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Benchmark Results & Performance Notes
Key Rollover Testing
Using Switch Hitter and the AquaKeyTest, we can confirm that the One offers full NRKO.
Audio Testing
We found the Wooting One to be a little noisy. The caps and switches bother felt a little loose, and that seemed to contribute to some extra noise. However, otherwise we detected very little in the way of additional “ping” noise, so at least you won’t experience that when typing away on the One.
Our test above features the Flaretech Red switches, which are linear; obviously, the Flaretech Blues (clicky) will sound a bit different, but the only difference is the click in the switch travel. The rest of the above description still applies.
Switch Testing
We do not have switch testing data for the Wooting One. We did not have the opportunity to run it through our testing machine.
Performance Notes
What struck us immediately when we started typing on the One is that the switches and caps felt wobbly and loud. Indeed, if you put your finger gently on a cap and wiggle it around, you get quite a bit of extra plasticy noise. Upon closer investigation, we noticed that the switch stems are looser in their housings that we’re used to feeling (that is, when you wiggle them around, they move and make a bit of noise), and the switch housings are rather loose in their mounts.
None of the above is necessarily negative; if you prefer a lighter touch in your typing experience, you may actually find it pleasing. It almost begs you to tread lightly, and indeed we subjectively enjoyed the typing experience more when we weren’t bottoming out every keypress. Consider, too, that when you’re gaming and want to make the best use of the analog input, you need to avoid just slamming down on the keys. Still, if you like a quieter, tighter typing feel, the One won’t deliver on that front.
But you’re here mainly to talk about analog, so let’s do that. The first analog mechanical keyboard we got our hands on was the Aimpad R5. It was (and is) just a prototype, but we came to several conclusions about analog input on keyboards because of it, and in general, those conclusions also apply to the Wooting One.
In short, it’s this: Analog input on keyboards, in our opinion, is the future of PC gaming peripherals, although it’s evolutionary more than revolutionary.
When you enable analog input for the first time, you’ll notice a difference in the feel of your controls, but it probably won’t blow you away. When you toggle the digital input back on, that’s when it will strike you more. (As we’ve said, it feels like the first time we watched a Blu-ray movie; we didn’t notice how much of an upgrade it was to DVD until we went back and watched a movie on the older format.)
We also realized that many of us, when it comes to PC gaming, are button mashers in a way. We pound the keys in the heat of battle, but analog input delivers the best performance when you keep your wits about you and maintain a more delicate touch on your keys. In that sense, using an analog keyboard will probably change the way you game on the PC.
Analog input on a mechanical keyboard is a feature that we didn’t know was missing from the PC gaming experience. Now that we have it, we don’t want to go back to digital.
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