Performance

The Bloody B945 supports N-key rollover USB out of the box, which tested successfully using Aqua's test. Switch Hitter also confirmed no chatter with these keys.


When first connected, the keyboard lights up briefly in a rainbow wave effect before switching over to a full keyboard static lighting mode. Onboard controls without the driver being installed are limited to static lighting between a few discrete colors (Fn + Left/Right arrows) and some specific dynamic effects toggled via Fn + F12, and you can also change the backlighting brightness onboard via Fn + Up/Down arrow keys in steps of five (0/25/50/75/100%). With the driver installed, you get a few more static and dynamic effects. Here I show a specific multi-color static lighting effect in the first image, to give you an idea. I then manually set everything to white to test for color fidelity since RGB LEDs have a hard time depicting white, and it was more of a warm white with a pink hue to it in this case. The disparity in backlighting uniformity for dual legend keycaps can clearly be seen here as well, even at 100% brightness.

Here are some more of the lighting effects demonstrated. Note that Bloody has a couple of type-responsive effects here, with other variations including a breathing mode, wave mode, and the still fairly unique "swallow" mode (named after the bird). The story is the same as before - be it a limitation of the hardware drivers or the software driver, the available control and lighting options are sorely lacking compared to those of others in the vastly crowded market the B945 is competing in.

Using the keyboard with the rarely seen left numpad took some getting used to, but after a week, it was almost second nature since I have worked with other keyboards before that go further away from the ANSI layout than this. Indeed, the ergonomic benefits from having the mouse closer to the keyboard is dependent a lot on how broad your shoulders are. Ideally, you would want to have both your arms straight and not angled inwards or outwards when stretched, so the shift of the numpad will help achieve this for most people. This is one of the reasons the TKL form factor took off as well, and if you have broader shoulders leaving a gap regardless, you can now use that to place something in between, such as a headset stand.


The switches are one of the best, if not outright the best, thing about the Bloody B945. I was able to try both out on a keyboard at the Bloody CES suite, and the review sample did not disappoint with its crisp, tactile feedback on all the switches and a very satisfying clicky sound emanating from the LK Libra switches. Speaking of which, both of these LK Libra optical switches have a rated actuation distance of 1.5 mm, actuation force of 40 gf, travel distance of 3.0 mm, and a rated lifetime of 100 million keystrokes. The LK Orange in particular has a peak tactile force of 50 gf with a steep drop down, which means you will most definitely actuate when you hit the tactile bump here. In practice, the LK Orange switch measured in at an average actuation force of 49.02 gf across twenty switches, which is not bad and within error margins of what is reported on datasheets.


As always, the sound of a keyboard is based on more than just the switch type. So when comparing sound clips, consider the keyboard as a whole. In this case, I have provided above an example sound clip of me typing on the Bloody B945 sample at ~110 WPM. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with tactile and clicky switches. I did bottom out here given the relatively lower travel distance, and it adds a light metallic ping to the sound signature otherwise dominated by the click bar in the switch.

Lastly, as with other optical switches, note that the Bloody B945 has some inherent advantages over purely mechanical switches, and also membrane switches. For one, an interruption of the IR signal causes the keystroke's actuation to result in a lower latency in this particular step relative to those requiring metal crosspoint contact or bottoming out on a PCB as with membrane switches. This is one step of the entire process leading to the output seen on your display, but this coupled with the shorter travel distance should result in a slightly lower latency overall all other things being equal. At this point, I have not yet identified a reliable means towards quantifying this easily, so it will have to remain a subjective discussion. Another advantage optical switches have is with the decoupling of the actuation mechanism from the rest of the switch. Switch makers such as A4Tech/Bloody have more freedom in designing the feedback and other features we see here with the LK Libra design. The switch and case design choices made have also allowed Bloody to impart some dust and spill resistance. Finally, fewer parts consistently making contact also potentially makes for a longer lifetime before failure, which is reflected in the higher switch rating of 100 million keystrokes as compared to the 50-70 million usually advertised by others.