EVGA Z20 Keyboard

[VSG]

EVGA refreshes their periperals lineup today, and the all-new Z20 is their flagship keyboard. There is a lot to see here, including native 4000 Hz polling, optical switches, a clean design with extra keys and volume wheel, decent software support, and a Time-of-Flight sensor that ends up being quite useful.

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[LocutusH]

"Software experience can be improved and expanded upon"

But will not.
Just like the PX1, wich has laughable bugs, and is like in early development state since... ever...

 

[rooivalk]

Reading back and forth and still have no idea what TOF supposed to be lol, only that "it works" and provide "tangible benefit".

Meant to perform keyboard actions as per any motion towards or away from it

So it's like Theremin or something? like you wave some gesture in front of sensor? what if you inadvertently move your hand in front of it?

 

[milewski1015]

Reading back and forth and still have no idea what TOF supposed to be lol, only that "it works" and provide "tangible benefit".

Came here to say this. Still have no idea what the ToF sensor is for.

 

[ogharaei]

So it's like Theremin or something? like you wave some gesture in front of sensor? what if you inadvertently move your hand in front of it?

Well, as I understood it, the distance at which it triggers is set in EVGA Unleash. Move out of range and it puts the keyboard to sleep. Move into range and it wakes the keyboard up. As such, if correct, performing a gesture in front of the sensor while in range shouldn't trigger anything.

 

[VSG]

Reading back and forth and still have no idea what TOF supposed to be lol, only that "it works" and provide "tangible benefit".



So it's like Theremin or something? like you wave some gesture in front of sensor? what if you inadvertently move your hand in front of it?

I clearly assumed that a TOF sensor was enough general knowledge these days, given its usage in a lot of smartphones to help with autofocus of cameras. It's a light source + sensor setup to measure distance from the sensor to an object blocking light and in its path. So EVGA is using it to measure distance between the keyboard and the user, and then set functions depending on whether there is an object measured within the range of 120 cm or not. I have added in a few more relevant notes on this in pages 3, 5, and 6 so thanks for pointing me towards my incorrect assumptions!

 

[Mescalamba]

As for optimal typing layout.

Its useless if you are used to QWERTY, very hard to learn different. Like 99,9% keybs is QWERTY layout. Beside that I dont think I could re-learn and keep my average of 70 WPM. :/

Keyboard is interesting, but 4kHz .. hm, aint PS/2 actually faster? It was definitely faster and more responsive compared to 1kHz. Still miss it.

Keycaps, I change that basically on every keyb I can/need. So, pretty much all of them as long as its possible. For me, best keyb doesnt even have keycaps.

Unsure if stabilizers can be fixed there tho. And limited SW is quite bad, on other hand I dont want much from my keyboard, apart typing and if needed to, re-assign keys (can be done via other stuff anyway). So SW is probably fine for most as long as it works.

TOF is.. ehm. Feels a bit like "I have 4 cameras on my cellphone, one is great, others are there". Thus that cellphone is obviously better than one with one great camera. Even while those 3 are basically useless. Im sure there are ppl that appreciate "more of stuff". Just me aint one of them.

Nice review, thanks for that.

 

[bug]

Well, as I understood it, the distance at which it triggers is set in EVGA Unleash. Move out of range and it puts the keyboard to sleep. Move into range and it wakes the keyboard up. As such, if correct, performing a gesture in front of the sensor while in range shouldn't trigger anything.

Flies get a new toy!

 

[InVasMani]

Reading back and forth and still have no idea what TOF supposed to be lol, only that "it works" and provide "tangible benefit".



So it's like Theremin or something? like you wave some gesture in front of sensor? what if you inadvertently move your hand in front of it?

Roland D-Beam...cringe.

 

[Ravenas]

Great price on this $74.99 57% off:


Check this out on @Newegg: EVGA Z20 RGB Optical Mechanical (Linear Switch) Gaming Keyboard 811-W1-20US-KR
https://www.newegg.com/evga-z20-rgb...m_mmc=snc-social-_-sr-_-23-953-005-_-09082021

 

[pizzaman]

Found one at a thrift store for only 10 bucks!