Mionix Zibal 60 / Z60 gaming keyboard with backlit keys

[himynameisbunny]

I love those arrow keys! Should get some like those made up in the next Double Shot Group Buy!

[HaveANiceDay]

Oh, that's nice. Didn't know that.
Is there a place a non-corporation could buy those?

[The Solutor]

Oh, that's nice. Didn't know that.
Is there a place a non-corporation could buy those?

 
Can you elaborate better ? those keyboards, stabilizers, arrow keys ?

[HaveANiceDay]

Oh yeah, of course. I meant the stabilizers.

[The Solutor]

Oh yeah, of course. I meant the stabilizers.

 
I've no idea, I think that when those keyboards will start to be more mainstream, ebayers will start to sell components, as happen for scissor boards, where you can get a single key for almost every notebook on the market...

[RiGS]

The Blackwidow and the Meka G1 have different stabilizers.

[The Solutor]

I wrote costar *style*, indeed.

[poros1ty]

I just got an e-mail from Amazon that this is shipping soon and the estimated delivery date is July 11.... Finally. I pre-ordered this on 5/22 so I've been waiting a while

Also, I am very excited to finally hang up my Razer Lycossa Mirror, which I really despise sometimes with all the problems it has. This is my first mechanical keyboard I am getting. I will post some thoughts on it as soon as I get it.

[Avazee]

According to Amazon's website, the Zibal 60 is in stock and ready to ship.  I'm trying very hard not to press the 'Add to Cart' button... and I will probably end up buying one by the week's end.

[Mionix]

Yes they are in stock Finally, sorry for the delay we had issues with the box material and design. The first review samples have been sent out to IGN, Engagdet, etc... I will come back soon to try and get a GeekHack review sample sent to someone. Thank you for your patience cheers /Richard

[Bucky]

There are a lot of things about that keyboard that look a little strange to me. First green backlit would probably not be my first choice. Also the keycaps just look really awkward, with many of them being so off center. Who knows though, maybe it is a well built board. Someone review!

[arc2]

Absolutely, a few decent reviews and I'll be very tempted.

[poros1ty]

I was only able to use it for a few minutes before I had to leave, but I am pleased so far. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

[bojinglebells]

Since no one has stepped up, I will gladly accept a board for review.

[HaveANiceDay]

I was only able to use it for a few minutes before I had to leave, but I am pleased so far. Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Does it ping?
I'm kidding

Did you try the back-lighting, does it bleed over between the keys? How was the first impression quality-wise compared to the other keyboards you tried/owned.

[poros1ty]

Does it ping?
I'm kidding

Did you try the back-lighting, does it bleed over between the keys? How was the first impression quality-wise compared to the other keyboards you tried/owned.

Disclaimer: this is my first mechanical kb and forgive the quality of the pictures.

Have not heard any pings thus far, but maybe that is b/c I don't know what to listen for

Right out of the box the build quality looks and feels excellent. The keyboard is fairly heavy so it won't be moving while in use. I shook it like mad and none of the keys wobbled or made any sound whatsoever. The finish on the kb is very consistently smooth and no sharp edges exist as they have been all rounded smoothly.

Most importantly to me is the comfort. In both typing and gaming the keyboard is almost effortless to use. All the keys depress in the same manner and is quieter than I thought it would be, even for cherry black switches. The angle of the keys and the coating on them makes it really comfortable to use. The laser etched keys look to be high quality and the font is not an eye sore.

The backlighting really impresses me. It's not too bright and distracting, and the green looks appealing. There is very little bleed from the backlight and the only angle where the bleed is the most apparent is when you look directly from the top, but even then it is hardly noticeable. While sitting back typing, there is practically none. The only bleed that is visible to me as I type is under the INS key, where the light be partly seen under the cap.

Below are some pics. If you have any questions ask away.

Cheers,





















I don't believe I had the brightness control on the highest level when I took the initial pics. Here are 5 more pics on the brightest level.

In the last pic the view is looking directly down from the top and there is still very little bleeding to me at least.

[himynameisbunny]

That actually looks really, really good.

[The Solutor]

Can you remove a keycap and post a photo of the underside ?

[arc2]

Meh, just bought this for £115 shipped in the UK, confirmed UK ISO key layout with the vendor.

http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_30010.html

[poros1ty]

Can you remove a keycap and post a photo of the underside ?

Done. Pics added to the bottom of my previous post.

