Key Cool 87 White unboxing and impressions!

[marodox]

I just received my white Key Cool 87 form Qtan's store today. I'm going to share my first impressions and unboxing pics!
Keep in mind that this keyboard was ONLY ~65$ before shipping.



It was protected really well .





Reallllly nice packaging for this keyboard.



Wow, was not expecting this. My 120$ Das didn't even include things like this. Really impressed.



Wow! Side note: There is no branding anywhere except the space bar. I'm in love.



Hnnnnnnnng! Dat white. This was the reason I bought this keyboard. I need the purest white I could find.





It looks really good!



Loving this cord design, it adds to the overall compact feel of this board.

http://www.vendio.com/stores/E-sports-Gaming-equipments/item/shop-mechanical-keyboard-by-sw/key-cool-87-gaming-cherry-mx-s/lid=26561692

Overall, I was really surprised how much I got for the price. I feel like to board has a chance to compete with the upper tier boards, while maintaining a really low price point. I actually went with this board over the filco because I didn't like the white of the filco. I can honestly say I am not disappointed. I was waiting to get my hands on a FC700, but after I got a quote from a korean store (wayyy to high), and seeing the price of this board, I went for this. If anyone is on the edge of buying a FC700 or want to save some money, I would deffenintily recomend this board as I am quite happy with it.

Also, anyone looking to pickup a first mechanical keyboard, this board is a really good match. Can't beat the price

I have not done too much typing yet, but so far there are no problems and the switches feel amazing.

Feel free to ask me questions, because I'm not that good reviewing ...

Oh, by the way ...





My keyboard vision has finally manifested itself in to a freaking awesome keyboard!! Ready for MLG with my compact beast.

[Caaaarrrt]

Nice review, board looks good, especially the whiteness.
Would you happen to know if that spacebar the same as any of the Leopolds? Like does the universal spacebar that fits filco and leopold FC200 fit it, or is it similar to the FC500/700?

[fuzzybaffy]

What rainbow keycaps are those?

[Djuzuh]

What rainbow keycaps are those?

POM rainbow jelly caps.

Qtan carries them I believe.

[marodox]

What rainbow keycaps are those?

POM rainbow jelly caps.

Qtan carries them I believe.

Yup!

[polpo]

I got a KeyCool 84 and it also came with the same extras. I'm very impressed, especially for the price.

[marodox]

Nice review, board looks good, especially the whiteness.
Would you happen to know if that spacebar the same as any of the Leopolds? Like does the universal spacebar that fits filco and leopold FC200 fit it, or is it similar to the FC500/700?

I don't know the specifics. I know the space bar that fit on my Das (same a filco) did not fit on this board. They space bar even had multiple instert postions, I don't know what they fit. I'll post a pic.


This is the stock space bar



Here is a picture of a spacebar that fit on my filco, and also has extra stems to make it a hybrid spacebar, that did NOT fit on this board. I'm not entirely sure what the extra stems on this space bar are meant to fit. Is it the FC500/700?

[marodox]

I got a KeyCool 84 and it also came with the same extras. I'm very impressed, especially for the price.

Yeah I feel the same way. My ~140$ filco and ~110$ Das didn't come with anything close. For $65, wow.

[rayuki]

awesome i saw this board and yeah was looking at getting it but thought they must have been something wrong with it for how cheap it was lol.

glad to know i wont be disapointed, your vision is actually almost the same as what i wanted to do with a white board with the jelly caps (already ordered the jellys and am going to see what they look like on my ducky shine with LEDS first)

think i might have to pick one of these up it looks great!

what switches are you using?

[therecorder]

KeyCools use Leopold FC700R PCBs, so I would assume they use their spacebars.

[rayuki]

awesome i saw this board and yeah was looking at getting it but thought they must have been something wrong with it for how cheap it was lol.

This keyboard will make you wonder why you are over paying on others.  I only sold mine because I needed full size.

