As the daily game surroundings of players, mechanical keyboard, e-sports mouse and game controller basically cover different types of games, allowing players to experience games more freely, whether RPG, RAC or STG. For mechanical keyboards, whether they are 86 key, 104 key or one handed keyboards, the main difference is that the shaft body, whether it is black, green, red or white tea, and whether it is a domestic shaft or an original Cherry shaft, only needs to be purchased according to their own preferences and actual use scenarios.
For users who have been typing or playing for a long time, in addition to focusing on the axis of the mechanical keyboard, another concern is whether to use ergonomic design. After all, it is related to whether it is easy to cause key fatigue. A keyboard with excellent ergonomic design can help alleviate key fatigue or shoulder and wrist pain in a certain way.
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From the huge Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 to the fourth generation Ergonomic Keyboard X-BOWS
For the Microsoft 4000, which was sold for more than 500 yuan at that time, its size is also its feature. If the desktop is not large enough, it can not be placed. Gull wing shape design and key layout will naturally fan out the palm, which is conducive to easing the wrist joint. Compared with the comfort curve design of its predecessor 2000 and 3000, the Microsoft 4000 is more comfortable to be called an ergonomic keyboard. However, the overall keys are too loose and have poor elasticity. The biggest failure is the space bar. The size is too large and the pressure on the keys is too high. It is not easy to press the keys when you hit the two sides with your thumbs. The leather keyboard holder is larger, but cannot be disassembled. It is easy to sweat when used in summer.
In contrast, this X-BOWS mechanical keyboard, which also adopts ergonomic design, is significantly smaller in size. The first thing that impressed me most about the X-BOWS mechanical keyboard is not the change of key layout, but the narrow edge design it uses, which makes the overall look more concise and capable.
At the same time, one of the design details of X-BOWS is that the CNC metal trimming process around the edge adds color to the keyboard, reducing the monotony of all black. The advantage is that it looks more beautiful, but it is also vulnerable to wear. Try to avoid bumping with other objects in use.
The key layout has been adjusted. The type of key has been modified. The GATERON red axis feels good
Although it is still 86 key design, the unique key layout and large key spacing make X-BOWS omit some rarely used function keys (mainly the upper right area of the keyboard) and reduce some large keys, such as removing PRINT SCREEN Scroll LOCK, PauseBreak, Home, End, and Application keys are not commonly used, and BACKSPACE, Enter, Shift, Ctrl, and SPACE keys are added. Although the keyboard area is slightly smaller than that of the ASUS M801, there is no sense of tightness in the key gap. On the contrary, the spacing between key caps is wider than that of the ASUS M801, so there is no need to worry about the problem of accidental contact during input. X-Bows does not use the design style of the Enter key, but uses a smaller key design to make the key layout look more tidy.
The key layout design featured by X-BOWS is not only the change of some key positions, but also the radial key design adopted on the left and right sides of the central position of the keyboard. It changes the oblique up and down hand movement in standard keyboard typing to straight up and down, reducing the movement distance, allowing fingers to spread naturally and better fit fingers, changing the typing experience.
Since the keyboard at hand is a 3D printing prototype machine, we will not comment on the keycap and character technology, but only on the use experience and functions. The axis body of this XBOW mechanical keyboard is GATERON transparent red axis. There is little difference between the straight up and down hand experience and Cherry red axis. The pressure grams are close to Cherry red axis, which is much smaller than that of the ASUS M801 Kaihua red axis.
Compared with the same standard button, the ASUS M801 has two more grams of one dollar coins than the X-BOWS.
X-BOWS uses the second generation satellite shaft body on the large keys, which brings about more stable touch balance, more comfortable button experience, smaller sound, and more convenient replacement of key caps. If you are used to the satellite axis, you will obviously feel better than the balance bar.
X-BOWS also adopts the common concave key cap design in the key design, making the key more suitable for finger movement. However, unlike the ASUS M801 on the right, the X-BOWS does not cover the shaft body, but can directly see the parts of the shaft body, including the indicator light under the key cap, which also makes the X-BOWS look thinner.
On the shortcut keys, the X-BOWS can quickly call programs or switch between different modes through FN+F1~F12. However, according to the current design, the key caps of F1~F12 above the X-BOWS are not suitable for the side engraving design of the pattern, because they are easy to see after actual placement and use. As a game keyboard, it naturally supports the function of one key shielding WIN key. Similarly, X-BOWS only needs to be matched with FN+WIN key.
X-BOWS adopts the detachable design of Micro US interface, which has the advantages of more convenient storage, more convenient replacement of wire material and lower replacement cost, so I prefer this design. By the way, frosted materials are also used around the keyboard, which is beautiful and more practical.
In the design of the bottom, X-BOWS is also designed with an adjustable bracket, which is convenient for use at different heights. At the same time, five different positions have relatively large anti-skid pads to firmly place the keyboard. There are no screws under the skid pad, so it is unnecessary to toss the skid pad before disassembly.
X-BOWS has designed the fixed screws on the front, which is convenient for disassembly. It is not that the snap design is not used between the shell and the PCB panel. It is only necessary to pull out all the key caps and remove the screws one by one.
The surface of the keyboard is also treated with the same sanding process as the surrounding, and the integrated design is adopted with the PCB board. There are a total of 15 screws for fixing, which are distributed at the top, center and bottom. The diameter of the screws is just close to the spacing between the two key caps in some positions. Pay attention to them when removing or installing.
The product should not only look at the appearance but also have a deep understanding of the interior. The purpose of disassembly is not only to see who the main controller is, but also to understand how the internal workmanship is, so as to avoid some gold and jade scandals, including the keyboard. The PCB of X-BOWS is painted evenly, very clean and tidy, without glue wire flying wire, and the solder joints are full, but the glue is heavily applied, which should be avoided during mass production.