[alaricljs]

So, milky plastic and some black coating, etch it off with a frickin laser beam and you're done... Sounds easy enough.

[The Solutor]

Done. Pics added to the bottom of my previous post.

Thank you.

 Looks the same as Xarmor/Qpad's keycaps as guessed  months ago.

[The Solutor]

Actually I'm pleased there hasn't been a rash of "ZOMG my Razer/Xarmor keys have worn through" posts.  That DOES surprise me a bit.

 

I'm pleased more than you for obvious reasons, but less surprised because my experience with the MS/Razer reclusa.

[Trueepower]

I have one in the mail, will get it tomorrow afternoon. I'll compare it to the Filco Linear R that I am using now. No surprise to me either that the key caps are the same as the Xarmor's. But, I still expect better quality from the actual board:P We will see.

[Tallon]

That is a sweet looking board! I'm surprised by how little bleed there is. I may have to save up ;P

[daerid]

For some reason these feature-laden boards don't appeal to me. *shrug* I will admit that that's a sweet lookin board though!

[bojinglebells]

really impressed at how little back-light bleed there is, its too bad they only offer green

[Trueepower]

I will post some pics later I took of the Mionix Zibal 60. But, for now I will post my impressions of the board. Going to post this on Geehack, and on OCN.

- Plastic for the construction of the board seemed cheap to me compared to the Filco. Not sure what the difference is, but just seemed cheap.

- Keycaps as posted on geekhack are I believe exactly the same as Xarmor's, and Razor's. They are I believe lazer etched with a clear coat on them. Overall compared to the Filco's they seemed to be very similar because of the coat, but a little heavier in feel. Possibly a thicker coat was applied.

- Front lip of the keyboard is too large, not a major deal. Although, it made me appreciate the smaller Filco style. Wouldn't be as a big deal either if the plastic seemed nicer.

- Back lighting as some might expect is fairly low compared to a Deck, and maybe even a Xarmor board. Didn't light up the whole keys, and unlike some reports with the Xarmor lights not lighting up the whole keys... I think these are even dimmer. With that said, I really do like the color of the lights. One of the reasons I decided to try it out. The board features WASD lighting only, which I thought was a nice feature.

- Board is fairly heavy, I think they list it at 3.4 pounds. Their are 4 grip feet which are rectangular. No grip feet on legs. The feet seemed decent compared to most boards out there.

- Wrist rest just seemed cheap to me. It does hook on pretty well, and can be taken off fairly easily. If you take it off, and on you would risk breaking it. A good added feature, but not of very high quality. Same plastic as board it appears.

- The stabilizer keys had little movement compared to my Filco. Which was probably one of the biggest positives of the board. They didn't rattle much at all.

- Stabilizers in the front spacebar can be easily seen which I found to be ugly. They can also be seen from the Insert key on the number pad in the front of the keyboard.

- When bottoming out the keys sounded entirely different than my Filco. I didn't find the noise overall as satisfying. Although, the board seemed more quiet than my Filco.

In conclusion:

I didn't see the quality here, and I am usually good at noticing quality in all products I see. This board seemed cheaper than the Xarmor U9BL, and I would actually take the Xarmor over this board. I think the design of the board is too big. Back lighting is average at best. Just seems not worth the 150 for those who are interested.

[BucklingSpring]

@Trueepower - I'm really curious about the Zibal's stabilizers.

Can you pull a shift key and show us what they look like?
I'm really hoping they are not the same crap as in the XArmor.

Filco uses the same principle but the stabilizer bar and the key inserts to hold it are much bigger than the XArmor's.
XArmor stabilizer shown on the picture below.

[Trueepower]

Sorry Buckling, I've already got it in the mail going back to Amazon. All I can say is that they "wiggled" less than the Filco. Also, that you could see them on the spacebar, and the insert key from looking straight ahead at the board. I thought about taking a pick of the stabilizers for everyone here... but was so disappointed with the quality of the board that I called Amazon within just a very short time so I could have my wife drop it off at UPS.

The Mionix more than the Xarmor, reminds me of the future of mech boards. Produced, shipped, put some bells and whistles on it, and then call it good.

[BucklingSpring]

Trueepower - I having a hard time to beleive it is as bad as you say.
Especially with the "I would take a XArmor over this board" comment.

It makes you sound like someone I know.

I'll wait for more comments to see if they all go in the same direction.

[BucklingSpring]

Done. Pics added to the bottom of my previous post.

