Software

There are software drivers for the Redragon K530 Draconic keyboard, and it is unfortunately not unified at all. Indeed, every single Redragon product with software support has its own skinned software, most of which appear to just change the lighting effects. The K530 version, as with every other version, can be downloaded here. The download is a zip archive folder with three files, including a read me PDF, an update tool for the Caps Lock function change, and the installer for the software itself. This installer is 13 MB in size, and the installed driver takes up 17.5 MB on your storage drive. Installation uses a generic skin, with the only real choice the install directory. System utilization is minimal, so there is nothing to worry about on that end if you have a decent processor from either camp.


With the lack of any unified drivers and what looks to just be a re-skinned version of the same base for their mice and keyboards, user experience leaves a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, this is another case of poor English and grammar errors across the board from a predominantly Asian company that wants to be taken more seriously in the west. This is not to say that navigating the UI is tough as common sense is sufficient. As mentioned above, a separate updater tool comes with the zip archive, which changes what the so-called "Magic Fn" does. Essentially, using FN1 or FN2 allows for macros to be used with the Caps Lock key. So you could, as Redragon themselves state as an example, have "←↑→↓ keys by one hand with pressing CapsLK + WASD".

The menu is easy enough to understand with a rudimentary understanding of the layout, with profiles on the home page and each profile associated with key mapping and lighting options that are software driven. There is a virtual keyboard over which you can pick any key and map it as another, a macro, or a multimedia shortcut chosen from a list of preset options. The macro setting is for recording and editing macros, although there is also a dedicated button under the profile buttons on the home page for creating and saving macros for later use. This is also where you get a strong dose of mediocre English. I understand why, but this also shows that the company would benefit from proofreading and quality control here. If you need more convincing, the last button on the home page is supposed to let you set how the Magic Fn function works, and the two options, presumably FN1 and FN2, both just read "FN".

Keyboard illumination comes in the form of another option on the home page that simply reads "Light". Checking the box reveals the actual options, which are otherwise hidden from view if you wish to have no backlighting. The virtual keyboard also now lights up to preview the previously set effect, which is a nice touch and better than a lot of contemporary solutions from the region. A drop-down menu provides more preset options for lighting, again in questionable English that appears to be due to poor translation, and associated sub-functions, such as direction of effect, brightness, speed, and the actual color/colors using an R/G/B 16.8 M color selector. These effects include static, dynamic, reactive, and per-key custom configurations, so you are able to customize this 60% keyboard in both function and form in the software.