INTRODUCTION

   Just like the mouse the keyboard is one of the two main input devices, one of the only two tools which give us full control over our PC's and MAC's (among other devices of course). Unfortunately, however even though build quality is among the most important aspects of any tool (if not the most important) nowadays many manufacturers have put others like RGB lighting and design first in an effort to attract the gaming community and why not also lower costs in the process. This has allowed several new players to emerge in the market hoping to grab a piece of the pie and as I’ve always said, more competition is undeniably good for consumers. One such manufacturer is the Chinese DURGOD and today with me i have their top of the line model, the Taurus K310 Nebula RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard.

   DURGOD is a peripheral equipment brand established in Zhuhai, China, devoting to improve the image of "made in China" in the mind of the player. DURGOD has an independent research and development team, with the ability of ID design and program design and development. The core idea is to create the technology that conforms to the future, insist on the belief of excellence and the harsh craftsman spirit, and create a unique product made in China.

   The very first Taurus K310/K320 models released by DURGOD a while ago where aimed towards professionals looking for a sturdy and reliable mechanical keyboard. Due to their success in late 2018 DURGOD announced their plans to release them once again, this time however with RGB lighting making them also appealing to the gaming community. So the Taurus K310 Nebula RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard by DURGOD is a 104-key model (the Taurus K320 Nebula tenkeyless 87-key variant is also available) that features an aluminum housing (with purple metallic color), 32bit ARM processor, Cherry MX switches (black/blue/brown/red/silver/silent red - 50 million actuations), per-key RGB lighting (11 effects with 10 lighting levels), N-key rollover with 100% anti-ghosting, dual height adjusters, PBT doubleshot keycaps, detachable USB-C cable and 1000HZ polling rate. So, let's take a closer look to the DURGOD Taurus K310 Nebula RGB and see how it performs and what it offers.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The Taurus K310 Nebula RGB arrived inside a black and blue box the front of which is taken by a large product picture and the company logo.

At the front we see the package contents and system requirements in two languages.

Taking a look at the top of the box we see the main product features listed as folders.

Contact information for DURGOD is printed at the rear of the box again in two languages.

Aside being wrapped inside a synthetic cover and placed inside a formed piece of cardboard the keyboard also features a nice clear plastic cover.

Along with the Taurus K310 Nebula RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard DURGOD also ships a keycap puller, case sticker, cable strap and a small mousepad sample.

THE TAURUS K320 NEBULA RGB

Measuring 438mm in length, 132.5mm in width and 24.5mm in height the 1.06Kg heavy Taurus K310 Nebula RGB is a medium sized mechanical gaming keyboard (the purple metallic paint applied onto its aluminum body gives it a different look compared to other keyboards).

The F1 through F7 keys double as multimedia control keys with the help of the Fn (function) key (play/pause track - previous/next track - mute audio - increase/decrease volume).

The F12 key doubles as the Macro Recording key while the print screen, screen lock and pause key can be used to switch RGB lighting effects/modes and choose the single color mode.

From the insert and delete keys you can enable/disable lighting for the keys whereas from the page up/down keys you can change the direction of the effects.

Moving to the arrow keys you can use the up/down ones to increase/decrease lighting levels (10 available ones) and the left and right ones to increase/decrease speed for the selected effect/mode (3 available levels).

Aside the usual lock LEDs DURGOD has also placed windows lock key and custom profile LEDs.

Turning the keyboard around we see 5 rubber feet and two dual level height adjusters.

The USB-C port is located at the center of the keyboard.

The short feet extend the top end of the keyboard roughly 6mm from your desk whereas the tall ones extend it roughly 13mm.

Here you can see the Cherry MX Brown switches our sample of the Taurus K310 Nebula RGB arrived with.

Both detachable USB-C cables are not braided and don't feature gold plated plugs on their ends.

ZEUS ENGINE BETA 0.99.0.11

The current Zeus Engine software is unified so it can be used with all current lines by DURGOD.

From the customize tab you can program any of the keys with a wide range of assignments.

The lighting tab can be used to choose and edit one of the 11 effects/modes, set their direction and adjust the lighting levels and speed.

Per key lighting is also supported from the custom effect/mode as seen above.

Inside the performance tab you will find the win lock options.

You can access the macro commands from Macro tab located on the top menu.

There's also the option to create your own effects by mixing the available ones from the top nebula tab.

The above pictures show the minimum and maximum brightness levels of the keys.

Some of the available effects can also be seen here.

AUDIBLE FEEDBACK

Many people ask my opinion on what keyboard they should get for their needs. Some want a “silent” model for use in their living room or even in their bedroom while others ask for a model with good audible feedback for use in the office or for gaming. Because of this I decided to test keyboards by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically over each keyboard (5cm distance) and typing NikKTech a total of 6 times with each (after that the max recorded number - max hold - is placed in the graph). I have to admit that this methodology may not be 100% accurate but it does give a good idea on what you can expect from each model since aside the type of switches used keycaps and keyboard material also matter.

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CONCLUSION

   DURGOD is a name I first heard of roughly 3 months ago and so as expected I didn’t have high expectations from the Taurus K310 Nebula RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard. Fortunately, I was wrong and so after 13 days of using it I only have to say that this is one of the best keyboards to reach the office in the last 20 months (and pretty certain the best of the not so well-known brands). Build quality is excellent, the RGB lighting system is very good (brightness and customization) and as for the driverless side well there aren’t many keyboards out there with the same amount of hardware shortcuts. The only slight issue (if I can even call it that) is with the software since even after almost two years is still in Beta status. It worked fine and I didn’t notice any glitches so that’s not really a problem but it just doesn’t look very, professional.

   Availability is probably the only serious drawback of the Taurus K310 Nebula RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard by DURGOD since it’s not very easy to find, at least not on any of the large online stores in the USA or the EU. Still you can find some smaller stores that carry it for a price of roughly USD150-170 (depends on the switches) which seems just a tad higher than what I was expecting (which makes sense due to its availability issues). With that out of the way I really think the Taurus K310 Nebula deserves the attention of everyone looking for a quality RGB mechanical gaming keyboard and that’s why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (Sturdy Construction)
- Cherry MX Mechanical Switches (50 Million Actuations)
- NKey Rollover With 100% Anti Ghosting
- Per Key RGB Illumination (11 Effects)
- Zeus Engine Software
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- Detachable Cable (USB C and USB Cables)
- Dual Level Height Adjusters

CONS

- No Dedicated Macro & Media Keys
- No USB Passthrough
- Current Availability