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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: mark_thaddeus on Mon, 04 March 2013, 06:09:54
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Hello!
I recently got a Cherry MX Black keyboard (Black Hornet MKA-3 (http://armaggeddon.net/gaming-keyboards/black-hornet-black/)) and as luck would have it, was on sale for only $55. It was a clear out sale by the distributor of Armaggeddon (Singapore Company) products, which normally sells this for $100.
It's supposedly a Dearmo (http://www.overclock.net/t/844162/dearmo-ga9-mechanical-ms-x6-style) OEM. I'm pretty happy with it considering the good price!
Looking at why it can be sold for cheap, I would say (from my untrained eye) that the ABS key caps used are cheapo as heck, or should I say, how it was painted. It seems to be painted by hand and has some uneven finishes on the side. I'll try to post some pictures, time permitting and give everyone a preview (I'm not sure if anyone has shown this KB here at all).
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Nice... don't worry about the OEM... there's alotta rukkus goin' about on how this or that oem is bad, but in the end... it's just a keyboard, and they make more working keyboards than broken ones... so odds are still better than casino odds..
I admit I was part of the crowd perpetuating the OEM scare... but I've come to the realization that it's not much of an issue, because the product of concern is so cheap to begin with... at worst you lose $100, big whoop.. that's a week's worth of top ramen.
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Thanks for the input kind sir!
After reading about some people saying this and that to new OEMs and even what can or could be replica switches of varying kind, I got the best advice (which is close to what your saying) from a couple of gurus over at OCN (my other favorite site). As long as it works and is better than what you had, your good! They even said that even if it's a replica it should still last longer than your ordinary rubber domes. The nice part about the board I got is it also comes with a 2 year manufacturers' warranty.
I'm super psyched now to buy custom keys for it! :D
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Here's the first video I made for the Armaggeddon Black Hornet MKA-3:
It's just a quick look at how the keyboard appears when all the leds are on plus some functions I highlight.
Don't kill me since this is my first youtube video post for PC peripherals.
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Here's the second video showing the led function / dimmer:
Hopefully this gives people an idea of how the board looks like fully lit!
I'll be doing another video to show the Cherry MX Black switches and the other items that come with the keyboard itself.
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Tenkeyless...that's a good deal.
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Yeah, I actually paid $61 ($55+shipping) dollars for my board where I come from and I thought it was too good a deal to let pass.
I've always stayed away from Mechanical Keyboards because of the price and the cost of modding it (because I knew that once I bought one, i'd probably start modding it), but with this deal right in front of me, I said, what the heck!
Speaking of modding, I'll probably buy a set and some individual pieces for the board to make it look better. See... there goes my money! :p
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I probably should have posted this unboxing video before posting the 2 videos posted above.
Oh well, better late than never! Hopefully this gives you an idea what it looks like in normal daylight. Please forgive the video since it was taken with my Galaxy S II.
Cheers!
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I just checked for prices today and it seems in Indonesia, it sells for around $92-$93 (RP 900,000 - Indonesian Rupiah). Here's the direct link to a online seller in Indonesia:
kaskus.co.id (http://www.kaskus.co.id/thread/50add4a4e374b4305a00001b/gila-gamesarmageddon-gaming-gearmouse-keyboard-acc-etc)
In Malaysia the price is just ridiculous, when literally it's closer to Singapore than Indonesia. It's priced, at least for this seller at $124 (RM 385 - Malaysian Ringgit). The direct link is below for reference:
ipmart.com (http://www.ipmart.com.my/main/product/Armaggeddon,Black,Hornet,MKA,3,Series,Mx,Cherry,Black,Armaggeddon,Warranty,,356633.php?prod=356633)
I hope this gives everyone an idea how much it currently retails for in the different markets (At least the ones I could find).
