Introduction

ADATA is a brand that has been among TechPowerUp editors' favorites when it comes to good value memory kits for all our test setups, but I suspect many here are not as familiar with their XPG brand. Short for Xtreme Performance Gear, XPG was set up in 2008 as a separate brand to cater to the growing gaming market, similar to what Kingston then did with HyperX. It has been over a decade now, and XPG boasts a product portfolio including memory modules, SSDs, PC cases, CPU cooling, a PSU, audio gear, and gaming peripherals. The latter includes mechanical keyboards, which is no surprise these days, and today, we take a look at the first XPG keyboard to join the TPU keyboard review family. Enter the XPG Summoner, and thanks again to ADATA for sending along a review sample.


The XPG SUMMONER gaming keyboard, or simply XPG Summoner as shall be referred to henceforth in this review, is a full-size keyboard with a lot of bells and whistles. The image above no doubt tells you the keyboard has RGB backlighting support, and a closer look also reveals a dedicated volume scroll wheel alongside another button outside of the typical 104-key setup this US ANSI version has. XPG has chosen to go with Cherry for their switches with this keyboard, with three options to choose from. A nice looking wrist rest has also been paired with the keyboard, which we will take a look at in detail as well, but let's begin the review with the specifications below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

The product packaging for the XPG Summoner utilizes the most traditional of gaming gear colors: black and red. Predominantly black, to be fair, with red accents on the sides. The front of the cardboard box wrap is adorned with a large color render of the keyboard lit up in use, as well as the product name and salient features to let people quickly know what the keyboard is all about. This continues on the back with more pictures, and specifications are seen on the side instead. Single flaps on the side and two seals help keep the contents inside in place during transit.


Opening the box, we see the keyboard in a wrap and thick foam all around for further protection. Another piece of cardboard at the top hides the cable tucked away underneath, and the accessories are either here or underneath the keyboard. There are three sets of accessories that come with the XPG Summoner, including a wrist rest, a set of replacement keycaps, and paperwork including a quick start guide (online copy here), a warranty guide, and a book of stickers. The guide is useful in helping with all the onboard controls pre-programmed onto the keyboard, which is the only customization option available here.


We get a set of nine replacement keycaps here, made of thin ABS plastic (0.91 mm average wall thickness) and red in color. The legends are laser etched with a gray color to them, and the keycaps correspond to the WASD and the arrow keys, in addition to a 1.25u keycap that can be used for, say, the menu key on the bottom row, as I found myself wanting to do. These can be backlit, as seen above, but will show signs of wear and tear sooner rather than later owing to their composition.


There is also a plastic ring-style keycap puller to help swap keycaps, and it can potentially scratch the sides of the keycaps. I much prefer the metal wire-style puller thus, but those also costs more to include. XPG includes a luxurious wrist rest that has thick, soft padding on the front and many rubber pads on the back to ensure it does not slide all over your desk when used.