| Thermaltake eSports MEKA G1 Keyboard |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Input Devices | |
| Written by Steven Iglesias-Hearst | |
| Thursday, 13 January 2011 | |
Thermaltake MEKA G1 Keyboard ReviewTt eSports is Thermaltake's gaming division focusing on gaming peripherals and accessories and also the gaming culture, their latest entry is the MEKA G1 MEKA G1 KB-MEG005US mechanical gaming keyboard. Mechanical keyboards made with the purpose of gaming are fast becoming popular and there are a good handful of companies marketing their wares if you know where to look. Today Benchmark Reviews has the MEKA G1 in for testing and we aim to see if it is worth the $139.99 MSRP that thermaltake have set. The MEKA G1 uses the popular Cherry MX Black mechanical switches and it has two built in USB ports and also microphone and headphone pass through ports to make connecting your peripherals easier. A removable palm rest is included along with seven multimedia function keys and a heavyweight 1.5m "Military Grade" braided cable. All of these features make the MEKA G1 more than a standard mechanical keyboard and enhance everyday use. The MEKA G1 certainly looks the part, it is nice and compact and prefers a more professional look over it's flashy counterparts. The MEKA G1 looks and feels very well constructed and weighs a little over 3lbs which gives re-assurance that it won't buckle under the pressure it is sure to endure. If this is the sort of keyboard you have been looking for then read on to find out if it has what it takes as we test it in a variety of games and applications.
Features and Specifications
Manufacturer: Thermaltake Ltd Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Thermaltake. Closer Look: Thermaltake MEKA G1In this section we are going to look at the Thermaltake MEKA G1 and get our initial opinion. This is not a gaming keyboard in the sense that it has LED backlit keys, info panel LCD or any other bells and whistles. It is instead a function over aesthetics kind of gaming keyboard, one that will last the duration - if the specs are anything to go by
The box is quite large in comparison to a standard keyboard package, the design is nice and the packaging is good. The picture of the keyboard is in glossy print but it was hard to capture without reflection. The most important features are displayed on the front although I don't quite understand what "Solid To Conquer" means.
Inside the box, before you get to the keyboard you are presented with this insert presenting information usually reserved for an instruction booklet, not that a keyboard of this nature requires such instruction but nice all the same.
Here is a nice shot from above of the Thermaltake MEKA G1, regular readers and fellow tech addicts may notice the striking similarity between this and the SteelSeries mechanical keyboards, the layout of the keys is slightly different from the 6Gv2 and the 7G for that matter but the MEKA G1 is ever so slightly smaller than the SteelSeries keyboards. The main difference being a smaller 'Enter' key to make way for the vertical bar/back slash key. This layout is great and I really like how compact the keyboard is.
Now with the palm rest attached the MEKA G1 has gained some girth but not in a bad way, it remains compact and doesn't take up too much room. The left windows key has been replaced by a function key for the sole purpose of the multimedia keys that are built in to the top row function keys, another similarity to the SteelSeries mechanical keyboards.
On the reverse side of the MEKA G1 we see four large rubber feet, these along with the sheer weight of the keyboard stop it sliding around during use. There are more feet on the palm rest to make sure this keyboard stays where you put it. I am a little disapointed by the fold out height adjusting feet as I don't feel they are necessary and when they are retracted you lose a lot of grip and the keyboard moves around easier.
The keys are nicely sculpted for more ergonomic use and there is a nice degree of angle without the use of the fold out feet. Thermaltake MEKA G1 Detailed FeaturesLet's take a closer look at the MEKA G1 and its finer, albeit simple features.
The MEKA G1 uses the popular Cherry MX Black mechanical switches, these are considered amongst the best switches for gaming as there is no real tactile feedback apart from bottoming out and quick return, they need a reasonable amount of force to actuate so there should be less accidental keypresses (in theory). I am by no means an authority here though as mechanical switches are a far more complex subject than this paragraph could ever try to cover, for those of you who don't know about Cherry MX switches you should visit google.
The MEKA G1 has seven multimedia function keys that are operated by pressing the 'Fn' key that replaces the left windows key, thus killing two birds with one stone. No more windows key minimising your game and bonus multimedia controls that dont take up real estate thus keep the keyboard at a nice compact size.
