Qpad MK-80 mech keyboard

[Merlin5]

How does this keyboard compare in tactile response and general quality compared to the top brands I keep hearing about, ie, filco majestouch and DAS? The Qpad looks really nice and is backlit (something I would find hard not to have anymore) and I'm wondering if I'd be happier with it over my Lycosa. I like the light and fast feel of the short travel keys of the lycosa, and am not sure if I will be gaining a better or worse experience by going back to normal profile keys, but of course, with mechanical feel.

 

[Merlin5]

MX Browns are actually very light and do not require a HUGE amount of travel to activate. I imagine the profile will be less of a factor and switch selection will be.

As for the Qpad, could not comment quality having never seen one but outside of switches (which will be a known factor) the other quality compromises could be in the key caps, printing on key caps and construction around the switches themselves.

I found a video comparison of filco majestouch v xarmor. I believe the Qpad MK-80 is a rebranded Xarmor. Only difference seems to be that the Qpad is using cherry blue and this Xarmor is using brown. What do you think after seeing this video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huXCL0qsU0g

 

[Merlin5]

I received my Qpad today and have only been typing on it for a few minutes. Quality is great, this keyboards is quite heavy compared to my old standard keyboard. The backlight looks great! Each key is translucent and is coated with black except for the letter shape. This way the letters cannot wear off from the key and the light shines through each letter nice and clearly. If you're looking for a tactile switch I think the blue switches are a great choice. Each key stroke is light and responsive which makes them really good for typing. However they are a bit noisy as each key clicks when you type.

As for how it compares to other mech. keyboards I cannot comment as this is my first one. Quality wise I think it's up there with all the top brands. It was 1st in a top 10 keyboards (link is posted in some other keyobard thread here).

Thanks for the mini review AzZ. Is the backlighting very even? My lycosa was terrible on some keys, some symbols were barely lit and barely visible while others were perfect.

The surface of each key, I believe they feel smooth and rubber like instead of normal plastic key caps? I prefer something like that because the lycosa has a velvety feel to the keys.

 

[Merlin5]

The backlighting looks very even to me as each key is individually lit with it's own LED. I'll take a picture at night and post it later so you can see how it looks. As for the keys they are smooth and the coating feels different to plastic keys. Kind of like a non slip type coating so your fingers don't glide from key to key. It's not ott though like proper rubber.

Sounds good. I also like that it appears you can read the letters and symbols when it's not backlit. The lycosa letters are invisible without the backlight on.

 

[Merlin5]

Thanks for the pic, AzZ. There's a full review here which is interesting.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/QPAD/MK-80/1.html

For gaming, hmm, seems ok.

"In terms of gaming performance the Cherry MX Blue type key mechanism is not as bad as one might think. Sure the sound is obtrusive but the keys themselves work quite well for FPS gaming. The real issue is that the keys feel a bit slow going over the hump compared to how fast you can actually move your fingers. This will hamper performance of any competitive RTS or RPG gamer to some extent their double taps are crucial. The actuation force of the Blue keys is somewhere in the middle between the semi soft Browns and the hard Blacks. "

 

[Merlin5]

I have the MK-80, it is a great keyboard. I find for typing it is better than browns, but thats just my preference. The one downside for the backlight is the enter key is not fully lit. As for the switches, they are blues, so you know you are getting a good click and solid feedback, they only downside is something like the backspace key, when using membrane keyboards, i float the key, not releasing it fully with the key not active though, therefor i can stop and start quickly. With the blue switch, you have to fully release the key to stop the activation. It is something i got used to very quickly, but you need to be more precise and not lazy with your typing.

The enter key

Blue lighting does look sweet, I'm so shallow