You can hit, you can cut, it will withstand the hard work, eternal life plus one day, plus it even shines!

Introductory

The world of Pécs or console players has been a separate world for peripherals for many, many years. Of course, this should not come as a surprise, as player accessories are subject to much greater use than their office counterparts. Keyboards and mice have to withstand a lot of clicks, earbuds have to be durable cables, and they don't have to look modest on the outside, and they also have a lot of exhibitionism, they like to stand out with their looks, built-in flashing LEDs and well-above-average shapes. A good gamer accessory, peripheral is like that. Striking, chic, but still not a toy, in fact, much stronger, more serious than pieces designed for normal, home or office use.

In this article, you will learn about a keyboard made for players that is inexpensive, looks good, and can withstand the hard work.

What makes it good to be a mechanic?

It’s worth clarifying right at the beginning what exactly makes a keyboard mechanical, at all, why is it good for us? In this type of solution, a (micro) switch with a separate spring is mounted under each button. This results in an increase in the path of the key when pressed, the feedback of the keystroke is much more pronounced because we hear that tiny click when the switch is activated. By definition, mechanical keyboards are somewhat louder than their traditional counterparts, and such a high number of switch applications is certainly available on the price tag. The advantages are durability, ghosting freedom (it detects several keystrokes at the same time without any problems), repairability (in case of a problem we only need to replace the damaged switch), fast and precise communication. Nor is it incidental that, according to experts, due to the long keyboard distance and the less defined lower point, the mechanical operation is also good for our fingers, and the joints are less stressed. 

It may be interesting for players in the blood that the detection point of the mechanical switches is roughly halfway down the keyboard path, so we can handle the signal input somewhat faster here compared to the membrane version. Of course, it’s a very small time gain here, nonetheless it’s a fact that professional players like to win every millisecond, and there’s obviously a good reason for that.

Motospeed is a Chinese manufacturer, so it doesn’t use poison expensive Cherry mechanical switches, but the same clones on its keyboard. The CK80 is available with two types of switches, the gold and silver versions. In the description, of course, Cherry is given as a reference point, i.e. in this case, silver corresponds to Cherry Red, while gold corresponds to Cherry Blue switches. We bought the gold, which has the following values:

• Operating force: 50 grams (spring resistance);
• Key detection: after 2,0 +/- 0,3 mm from the starting point;
• Total length of keypad: 4 mm;
• The detection point can be determined when pressed and there is a clicking sound;
• Lifespan: 60 million connections

Packaging and exterior

Professional box, color pictures and key data are all there in the black cardboard box. Really shelf-friendly packaging, so it can sell well not only in online stores, but also in traditional stores. Lifting the package, we feel a decent weight, which indicates that something robust is waiting for us inside, too, with a lot of metal parts.

Opening the lid, we also find the keyboard in an antistatic bag, sliding both sides into the shock-proof styrofoam caps. Even when we take the stuff out of the box to build confidence, the nearly a pound and a half pulls our hands normally. You may think this weight is unnecessary for a keyboard, but believe me, every deca is needed here. On the one hand, it is also difficult to save money, because the switches are planted in a thick metal plate, which is of course also the upper part of the keyboard. This is where the rugged court comes into play, because it is not enough that the key can withstand 50 million keystrokes, the frame must also be able to withstand deformation. What’s more, the strength of the knocks here may not be the same as when you post on Facebook, sometimes you have to endure many times more force, even if the player angrily beats the table with it.

On the other hand, the crowd also has a role to play in keeping the keyboard stable on the desktop. It is not enough to stick rubber soles on it, if you do not have the right weight it can slip and matches can be decided on. So, whoever is a professional, or even just a semi-professional, is sure not to save the world with a two-deck plastic keyboard.

Anyway, the Motospeed CK80 is a full-fledged keyboard, so we can find a numeric part on it as well. This can come in handy for more complex games, in the case of a plain FPS it basically doesn't make sense, of course it doesn't hurt because it can even be used for work.

The keyboard layout is completely traditional, perhaps the Enter key alone is not the usual larger size, so I had to get used to not typing the letter Ű above it. Until we turn it on, the CK80 disguises itself as a completely traditional keyboard made about 20 years ago, one that has worn off letters from much use. On its own, perhaps its color betrays because everything was off-white at the time, while Motospeed uses black and gray buttons, and the metal top is also gray. I definitely like this little retro feeling that is only broken by the scroll wheel on the left. The bottom of the keyboard is no longer made of metal, but of noticeably thick plastic, here the use of metal is not really important anymore, the bottom plate has the most covering role. Still, he also got some samples to make it go upside down.