The MEKA G1 features the three standard lock LED's that are found on 99% of keyboards, but in this case Themaltake have fitted super bright red LED's in place of standard low level LED's commonly found in keyboards. The LED's really catch your eye are so bright that they will dazzle you if you look directly at them and they also light up your ceiling.
In the back of the MEKA G1 are two USB 2.0 ports each supporting 100mA max power draw, next to them are headphone and microphone pass through sockets. These ports are located on the right of the keyboard and may have been better situated on the left like the 7G as it is typical that your mouse is on the right side of your keyboard and the wires from your devices are likely to conflict with mouse movement.
This is the heavyweight "Military Grade" braided cable, it is around 8 or 9 mm thick and has a very nice feel to it. I am a big fan of braided cords as they look so much nicer and offer better protection. With the MEKA G1's cable I think Thermaltake may have gone a little overboard as the cable is very stiff and not the easiest cable to route.
The individual cables stem off the braided cord about 1ft before the end which gives a little bit of flexibility when connecting to your PC, the connectors themselves are gold plated and are clearly labeled to distinguish their intended function. Also included is a USB to PS/2 adapter that gives the MEKA G1 its N-key rollover function thus eliminating ghost keys, without it the anti-ghosting works for six keys only. Testing & ResultsTesting MethodologyTesting an input device is simple, all one needs to do is use it, unfortunately there are no quantative benchmarks to run, no numbers to compare, and no software used that can test the quality of the hardware. Testing an input device like the Thermaltake MEKA G1 mechanical Gaming Keyboard is going to be based around personal opinion and preference. For instance, I really like the simplistic approach to looks, but this might not be to everyone's taste. In this section I will present my unbiased opinion with regards to the use and operation of the MEKA G1 and report back any improvement benefiting directly by its use in various games and programs listed below. Your mileage may vary slightly and as such this should be taken as a guide only. Test System
Software Tested
ResultsI have been using the Thermaltake MEKA G1 for a little over a week now and prior to using it I have tested both the SteelSeries 7G and the 6Gv2 mechanical keyboards. These keyboards all use the same Cherry MX Black switches and the key layouts are nearly identical, to this end my experience with the MEKA G1 is harder to distinguish than moving from a regular keyboard to a mechanical one. But I can point out that price wise the MEKA G1 sits between the two SteelSeries boards with all the benefits of the higher priced model and a more compact size. I can compare my experience of the MEKA G1 to using a regular keyboard, while there is no tactile click with Cherry Black mechanical switches there is the slight resistance and near instant recoil of the switch along with the audible feedback of the keys hitting bottom and returning that enhances the experience of using the MEKA G1. Until you have used a mechanical keyboard you will never know the difference, and once you have used a mechanical keyboard you will not want to use anything else. As far as gaming goes your main benefits are faster response due to the mechanical nature and also the anti-ghosting feature when you use the supplied USB to PS/2 adapter. Overall a very nice experience and you will also notice an improvement in your typing experience.
Upon the request of our readers two extra tests have been conducted. Above are the results of the AIDA 64 Disk Benchmark, the AIDA 64 tests were conducted on a 4GB TDK Trans-It flash drive and the results were the same when the flash drive was connected through the MEKA G1's USB hub and when connected directly to the motherboard USB ports. The second test was rather simple, using a little utility known as Aqua's Keytest I tested N key rollover to see whether anti ghosting was working properly and ther results were positive. You must connect the MEKA G1 to your PC using the USB to PS/2 adapter to take advantage of the N key rollover function. Thermaltake MEKA G1 Final ThoughtsI would like to use this section to express a view about a trend that has been steadily evolving, I hope a lot of others may share my views about the subject, and that is products that are designed for gamers. To kick start this viewpoint we need to rewind time a little, back to the days before the likes of SteelSeries, Razer, Choixx and Roccat etc ever made gaming peripherals. What were people using to play games before these companies created their revolutionary 'must have' devices?? A short answer is anything that they could get their hands on. Before the days of optical or laser sensors we had to bear the trackball mice and although the IBM model M and other similar mechanical keyboards were around, I'm pretty sure they weren't touted as 'gaming' keyboards. No, we used regular keyboards but people still had significant advantage over others, it wasn't until cyber sports had become popular that these gaming peripheral companies were founded. It's hard to look at a motherboards and memory and CPU's and read the words 'created for gamers' in the features list, the only piece of hardware that is truly designed for gamers are graphics cards surely. We have reached a stage now where the words 'created for gamers' are becoming a little over used, or used purely as marketing to sell a product to a wider market. Gaming mice are making large strides to becoming a whole lot more responsive and feature rich but I can't really see any new innovations that can make any new product individual any more. Most gaming keyboards are a joke with their backlit keys for improved visibility and LCD panels for additional info, sure macro keys are great but when using them in games doesn't it kind of feel like cheating a little? I remember playing Need for Speed: Porsche Challenge on the PS1 and found a little glitch when playing a wager mode between two players, it was possible to load the same car for both players by cloning the memory card. The end result was that I won my own car several times and was able to sell it over and over again and earn a large amount of cash and was able to buy the best car available, which was good for all of one hour and kind of killed the game as I now had nothing to aim towards.
