Performance

The Tesoro GRAM XS supports N-key rollover USB out of the box, which tested successfully using Aqua's test. In case you notice the keyboard only displaying 6KRO, use Fn + Del to toggle NKRO mode on. Switch Hitter also confirmed no chatter with these keys.

When first powered on, the keyboard lights up in a rainbow wave mode from left to right as seen above. The colors are quite striking, and the LEDs are fairly bright on top of a smooth transition that makes good use of the 16.8 M color palette available here.


There is brightness control for the backlighting on board, but you really need the software driver to be able to actually customize the keyboard's lighting. The lack of per-key lighting control at the moment is a downer since I can't properly test for light bleed, so I skipped that part and set all the keys to white to test for color fidelity. RGB LEDs tend to have a hard time representing true white, and it was no different here with a blue hue to the white shown. In fact, it is almost midway between blue and white to where this seems more of a color tuning issue. Indeed, I also noticed some of the preset colors were not being represented correctly either with yellow coming off with some green in it. Using the color wheel helps here, but again, this should not have been the case at all. We can also see how legends located underneath the primary ones are not as well backlit, even at max brightness, and this is a limitation more of where the LED is located and something that nearly every keyboard shares in common with the GRAM XS from Tesoro.

Here are some more of the lighting effects demonstrated to give you a better idea of what to expect. Overall, the dynamic effects work well, and the keyboard looks quite nice when backlit.


There is not much to do when it comes to onboard controls with the GRAM XS, with the software driver taking precedence for both functionality and aesthetics alike. The manual does a good job of going through the options available, which includes a walkthrough of the pre-programmed functions in the Fn row and elsewhere. You can activate the three profiles, aside from the default PC mode, which can be set up in the driver as seen on the previous page. There is also a game mode which does exactly what you think and disables the Win key to prevent accidental interruption when gaming. You can also toggle Fn + End to enable/disable the entire keyboard for, say, when you are using a controller or other peripheral and do not want accidental keystrokes of any kind. Interestingly, there is also an on-the-fly macro recording option built into the keyboard, and it works well in a pinch for when you can't use the driver and edit the macro.


The slim case and chiclet keycaps go a long way towards achieving that ~23 mm keyboard height, but the star here has to be the Tesoro ultra-slim mechanical switch. The GRAM XS comes in two switch options—Blue (tactile and clicky) and Red (linear)—in this setting, and we can see visually just how low a profile these switches have compared to standard mechanical switches. These switches were a result of Tesoro working with TTC and are their answer to Kailh and Cherry's new low profile switches. Both switches have an incredibly small actuation distance of 1.1 mm and a total travel distance of 3 mm, so this poses its own set of pros and cons. For one, you can have a keystroke actuate sooner by virtue of that shorter distance, but this also means accidental keystrokes are easier if you have a tendency to rest your fingers on the keyboard. The actuation force for the Blue switch is also lower than for the Red switch, so the tactile bump is not much of a deterrent either, although it does feel very satisfying to type on despite the lower profile. For those used to a chiclet keyboard—be it on a laptop or standalone—this is a good upgrade.


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 Tesoro GRAM XS sample at ~100 WPM. For context, you can find sound clips from other keyboards here, including those with tactile and clicky switches. I did bottom out given the relatively low actuation force and travel distance with the Tesoro Blue ultra-slim switches in this sample, and it adds a light metallic ping to the sound signature otherwise dominated by the click bar in the switch.