Software

There is no dedicated software driver support for the GAMDIAS HERMES E3—all functionality is hardware based. As such, I have chosen to combine the Software and Performance pages. This may be due to a potential limitation of the microcontroller not allowing for extensive customization. That having been said, I have used other keyboards with the same MCU and software support, as well as seen reports of others flashing QMK firmware on the same module. Take that for what you will, but the bottom line is still that the average end user will not have any software drivers for the HERMES E3.

Performance

We get full N-key rollover USB with the HERMES E3, as tested successfully with Aqua's test. Switch Hitter confirmed no chatter with these keys, and shows which functions get dedicated keys on the base layer. Note that we have Fn instead of R. Win on the bottom row, which isn't unusual for the form factor.

When the GAMDIAS HERMES E3 is first connected to a PC, it lights up in a color shift dynamic effect, which visually confirms all is well with the keyboard as far as power delivery and basic functionality is concerned.


There are far more lighting effects than on the HERMES M5, and this is further helped by the presence of 16.8 M colors rather than the sole Ice Blue in five brightness steps on the other keyboard. In fact, using Fn2 + 9 shows that a total of 19 lighting effects are available, including a mix of static, dynamic, and reactive lighting effects. You can see two example static lighting effects above—namely, an all-green and one of two multi-color dynamic effects. Fn2 + 10 toggles backlighting on/off, and Fn2 + F11/F12 decreases or increases backlighting brightness in the same five steps (0/25/50/75/100%) as on the HERMES M5. There is no per-key lighting, or associated profiles, however, which is another setback of not having dedicated LED drivers or a more customized USB microcontroller.

Seen above are three other lighting effects that make good use of the capabilities of the hardware, and it does not look bad at all for the light show you get. There are the usual suspects: rainbow wave, rainbow spiral, color shift, breathing modes, etc. Missing is the option to really set a static backlighting color of your choice, as well as per-key lighting. Light bleed is not too bad given the high-profile case, and the white plate adds positively to the overall experience here.

As with the HERMES M5, lighting controls are pretty much all you can customize on the HERMES E3. There is no key-mapping support, which is a shame for a 60% keyboard that really needs to be more in tune with the user's specific needs. QWERTY is all you get thus, at least for the English language SKUs, and assuming a few other languages are supported elsewhere. As a compact gaming keyboard, this is not a big deal, and GAMDIAS also throws in a Win lock toggle shortcut. People are more likely to complain about not having more customization over the lighting. GAMDIAS has at least added an Fn1 + layer for a lot of the missing functions from a TKL keyboard, which are also identified via added keycap legends. The missing printed manual might well hurt sales and customer satisfaction, though, especially since there is no way to figure out the backlighting controls without trial and error.


We saw before that the HERMES E3 comes with Outemu mechanical switches instead of the "GAMDIAS certified optical switches" mentioned on the product page as this is written. I am all the happier about it too, especially if those were going to be anything like the GAMDIAS mechanical switches on the HERMES M5. I was admittedly curious about the optical switches since they could have potentially been smoother, as well as hot-swappable. Regardless, my sample doesn't care about what-ifs, and the Outemu Red switch is a decent switch. Gaote (Outemu) made it as a less expensive alternative to the Cherry MX Red RGB switch in that it is a linear switch rated for 45 gf actuation force at 2.0 mm travel, with a peak force of ~60 gf at 4.0 mm. In practice, things are a bit off, especially with the rated actuation force, as found out by Input Club. Some of this is because the actuation point ends up slightly past the 2.0 mm point more often than not, which is the sort of error bar to expect with cheaper MX switch clones. That said, GAMDIAS went with one of the better budget options, so I suppose I just wanted the HERMES M5 to have done the same, and go the same way with the stabilizers, too.


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 GAMDIAS HERMES E3 keyboard sample at ~85 WPM as it comes out of the box with the Outemu Red switches. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with linear switches. I did bottom out as a result of the relatively lighter actuation force, although the relatively heavier bottoming-out force does mean you can train yourself not to. You can hopefully hear some of the down strokes causing reverberation with the mostly empty plastic case. There is also a lot of ping off the steel plate, and some rattle from the space bar.