Sure today's games have evolved a lot and we now have the multiplayer aspect to contend with, so now we are pitching ourselves against each other and we need to find that competitive edge. Sure that 5600dpi mouse and that LED backlit keyboard may give you a slight advantage but when it comes down to it nothing comes close to raw skill. My first taste of multiplayer action was in the form of Americas Army, when I started I was rubbish, first I thought it was my RAM holding me back so I upgraded that but no difference was seen. Next I decided to upgrade my CPU but it was the same story. It was then that I upgraded my flailing MX440 Video Card to a more suitable ATI Radeon X800 XT and the difference was immediately apparent. It wasn't until I destroyed my mouse in a fit of rage that I bought into the whole gaming peripheral market ideal in the form of a Razer Krait 1600dpi gaming mouse, which made little difference to my gameplay when compared to the improvement gained from buying that X800 XT Video Card. It wasn't until I learned to watch shadows and listen for footsteps and learn different aspects and routes of maps that I could call myself good. Also being part of a gaming clan and communicating via teamspeak improved my gameplay a lot more than any peripheral ever has. I don't intend to start a mission to debunk the entire gaming peripheral market segment as there are products out there that really do make a difference, but at the end of the day you need to understand that a particular input device won't transform you into a pro-gamer overnight and you can also become 'pro' without the use of one of these devices so long as you have good hardware that is related directly to games. I'm talking now about Video and Sound cards that are able to recreate your game of choice with high details because at the end of the day your main weapons are ultimately your senses and your reaction time, skills that are developed over time. This brings me back now to my opening statement, what are you looking for in a gaming keyboard? Hopefully I have been able to put some things into perspective. Thermaltake MEKA G1 ConclusionIn this section I am going to write a brief five point summary on the following categories; Performance, Appearance, Construction, Functionality and Value. These views are my own and help me to give the Thermaltake MEKA G1 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard a rating out of 10. A high or low score does not necessarily mean that it is better or worse than a similar gaming keyboard that has been reviewed by another writer here at Benchmark Reviews, which may have got a higher or lower score. It is however a good indicator of whether the keyboard is good or not. I would strongly urge you to read the entire review, if you have not already, so that you can make an educated decision for yourself. I was sceptical of any performance advantage that might be gained from using a mechanical keyboard before I had used one, it is one of those devices that have been long forgotten like the beige box of their era. Once you have had the pleasure of using one you will not want to go back to your regular keyboard, so I encourage you to give one a try, if you have access to one that is. With regards to gaming though, I cannot really say if I have noticed any benefit offered from the mechanical nature, this will only become obvious months or years down the line if I am still using this keyboard or not. I have got through many regular keyboards that have simply broken due to their cheap nature. Since I only play FPS I won't notice the anti-ghosting or increased actions per minute afforded by the MEKA G1 but I really appreciate the tactile and audible feedback. The appearance of the Tt eSports MEKA G1 is going to get mixed ratings, due to the graphical nature of this review you can easily make up your own mind. The MEKA G1 is right up my street, I really appreciate the minimalistic looks and the color scheme suits my needs down to the ground. Sometime less really is more. The MEKA G1 weighs in at just over 3lbs, and while I haven't wielded it as a weapon or used it like a dance mat I can safely say that it is one tough cookie that is sure to last for some time to come. The retractable height adjusting feet are hopefully as tough as the keyboard itself although I don't think I will use them as the keyboard is