The Zalman ZM-K900M keyboard is hardware-controlled and feature-rich, loaded to the brim with lighting options and excellent ideas. However, some of its features could be left out for a far easier user experience. I don't have a huge amount of time to test these boards; they usually sit on my desk for 1-4 weeks, which is also usually plenty of time to get a good feel for a keyboard and its features. With the ZM-K900M, though, I felt as though I needed a lot longer. Although I did get the hang of how it worked, I still found myself looking at the FN list often. Perhaps they become second nature if used more, or maybe I was tackling the keyboard a little too objectively, rather than just going wild with it.

Macro recording is quite easy. However, the lack of software did become a problem with some of my more advanced macros. This will always be a problem with keyboards that only have hardware options. Certain other features were nice to see, such as FN + G bringing up Google. Keyboards with software suites and programmable keys can have such an option, but I have never seen a hardware-based keyboard be able to do this.

It might seem like I am overly negative, but I don't mean to be. I am somewhat impressed, and when I saw the price, I did a double take. I was expecting to have to pay a lot for the sheer number of lighting options and other features it has, certainly over $100, but it seems Zalman passed any savings due to the switch from Cherry to Kailh on, and I can't praise them enough for doing so; some companies wouldn't bother.

I definitely can't say that no thought has been put into the ZM-K900M since how much it can do without software is amazing; it just needs to be dumbed down a little. I have only scraped the surface with some of the features. Had I delved too much into some of the features, you would be far more confused than you may already be. Now, as always, keyboards are subjective - I know a lot of people don't like software and feel they miss out on great features due to their dislike. Also, if I was to try and implement the sheer number of RGB lighting options the K900M has, I wouldn't know how to do it any better; maybe using it as my only keyboard for six months would overcome my issues. Also, it has to be said that once you have found a lighting option you like, you can save it and just leave it at that, there is no need to keep on changing everything if you don't want to. With that in mind, especially at its price, it is hard not to recommend it to anyone who wants a hardware-only option; it would even be silly of me not to. If there were a good software suite available, I would have definitely given it our Editor's Choice award.