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The best gaming keyboards normally ship swanky RGB lighting, premium mechanical switches, and customization software program — however they usually price $100 or extra. The Hver Stealth from IOGear makes an attempt to ship all of those options for the impressively low value of $50. It has a handsome, high quality chassis regardless of the worth, and the RGB lighting has 15 built-in results which can be beautiful if mild reveals out of your peripherals are essential to you.
And in case you flip off the lights, the aptly named ‘Stealth’ will mix into any workplace atmosphere because of its understated design and pretty quiet (brown) switches. But whereas the worth is interesting and issues look good on the floor, making a mechanical keyboard reasonably priced means chopping some corners. And with the Hver Stealth, that principally has to do with the keycaps and switches which provides the keyboard a really feel that doesn’t match as much as its seems.
Hver Stealth Specifications
| Switches | Boxed mechanical switches (brown) |
| Lighting | RGB per-key backlighting |
| Connectivity | Wired |
| Media Keys | Yes, with Fn |
| Keycaps | Double injected |
| Software | Kaliber Gaming software program |
| Dimensions (LxWxH) | 17.6 x 5.3 x 1.5 inches |
| Weight | 1.75 kilos |
Design
The Hver Stealth makes use of a brushed aluminum base for its construct, and it has a high-quality really feel regardless of its price range value. Not solely does it really feel good and modern to the contact, nevertheless it’s additionally shiny and displays mild properly. The full-size chiclet keyboard has a quantity pad and, proper above it, massive “Kaliber Gaming” branding. The branding isn’t overly obnoxious and it’s tucked behind the keys effectively sufficient to not be an eyesore.
Above which can be 4 LED lights to point when Num Lock, Caps Lock, Scroll Lock, or Windows Lock are lively. The keycaps have multi-zone RGB lighting beneath them that may be custom-made with Kaliber Gaming software program. There can also be a strip of RGB lighting wrapped across the fringe of the keyboard’s base plate that appears nice.
The RGB would be the largest perk of this $50 keyboard at face worth. The lighting and its various choices are stunning, and you may fine-tune it to any colour you want utilizing the Kaliber Gaming software program’s colour gradient scale. Options for lighting presets embody twinkle, retro snake, sine wave, neon stream, and even a sport mode that reacts based mostly in your gameplay.
My favourite is the flash away impact, which lights up all the horizontal row of no matter key you press. There are a shocking variety of lighting presets for a price range keyboard, they usually’re good to take a look at. Unfortunately, the strip of RGB alongside the underside of the keyboard can’t be custom-made and stays rainbow-colored it doesn’t matter what colour you designate for the keys.
As we’d anticipate from principally any gaming keyboard at this level, the Hver Stealth options anti-ghosting with n-key rollover, plus the flexibility to swap the WASD key capabilities with the arrow keys, conserving MMO gamers in consideration. There are additionally secondary media keys embedded within the perform row which can be accessible by holding the Fn key. Legends on a number of the keys vaguely point out what they do. The F1 key additionally reveals a monitor, for instance, and urgent it with the Fn key launches the GeForce Experience overlay. The F9 key reveals three dots in a circle, which form of signifies its perform of biking by way of lighting results.
The Hver Stealth additionally guarantees “five programmable keys for macro functions, shortcuts and more,” however there aren’t any devoted keys for this. The first 5 quantity keys even have alternate labels (CM1, CM2, CM3, CM4, and CM5), which makes me suppose they’re meant for use for macros — maybe together with the Fn key. But urgent Fn plus these keys simply cycles by way of numerous lighting modes. It looks as if you may assign macros to any keys, so it’s not an enormous concern (particularly provided that the keyboard has full numpad), however the product web page makes it sound like there’s a financial institution of devoted macro keys and that isn’t the case.
Underneath the keyboard are two rubber toes that flip out from the highest. The toes on the highest and the accompanying rubber pads on the underside maintain the keyboard safe when typing. The Hver Stealth by no means slipped away from me it doesn’t matter what I did on the keyboard — from aggressive typing to gaming.
The Hver Stealth seems fairly understated while you flip off the lights. It’s even a bit quieter than most mechanical keyboards when typing, so it wouldn’t look or sound misplaced in an workplace (or a house workplace). And it’s best to have sufficient cable size for many setups, as a result of the Stealth has a 61.02-inch (155cm) braided USB cable. It’s not detachable, however we wouldn’t anticipate it to be at something near this value.
