Mionix Zibal 60 / Z60 gaming keyboard with backlit keys

[Thagarr]

Greetings fellow geeks! I have been lurking around these forums for a while now, but only signed up a few months ago after I bought my latest mechanical keyboard, an Xarmor U9BL-S. I have very much enjoyed reading through the forums a lot more than I ever thought I would for a forum devoted to keyboard geekary. I have been following this thread in particular as the announcement of this board came about the same time I was thinking of buying the Xarmor, and I really did like the looks of it but I didn't want to wait months for a new keyboard. I like the Xarmor a lot, there are some flaws, but I won't go into details here.

Anyway, the reason I am posting here now is I just ran across a new review for the Mionix Zibal 60 and thought I would post it here for those who hadn't yet seen it. The review is over at TweakTown, a web site I am not familiar with at all, I just happened to stumble across it. Here is an excerpt from the review that really peaked my intrest :

I had set the Zibal 60 up on my desk and was using it for basic tasks - typing, Facebook, e-mails, surfing the tubes and a quick few bashes at some games. I had some friends over and one of them asked about the new keyboard on my desk. I replied with "yeah, that's the one I did some news on a while ago - Mionix say it's rage-proof."

I explained that it can sustain a few "omfg, hacker/BS shot" expressions of rage through a hit to the keyboard and the next second with the power of Zeus himself, my friend smashes his Hulk-like hand into the centre of the keyboard. Just like when Neo lifts off in the Matrix, I saw a ripple through my room from the sheer force of this rage and thought "that keyboard is dead, there's no way it can be THAT rage-proof."

Well, yes my dear readers, it is. The keyboard did not flinch. It is still very well alive and kicking and has sustained quite a few games and Hulk-like smashes since

I have been a geek for 35+ years, and there is only one keyboard that I am aware of that could stand up to that kind of punishment, I am of course referring to the IBM Model M. I couldn't even begin to count the number of times I have tried to physically force my keyboard through the top of my desk with double fisted Hulk smashes of rage as described in the article, and my trusty old Model M would just absorb it and keep on typing like it was nothing. I have also shattered a couple cheap membrane keyboards in the same fashion over the years. I have been around long enough to understand how marketing works, and this review smells a bit tainted with marketing money to me, but I do still find it intriguing. I would happily just stick with my old Model M if it wasn't for the fact that in all these years I have never learned to type and I have to keep looking at my keyboard in an attempt to keep myself from typing gibberish, although this still happens far more often than I would like! I have been waiting for years for Unicomp to come out with a backlit board, but that doesn't appear to be on the horizon any time soon.

[The Solutor]

 I would happily just stick with my old Model M if it wasn't for the fact that in all these years I have never learned to type and I have to keep looking at my keyboard in an attempt to keep myself from typing gibberish, although this still happens far more often than I would like!

Touch typing is for secretaries.

I have been waiting for years for Unicomp to come out with a backlit board, but that doesn't appear to be on the horizon any time soon.

Usually the old style board makers have old style brains.

BTW my brain is not old style and this is what I did.

http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:20160

[Thagarr]

ripster and The Sulotor, thanks for the welcome!

ripster, I have thought about doing a review, and I may just do that at some point in the near future, I'll save all my juicy tidbits for that possible post.

The Sulotor, thanks for the link, I missed that one while I was looking through the Wiki! The video is interesting, and I may have to investigate your idea bit further when I get some free time. A few years ago I toyed with the idea of using EL wire to try and achieve a backlit effect, but I never could get it to look quite the way I wanted. In the one attempt I did try, the lighting over powered the keys and you couldn't see anything but the outline. Plus the hum from the transformer would have driven me nuts anyway! I also attempted a UV and florescent paint solution on a throwaway rubber dome board just to see how that would work, but that effort was again futile in achieving the effect I wanted.

Usually the old style board makers have old style brains.

That is so very true! Logitech on the other hand has taken it the complete opposite way and went for the "flashy lights and shiny buttons" approach that the video game industry has taken. And in my opinion, that is just downright insulting to anyone over the age of 12. :ohwell:

[The Solutor]

That is so very true! Logitech on the other hand has taken it the complete opposite way and went for the "flashy lights and shiny buttons" approach that the video game industry has taken.

They are really two aspect of the same problem.

Luckily some backlit  boards not batmobile styled are available. Qpads and Xarmors are very good boards with a clean look, the mionix mentioned here is not too bad too, and even logitech has the logitech illuminated and the k800 that are great boards with a more than decent look.

[Kerosene]

Nonstandard layouts are bad news in general. In this case, omitting the left Win/Cmd/Meta key makes the board completely unusable for me.
If Mionix key really has to be there, an unobtrusive place would be to the left of right Ctrl key. No keys need removing, narrowing the space bar would be enough to fit the new key.

That fix, plus moving numpad on left side of keyboard would make this an instant buy for me.

[Arc'xer]

Nonstandard layouts are bad news in general. In this case, omitting the left Win/Cmd/Meta key makes the board completely unusable for me.
If Mionix key really has to be there, an unobtrusive place would be to the left of right Ctrl key. No keys need removing, narrowing the space bar would be enough to fit the new key.

Does it really matters if the Lwin key isn't on the left, I mean really is it THAT important?

That fix, plus moving numpad on left side of keyboard would make this an instant buy for me.

How does moving the numpad to the left make it a left-handed keyboard?

