Driver

There is no software driver support for the iKBC MF108 RGB V.2 keyboard, with all functionality being hardware based. As such, I have chosen to combine the Driver and Performance pages into one.

Performance

There is full N-key rollover USB here out of the box, as Aqua's test confirms. Similarly, no key chatter was detected on all the keys using Switch Hitter.


When first plugged into a USB port, the keyboard lights up in a static pink on all its LEDs. I first did a quick change to a multicolor mode to test for light bleed, which was minimal at best owing to the non-floating keycaps and matte case, and then switched to white based on the manual's instructions by toggling Fn + F1/F2/F3 accordingly to adjust the R/G/B channels. As with any RGB LED, the white is not a true white and has a light pink hue to it this time around. The backlighting on the other hand is near-perfect with everything that could be illuminated done so uniformly. The individual color channels, coupled with the Fn + Up/Down arrows for brightness control and Fn + O to toggle the LEDs on/off, help control the static lighting for the entire keyboard.





Fn + other function keys help toggle and control the lighting modes/effects, which can be single or multicolored depending on the per-channel setting and individual effect settings. Fn + Left/Right arrows control how fast these effects are. There are a total of 16 LED lighting effects, including static lighting of all keys and some variations of a common theme, and there is decent control over brightness with eight steps per channel for a total of 512 colors. The remaining 16.8 M colors come from sub-steps in the brightness levels not available for manual control and only visible in the animations. The problem is that the animations fade in and out pretty badly, with a harsh change from one to the other even at the slowest speed settings. As such, even if there are indeed 16.8 M colors available, it is impossible to tell, and some keyboards with less PWM steps of brightness control look smoother and better. The lack of a software driver is both good and bad in this regard thus, with onboard controls and storage working for some people and not for others. There is also a nice countdown mode, as explained by the manual, which is hard to show off here, but it is exactly as you would think with a maximum of 129 minutes allowed for the LEDs to visually count down from.


The keyboard also has some functionality options onboard, with Fn + Ins/Home/PgUp allowing for users to switch between the QWERTY/Dvorak/Colemak layouts respectively. Here, I used the source code from an older keyboard review in a layout tester (courtesy of Patrick Gillespie). The results above indicate how QWERTY is not even close to the most efficient layout for me, and very likely you as well. If you are willing, try out Colemak or Dvorak as they will result in lower finger travel and fatigue overall. As such, the driver offers a significant functional tool if you are willing to devote some time to adopting either Colemak or Dvorak. Here is the link to the full results if you are interested, including a detailed analysis on key presses and distances moved. There is also the option available to lock the Win key, switch Caps Lock/LCtrl keys, or switch Alt/Win keys depending on your preference, and the manual again does a good job of explaining how, even though there are a few typing errors in there. If you mess up somehow or just wish to revert everything, holding Fn + R will get you there.



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 iKBC MF108 RGB V.2 sample at ~110 WPM. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with linear switches. I did bottom out here, as is common with lighter linear switches such as these, but notice that the keyboard is pretty quiet as a whole due to the combination of the keycaps, case, and MX Silent Red switches used. In terms of actuation and typing, this was just the second keyboard I have used to date with the Cherry MX RGB Silent Red switches, and these are rated similar to the more popular MX Red except with bumpers to dampen both the downstroke and upstroke alike. These bumpers also reduce the overall actuation distance and travel distance to 1.9 mm and 3.7 mm respectively, but the actuation force stays the same at 45 cN.