First, I just want to mention that this will be more geared towards the crowd that are already familiar with mechanical keyboards, or already own the original poker. There won’t be much of an intro or basic feel of the keyboard, since you can find this general info elsewhere. I’m mainly just focusing on new improvements on this Poker II.
Basic stuffThis is a compact keyboard with cherry MX switches with only the main keys (no function row, right side keys, or numpad). Layout is English ANSI, same key sizes as the original poker. One huge improvement is that it’s programmable, so you can remap keys to any location. Meaning you can have hardware Colmak or Dvorak, or any other custom layout without depending on the OS or software to remap. It weighs 1lb 5oz, a tad heavier than the original poker because it now has a metal plate. The plate prevents any type of flexing, which was a huge complaint on the first poker. The plate also changes the bottom-out noise, making it more loud and “sharp” compared to PCB-mounted switches in the first poker.
PCBThe PCB was redone from the ground up. No parts of this resembles the original poker, except for the switch locations. Even the traces are mapped differently. The main controller is a Nuvoton rather than a Holtek found on most modern mechanical keyboards, including the original poker. The USB connector and DIP switches from the old poker were through-hole, but all components are now 100% SMD except for the optional LEDs.
What I DON’T like about this new PCB is that they use the glass type diodes, which are easier to crack than the other diodes. There is a resistor for every switch, which suggests that you can install your own LEDs. However, the LED holes are filled with solder so you need to remove the solder first. PCB says it’s RoHS, but I’m not sure how believable this is because the switch solder joints are just so dam shiny to be lead-free.
Everything included. It’s nice that a wire keycap puller was included. Most keyboards do not include this, and even if they do, it’s the el cheapo plastic clip type. Thick RGB modifiers are also included, which is a huge bonus. Although, I preferred the blue and green to be darker.
Black steel plate. I’m not sure if it’s powder-coated or just painted. No cutout design for switch removal. It still uses Cherry stabilizers, however now they’re plate-mounted instead of PCB-mounted seen in the old poker. All switches are rotated upside down, so that the LED positions can be on top for caps with see-through legends.
There are two LEDs mounted on the PCB for the spacebar, compared to just one LED on the spacebar switch from the old poker. You can also see there is a new mounting hold in the middle of the
G and
H key, which is not present in the old poker. The case has a standoff in this location.
The main SMD are here (there’s another small grouping of components just to the left, not shown). It uses a smaller Nuvoton controller with finer pin-pitch. USB SMD connector
here.
Every switch looks like this. Very shiny solder joints. Different types of SMD diodes (redish components), with resistors just to the left. These are for the individual switch LEDs, although I don’t understand why the LED holes would be filled with solder. Slight flux marks around every switch.
The function layer is printed on the side of the caps. Programming mode is the on CTRL, and you can also see volume buttons on the
N M and “
<” keys, not found on the original poker
Arrow cluster has been moved to the WASD, compared to bottom right location in the old poker.
Keycaps are thick PBT, which is about as good as you can ask for. However, the legends are pad-printed instead of dyesub or double-shot, which means they can wear off faster. I’m not a fan of the font choice or centered location either. Caps are about 1.5mm thick. The caps on the right are PBT caps from a Pure (same as a poker I) for comparison, and you can see they’re a bit thinner, ever so slightly darker, and a tad more textured on the top surface.
Comparison of thickness between typical PBT caps, thick PBT from this poker, and imsto’s thick grey PBT (left to right)
One complaint about all the large keys is that I can see the stems slightly sticking out from the top surface, or very obvious outlines of them (another pic
here)
New metallic label on the bottom of the case. All the words are laser-etched. There is a lame attempt for a marketing slogan in the middle
Here’s the biggest turnoff. I don’t need a keyboard to tell me what to enjoy. This doesn’t even make sense to put on a keyboard.