nicely angled anyway. The ABS plastic exterior shell and metal inner chassis give the MEKA G1 a feeling of real strength and gives me confidence that I won't hurt it with some heavy use. Functionality is good with the MEKA G1, the media keys are a nice addition and the replacement of the left windows key is like a blessing for an FPS gamer such as myself. While I have not noticed the benefit of anti-ghosting I can rest assured that it is there and of course I had to make sure it worked, and it does! When you connect the MEKA G1 to your PC with the USB to PS/2 adapter you really can hold down all the keys on the keyboard without getting that annoying tone and having all the keys register, but I am not sure why you would want to. If you connect via USB the anti-ghosting works for just six keys only, this is more than enough for my needs and will work just fine. As of March 2011, the MEKA G1 will set you back $119 at Amazon. This is a lot for a gaming keyboard, but let's not forget that the MEKA G1 is a mechanical keyboard at heart and will likely outlast most if not all of your current system. The gaming related features of the MEKA G1 are anti-ghosting, quick response keys and the omission of the windows key on the left of the space bar. It hasn't made a great deal of difference to my game but I only play FPS, and it is also a damn good keyboard to type on. The MEKA G1 is competing for your cash with the SteelSeries 7G, it has all the same features and is slightly more compact, it takes up less real estate and undercuts it by $10. The real difference will be your personal preference on looks. The MEKA G1 is a very good keyboard and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone, not just for gaming but for everyday use as it will last as long as the paint on the keys and will still keep going afterwards, whereas your standard rubber dome keyboard will have curled up and died and met its maker a long long time before. Pros:
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Comments
#geekhack.org/showthread.php?t=6643
You should also do testing on the USB HUB, it has been suggested that the USB Hub on the MEKA G1 is just a USB 1.1 controller.
For a USB 2.0 HUB you should see sequential reads & writes between 28 & 30 Megabytes per second.
@Poldo: I mentioned this in my article...
@fafack: I read the complete data sheets on Cherry MX switches, I have also read several articles talking about the difference between the colors. It appears you read the pros and cons and ignored the article.
it should be scribed as no tactile and silent, its true that i didnt read whole article
If the port is actually a USB 1.1 Hub then those devices will be limited to less than half that speed (around 12MB/s)
I also tested the USB ports using the AIDA 64 disk benchmark and I have uploaded an image to my photobucket.
#i945.photobucket.com/albums/ad297/hatchet_2009/AIDA64_R.png
Looks like the ports are USB 2.0
Many keyboards offer "USB 2.0" hubs and they are actually just 1.1 bridge ports or hubs which can cause some terribly slow speeds on modern flash drives.
As for the Ghosting & NKRO testing, a limited number of mechanical boards saying they have NKRO have actually been wrong about that.
If at all possible, could you show a screen-shot of the keyboard using AKT, under USB (even if you have NKRO) the max you'll get is 6 normal keys with 4 Modifiers being active at once.
Modifiers are CTRL, ALT, Shift, & Tab.
Still, showing that the board can hit any random 6 keys at once without a problem is more than enough as most keyboards experience blocking at 2 keys even because they use the very old IBM Key Matrix. Though even for gamers, most of the time you won't need more than 6KRO.
Though I do know I specifically use around 7-8 keys at a time during some games; it's only a few titles (Simulation & Rhythm games.)
NKRO when connected via USB with all modifiers active (CTRL, ALT, Shift and Tab) is four keys max.
Hope this is helpful enough without a screenshot, print screen won't register due to the NKRO limitation while I am holding the other keys down.
##overclock.net/keyboards/491752-mechanical-keyboard-guide.html
#hothardware.com/cs/blogs/mrtg/archive/2009/03/09/mechanical-key-switch-keyboards-demystified.aspx
- Full anti-ghosting only works with USB to PS/2 adapter "
THATS NOT A CON OF THE KEYBOARD THATS BECAUSE OF THE USB PROTOCOL