If the lack of space bar choices spooks you - you can get replacements in multiple colors on taobao (see Lin for importing) for practically nothing.  I think at one point they had a full 87 key set of ABS blank whites or blacks for $9USD.

yeah im getting one now lol im not to worried about the spacebar it looks ok as standard, im tossing up between the 87 or 84 lol both look good.

now if they just had this in white LED version i'd be in heaven lol

[therecorder]

awesome i saw this board and yeah was looking at getting it but thought they must have been something wrong with it for how cheap it was lol.

This keyboard will make you wonder why you are over paying on others.  I only sold mine because I needed full size.

If the lack of space bar choices spooks you - you can get replacements in multiple colors on taobao (see Lin for importing) for practically nothing.  I think at one point they had a full 87 key set of ABS blank whites or blacks for $9USD.

yeah im getting one now lol im not to worried about the spacebar it looks ok as standard, im tossing up between the 87 or 84 lol both look good.

now if they just had this in white LED version i'd be in heaven lol

Has in Black body, with White LEDs:
http://www.vendio.com/stores/E-sports-Gaming-equipments/item/shop-mechanical-keyboard-by-sw/key-cool-87-back-lighting-mech/lid=32151964

[rayuki]

awesome i saw this board and yeah was looking at getting it but thought they must have been something wrong with it for how cheap it was lol.

This keyboard will make you wonder why you are over paying on others.  I only sold mine because I needed full size.

If the lack of space bar choices spooks you - you can get replacements in multiple colors on taobao (see Lin for importing) for practically nothing.  I think at one point they had a full 87 key set of ABS blank whites or blacks for $9USD.

yeah im getting one now lol im not to worried about the spacebar it looks ok as standard, im tossing up between the 87 or 84 lol both look good.

now if they just had this in white LED version i'd be in heaven lol

Has in Black body, with White LEDs:
http://www.vendio.com/stores/E-sports-Gaming-equipments/item/shop-mechanical-keyboard-by-sw/key-cool-87-back-lighting-mech/lid=32151964

yeah i know, i want white on white on white lol

either way all good i think i've found my valentines gift.

this white 87 keycool coupled with



from the valentines keyset GB http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=34452.0;topicseen

[therecorder]

Below taken from this thread: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=33381.msg628094#msg628094

Re: Are Key Cool keyboards plate mounted?
« Reply #3 on: Sat, 28 July 2012, 04:46:44 »

    Quote

It's essentially Leopold's brother with costar stabalizer, and yes it is plate, just as Leopold. They are like a Frankenstein of Leopold fc700 pcb and fc200 case for less cost basically.

[marodox]

Below taken from this thread: http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=33381.msg628094#msg628094

Re: Are Key Cool keyboards plate mounted?
« Reply #3 on: Sat, 28 July 2012, 04:46:44 »

    Quote

It's essentially Leopold's brother with costar stabalizer, and yes it is plate, just as Leopold. They are like a Frankenstein of Leopold fc700 pcb and fc200 case for less cost basically.

How come my hybrid spacebar doesn't fit this board then. Do you know what it is meant to fit?

[marodox]

awesome i saw this board and yeah was looking at getting it but thought they must have been something wrong with it for how cheap it was lol.

glad to know i wont be disapointed, your vision is actually almost the same as what i wanted to do with a white board with the jelly caps (already ordered the jellys and am going to see what they look like on my ducky shine with LEDS first)

think i might have to pick one of these up it looks great!

what switches are you using?

I have blue switches. By the way, LED's with these keycaps look ****ing amazing, they shine through and illuminate the whole key, it's amazing.

[marodox]

I do have one problem with this keyboard.
Even though I have the key repeat delay in windows set to the fastest, the repeat is still really slow.
Does anyone know anything about this?

Edit: Wow, that was weird. I had to decrease the repeat rate, save, and then increase it again to fix this. It still seems slightly slower than my old Das.

