Lighting and Performance

The Glorious GMMK 3 Pro HE wireless in its 100% size version supports N-key rollover USB and 2.4 GHz, which tested successfully using Aqua's test. It defaults to native 6KRO with Bluetooth. Switch Hitter confirmed no chatter with these keys either, and of course this US ANSI version has all 104 keys to where the base layer is as complete as it gets. Note that R. Win is replaced by the Fn key which is used for the Fn layer as usual.


I will say the Fn layer on this 100% keyboard is not as crucial as on, say, the 65% version for obvious reasons, although it is necessary to get Bluetooth pairing mode on, as well as selecting between up to three connected devices via Bluetooth. Additionally, you get onboard lighting control as well as finer volume/media playback control, in addition to some quality of life improvements like pulling up some commonly used programs in a jiffy. You can also cycle through the three profiles and layers this way, and there is a factory reset shortcut too. The rotary knob has volume control pre-programmed for rotation and single press to mute/unmute, whereas double pressing it also goes through the three layers available for the keyboard. The wireless version does not get a profile selector switch, which is instead used to select the connectivity mode here.


Seen above are some of the available lighting effects accessible via both onboard controls and software, with full 16.8 M RGB per-key lighting on offer. Obviously the net lighting effect on the keyboard will depend heavily on the configured parts, especially the keycaps, but one thing common to all GMMK 3 keyboards will be the side lighting on offer, as well as the badge itself which is another zone separate from the side LEDs and those associated with the switches. I will say that the keyboard displayed occasional LED flickering, especially when changing LED effects via software, and I had a bug where the default Glorious Mode refused to work at times, necessitating a switch to another profile and back. Also, I hate to keep piling on the issues, but you should be aware of the part where Hall effect sensors are a massive battery drain on the battery due to them being always on. Glorious has updated its battery metrics, with the 65% GMMK 3 non-HE model rated for as much as 75 hours of use, and going down to 19 hours for the 100% GMMK3 HE version, all with the LEDs off. The use of the same 3000 mAh battery across all three sizes means of course the larger size keyboard suffers more here, and I was barely getting three to four days of inconsistent Bluetooth use with the LEDs off before I had to charge again. Turn on the LEDs and it's now a matter of a couple of hours, but of course you can't easily tell in the absence of a working battery status indicator in the software at this time. Needless to say, I found myself using this wired more often than not. This also helped avoid the occasional ghosting and disconnects in Bluetooth mode, which is hilarious since the whole point of moving the wireless transceiver to the front was to get around these issues. Connectivity over 2.4 GHz was far more stable, but again prone to the weaker battery life. I will say that Glorious has optimized the 2.4 GHz performance here to where the battery life is actually rated to be higher than on Bluetooth! I don't know what voodoo magic this is, even if the differences are small, but this merits appreciation given most gamers will go the 2.4 GHz route—assuming they go wireless at all.

[Edit: (October 23, 2024) Glorious provided a firmware and software driver update that has resolved the ghosting issues over Bluetooth. I still get occasional disconnects and lag, however, although these also seem improved from earlier. The LED flickering is inconsistent now, albeit the conditions for its happening is the same—switching between lighting effects.]


Magnetic switches have quickly become all the rage for gaming thanks to the inherent advantages they pose. For one, a well-calibrated sensor can detect actuation instantly, and faster than mechanical switches—whether you will perceive that difference is a different matter altogether. Second, since the sensor can detect the stem moving up and down very precisely, you can use the extent of travel to allow for various other functions. While the GMMK 3 Pro HE does not allow analog control, you can get rapid triggers, set up dynamic keystrokes, and even have mod tap which is something a lot of the Chinese-branded HE keyboards just haven't done yet. It's not on par with the likes of Wooting yet, but that's probably a bar too high to climb for most brands. Obviously this all depends on the final implementation too, and thankfully all the switches came working well and already calibrated for the Hall effect sensors in this PCB. The Glorious Panda HE differs from the vast majority of all HE switches in the market by offering tactile feedback, and it works quite well too. I liked that it is decoupled from actuation, unless you happen to set it at ~2 mm where I noticed the bump action happening, and it does take away from the smoother travel that linear HE switches can provide, in addition to making the other HE features more logical. Still, for a daily use keyboard with the occasional gaming, I am so glad to have tactile and clicky HE switches now. It's only a matter of time before most keyboards on the market will be flooded with HE switches and PCBs, so this is easily one place where Glorious is ahead of the curve. The Panda HE also feels like a generally good switch, albeit I do wish it had pins to help stabilize it in the switch socket. Going for the brass plate was a great choice I made, especially compared to the wobble I've seen with others who went for a PC or FR4 plate. Also, with a rated actuation force of 45 gf (at 2 mm actuation) and peak force of 65 gf at 4 mm total travel, the Panda HE will also feel right in place for anyone who has used a medium force tactile feedback mechanical switch 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—especially when you have something as customizable as the GMMK 3. In this case, I have provided above an example sound clip of me typing on my specific unit of the Glorious GMMK 3 at ~95 WPM with these Glorious Panda HE switches. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with tactile switches. I did bottom out constantly here, which feels like you will inevitably do here once you hit the tactile bump, although over time I did get used to noticing where the rhombus block just got into the crevice of the two metal bars in the switch housing and stopped there. Regardless, even with the flex gaskets, the brass plate, the thick PBT keycaps, and the various dampening materials used here, I have to say this does not sound great to me. The space bar in particular would have heavily benefited from a switch pad and, for some reason, some of the other stabilizers are so muted that you barely feel/hear the modifier keys they are associated with. If this was the keyboard I paid a lot of money for, I can't say I'd be very happy. I would have certainly wanted to see better quality stabilizers, be it screw-in or even clipped, with more uniform lubing.