INTRODUCTION

   Cherry MX is no longer the only recognized manufacturer of mechanical switches in the market (although certainly the most popular) and although some people feel that others can't reach the same level of quality due to lack of experience/expertise i believe that manufacturing a good mechanical switch is not nuclear science and the fact that even gaming peripheral manufacturers like Razer have decided to do so on their own is proof enough. That being said there's a good amount of research that needs to go into the design and manufacture of a mechanical switch but since Cherry MX is the standard currently others need only to "clone" their solutions. Roughly a month ago we had our first encounter with the brand new Kailh Brown mechanical switches which are basically clones of the very well-known Cherry MX Browns and the results were very good. Well to have a better opinion for Kailh mechanical switches today we decided to take a look at the Poseidon Z mechanical gaming keyboard featuring their Blue ones.

   “Challenge is the game” highlights the philosophy to bring out gamers’ addiction in gaming and the ambition of reaching to the extreme. Tt eSPORTS, a gaming obsessed division from Thermaltake, is uniting gamers from all over the world in a unique & fascinating eSPORTS culture, inherited the spirits of Thermaltake, is an energetic, powerful, bold and intelligent challenger who never says “no” to the extreme competition. We do not only provide gamers the ultimate gaming gears but also fulfills the passion to achieve the ultimate success. Thermaltake has been a well-known brand in the gaming & DIY market for PC Chassis, Coolers and Power Supplies PSU for many years. The brand personality of unique, aggressive, vivid and stylish makes Thermaltake an expert in creating exciting things and fascinating environment for gamers and enthusiasts. Tt eSPORTS inherited the brand personality with unique and creative design by observing users’ behaviors and requirements. The fan cooling design on Tt eSPORTS Challenger keyboard demonstrate the brand spirit. It is the worldwide first keyboard with fan cooling function that could dry your hand sweats and blow tension away during cut-throat competition.

   As mentioned in our previous review of the Poseidon Z using brown switches TteSPORTS took the gamble of using Kailh mechanical ones mainly because Cherry MX simply can't cover all demand so instead of having a limited supply of products to offer to consumers they decided to turn to Kailh. Well after testing the Poseidon Z featuring their brown mechanical switches we all feel it was the right call to make although we'd probably do things a bit differently to avoid confusion amongst consumers (we'd probably launch an new keyboard line based on an entirely different design instead of just placing a Z in the end of the model name). However since when testing the Poseidon Z brown model i didn't have a keyboard with Cherry MX browns here i decided to take things a little bit further and since the Das Keyboard Professional Model S (Cherry MX Blue switches) sits on one of our desks i decided to also ask for the Poseidon Z that makes use of the Kailh Blue switches to see just how different they are (if at all) when used at the same time.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The Poseidon Z is placed inside a long black box that has a product picture along with the Tt eSPORTS and Tt eSPORTS certified switch logos and the type of switch at the front.

The type of switches used is also placed at the bottom and top of the box.

The features and specifications of the Poseidon Z are showcased at the rear on a large product picture.

As you can see Tt eSPORTS packs the keyboard inside a bubble bag.

Once again we need to point out that the Tt eSPORTS has placed just the basics inside the package so aside the Poseidon Z Mechanical Gaming Keyboard you're also getting a quick installation guide and a warranty policy paper.

THE POSEIDON Z

The Poseidon Z comes without a wrist rest and so it measures just 440mm in length, 133mm in width and 37mm in height with a weight of 995g.

The typical lock LEDs alongside the Tt eSPORTS logo and a key used to disable/enable the windows keys are placed on the upper right corner of the keyboard.

F1 through F7 also double as media keys so they can also be used for media navigation and volume control.

Much like with the rest of the Poseidon Z line you can adjust the brightness of the LEDs in 4 levels by using the F11 and F12 keys along with the Fn (function) key.

The Tt eSPORTS logo can also be found on the space bar.

Again if the manufacturers name wasn't engraved here we wouldn't have known that they were from Kailh and not Cherry.

At the base we find a long trail/channel used to route the cable, four small rubber feet that keep the keyboard steady and two flip-out feet.

The flip-out feet keep the highest end of the keyboard it roughly 11mm from the desk.

The Poseidon Z has two pieces of rubber attached at the two ends of the front so you don't have to worry about scratching it when placed against something.

The 1.8m long cable (although it says braided on the specs sheet it actually seems normal) ends up to a normal USB connector (not gold plated).

Since the keyboard requires no drivers the moment you plug it in the LEDs beneath the keys will light up. Above you can see the first and last levels of illumination.

CONCLUSION

   When i received the Poseidon Z which used Kailh brown switches i had no way to compare them to Cherry MX browns and that always bothered me since i couldn't be 100% on the spot. Sure I’ve used quite a few mechanical gaming keyboards featuring brown Cherry MX switches in the past but comparing what you remember about a switch with one that you have right in front of you can never be the same to comparing two mechanical switches by using both at the same exact time. Luckily as i already pointed out since we're using the Professional Model S by Das Keyboard (Cherry MX Blue) i only had to put both keyboards next to each other and use them for a while to notice any differences. Well to my surprise it took over 100 keystrokes for me to notice a tiny difference in audible and tactile feedback between the two switches but it's really not something I’d notice if i didn't have both keyboards here so it would seem that Kailh has done a very good job in cloning the Cherry MX switches (50 million keystrokes is also as high).

   I don't like it when manufacturers ship a product with virtually no bundle to accompany it whatsoever but sometimes it helps cut down the cost and since the Poseidon Z Blue Switch Mechanical Gaming Keyboard currently retails for just USD72.72 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and 78Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) I’d say that Tt eSPORTS has done exactly that. Overall the Poseidon Z Mechanical Gaming Keyboard featuring Kailh switches is very sturdy and offers virtually identical experience as the normal Poseidon but for less and that along with the whooping 5 year warranty is good enough for our Golden Award.

PROS

- Excellent Build Quality
- Kailh Mechanical Switches
- Key Illumination (4 Levels)
- Driverless
- 5 Years Warranty
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Single Illumination Color
- No Macro Keys