Can you pull a Shift key and show us the stabilizer?
(I feel like I'm repeating myself... Am I?)

[The Solutor]

Trueepower - I having a hard time to beleive it is as bad as you say.


Especially with the "I would take a XArmor over this board" comment.

It makes you sound like someone I know.

:becky:

I'll wait for more comments to see if they all go in the same direction.

Maybe is better to choose the switch you like more ? Instead of endlessly arguing about pointless details ?

[noodles256]

i returned the zibal 60. I didn't like that board one bit

[BucklingSpring]

:becky:
Maybe is better to choose the switch you like more ? Instead of endlessly arguing about pointless details ?

When it comes to MX switches. There're pretty much all the same (blue=blue, black=black, etc...)
What you call pointless details is what makes the difference between boards using the same switches.

But since you can't appreciate those details yourself... I got to give you that - It's pointless to respond to your comment.

What were the reasons why you hate the Deck so much. Aren't those pointless details as well?
Point of view I guess. I'll rather have a ugly font on a robust keycap with solid stabilizers over a pretty font on a ****ty keycap and wobbly stabilizer.

[noodles256]

the reason i closed my mionix post was because I returned the board.

this post is written to ripster

[noodles256]

now i am lost, i don't know what you are talking about

[noodles256]

you know how you said there is a chinese keyboard flavor of the month before? I just think youre the flavor of the month, i seriously don't know why everyone is getting so butthurt from you.

[The Solutor]

What you call pointless details is what makes the difference between boards using the same switches.

And then ?

Mionix is black, Xarmor is blue or brown.

If you want a balck board get a mionix, if you want a blue or brown get an xarmor (if you are masochist get a Deck)

It's pointless to respond to your comment.

 I must add, especially when one has nothing to say.

What were the reasons why you hate the Deck so much.

The pot calling the kettle black

It's not me that hate Deck, It's you the Xarmor hater

Aren't those pointless details as well?

No they aren't, Indeed Deck it's one of the few board that differ in a couple of major details from Xarmor, but also from filco, leopold, mionix and so on.

Exception that proves the rule

I'll rather have a ugly font on a robust keycap with solid stabilizers over a pretty font on a ****ty keycap and wobbly stabilizer.

Xarmor's keycaps are so ****ty that are used by all the companies but deck.

They are all stupid, just deck and you are smart

[sordna]

i returned the zibal 60. I didn't like that board one bit

Your mini review said it's a solid 9/10 ... if you didn't like it one bit the rating would be 2/10 at best, no ?

[mmmty]

Oh good.  I didn't think I was particulary snarky and the OfficeCube guy was the one who whined about the colored keys, NOT ME!

And your post is linked to from the Mechanical Keyboard Guide.

I did not whine. I was just trying to get him to talk since he said he would not answer any question. Noodles and I are best buddies. I got his keyboard and he got mine. We like to swap things.

[noodles256]

yea, me and mmmty are cool except he doesn't like what i did to his meka g1.

it will change when i get my r3 keys i promise!

[Trueepower]

Trueepower - I having a hard time to beleive it is as bad as you say.
Especially with the "I would take a XArmor over this board" comment.

It makes you sound like someone I know.

I'll wait for more comments to see if they all go in the same direction.

Buckling, I didn't mean to seem pessimistic, or negative about the Mionix. I was really just being honest on what I thought. But, apparently the board is made out of the same plastic as the Meka board which I guess is a good thing. People seem to like the Meka G1 so it's very possible that you might like the board .... if you like the Thermaltake board. I still thought the plastic looked cheap (and that is comparing the plastic to the Xarmor U9BL, and a Filco).

Also, the lighting was honestly a lot more yellow than green (which I thought was disappointing). It also had weak back lighting..... by far worse than the Xarmor U9BL. I would say if Deck is a 10 for brightness, Xarmor would be at a 6, and the Mionix a 3. I mean a lot of the keys were not lit up all the way (which was a problem with some of the Xarmor keys slightly), but the Mionix has problems lighting up regular keys all over the board. It's very noticeable. I think that you're are going to find that people overall will be disappointed with the back lighting with the Mionix. You however might not be one of those people of course. It's just the quality doesn't seem to be there.

In addition to those problems. A "real ping" existed on this board. It rung for a while typing hard, and bottoming out. While gaming, and hitting the keys hard you could hear a "vibration ping" (now I am not sure if this would be considered a small ping or big ping, but it was annoying to me). Like hitting two forks together, the plate of the board pinged. Which I found extremely annoying, and not something I would ever put up with for an extended amount of time. This might be normal, but I haven't heard that sound while testing the Xarmor, and or the Filco.

