The G.Skill KM780 Mechanical Keyboard & MX780 Gaming Mouse Review
by E. Fylladitakis on November 4, 2015 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- G.Skill
- Peripherals
- Mouse
- Cherry MX
- Mechanical Keyboards
It would appear that gaming peripherals are all the rage nowadays, with more and more companies trying to grab a piece of a surprisingly resiliant PC gaming market. Many manufacturers of other PC components, such as memory and cooling products, have diversified and released gaming keyboards and mice during the past couple of years. The most prominent examples probably are Corsair and Cooler Master, who went as far as to create "gaming divisions" within their own companies.
Along those same lines, G.Skill, a company known for their memory-related products, is now diversifying as well and joining the gaming peripherals market. As part of their initial foray into gaming peripherals the company is starting small, releassing just a single mouse and a single keyboard, the Ripjaws KM780 RGB and Ripjaws MX780 RGB, respectively. Both of these are very high end products with very interesting specifications, clearly designed to compete with the cream of gaming keyboards and mice available today.
G.Skill Ripjaws KM780 Mechanical Keyboard ($160) - Key features and specifications
- 100% Cherry MX RGB switches (Brown or Red)
- Fully Programmable Keys
- Per-key RGB Backlighting
- Extra Gaming Keycaps, Keycap Tool & Keycap Case
- On-board Profile Storage
- Full n-Key Rollover and 100% Anti-Ghosting
- Dedicated Macro Control & Mode Selection Keys
- Windows Lock Key
- LED Backlight Toggle
- Timer Key
- Media Control Corner & LED Volume Display
- Detachable Soft-Touch Wrist Rest
- Five-Level Contoured Keycaps
- G.SKILL Unified Driver System
- Mouse Cable Holder
- USB Pass-Through & Audio Jacks
G.Skill Ripjaws MX780 Gaming Mouse ($50) - Key features and specifications
- Ambidextrous & Interchangeable Side Grips
- Height-Adjustable Design
- On-board Profile Storage
- Adjustable Weights
- Avago 8200 DPI Laser Sensor
- Durable Omron Micro-Switch
- 8 Fully Programmable Buttons
- Customizable RGB Backlighting
- G.SKILL Unified Driver System
G.Skill's entrance into the peripherals market comes at an interesting time. Although I'm not sure one can claim that this market is truly saturated at this point, among the PC component companies who have diversified, G.Skill is definitely coming in behind the pack. This means they not only need to compete with the traditional vendors in this space such as Logitech, but also the companies that diversified earlier such as the afformentioned Corsair. The good news for G.Skill here is that the PC peripherals market is a lot easier to break into since it's not so strictly a commodity market - unlike RAM, mice and keyboards involve direct human interaction and are not merely a faceless chip inside a case - which gives G.Skill a fighting chance even if they are late in joining this market.
As for the products themselves, as I briefly touched upon before, G.Skill has aimed for the high-end segment of the market. The Ripjaws KM780 keyboard retails for around $160, and meanwhile the Ripjaws MX780 mouse is lighter on the wallet at $60. These prices are comparable to similar RGB mechanical keyboards and gaming mice, so G.Skill is competitive on prices, though this does mean that G.Skill needs to convince buyers that they have something that established brands do not. Otherwise the high-end market is a very small market - a definite niche in the PC space - but also a more profitable one, which for G.Skill is no doubt a welcome change from the thin margins of selling large volumes of RAM.