[rayuki]

awesome i saw this board and yeah was looking at getting it but thought they must have been something wrong with it for how cheap it was lol.

glad to know i wont be disapointed, your vision is actually almost the same as what i wanted to do with a white board with the jelly caps (already ordered the jellys and am going to see what they look like on my ducky shine with LEDS first)

think i might have to pick one of these up it looks great!

what switches are you using?

I have blue switches. By the way, LED's with these keycaps look ****ing amazing, they shine through and illuminate the while key, it's amazing.

yeah thats what i was hoping, i brought the keyset to go on my ducky with white leds can't wait to see the result

[Caaaarrrt]

Here is a picture of a spacebar that fit on my filco, and also has extra stems to make it a hybrid spacebar, that did NOT fit on this board. I'm not entirely sure what the extra stems on this space bar are meant to fit. Is it the FC500/700?

Yeah as mentioned above it seems to have the same spacebar as the FC700, which is also the same as the FC500 I believe. That spacebar that you have with the extra stems means that it will fit the FC200, which for some silly reason isn't the same as the 500 and the 700.

Hopefully someone will start producing a universal spacebar that fits the FC700 and these Keycools soon.

[jdcarpe]

I'm pretty sure that spacebar is the same as the Noppoo Choc Mini. I can't confirm that, since I don't have either a Keycool 87 or a Choc Mini. But the spacing of those posts sure looks like it to me.

[nala]

Damn, it looks amazing. The cord design is really nice. I wish Filco had that too.

 I'd buy one. Always wanted a Keycool 87, but Argentina's customs are a ***** at the moment. Hard to import electronics and all that stuff. Only thing I could get through was keycaps, switches and accessories. Last time I ordered a mouse, it got stuck at customs and had to pay double the price.

Where did you get the rainbow keycaps? It looks sick on white. I wonder how it would look on black case.

[babychoy]

Here's my Keycool 87 with black Leopold keycaps. Excuse the crappy pics:





I must say the Leopold spacebar (I'm guessing it is from an FC200R since it's from a 88-key set I bought from DT) is, quite surprisingly, incompatible with the Keycool 87 when it's supposed to be based on Leopold's TKL design. I forced the Keycool's stabilizer bar to fit the Leopold spacebar by bending the ends inward. It barely fits but then its better than having a white spacebar.

[therecorder]

Here's my Keycool 87 with black Leopold keycaps. Excuse the crappy pics:

Show Image

Show Image

I must say the Leopold spacebar (I'm guessing it is from an FC200R since it's from a 88-key set I bought from DT) is, quite surprisingly, incompatible with the Keycool 87 when it's supposed to be based on Leopold's TKL design. I forced the Keycool's stabilizer bar to fit the Leopold spacebar by bending the ends inward. It barely fits but then its better than having a white spacebar.

Looks nice, but the spacebar issue was already covered above...  See Post #29.

[babychoy]

Here's my Keycool 87 with black Leopold keycaps. Excuse the crappy pics:

Show Image

Show Image

I must say the Leopold spacebar (I'm guessing it is from an FC200R since it's from a 88-key set I bought from DT) is, quite surprisingly, incompatible with the Keycool 87 when it's supposed to be based on Leopold's TKL design. I forced the Keycool's stabilizer bar to fit the Leopold spacebar by bending the ends inward. It barely fits but then its better than having a white spacebar.

Looks nice, but the spacebar issue was already covered above...  See Post #29.

I couldn't get a hold of a 700R or them hybrid spacebars (the only hybrid I have is the stock Keycool itself) so I had to make do with the 200R one with some bar adjustments.

[marodox]

Damn, it looks amazing. The cord design is really nice. I wish Filco had that too.

 I'd buy one. Always wanted a Keycool 87, but Argentina's customs are a ***** at the moment. Hard to import electronics and all that stuff. Only thing I could get through was keycaps, switches and accessories. Last time I ordered a mouse, it got stuck at customs and had to pay double the price.

