Closer Examination

The keyboard is inside a foam wrap, which does add protection during shipping and handling. Taking it out, we get our first good look at the GAMDIAS Hermes P2, and it is a relatively large keyboard even for full-size units. Part of this has to do with the integrated wrist rest that is part of the case and frame itself and not removable, with a semi-glossy plastic finish that does the job. Secondly, in order to distinguish the keyboard visually in this crowded market, GAMDIAS has gone with a slightly aggressive design with the top side having fins cut into the plastic and the entire side extending outward. In fact, the dedicated scroll wheel is present in a section of the keyboard that would not have been present on others, with indicator LEDs being retained here. A two-tone black and gunmetal gray color scheme greets us here, and the black part is plastic while the metal top cover plate has been given the matte gray finish. The GAMDIAS inverted triangle logo is present on top as seen from the front, with another marking for the keyboard name above the arrow key cluster.

We see that the dedicated volume wheel is the only deviation from the 104-key US ANSI layout here, with the other media control and shortcuts as pre-programmed secondary functions instead. The secondary legends are below the primary ones, which is indicative of where the backlighting will be more uniform, and those located at the bottom may not end up as bright as those at the top. In cases where there are two sets of secondary legends, say with the number row in the alphanumeric section, we see the primary and secondary legends (the ones we are used to from a standard layout) put alongside each other at the top, with the keyboard-specific legends located at the bottom. There are a lot of secondary legends here owing to all the available onboard functionality, so here again I bring up the missing manual in the packaging, and one you should really take a look at online. The legends have a clean typeface, although I would have preferred to see the font size increased owing to the free space left behind.


Flipping the keyboard around, we see the usual certification sticker in the middle. The design scheme continues here with more cutouts around the sides, and these serve no functional purpose, so I am not sure why GAMDIAS even bothered as this side will not be seen in use. There are five rubber pads on the corners in the back to help keep the keyboard from sliding around on the desk, and two feet at the top optionally elevate the keyboard, but with rubber pads on the bottom half to prevent scratches, which is always nice to see.


The keyboard has a non-removable cable to go along with the non-removable wrist rest, and as seen above, the cable comes out at the middle of the top. It is well braided in black and terminates in a gold-plated male USB Type-A connector. The keyboard is rated at 5 V and 400 mA (2 W) and drew less than that even with all LEDs on at full brightness on this review unit, so a dedicated USB 2.0 port will suffice here.


The keycaps have an OEM profile, and the various rows are thus sculpted accordingly. They have a floating design, which allows for easier cleaning, but causes more light bleed, which may or may not be a good thing for you. The included keycap puller works alright for the 1u size keycaps, and I used it all of once before I noticed a light scratch on the keycap already. I shifted to my wire puller for subsequent use and would encourage GAMDIAS to swap their keycap puller out for one with a more user-friendly design. The keycaps themselves are thin ABS plastic with an average wall thickness of 0.95 mm, so expect them to develop a shine due to finger oils with use. The legends are laser etched, which will have these wear out quicker relative to other application techniques, including dye sublimation and doubleshot injection. As far as backlighting goes, the smaller font used and location of the legends means that even those with three legends are backlit fairly well under my smartphone's flashlight, and we will see later how this fares with the built-in lighting on the keyboard.


There are four switch options for the Hermes P2 RGB, and all four happen to be optical switches. Note also that not all options may be available in your region, and this specific sample had the GAMDIAS blue optical switch. I will update the review if I hear back regarding the OEM of the switch, but we can see here that the stem/slider piece has a box around it similar to a few other recent switch designs, and this can add some dust and spill resistance, which in turn is further complemented by the optical nature of the switch. An opaque black stem/slider and a blue-colored housing (at least at the top) means the LED's lighting will not be diffused by the switch as with most mechanical RGB switches, and instead, we see a small clear plastic piece on top through which the light will presumably pass outward. A disassembly will help us confirm this, and that is exactly what we will do on the next page. The larger keycaps have a bar stabilizer in which the torsion bar is exposed on the front, and the keycap clips into this, which did little to mitigate the wobble of the largest of the keycaps in practice. In particular, the space bar did not feel great to type on unless I was precise on where my fingers were.