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Kutark - Thursday, November 12, 2015 - link
He's an iSheeple. Pay no attention.fvbounty - Wednesday, November 4, 2015 - link
They better check the Ducky Shine 5 RGB...for $165...Love my Ducky Legend great keyboard, and I've had the Corsair K95 which was nice!hulu - Wednesday, November 4, 2015 - link
I believe centinewton should be abbraviated "cN", not "Cn". Centi (1/100) is "c" and Newton is "N".WithoutWeakness - Wednesday, November 4, 2015 - link
This non-standard bottom row might be the worst one yet. The left CTRL, ALT, and Windows keys are all longer than the standard 1.25x width (they appear to be 1.5x, same as the Tab key). As a result, the spacebar winds up being 5.5x long instead of the standard 6.25x. The only keyboard I know of that uses a 5.5x spacebar is the Noppoo Chic Mini and replacement 5.5x spacebars are notoriously difficult to source (to the point that most people just 3D print a replacement)Non-standard layouts on otherwise standard keyboards make replacement key caps much more difficult to find. It both prevents users from customizing their keyboards how they want and makes the process of replacing worn, cracked, or broken keycaps more difficult. Given that this is an RGB keyboard that was designed and marketed with end-user customization in mind it makes no sense to stray from a standard layout just to make the left CTRL and ALT keys a few mm longer.
Billy Tallis - Wednesday, November 4, 2015 - link
I've never understood why people want a spacebar that's a mile wide. I much prefer Apple-like layouts where you can comfortably reach at least one modifier key with your thumb.BrokenCrayons - Wednesday, November 4, 2015 - link
I find the name "Ripjaws" a little bit silly and painful sounding all at the same time. It conjures up disgustingly gory mental images of metal objects doing things inside someone's mouth that would result in an emergency room visit, follow-up surgery, and probably quite a lot of reconstructive dental work. I'd purchase any other competing product first just to avoid the branding if I were in the market. In fact, I have done just that with G.Skill's RAM offerings in the past. It makes me feel far too squirmy when I see the product name.The highly negative product branding connotations aside, I can't see either the keyboard or mouse providing an experience that's worth the price increase over a $20 in whatever keyboard and mouse combo pack costs the least from Amazon. I highly doubt that using these will grant a 10x improvement on typing in something or dragging and dropping a file over something significantly cheaper.
marcplante - Thursday, November 5, 2015 - link
Seems to me that most everyone is using the same switches (cherry), so it comes down to design and support if/when they fall.theuglyman0war - Friday, November 6, 2015 - link
sure but design can entail a lot! Also as some have mentioned some might actually prefer the mech alternatives for ergonomics/actuation response but miss german build quality. What I hate is that I can not find one keyboard with all my design criteria... Romer keys sound nice if they actually have a brighter LED for my aging eyes and for us stereoscopic fans fuddling in the dark. Love the removable magnetic num pad design of of the MS sidewinder x6 but it is not mechanical. Keyboard designs usually seem to come in two flavors either unoriginal and conservative playing it safe... Or over the top tacky futuristic toy weapon. And when I do get a beautiful design like say Corsair's brushed aluminum jobs...The LED will be do dim. Or with other brands...
They only offer one color of LED that doesn't match the $$$ I have invested in another color scheme. Or they do not offer my favorite switch ( blues ).
Seems silly to say ( since preference is relative )
But with all these mech offerings it seems strange that I can not find a stylistically beautiful design with a range of choices?
theuglyman0war - Friday, November 6, 2015 - link
case in point: LOGITECHplasticky designs to be certain but u get the sense that there is enough build quality there that such plastic keeps the price reasonable. Plus they do strike a nice balance in the looks dept. ( not a cookie cutter standard keyboard yawn and not way over the top )
However, same old same old choice hopscotch... Yes they do have a version with mx blues ( hurray! ) but alas only white LEDs that stick out like a sore thumb with the rest of my color scheme ( although if u r going to lack a choice I suppose white is as neutral as Switzerland ).
Spose I could try modding every key's LED ( and mod tuts for just about every keyboard for the the same issue confirms I am at least not alone )
But LOGITECH is going to release an RGB version ( problem solved? I get to have my cake and eat it too??? )
Nyet! Nope! UhUH!
An over the top overly toyified design for Logitechs new flagship keyboard with ROHMER keys instead of the MX blues.
Which is fine if that's what u wanted. Just seems that all that was needed was the an RGB addition to their mech line. ( all that is needed is a nice original design and a range of choices )
nirvana11 - Saturday, November 7, 2015 - link
This is one ugly looking phone. The pictures in this article are far better than the reality.