Thermaltake had held private media sessions in January to compensate for the lack of CES showings in person, and the new ARGENT series of peripherals was high up the pecking order then. The company had used Level 20 as an equivalent platform before, but that ended up being a marketing tagline slapped onto several product categories. The new ARGENT K5 RGB takes several cues from the Level 20 RGB keyboard from before, including the thick aluminium frame, dedicated keys/wheel on top of the full-size layout, and side lighting with exactly the same number of RGB LEDs. In fact, I dare say that had I managed to disassemble the keyboard, the internals would have probably looked quite similar to the older one. With only some changes here and there, even the accessories and unboxing experience is similar. There are fewer switch options as there is no Razer switch variant at this time, but the two Cherry MX switches carry over as well. Software support is pretty much the same, so much so that I used my own review of the Level 20 RGB keyboard to guide the review of this keyboard. So you can see how a similar price compared to the Level 20 RGB keyboard would make sense.

That said, pricing is about 40% higher for the same switch option. This is my biggest issue with the keyboard. Thermaltake chose to give the ARGENT series a new design philosophy, and with it came higher costs, at least as far as the ARGENT K5 is concerned. So let's talk about the primary changes compared to the Level 20 RGB, the natural comparison to make, as well as the competition at the $180–$190 price point. There is a separate pamphlet in the packaging for the volume knob, and the media presentation went over it too, so the rotary volume knob made to look like a luxury car's hand knob is no doubt one of the distinguishing features. It is quite nice to use, and a good amount of overlap and extension past the frame with the grippy surface makes using it comfortable enough. The mute toggle button that is pressed in is a neat touch too, definitely a visual highlight. The frame design is the other, bigger change with a more intricate ID that no doubt adds to the cost. It makes the ARGENT K5 immediately look different even compared to the Level 20 RGB/GT keyboards that had their own twist on this.

Unfortunately, that's really it as far as the main differences go. I don't want to sell Tt short here, there are still plenty of nice features with the ARGENT K5. The onboard controls are extensive, and there are multiple software options to choose from, even to where the average customer may feel overwhelmed, too. The software experience with TT iTAKE ENGINE could be improved, however, since the user experience has not changed whatsoever compared to before, and it still logs your IP address for whatever reason. Worse, at least to me, is the massive increase in CPU utilization compared to the last time we used it on the same system, and I found myself closing the program completely after making the changes that are thankfully saved on the device. The extensive onboard controls are great to work with, as are the six profiles saved to the keyboard, and this includes lighting effects to choose from. It all comes back to the cost—I think for 2021, this would absolutely be high up on my recommendation list with a price cut. Right now, however, not so much.