Lighting and Performance

The HYTE Keeb TKL supports N-key rollover USB, which tested successfully using Aqua's test. Switch Hitter confirmed no chatter with these keys either, and seen above are all the functions with dedicated keys on the base layer. This TKL keyboard with 87 keys (on the keyboard side) behaves as expected, although surprisingly I noted the Menu keycap on the bottom row was actually programmed to R. Win, and it's the Menu key which is actually replaced by a Fn key. I don't know if HYTE is aware of this error on their side with the wrong keycap thus. The Fn layer is useful depending on how you program it in Nexus of course, and I am sure many will appreciate the dedicated volume and media playback controls too. The right roller defaults to brightness control over the LEDs, although you can use it to do a variety of other functions as seen on the previous page.


Seen above is the HYTE Keeb TKL lit up in a few different lighting effects, and I chose to have the Nexus lighting options shown here which admittedly look cooler and smoother compared to the more generic ones onboard the keyboard. No matter what you go with though, this will be a stunning light show with those 155 LEDs lighting up not only the keycaps, which have backlit legends here, but also the polycarbonate case to where we get side and underbody lighting too. However, note that HYTE uses the older style doubleshot injections with the bars on looped characters such as D and R, so there will be some parts which are not backlit as evenly as the rest of those characters. I will also say that the lighting is far more uniform and the logo is more visible than the photos make it seem, and also that the white color is more accurate than in the photo—I was trying to expose it lower to grab the logo too. I get that having game profiles for lighting might be a nice thing, but overall this is right up HYTE's branding and product philosophy to where I went in expecting plenty of RGB and got all of it here.


As of the time I write this review, the HYTE Keeb TKL comes with a single switch in the form of the HYTE Fluffy Lavender Linear, and I don't know who the switch manufacturer is. That said, HYTE has certainly made good choices here with the switches and stabilizers. The switch, for example, uses a decent composition mix of POM for the stem and PC/nylon for the housing, the stem comes lubed with good quality Krytox lubricants and is actually well-lubed to where I really don't see the point of taking them apart to re-lube yourself. The housing walls could have a tighter manufacturing tolerance though, as I did notice some switch wobble. This is worsened by the keycaps having a narrower contact surface than usual, so there is an increased chance you will hit the sides instead. This is a full-size mechanical switch bottoming out at 3.7 mm, and actuates earlier than usual at 1.5 mm to make it "faster" for gaming, although of course magnetic switches are going to offer more gaming features inherently. It's a lighter switch too, actuating at 36 gf and peaking at 45 gf only, making it extremely likely you will bottom out. I can certainly see this being handy for gaming, especially for rhythm games, although again I can only ask for more switch options from HYTE here as these are not the most supportive for general typing. In fact, they are so light that the gasket mount employed here doesn't do much purely because you won't be applying a lot of force on the keyboard for them to support your keystrokes. This does help out in another way however, as the polycarbonate case doesn't squeak in regular use either as it can when you hold the keyboard at the top from the polycarbonate section. The stabilizers are excellent—quite possibly the best I've used in a pre-built keyboard all year—and you can really tell the difference compared to pretty much anyone else with the space bar key that actually matches the same crisp and highly reactive typing feel the other modifiers also have.


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 HYTE Keeb TKL keyboard sample at ~95 WPM as it comes out of the box with these HYTE Fluffy Lavender Linear switches. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with linear switches. I did bottom out constantly here, which is very likely to happen with these linear switches that go from actuation to bottoming out real quick, and this also helps demonstrate the extent of dampening employed. Once again I can't help but comment positively on the choices HYTE has made here, including the aluminium plate, the well-lubed switches, the good quality stabilizers which also come lubed with high quality materials, the extensive damping and gasket mount, and of course the polycarbonate chassis around the aluminium top and bottom plates. The end result is a keyboard that isn't the quietest on the market, yet sounds extremely nice to me without coming out overly damped. This is one of the better linear switch typing experiences I've ever had, and for once the larger keycaps all sound reasonably alike too. It's not for everyone of course, yet I believe this will please keyboard enthusiasts in addition to the more mainstream gaming crowd.