Disassembly

Disassembly of the Vortex 10 is extremely simple given the metal frame construction. There are several countersunk Philips head screws, accessible by removing some specific keycaps as seen above, and another under a QC telltale sticker around the right Alt key. With all 12 screws removed, the pieces separate easily.


No daughter PCBs or internal USB cables here, and the polycarbonate piece is clean sans the cutout for the dip switches and the areas blocked off by the rubber feet and the badge. That still allows for a lot of area for light to pass through, and Vortex made the most of it by adding more RGB LEDs on the underside of the PCB, in addition to those associated with each switch for backlighting. The PCB can be separated from the aluminium piece by removing every single switch and an aligning screw, but there is no good reason to do so. As such, the Vortex 10 is effectively a pre-assembled keyboard kit. Note also the "Poker 4" on the PCB, which is a clear sign that we already have the updates from the POK3R here. As it turns out, Vortex was originally planning to share the PCB across the 10 and the Poker 4, but delays due to COVID have meant that the Poker 4 will have a brand-new PCB itself. The PCB is white and of excellent assembly throughout.


The dip switches are extremely handy here, and while we will discuss the functions on the next page, note that it consists of a set of four small switches, which takes a precise nail or tool to use. Powering the keyboard is an Nuvoton NUC123SD ARM Cortex-M0 32-bit USB 2.0 microcontroller with up to 68 KB of onboard flash memory, 20 KB of SRAM, and 4 KB ROM. There is a second Nuvoton M0518LD2AE ARM Cortex-M0 32-bit USB 2.0 microcontroller with up to 8 KB of onboard flash memory and 1 KB of SRAM, which presumably helps with the pre-programmed functions and lighting. As is the norm these days, the PCB itself has multiple layers. Also, that's a nice, thick piece of aluminium, so there is no need for the standard steel plate here.

Before we move on, be advised that disassembly may void the warranty and that TechPowerUp is not liable for any damages incurred if you decide to go ahead and do so anyway.