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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: asdftt123 on Wed, 04 May 2011, 21:00:10
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Hey all, I just got my XArmor U9 today and I wrote a review for it on Amazon since the world seems devoid of XArmor reviews. I've copied and pasted it here. I'm not an expert like many of you here but hopefully you can all find it informative. I'll take some picture of it when I have a chance.
After buying into the mechanical keyboard craze, and purchasing my first Filco Majestouch with Cherry Brown switches, I had to get another board for my office use. After some searching I stumbled on the XArmor U9 board for a relatively decent price so I have to give it a try. I took a slight risk with the XArmor U9 since there were absolutely no reviews and the unit had only been released several days prior. Nevertheless, I went for bang-for-the-buck and gave it a shot.
After unpackaging the U9, I was pleasantly surprised by the appearance of the keyboard - standard layout, classy laser engraving on the keys, and some cool-ish but not flamboyant looking status lights. However, after being spoiled by my $150 Filco, the flaws of the U9 quickly became apparently. Firstly, the keyboard is nowhere as close to the build quality of my Filco board. The quality is probably comparable or slightly better than a standard $10 Dell or Logitech board, though with Cherry Brown switches. The keyboard lacks the nice weight of the Filco and also exhibits some flex throughout the chassis. From the touch, the keyboard feels much cheaper than the Filco board and they keycaps appear and feel to be made from a cheaper quality plastic.
Pushing down on they keys, you know it's definitely a mechanical board but it lacks the quality feel of my Filco board. The sound made from typing on this board is cheaper-sounding and they keys just do not give same nice clank when bottoming out during sessions of SC2. I also noticed that the height adjustment legs on this keyboard are rather flimsy but I'm hoping they won't give out over time. Unfortunately, it's only 2KRO, meaning it may be suitable only for most limited tasks such as typing and some gaming (perhaps other types of gaming requiring multi-key presses might present issues) but I was perfectly fine playing SC2.
The board does have its merits, however. It comes with a nice detachable rubberized wrist rest that feels quite comfy and does not get dirty too easily. And at $80, it's currently on of the cheapest full-sized mechanical boards you can find on the market.
After being spoiled by my Filco board, the U9 just feels much cheaper. I can live with it at the price point and having the intention of using it as my "beater" board in the office, but if you're coming from a higher quality board, you may be disappointed. For a beginner's mechanical board, this will do just fine and don't get me wrong, this board is still better than any standard membrane board out there from the Cherry Brown switches, alone.
But is the price difference of $80 vs $150 justifiable between the U9 and a Filco/other higher quality boards? You decide.
In summary:
PROS:
- Nice elegant layout
- Comfy wrist rest
- Decent price on a full-sized mechanical keyboard
- Nice packaging
CONS:
- Lower quality construction
- Cheaper keycaps and chassis result in a less-pleasant typing experience
- Only 2KRO (advertised on ergogeek)
- Port cut-outs for audio/mic/USB, but no actual ports - designers got lazy
Keep in mind, I've only been using the U9 for a period of about a day so take my review with a grain of salt. There are other factors to keep in mind such as long-term durability and keycap wear.
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Nice review but this should be in the Reviews section on the forum.
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Opps! Good point...are there any mods that can move this or do I have to re-post myself?