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I also wanted to add that the keyboard appears to support at the very least 6NKRO. I did the manual test and used AQUA KEY TEST and the keyboard passed both. I also took the liberty of trying KEYBOARDTEST and the board also passed that test. ;D
For both the software tests the keyboard actually registered all key presses when I depressed 10 keys at the same time. I also did a test where I used both hands to cover the majority of the letters and they all registered, so this board could even be full NKRO over USB.
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Is ~$90 the cheapest you could find?
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Is ~$90 the cheapest you could find?
Where are you located? Maybe I can find a deal close to you that could be cheaper. It's obviously cheaper if you're from ASIA or thereabouts. :)
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Is ~$90 the cheapest you could find?
Where are you located? Maybe I can find a deal close to you that could be cheaper. It's obviously cheaper if you're from ASIA or thereabouts. :)
Haha, unfortunately I live in the U.S., but would you still be able to help me find a forum/website/webstore to buy it cheapest on? I've actually been eyeing this keyboard for a few weeks, but could never find a good price.
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Maybe the best way to get it is directly from the distributors in Singapore... the funny thing is, this product is of Singaporean make, but they really don't have a lot of online stores that sell them.
The link below at least has some emails that you could probably ask for some pricing and shipping quotes :
http://armaggeddon.net/where-to-buy/singapore/
It's really hard to find them now and my local distributor just jacked up his price, go figure!
Good luck!
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I've ordered some keycaps for the board and will post a video / pictures after the mod!
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Here's a quick video on what the keyboard with black switches sound:
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I haven't heard of this brand!
Regarding your Cherry MX replica comments: it is pretty hard to find keyboards with fake switches outside of China. Sure some are available on eBay and less reputable vendors but it shouldn't be a concern. Some fakes have colors that Cherry doesn't even make (like yellow) so it's obvious.
OEM names aren't a benchmark for quality: quality comes from how keyboards are designed and ordered by the OEM's clients. Company X can ask Costar to make the cheapest keyboard possible and it will likely have QC issues. iOne can be asked to make a top-tier keyboard and it will be very good.
Glad to see you didn't buy into that OEM nonsense. I like my iOne MAX Keyboard a lot even though iOne is disparaged for other cheaper products they've produced for other companies.
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I haven't heard of this brand!
Regarding your Cherry MX replica comments: it is pretty hard to find keyboards with fake switches outside of China. Sure some are available on eBay and less reputable vendors but it shouldn't be a concern. Some fakes have colors that Cherry doesn't even make (like yellow) so it's obvious.
OEM names aren't a benchmark for quality: quality comes from how keyboards are designed and ordered by the OEM's clients. Company X can ask Costar to make the cheapest keyboard possible and it will likely have QC issues. iOne can be asked to make a top-tier keyboard and it will be very good.
Glad to see you didn't buy into that OEM nonsense. I like my iOne MAX Keyboard a lot even though iOne is disparaged for other cheaper products they've produced for other companies.
I'm pretty happy I didn't buy into the OEM nonsense as well. My train of thought was the fact that the switches (even if they are replicas - which they aren't after checking with the manufacturer in Singapore) are mechanical so even if someone used a copy of it it would still be a mechanical switch (which would still be miles better than a rubber dome). I just wish that the switches weren't soldered onto the PCB, but that should be easy to de-solder and solder on switches when I get the itch. I'm sure there are more expensive boards out there that aren't soldered but I'm pretty happy with the performance of this board and really hate the KBs I now use at work. ;D
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I have tried this keyboard before.
It is pretty good and since it uses Cherry switches. Actually, the user experience its similar.
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I just updated my board with new TaiHao doubleshot keycaps. Since the board uses 2 different type leds (amber and blue), I used yellow and blue keycaps for the leds to shine through:
Leds off:
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae134/markthaddeuscsanchez/BlackHornet_RichtoneHDR_zps167396a4.jpg)
Leds on:
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae134/markthaddeuscsanchez/BlackHornetLed_RichtoneHDR_zps5e1b1cb0.jpg)
I also removed the face plate and made the KB more sleek and minimalist!