Although, on the positive side the Mionix had solid stabilizer keys which didn't rattle like the Filco. All the keys were tightly in place. It seems (by what I hear) to share the same Meka G1 board qualities. It's possible that some boards may actually have green back-lighting (rather than what I would call yellow-tiny tiny small hint of green maybe), and it's possible that not every board is going to have a small ping to it.

This was an average mech board in my eyes. Although, maybe I just got a bad one. I've heard good things about the Meka G1, but this didn't look like anything special.

[noodles256]

the backlighting was pathetic

[poros1ty]

Buckling, I didn't mean to seem pessimistic, or negative about the Mionix. I was really just being honest on what I thought. But, apparently the board is made out of the same plastic as the Meka board which I guess is a good thing. People seem to like the Meka G1 so it's very possible that you might like the board .... if you like the Thermaltake board. I still thought the plastic looked cheap (and that is comparing the plastic to the Xarmor U9BL, and a Filco).

Also, the lighting was honestly a lot more yellow than green (which I thought was disappointing). It also had weak back lighting..... by far worse than the Xarmor U9BL. I would say if Deck is a 10 for brightness, Xarmor would be at a 6, and the Mionix a 3. I mean a lot of the keys were not lit up all the way (which was a problem with some of the Xarmor keys slightly), but the Mionix has problems lighting up regular keys all over the board. It's very noticeable. I think that you're are going to find that people overall will be disappointed with the back lighting with the Mionix. You however might not be one of those people of course. It's just the quality doesn't seem to be there.

In addition to those problems. A "real ping" existed on this board. It rung for a while typing hard, and bottoming out. While gaming, and hitting the keys hard you could hear a "vibration ping" (now I am not sure if this would be considered a small ping or big ping, but it was annoying to me). Like hitting two forks together, the plate of the board pinged. Which I found extremely annoying, and not something I would ever put up with for an extended amount of time. This might be normal, but I haven't heard that sound while testing the Xarmor, and or the Filco.

Although, on the positive side the Mionix had solid stabilizer keys which didn't rattle like the Filco. All the keys were tightly in place. It seems (by what I hear) to share the same Meka G1 board qualities. It's possible that some boards may actually have green back-lighting (rather than what I would call yellow-tiny tiny small hint of green maybe), and it's possible that not every board is going to have a small ping to it.

This was an average mech board in my eyes. Although, maybe I just got a bad one. I've heard good things about the Meka G1, but this didn't look like anything special.

I was also disappointed by the coloring being more yellow than green. I was surprised how green it looks in the pics that I thought to myself that I might be a little color blind lol. But backlighting color is not a deal breaker to me I don't see what the big fuss is over color. I think the yellowish green looks just fine even if a better green would be more ideal to me.



The blacklight settings of 1 and 2 are very weak, but the highest setting is just fine. I prefer slightly dimmer keys that do not bleed at all from below the keys, over that of a brighter and distracting back light that would probably bleed a lot more. Do you need to your keyboard to light up your entire room in the dark?

And I don't understand what you're talking about when you say the keys don't light up all the way. Mine look completely visible during the day, and even better at night. From the picture, tell me exactly which  keys are not being lit up. If you mean that you don't like the fact that all the symbols under keys such as 1-10 are as clearly visible as the numbers themselves, then that is laughable. Why would you want them to be as bright as the numbers above? That would be incredibly stupid and distracting, which was no doubt part of their design. Also the keys light up exactly same in the pictures they advertised so what were you expecting?

Also, the board does not ping for me and there are no annoying sounds when the switches bottom out. The keyboard is actually fairly quiet, even when typing.

Most of your negatives about this board are really questionable that I would reconsider your motives here. It's going to dislike the board legitimately as long as there are some legitimate concerns. If you seriously can't see the full keys light up then you might want to get your vision checked and I wouldn't voice that as one of your concerns because you're probably one of very few that that applies to.

If you prefer reds over blacks, and do a lot more typing than gaming, then why buy a keyboard with black switches that is advertised for gaming? ...

[alaricljs]

The blacklight settings of 1 and 2 are very weak, but the highest setting is just fine. I prefer slightly dimmer keys that do not bleed at all from below the keys, over that of a brighter and distracting back light that would probably bleed a lot more. Do you need to your keyboard to light up your entire room in the dark?

