but why with the south facing LEDs? I've never seen a justification for them, it seems to be all downside/no upside with South facing LEDs.Reply -
DougMcC
I had the same feeling. Who buys sub full keyboards? Is there really that big a market? I can't imagine living without the number pad. (At least, not on a device that I'm using when I'm not using a portable).LostFate said:Not that I'd ever consider buying a sub full-sized keyboard (I type about 200 IP addresses a day, no thanks on trying to do it with the number row) but why with the south facing LEDs? I've never seen a justification for them, it seems to be all downside/no upside with South facing LEDs. -
thestryker
the only answer I've come up with for this would be: https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/products/ducky-black-backlit-108-key-cherry-side-print-double-shot-pbtLostFate said:but why with the south facing LEDs? -
BillyBuerger The keycaps don't appear to be shine through and the lighting only shines around the keycaps. So the position of the LEDs doesn't seem to matter. Now it will if you decide to change the keycaps for ones that are shine through. But yeah, still seems weird. The south facing position was for when they only used the LED position in an MX switch for lock keys.Reply
As for non-100% keyboards, I've been using ortho and then my own custom ergo layout for a lot of years now and don't miss 100% at all. If you have to do a LOT of number input, then yeah, a numpad makes sense. But I found ortho makes the number row a lot easier to use so I can use it just fine and don't need a num pad. And my keyboard is balanced so that both hands have the same number of keys to press instead of 100% keyboards where there is a LOT more for the right hand to do. I also never have to leave home row to do anything I need. Just what I found that works. My keyboard is essentially equivilant to a 65% keyboard as for the number of keys. I feel like that's enough and would have trouble going smaller. But the point of these different keyboard sizes is that you can find what works for you. You don't have to force yourself into only having one option. -
JTWrenn
I completely agree. What is the point? Is there any reason at all for the reversed bs?LostFate said:Not that I'd ever consider buying a sub full-sized keyboard (I type about 200 IP addresses a day, no thanks on trying to do it with the number row) but why with the south facing LEDs? I've never seen a justification for them, it seems to be all downside/no upside with South facing LEDs.