What they should do is mirror the standard layout to the other side, that way left handed users use the keyboard exactly as a right handed user except instead of being QWERTY it's YTREWQ.(similar to what they did say with the deathadder they just got the right-handed version and mirrored it the left then made the die-molds).

[squarebox]

Welcome to Geekhack.

Yeah, I don't even trust reviews by people that get free review keyboards and turn down offers to review them.  This allows me to remain objective and my sig title.

Speaking of which, we could always use another Xarmor U9BL-S  review - this guy sure didn't like his.   And I think that keyboard is like impossible to find now.

Truth!

[The Solutor]

Truth!

Truth, Ripster and Xarmor on the same message ?

:pound::pound::pound::pound:

[Mopar]

Luckily some backlit  boards not batmobile styled are available. Qpads and Xarmors are very good boards with a clean look

In my opinion, the Qpad's and Xarmor's will fit really god in the Batmobile.:evil:

[The Solutor]

In my opinion, the Qpad's and Xarmor's will fit really god in the Batmobile.:evil:

Some blindness is accepted just because your avatar...

[Thagarr]

They are really two aspect of the same problem.

Luckily some backlit  boards not batmobile styled are available. Qpads and Xarmors are very good boards with a clean look, the mionix mentioned here is not too bad too, and even logitech has the logitech illuminated and the k800 that are great boards with a more than decent look.

Personally, I don't like the look or feel of those low profile laptop style keys, I absolutely hate typing on my laptop for that very reason. Logitech for the most part makes decent quality hardware, but their drivers are complete crap.

I am really looking forward to a good review of this Mionix board, so far all that is on Youtube are the same couple of videos. I would love to see one with the Hulk smash test!

[Kerosene]

Does it really matters if the Lwin key isn't on the left, I mean really is it THAT important?

For using OS X? Absolutely critical. Win7 also puts some useful shortcuts on the Win key, and I have begun making my own autohotkey shortcuts for the Win key. Incidentally, those autohotkey scripts take care of the same things - volume adjustments etc. - without butchering the layout like Mionix' solution does.

How does moving the numpad to the left make it a left-handed keyboard?

It doesn't. It just takes the numpad out of the way of the mouse for me and the other 95% of people who use their mouse right-handed. Tenkeyless would also be acceptable, of course.

I would actually prefer cutting the keyboard off at Shift/Enter on the right side, ditching the "arrow key section" and using the Happy Hacking Lite2 solution for the arrow keys (shrunk down to 2/3 size and lowered, below right Shift, with home/end/pgdn/pgup accessible via fn key easily accessed with left hand) but I recognize that is probably too nonstandard to sell and some folks need right Ctrl even if I don't.

Merely moving numpad to the left seems reasonable as it would put the numpad where most gaming keyboards have macro keys, so the numpad could be used for the same purpose while gaming.

What they should do is mirror the standard layout to the other side, that way left handed users use the keyboard exactly as a right handed user except instead of being QWERTY it's YTREWQ.(similar to what they did say with the deathadder they just got the right-handed version and mirrored it the left then made the die-molds).

I don't see the point since the main part of keyboard is symmetric. Even left-side numpads are not mirrored, presumably because the benefit is too small.

[The Solutor]

Personally, I don't like the look or feel of those low profile laptop style keys, I absolutely hate typing on my laptop for that very reason. Logitech for the most part makes decent quality hardware, but their drivers are complete crap.

LI and K800 arent really laptop style, although they are scissor boards, btw if you dont like the scissor boards doesent mean thet they are all crap.

Actually the Logitech illuminated is one of the best board available when looking to the tactile feedback, for my taste surely better than the MX black switches.

[cROKODILE]

Show Image

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EDIT:
For people who are arguing about the LED color

Show Image

First two pics are beautiful but is the last pic at brightness level 1? Arrows look ugly.

[squarebox]

First two pics are beautiful but is the last pic at brightness level 1? Arrows look ugly.

The first two are taken at night using a tripod and 4 sec exposure. It doesn't look that perfect in real life.

The last pic is taken in the day at level 3 brightness; the sunlight coming through my window killed it. The pic is only meant for LED color comparison as many are debating what color the LED actually are.
The colour is very close to the yellowish-green LED that you see on most rubber-dome keyboard and older cherry keyboards.

[Thagarr]

LI and K800 arent really laptop style, although they are scissor boards, btw if you dont like the scissor boards doesent mean thet they are all crap.

I never said the boards were crap, I said Logitech's drivers were. I know there are a lot of people out there that like those low profile scissor switches, and that's great, but I am not one of them. The U9BL-S is the first board I have used with cherry switches, so I really have no comparison with anything other than browns. I have used a couple of Alps boards in the past, and I did like the feel for the most part, but I always keep going back to my Model M.

[The Solutor]

The U9BL-S is the first board I have used with cherry switches, so I really have no comparison with anything other than browns.

Brown switches are really insipid. My U9 BL-s lasted only a couple of days with them then I modded it to ergo clears. The QPAD MK80 with blues is a pleasure too.

[GigaFlop]

I was bored and have paint.net
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[sinis]

Delayed again. Last update was 16. september. So today. Today it says 30. september. This game goes on since april.

This thing will never see any customer.

[arc2]

Still waiting for these, news anyone?

[demik]

your lucky day.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823580001&Tpk=mionix%20zibal

[alaricljs]

Wow... that cable coming out the back is like a frickin hose.