First of all, this review is going to be a continuation of my last one, which you should read if you haven’t done so already. It’s a review of Noppoo’s Topre clone, and I’ll be referencing it in a few places of this review.
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=68560.0This Royal Kludge keyboard has a lot of similarities to the keyboard in the link above, mainly because they’re both made by the same OEM (they’re both Noppoo keyboards).
Basic Info:
Manufacturer-Noppoo
Switch-Noppoo Electrostatic Capacitive (Topre clone)
Layout-TKL
Weighting-35g, 45g, 55g. The one I have is the 45g
RGB LED’s!This is the main selling point of the keyboard, and for good reason. Since Corsair’s announcement of RGB keyboards, there’s been a wave of clones that have been trying to follow suit, with probably the most notable being the Razer Blackwidow Chroma, followed by various companies coming out with multi-colored LED’s (ex. Ducky Shine Mini).
This keyboard has full RGB lighting with translucent switch housings. Very innovative design. I was always under the assumption that an LED topre keyboard wouldn’t be possible, but Noppoo solved this problem with clear switch housings and RGB LED’s that fit with this switch design.
The amount of control that you have over the LED’s is decent. It doesn't have individual color control unlike the Corsair RGB keyboard or Chroma, but you have decent control over the colors.
Translucent Switch HousingsLike I said earlier, I didn’t think it was possible to put LED’s in this type of switch several months ago, but I was proven wrong. I think Topre is getting lazy with keyboard innovation. I hope that designs like this will spur Topre to come up with something cool for a new keyboard, but that’s wishful thinking.
The light diffuses surprisingly well with these translucent switch housings. They aren’t actually translucent; they’re opaque, but they still get the job done will, and diffuse the light evenly throughout the switch.
Keycaps: Semi-sweetThese keycaps are doubleshot. The text is crisp, and while they’re think keycaps, they’re solid and don’t have much give when I squeeze the sides of the keycaps. If you aren’t familiar with this test, some keycaps are more flexy/bendy than others when you squeeze them. Overall, I would say that the quality of these keycaps are great for a stock keycap set.
But I’m sure you see the glaring issue with these keycaps: The font is kinda crappy. I think that it looks better in person than what I’ve seen in pictures, but it’s still gamer-style font. Also, the legends look a bit stretched, which makes it look even more odd. I just wish that companies would stop trying to market keyboards to gamer, and try to stick with something simple like the font that Ducky uses. Nevertheless, I’m still liking the quality of the keycaps themselves because doubleshot. I think of stock keycap sets like the kit lens on a DSLR camera--there’s no way you can expect the kit lens to be great, so you just try to work with what you have. I think that the fact that these keycaps are doubleshot goes beyond the call of duty (heh) for standard keycaps. But I know, the font.
(Doubleshot keycaps, but thin OEM profile)
Similarities to the Noppoo KeyboardThe shape of the case, as well as the profile of the keycaps, are the same as with the Noppoo keyboard that I previously reviewed. The PCB has the same red color, and the domes look the same too. These similarities makes the keyboard feel like the same as the white Noppoo fullsize keyboard. This is obvious because both keyboards are coming from the same OEM. The differences I see are in the color scheme (all black) and in the font of the RGB keyboard.
Feel of the SwitchesI think I enjoy the 45g switches less than the 35g switches that I tried on the other keyboard. Here’s my theory about these switches: I think that they create the different switch weightings by changing the weight of the conical spring. In other words, they use the same domes for every weighting and use heavier springs instead. I’m not sure if this is actually true, but this is based on my experience. Because the 45g doesn’t feel as tactile as I’d like it to be, I prefer the 35g version instead. I also think that this is part of the reason for the discrepancy between the feel of the Topre switch and this switch, but I still think that Noppoo did a good job with their version of the Topre switch.
These switches aren’t as tactile as Topre, but at the same time, they aren’t as harsh either. It’s feasible to type without bottoming out on this keyboard, whereas with Topre keyboards this is pretty much impossible on the 45g and 55g models. One complaint that I hear about Topre switches is that the bottoming out causes tired fingers, so these switches might be better for those people. I enjoy more tactile switches, so 55g Topre is still my favorite switch. It really just comes down to what you like.
PricingThese keyboards actually aren’t much more expensive than the original Noppoo Topre clone that I reviewed, which is nice. Most companies are charging premiums for their RGB keyboards, but this is actually affordable considering the price of the non-LED Noppoo keyboard and the genuine Topre keyboards.
You might be thinking: “Well the Novatouch isn’t much more expensive than this keyboard, should I just go with the Novatouch instead since it uses real Topre switches?”
There are definitely reasons to get the Novatouch, and the main one is that it obviously uses real Topre switches, while this one doesn’t. However, the main concern that I have with someone buying a Novatouch is whether you can actually afford a Novatouch. Let’s face it: the Novatouch doesn’t have the greatest keycaps in the world. In my eyes, there’s a semi-obligatory additional cost associated with the Novatouch in keycap replacement. The cheap option for keycaps would be a set of Tai Hao doubleshots, but that adds another $20 to the cost of your Novatouch. By then, you’re not too far away from the cost of a used Realforce/FC660C. Also, the Novatouch doesn’t sound like “normal” topre keyboards
In short, this keyboard keeps costs low for the buyer by including keycaps that are doubleshot and decent stock.
My advice is that if you can afford the more expensive keyboard, go with the more expensive one. Get the most expensive keyboard that you’re comfortable buying. If you’re on a tight budget (relatively speaking…) and you like the LED’s on this keyboard, this will be a good option.
A Word About Software and DriversMaybe this is just me, but I have a kind of irrational fear in not wanting to deal with software. While I think that some level of software is necessary for full control of RGB LED’s, I usually don’t bother to use it.
Using the Fn key+various number/F-keys allows you to adjust the LEDs in a bunch of configurations without having to touch the software. From the keyboard alone, you have control over the color of the alphas and mods, the arrow keys, WASD, and F-row. You also have control over the brightness settings and the breathing mode of the LEDs, which is standard on most LED keyboards. When I get bored of my current LED configuration, I just change up the colors of the LEDs from the keyboard.
I did play with the software for a bit for the sake of this review, and I like the amount of control that you’re given through this software. For each key, you can program 2 layers of keys or combos, as well as program macros and media keys. I think that the only downside of the keyboard is that you can’t control the RGB lights on individual switches. There are 4 regions of the keyboard where you can select custom colors, but all of the colors within this region is uniform (i.e. arrow keys). Overall, it’s nice to see software that isn’t gimmicky.
ConclusionAfter writing a review on the other Noppoo Topre clone, I found a lot of commonground between these two keyboards that were both made by the same manufacturer. That being said, I like TKL layout as well as RGB. If you don’t like the font, the non-backlit model is $20 cheaper on Massdrop, and uses the same type of POM keycaps on the white Noppoo Topre keybaord, which has decent font.
If that suits you too, then I would recommend this keyboard. And like I said before, if you’re looking for a cheaper alternative to Topre, then this keyboard is a nice option. You can opt for the non-LED version to save money if you don’t like LEDs, which leaves you with a simple TKL keyboard that comes in various weightings. After trying two of these Noppoo clones, I believe that the switches aren’t fully representative of what Topre feels like, but still comes very close because of the similarities in the design of the switch, as well as the inherent similarities in the force curve of cup rubber. The pricing is competitive with other RGB keyboards, and would be a good choice if you’re looking for a mechanical RGB keyboard that isn’t as loud as a Cherry keyboard (or Kailh for that matter)