But if 1 and 2 are really weak, why not move the scale of brightness to remove those and add more brightness?  It's not hard to find bright LEDs and dim them down.  Making dim LEDs bright is fatal however.

If you mean that you don't like the fact that all the symbols under keys such as 1-10 are as clearly visible as the numbers themselves, then that is laughable. Why would you want them to be as bright as the numbers above? That would be incredibly stupid and distracting, which was no doubt part of their design.

More along the lines of a limitation of the design.  In order to light that side of the keycap you'd have to place an smd LED under the front edge of the keycap which would clearly show in the space between all the keys of the next row down.

[The Solutor]

But if 1 and 2 are really weak, why not move the scale of brightness to remove those and add more brightness?  It's not hard to find bright LEDs and dim them down.  Making dim LEDs bright is fatal however.

Likely is not so easy due to the chosen tint.

Super bright leds are usually blue/bluegreen/acqua.

This kind of green is not available as super bright led and likely the luminous flux is something like 1/50 of a brightest led @ the same driving current.

The other option was to use white leds and filter them, but the only known implementation it's mine, on my keyboard


BTW, I must add that the human eye is more sensitive to the light @555nm, which is indeed a yellow-green tint, likely not too far from the one used by mionix.

More sensitivity = less flux needed to be visible. Less flux = less eye fatigue.

I'm sure Mionix choose this tint to match the company color, but this doesn't change the fact that Mionix is likely less fatiguing than a blue backlit keyboard.

[Trueepower]

I was also disappointed by the coloring being more yellow than green. I was surprised how green it looks in the pics that I thought to myself that I might be a little color blind lol. But backlighting color is not a deal breaker to me I don't see what the big fuss is over color. I think the yellowish green looks just fine even if a better green would be more ideal to me.

Show Image

The blacklight settings of 1 and 2 are very weak, but the highest setting is just fine. I prefer slightly dimmer keys that do not bleed at all from below the keys, over that of a brighter and distracting back light that would probably bleed a lot more. Do you need to your keyboard to light up your entire room in the dark?

And I don't understand what you're talking about when you say the keys don't light up all the way. Mine look completely visible during the day, and even better at night. From the picture, tell me exactly which  keys are not being lit up. If you mean that you don't like the fact that all the symbols under keys such as 1-10 are as clearly visible as the numbers themselves, then that is laughable. Why would you want them to be as bright as the numbers above? That would be incredibly stupid and distracting, which was no doubt part of their design. Also the keys light up exactly same in the pictures they advertised so what were you expecting?

Also, the board does not ping for me and there are no annoying sounds when the switches bottom out. The keyboard is actually fairly quiet, even when typing.

Most of your negatives about this board are really questionable that I would reconsider your motives here. It's going to dislike the board legitimately as long as there are some legitimate concerns. If you seriously can't see the full keys light up then you might want to get your vision checked and I wouldn't voice that as one of your concerns because you're probably one of very few that that applies to.

If you prefer reds over blacks, and do a lot more typing than gaming, then why buy a keyboard with black switches that is advertised for gaming? ...

You sound like you are happy with the Mionix, which is a good thing. As for my vision, you can ask Noodles what he thought about the back lighting.... so apparently I am not the only "blind" person on these boards. As for the "ping" it was noticeable, but that doesn't mean it will exist on every board. As for my motives, I am merely a customer looking for a quality product. You however, took my review personal ... and appear to have an interest in Mionix's reputation. I don't doubt that Mionix makes some good mice, and the Naos 5000 looks pretty good, but this keyboard was an average keyboard at best.

Comparing a Filco, and even the Xarmor (in some ways) was laughable compared to the Mionix. I am sorry if you are disappointed in my review. Maybe Mionix should send a few keyboards out for free to some keyboards experts on here. I am sure they wouldn't find the board overly impressive.

[noodles256]

Tp is right, it is an average board at most and that is being generous.

with $150, there are plenty of much better options. Lower the price to $100 and you have a contender

[Trueepower]

Lol.

Whoops. I'm supposed to showing empathy.

Bummer.

Ripster, your one unpredictable fellow. It could be comedy-empathy from you, I don't think pure empathy is something you're really capable of. Trust me, let's say this is my expertise in life. People.

Well, the real question is... does your son get empathy? Yes, I would say he sees the soft Ripster. Although, probably not if he broke one of your Filco's...... empathy would end then.