Where did you get the rainbow keycaps? It looks sick on white. I wonder how it would look on black case.

I bought mine from toaboa, but you can get them from qtans store. They don't look nearly as good on black in my opinion.

[SPooNiTe]

If people are worried about spacebar compatability, just get an HPE 87 from qtan as it's supposed to be similar quality with a universal fit keycaps.

[Deekin]

The white original color scheme looks so nice.

But the new blank otaku rainbowish keycaps looks so much nicer.

God, I want one, but here we are yet again, I live in EU and we have that fail ISO style.

And that it was so cheap, can only say that I am envious.

[Djuzuh]

The white original color scheme looks so nice.

But the new blank otaku rainbowish keycaps looks so much nicer.

God, I want one, but here we are yet again, I live in EU and we have that fail ISO style.

And that it was so cheap, can only say that I am envious.

What's holding you back from switching layouts?

[KeyboardRookie]

BTW, how can I get those rainbow keycaps?
It's really beautiful!.
To make my GF understand why I'm very interested in keyboards, I'd rather give her those kind of keycaps with santorini keyboard.

[asdf]

BTW, how can I get those rainbow keycaps?

Has been said many times on this thread. They're called "KBC Rainbow Jelly POM Cherry MX Key Caps" you can get on ebay or toaboa or qtan aka E-sports-Gaming-equipments

I bought mine from toaboa, but you can get them from qtans store. They don't look nearly as good on black in my opinion.

[Deekin]

The white original color scheme looks so nice.

But the new blank otaku rainbowish keycaps looks so much nicer.

God, I want one, but here we are yet again, I live in EU and we have that fail ISO style.

And that it was so cheap, can only say that I am envious.

What's holding you back from switching layouts?

Nothing I guess but Im so used with ISO, also ANSI keyboards doesnt have the ÄÅÖ buttons. I guess I could just get some otaku/blank keys.

But as said I am super used to the ISO layout, especially the enter key. Maybe I could somehow learn to get used to ANSI, but right now I cant imagine to use the ANSI enter as much as you cant imagine to use the ISO enter

[jdcarpe]

Djuzuh is French, but uses the correct US/ANSI layout.

[Djuzuh]

Nah, I use bépo, the french Dvorak variation, which has been thought to work on both ISO and ANSI.

And I am using both layouts, ISO and AINSI, depending on the keyboard I'm on.

[Deekin]

Who said that it was the correct?

[stingrae]

ANSI doesn't do the dumb thing of putting " above 2 :|...instead it is sensibly above the ' speech mark...

Only positive thing about ISO layouts is the easier to hit |\ key but it really isn't so much of a boon to give up sensibility. Ok I kid a bit for non-English languages yes you guys need a different layout. That said keyboards are a bit useless for not having a degree symbol by default, obviously when deciding what characters people needed they forgot that scientists and mathematicians use degrees... ` <----what on earth are you for!?

[alaricljs]

in `98 I umm, forget.

and ISO |\ easier?  I like my ANSI |\, thank you.

[Deekin]

This kinda getting offtopic but I dont really use " that often, and I defenitely dont use ' that often either.

We dont use the ' in Sweden for anything. I guess I should use ' when I write I'm and it's etc while writing in english but noones picky abt that, atleast not over the net.

I was thinking of switching to ANSI and just learn the keyboard but sticking to Swedish as language in windows, that means only to learn to have a smaller but longer enter, and thats it.

[qtan5370]

Enjoy and Thanks for the reviews.

[KeyboardRookie]

BTW, how can I get those rainbow keycaps?

Has been said many times on this thread. They're called "KBC Rainbow Jelly POM Cherry MX Key Caps" you can get on ebay or toaboa or qtan aka E-sports-Gaming-equipments

I bought mine from toaboa, but you can get them from qtans store. They don't look nearly as good on black in my opinion.

Thank you so much for the information.