Gamer keyboards are often given a fabric-covered cable, which is because it is difficult to knot or tangle due to the fabric cover. However, the Motospeed CK80 cable is not woven, which is a bit surprising, but it still works well in practice. It is thick enough, and very flexible, so it will not be easy to tear or break, it will withstand everyday battles.

Use

The Motospeed CK80, as I have described several times as a gamer keyboard, is true of the cheaper variety. This cheapness is manifested in the fact that it is not accompanied by utilities, it is not possible to program or macro. This is a serious disadvantage in the eyes of many, but unfortunately the world is just that, with less ability at a low price. This is how we get a tile called Zeus, which helps to be able to detect keyboard keystrokes quickly and to be able to handle multiple keystrokes at the same time. So we have the basics to be a successful player of us using this keyboard.

Of course, we don't have to live without extras, it's no coincidence that RGB LEDs came into the backlight. They have several functions, perhaps more importantly for players, we get settings for five main game types, when only the buttons we are used to for that style are lit. What is also important for gamers is that you can disable the Windows key. This plays an important role during gameplay, as we can already find ourselves outside on the Windows desktop with a random press, and this never works well while hitchhiking.

As I wrote in the introduction, it is also important for gamer peripherals to look good. Motospeed also pays attention to this on its keyboards, which is why we can choose from no less than twelve kinds of light effects that will appear on the keys. I’m also making a short video of this because it’s maybe better. It’s as if I’m trying to verbally explain what’s going on.

What I haven’t talked about in the outer casing yet is that not only do the keys light up, but we also find light streaks around the upper metal part. These can be turned off separately, and when turned on, the effects that run on the keys are also displayed on the page.

The keyboard has also got multimedia features. These seem a bit redundant to me, but probably not only I could feel that way, but the manufacturer as well, because the features for multimedia programs were not listed on the keys. Otherwise, these capabilities can be invoked by pressing the FN key and the F key together. FN + F1 starts the default player, FN + F2 searches, F3 favorites, F4 mutes, F5 stops, F6 skips to the previous track, and so on. If it were on the buttons, I might even use it, but I’m sure I’ll never be able to remember what’s where, and I’ve always hated core. So there is this too, you know, just why…

Finally, a sentence for the scroll wheel on the page. It had two roles. One is to adjust the volume, the other is to adjust the brightness of the keyboard backlight. This little extra was a clever idea because we don’t even have to take our eyes off the screen while playing to adjust these, our hands can easily find and use the knob.

Conclusion

As with any such presentation, the most important question here is whether it is worth the price of that particular product. Since it comes cheap from China, there is no doubt about that. Fortunately, Motospeed is not a small manufacturer, it has a lot of products on the market. Being less well-known in Europe means nothing, because there are many manufacturers we haven’t even heard of, and in China it sells numbers that even reputable companies in the EU can only dream of. So the point is that the Motospeed CK80 is both cheap and good. I’m not saying it would have been really good to have a little macro option in it, but you have to see that even with Chinese products, that knowledge starts at $ 20-30 higher.

Let's see the negatives. Fortunately, there aren’t many, exactly two. One is that there are no Hungarian accented letters on the keyboard. This is customary, plus we're talking about a gaming keyboard, where it's not so much a matter of existence because of its area of ​​use. The other moment that is a bit confusing for me is that the letters and numbers at the top of the keys can only be read in dim light when some kind of backlight is on. Fortunately, there is a way where the letters do not flash like crazy, but we can choose the color of the illumination, and the brightness can be adjusted, but sometimes I would still turn it off because of why it is constantly lit.

The bottom line is that for me, during the test, the Motospeed CK80 worked properly. My fingers loved it, the joints didn’t start to hurt even after 2-3 hours of play, which means the mechanical switches worked well in that respect. But the keyboard worked well in other respects as well, the shape of the buttons, the design of their tops make it almost impossible to hit next to them, they are deepened enough. Their surface is very slightly roughened, but just enough so that sweaty fingers don’t slip off of it, so the skin on our fingertips won’t wear off even after a weekend of longer playing. As I wrote above, the size of the buttons is also appropriate, and the smaller size of Enter is customary.

Going back to the worth of this question, the answer is a resounding yes, as we get lots and lots of positives in addition to the few with little weight, all at an affordable price.

If you play a lot or would surprise your child with it, you will find it here:

Motospeed CK80 mechanical gamer keyboard

Remember, you must choose duty-free Priority Line delivery as your method of delivery!