Back story: my trusty Microsoft Ergonomic 4000 has become inconsistent and the keys have gotten stickier (~75g to bottom out the keys). So I decided to start looking for a mechanical keyboard. I almost bought a Topre 103U but decided to get something cheaper. The result is the Thermaltake MEKA G1.

Basic Specs

Cherry MX Black Switches
Standard keyboard layout with 104 keys
6KRO with USB, NKRO with PS/2 (included with the kb)
Basic media keys, triggered by a Fn key
Wrist rest included
2xUSB ports & audio pass through
Made in Taiwan

Packaging

It's really not very important, but I like the packaging a lot.  Everything is packed tightly and securely.





Exterior Looks

The Meka G1 has a standard, 104-key layout.  It doesn't have the same oversized Enter key as the Steelseries 7G and 6Gv2. F1 to F7 serve as media keys and can be activated by using the Fn key. The wrist rest attaches easily to the keyboard and feels pretty comfortable. The keys themselves feel plasticy and the texts are raised. The 3 LED indicator lights are red and very bright.







The cable is very stiff and quick thick.  There are 4 connectors at the end of the main cable: 1x USB (USB ports), 1x USB w/PS2, Audio (headset and microphone).





In the back of the keyboard you can find 2 USB ports and 2 audio pass through ports.



Overall Impressions

Coming from an ergonomic keyboard, the Meka G1 feels a bit restricted, but it's not cramped. The black switches feel very smooth, and a lot lighter than the rubber domes on my MS 4K board. I'm bottoming out when I type but I guess it's natural for a new mech kb user.

I like the convenience of the media keys and the additional ports in the back of the keyboard. However, both audio pass through ports have audible hiss on low volumes.  I'm not using these ports because of this problem, but it's not a big problem.  

Overall, the Meka G1 is a brand new typing experience for me. Everything feels light and effortless. I'm gonna use this keyboard for a week and go back to my rubber dome board just to see how much has changed. I haven't had the opportunity to game yet, but knowing that the black switches are good for gaming, I'm sure I won't be disappointed.

I bought it at Amazon and paid $120. I would've preferred $99, but $20 more wasn't that bad and it was delivered overnight because I had Prime.

I quite like the black switches but I don't have anything to compare it to. Within a 50 mile radius of where I live, the only mechanical keyboard I could find was the Steeelseries 7G; I would've liked to try out the blue switches on the Razer Blackwidow, but I couldn't find them anywhere near my house.  Maybe in the future I'll try different switches.

Gotta love that cable.

Nice pics you posted. I knew about that board but didn't know if it was available yet. That cable IS a beast.

Anyway we can see what the keycaps look like from the underside?

This is not my picture. I found it from a review published by a website in Taiwan:

It is definitely the thickest/stiffest cable I've ever seen on a keyboard. It's probably overkill but it looks nice.

To me, It looks like a shower hose.

I'm glad more mainstream companies are getting into mechanical keyboards... come on Logitech, you're next! ( Wishful thinking )

A little side note, one of my friends Tylor doesn't want a mechanical keyboard. He was giving all sorts of bogus reasons, and I finally got him down to 1 reason why he wont buy a mechanical keyboard; It doesn't say Logitech, and wont have the same no questions asked warranty. Not to mention that he thinks the lettering on the Deck keyboards looks like sh**.

+1 on Logitech, very trusted brand
+1 on Deck, yucky font

I saw it at CeBIT 2011 and it was the very first time that i even touched a mech keyboard, it felt quite solid. Because this was the first time that i typed on a mech i can be wrong but i liked it for gaming(SC II), the lineair feeling was quite nice but i can imagine it being bad for typing in general.

A few stands later at the Intel Extreme Masters there was the Razer BW Ultimate and i typed on it for long enough to know that im in love with a keyboard. The clicky feeling, the "normal" layout, backlighting and overall quality just had me jizzing my pants.

That thick cable with all the connectors I don't need is a deal breaker for me.

Beastmaster White-Ra uses one, and that's good enough for me.



For those not in the know, White-Ra is a famous Ukrainian Starcraft player (Protoss) who recently and quite spectacularly took out oGsMC in the GSL World Championship. He does uses this Thermaltake keyboard.

I saw the White-Ra vs ogsMC match as well. When he pulled out the keyboard to set up in his booth, Tasteless (the commentator) was all like "Whoa look at that! you could lock your bike with that thing!":lol:

anyone else think the centered letter placement is a bit weird? Doesn't look that strange really, but AFAIK most keyboards print in the top left...

He uses the SS 7g as well.
At the end it is all about sponsorship.

I'm so confused.