The main control chip is heavily smeared. Judging from the limited character pattern, it is VISION VS11K09A, which is a very common chip in mechanical keyboards, used to control the light and free all keys from impact.
These lines on the main control side are related to the RGB light of the keyboard, and the light effect diagram will be shown in detail later.
Let's go to the actual experience.
Drive free design, plug and play, blind play, to adapt to fighting games
X-BOWS has driver management software, but it can plug and play and supports MAC OS, Windows and Linux systems.
It takes a certain amount of time to adapt to blind typing, because the position of the X-BOWS key has changed significantly, but the time is usually not too long. In the early stage, we should try to slow down the typing speed. We can know some habitual actions of using the standard keyboard. We should follow the standard keyboard fingering to get familiar with the keys to be controlled by our fingers. After using the main key area skillfully, we can experience the keys in the middle. We can use chat at night to make ourselves comfortable. In less than an hour and a half, we can achieve blind typing.
When using X-BOWS, it is better to put your palm on the table instead of typing with your wrist hanging. Keep your wrist still during operation, which will make the shoulder muscles relax and walk through the fingers upstream and downstream. What is worth mentioning here is the carriage return of the central key and the two smaller space keys, which can be input easily without too much displacement or lifting the wrist. It is very convenient to use. However, this BackSpace key is far less convenient than the Enter and Space keys. You need to leave the keyboard with your palm for input. From the actual experience, it is recommended to exchange with CTRL more.
One problem is that when you are proficient in using X-BOWS to type, you will feel uncomfortable using the traditional keyboard. The intuitive feeling is that the relaxed and loose fingers are bent together, which makes typing reaction a little repulsive, just like you are used to wearing baggy jeans. You are free and relaxed, but suddenly you are asked to wear tight pants, which is tight and inconvenient, The discomfort is quite obvious.
In terms of game experience, match CS1.5 and Street Fighter for more than one hour. First of all, in terms of the touch of keys, the keys are short, comfortable and responsive. It is not necessary to press them completely to execute corresponding commands. For example, gently pressing and continuously pressing the direction key can always move normally, and releasing the hand can stop the travel without delay. The characteristics of responsive keys and non impact of full keys are very important in fighting games. They can quickly execute key commands and timely counter attack without blocking the big move. However, the resilience of keys is general, which is also the characteristic of the red axis. The second problem is that there is no key conflict. When multiple keys are executed at the same time in combat, the correct keys can be identified normally. When the key command is executed normally, there will be no key failure to bounce back. At the same time, the key strength is much easier than that of the ASUS M801.
Colorful lights and various display modes are suitable for light control
From the player's point of view, the mechanical keyboard needs to meet its own use first, to ensure a suitable axis, comfortable key experience and good hand feel, and then to see the light, so the light part can be regarded as a bonus item. As the mainstream design style, RGB lights will look gorgeous and charming in color. Similarly, for X-BOWS, the RGB light effect is also excellent. It supports the display effect of multiple light modes, supports customized lights, and supports the adjustment of light brightness. However, the default brightness is just good. Without halo, it looks more comfortable. (The following pictures are straight out SLR pictures, which are only compressed without any correction).
The X-BOWS has a good control of light brightness. Even the parts that can be seen directly from the side will not be dazzling. On the contrary, it is softer and looks more beautiful.
The logo of the X-BOWS in the center of the keyboard can be turned off as an indicator light, and it also supports light switching, but currently it does not support brightness adjustment, because it can also be seen from the above figure that the brightness of the X-BOWS logo indicator light is higher than that of other keys.
Among all the buttons, there are two other buttons, namely Caps and WIN. Only these two buttons display white lights, highlighting their prominent position.
The light can be adjusted with FN+INSERT/DELETE/BACKSPACE/PGUP/PGDN and direction keys
The quick adjustment of light display mode, color and brightness includes a variety of display modes, such as monochrome constant light, breathing light, group of demons dancing, sweeping thousands of troops, and snow tracks, which meet all the desires of most light control players for light.
I summarized the experience of this evaluation as follows:
advantage
1. Narrow edge keyboard design, simple and beautiful
2. New key layout and ergonomic design, good game typing experience
3. Gateron red axis, close to the feel of Cherry original axis, suitable for games and typing
4. All keys have no impact, and one key shielding WIN key is supported
5. Rich RGB light colors, multiple display modes can be set freely
6. Separate wire rod design, easy to replace
shortcoming
1. It is inconvenient to operate the Backspace key position in the center
2. The logo indicator light is slightly higher in brightness than the lights of other keys, slightly affecting the use
The fourth generation of ergonomic design is suitable for gamers and coders
The overall positioning of X-BOWS is ergonomic. The biggest change is the adjustment of key layout, which changes the mode of keyboard tapping and alleviates the feeling of fatigue. Compared with the traditional standard key position keyboard, although it takes a certain time to adapt to use, once adapted, it will bring a more comfortable use experience, which can significantly alleviate wrist pain and shoulder tension. At the same time, it is also more suitable for people who type for a long time with low noise and low key strength when paired with the Gateron red axis.
For players like the game itself, the unique design of the first key layout is more suitable for the natural relaxation of fingers during the game, instead of being close together, better fitting with fingers. It has the function of a one handed keyboard, which is more smooth and comfortable to use; Secondly, the Gateron red axis, which is also suitable for games and has a good feel, supports full key non impact and shields the WIN key, which improves the game experience better; Finally, rich and beautiful RGB lighting effects can meet the expectations of most light control players.
Editor's note: This product is currently in the hot crowd funding of JD, and 399 yuan is enough for you to taste. If you want to further understand and support, you can log in to JD crowd funding and search for "the fourth generation ergonomic keyboard" to participate.
