INTRODUCTION

    Even though the very first magnetic switches were introduced roughly half a century ago it wasn't until around 5 years ago that keyboard manufacturers actually started using this technology to offer models with user adjustable actuation points (variants of it to be exact). The very first such keyboard model i had the chance to test was the Apex Pro by SteelSeries back in 2019 and well, in the end it left me wanting more (not all of its switches were magnetic ones). As a matter of fact, this was one of the reasons I cut down on doing mechanical keyboard reviews and well, today things have changed for the best with numerous manufacturers developing magnetic (hall effect) keyboards. MelGeek may not be among the largest players in the market, but they've released many award-winning models and today with me I have their newest CYBER01 Magnetic Switch Gaming Keyboard.

    MelGeek, a group of young people who want to bring the most cost-effective mechanical keyboards and great peripherals at more accessible prices to the community. MelGeek dedicates providing unique, effective & playful keyboards. We promise to continue to pursue our mission, and hope to have you on our side!

    The MelGeek CYBER01 is a tenkeyless model (TKL) that features Gateron White Hall Effect hot-swappable magnetic switches which basically means that you can adjust their actuation point, switch travel distance and even apply rapid repeat by changing the voltage when the device is placed in a magnetic field. MelGeek makes this possible via their Hive software and so from there not only can you adjust travel distance (0.1-4mm), bottom end zone (0.1-0.60mm) and sensitivity (0.1-2.5mm) for all of its 83 keys but you can also assign commands and macros to all of them. Needless to say, the CYBER01 supports N-key rollover (NKRO), features a polling rate of 1000Hz, sports a detachable USB-C cable and has two adjustable RGB zones, all of its 83 keys (backlight) and 7 atmosphere LEDs (Hive software allows you to adjust brightness levels and speed and pick individual colors or one of 8 effects for the keys themselves and 8 more for the surrounding atmosphere lights). So, let's see what MelGeek brings to the table with their CYBER01 magnetic switch gaming keyboard.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

MelGeek uses a black and gray box to ship the CYBER01 the front of which just has their logo, product name and the main product features.

The product specifications along with contact information for MelGeek are placed at the rear of the box.

Opening the box reveals a nice clear plastic cover something which I wish every single keyboard manufacturer in the world included in their bundles (if you have pets or happen to eat in front of your computer at times this is extremely useful).

Along with the CYBER01 inside the box you'll also find its USB-C detachable cable, two company logo stickers, keycap puller, warranty card and the user manual.

THE CYBER01

The 1100g heavy CYBER01 is primarily made out of plastic and measures 370mm in length, 166mm in width and 43.8mm in thickness (so this is a rather large TKL model).

MelGeek was placed their logo on the top left corner as seen above and right next to one of the atmosphere RGB LEDs.

As expected, the CYBER01 uses the floating keys design for improved lighting intensity and easier key removal and cleaning.

If you happen to like Cyberpunk 2077 or enjoy watching old anime like Akira or Ghost in The Shell, the CYBER01 was probably designed with you in mind.

Strangely enough the F1-F12 keys don't double as media keys by default but you can change that via the Hive software.

The USB-C port is located just in front of the atmosphere RGB LED next to the company logo.

At the belly of the CYBER01 we find 5 more RGB atmosphere LEDs and 4 rubber feet.

The Gateron White magnetic switches may not be very easy to see under lots of light but here they are.

Here you can see how the keyboard looks the moment you plug it in.

You can also see the minimum and maximum brightness levels (when the atmosphere LED brightness is set to the lowest point they always turn to red for color, probably a software glitch).

Worth pointing out is that the shine-through keycaps do allow for more light to come out but at the same time they are not easy to read when at full brightness. Short video on TikTok and YouTube is also available.

HIVE SOFTWARE

Once you install and launch the hive software it will detect and list all compatible keyboards.

Before I get into the keyboard tabs it's worth pointing out that this software allows you to analyze your keystrokes and the speed of your mouse.

For this review I used software v1.2.0 which was the latest at the time (still is).

The first tab allows you to assign commands and even macros on any of the 83 available keys and even change the keyboard layout (it has a total of 4 available profiles).

Second tab allows you to change lighting effects, brightness levels and speed for both the keys and the Atmosphere LEDs.

As you can see I was unable to access the DKS/Advanced/Macro tabs for the CYBER01 (something about firmware version even though I did have the last available one).

Even though I got the same warning inside the rapid trigger tab I was able to adjust actuation, dead zone and sensitivity (also use the test page).

I was surprised to see that NKRO was not enabled by default so to do that you will need to go into the settings tab.

As you can see the latest firmware version is installed so again the warnings i got must have been a software issue.

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.

CONCLUSION

    Cyberpunk related anime and games have always appealed to me and well, so does the CYBER01 magnetic gaming keyboard by MelGeek. Yes, it may not feature a brushed aluminum exterior and it's larger than most TKL keyboards out there, but I do like the design, not only of the plastics and drawings but also the shine-through keycaps which allow for very good illumination levels. The Gateron White magnetic switches also work very well (for the most part since the software did make things harder for me) and make the CYBER01 a keyboard which can be used not just by gamers but also people who need to type a lot. Not all is perfect about the CYBER01 however and so even though the shine-through keycaps do allow for more light to pass through this also means that at times its harder to read the letters/numbers on them, especially when brightness levels are set to high. MelGeek will soon launch their CYBER2000 keyboard model featuring updated keycaps so you could try that model instead (or its keycaps at extra cost). The lack of adjustable feet and a palm/wrist rest are also things some people may not like (I can live without a palm/wrist rest but adjustable feet at least for me are a must). After talking with MelGeek it seems that the latest firmware version for the CYBER01 is v1.6.6 and not v1.2.0 as detected by their Hive software. After downloading and installing v1.6.6 (download link) their Hive software works fine so please ignore the issues seen 2 pages ago.

    Right now, you can grab your very own CYBER01 magnetic switch gaming keyboard directly from MelGeek for USD149, a price tag which is just what you’d expect for a keyboard with magnetic switches. Price aside the MelGeek CYBER01 might not be perfect but it looks nice and gets the job done so the Golden Award is in order.

PROS

- Overall Quality
- Hot Swappable Gateron Magnetic White Switches
- Adjustable Actuation, Distance & Sensitivity
- RGB Illumination (Keys & Atmosphere LEDs)
- Cyberpunk Design (For Some)
- NKRO
- Detachable USB Cable
- Hive Software (Available Features)

CONS

- Shine Through Keycaps (Not Easy To Read)
- Not Height Adjustable