Typing Experience on the Hver Stealth
The typing expertise on the Hver Stealth leaves a bit to be desired. The double injected keycaps have laborious, angled corners that don’t really feel nice when your fingers miss the center of a key. The keycaps additionally really feel low cost and are considerably slippery — they didn’t make my keystrokes really feel as exact as I like.
What makes the typing expertise worse are the weak brown boxed-style switches the mechanical keyboard makes use of. Although they supply quieter keystrokes, which is nice in an workplace setting, they really feel mushy. Granted, a few of this comes down to private choice, however the tactile suggestions from the brown box-styled switches isn’t notably pleasing. Paired with the slippery, sharp, and in any other case cheap-feeling keycaps, these switches make for a less-than-ideal typing expertise. There doesn’t appear to be a lot keycap wobble, which is one factor the corporate says the switches assist forestall — however I simply want they felt higher.
That stated, these points didn’t hinder my typing abilities and I truly noticed enhancements in typing velocity and accuracy, regardless of it not feeling nice to sort on. I examined my typing means on 10fastfingers.com, and managed 59 phrases per minute (WPM) with 89.73% accuracy with the Stealth. This is quicker than I sort on my private Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro with Razer Green switches (55WPM) however much less correct (93.52%). It’s additionally sooner than I sort on my work keyboard. I obtained 53 WPM on the Asus ROG Strix Scope TKL Electro Punk with Cherry MX Red switches with a 90.58%.
Gaming Experience on the Hver Stealth
Despite the sub-par really feel of the keycaps and switches, the Hver Stealth felt fairly good whereas gaming. I didn’t really feel any discomfort as I plowed my means by way of Big Daddies in Bioshock: Remastered. But the Hver Stealth didn’t actually profit my gaming efficiency, both. The tactile clicky switches on my Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro are snappy sufficient that they really feel like they have an effect on my gameplay for the higher, however the mushiness of the Stealth’s keys appeared to cut back my rapid-fire inputs, and I obtained taken down by Splicers and returned to the Vita-Chamber way more usually than I’m prepared to confess.
The keycaps additionally really feel higher to the contact on the V3 Pro and performed a think about my gaming efficiency. The keycaps on my BlackWidow V3 Pro hug my fingertips and really feel much less slippery than the Stealth’s keys. This won’t be a very truthful comparability, although, contemplating the Razer keyboard prices over 4 instances as a lot because the Stealth.
Software
The Hver Stealth makes use of the corporate’s Kaliber Gaming software program to regulate backlighting and assign keyboard capabilities. It doesn’t routinely set up while you plug the keyboard in — it’s important to obtain it from the product web page on IOGear’s web site. The interface is straightforward sufficient, and has three profiles that may be tailor-made to fit your gaming and typing wants.
There’s a macro editor button the place you can also make new cycles or import/export previous ones in batches. There’s additionally a lighting part the place you may flip the RGB on or off, assign certainly one of its 15 lighting results, alter brightness and strobe velocity, or choose a solitary colour. The solely factor that I disliked about this convenient however barebones software program is which you can’t alter the home windows and font measurement — the letters are too small to learn simply, however that simply could also be my old-man grievances.
Bottom Line
The Hver Stealth is stacked with premium options usually seen on keyboards that price twice as a lot — or extra. Even Logitech’s G413 SE can’t compete with the Stealth’s options or its $50 value. This alone makes the Hver Stealth an attractive alternative for avid gamers on a price range. While the brown switches aren’t wonderful, they’re an enormous leap over the membrane keyboards that usually occupy the decrease finish of the market.
Beyond the specs and the beautiful RGB, the consumer expertise on the Hver Stealth feels somewhat low cost, particularly in comparison with higher-end mechanical keyboards. The keycaps and switches simply don’t really feel nice, and whereas the switches are mechanical they don’t do a lot to reinforce gaming means the best way extra premium choices can. The keyboard has no media controls or devoted macro keys, and no swap choices aside from brown. If you like linear or clicky switches, you’re out of luck.
If your price range is strict at $50, the Hver Stealth is a greater choice than membrane keyboards, and it’s not a nasty alternative for first-time mechanical keyboard consumers who’re averse to spending extra. But rising your price range by $25 will get you a a lot higher-quality keyboard — one thing just like the TKL Redragon Vishnu K596 or Cooler Master’s CK552 (our present choose for the best budget mechanical keyboard).
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you may go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/kaliber-gaming-hver-stealth-keyboard
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