INTRODUCTION

   Just like everything else in the PC industry the technology behind gaming gear never sits still especially now with the increased number of eSports competitions. However although gaming mice and headsets have evolved quite a bit over the past decade the same didn't seem to apply for keyboards (not for consumer oriented models anyways) since it wasn't until just a few years back that we saw the introduction of models featuring Cherry MX mechanical switches. Now mechanical switches may not offer much more compared to regular membrane ones but they do offer many times higher life expectancy and if you happen to be a gamer and about to spend quite a bit on a new keyboard durability is indeed very important. Of course gaming peripheral manufacturers are well aware that durability alone is no longer sufficient in order to attract consumers so they've been adding more features like N-Key rollover, macro keys, on-board memory and of course LED illumination. The Excalibur RGB (G7NFL) is one of the latest Mechanical Gaming Keyboards by Tesoro and today we'll be taking a very thorough look at it.

   Established in 2011, Tesoro Technology USA Inc is a team of multinational gaming enthusiasts with over 30 years industry experience with one objective – make ultra-durable products that give the best gaming experience. To achieve this, Tesoro conceptualizes products from the input and feedback from the gaming community, and then builds them using the highest grade components. As a gamers company, Tesoro continues to expand into new horizons and push the limit further with each product unveiling. To learn more visit Tesoro's website: http://www.tesorotec.com.

   The Excalibur RGB mechanical gaming keyboard is the successor to the original Excalibur mechanical gaming keyboard and as the name clearly reveals their main difference is the full 6-level RGB (16.8m) backlighting for the keys. As for the rest well the Excalibur RGB features mechanical switches by Kailh (available in brown, blue, black and red) and also packs a number of features including programmable keys, 6-Key/N-Key rollover, gaming mode, macro commands and the ability to store up to 5 profiles in its 512Kb of onboard memory. Design-wise the Excalibur RGB is nothing special (unlike the Lobera Supreme) but at least for us that's the last thing on our list when it comes to keyboards. So let's see how the mechanical gaming keyboard by Tesoro which bears the name of the legendary mythical sword performs.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The Excalibur RGB mechanical gaming keyboard is sold inside a long cardboard box that has its features at the front right next to the company logo and a picture of the product.

Printed at the base are the keyboard layout and the mechanical switch selection.

Both the features and specifications of the Excalibur RGB are listed at the rear of the box in 13 languages.

Although not excellent the packaging by Tesoro is very good as you can all see from the above picture.

Tesoro bundles just a product catalog and a quick start guide with the Excalibur RGB so nothing special here.

THE EXCALIBUR RGB

The Excalibur RGB looks a lot like most keyboards out in the market that don't come with a palm rest and so it measures 450mm in length, 145mm in width and 24mm in height.

Tesoro has placed their name on both the upper right corner (LEDs) and on the space bar.

The logo is placed on the Escape key and we also see their modo right over the arrow keys.

With the help of the Fn key F1 through F6 double as the media keys (mute, volume up/down, play/pause, previous, next).

You can switch between available profiles from the F8-F12 keys (again by also using the Fn key).

The pause key is also the gaming key which can be used to disable all windows keys.

Choosing between 6-key and N-key rollover is easy via the insert and delete keys.

You can also adjust the illumination from the numpad area.

Here we can see the Kailh brown mechanical switches which are what our sample wears.

Turning the keyboard over we see four rubber feet and two height adjusters with rubber tips.

By using the height adjusters the keyboard gets 15mm from the desk.

Using a plain USB connector and cable may not look as good as some models with gold plated connectors and braided cables but you get what you pay for i guess.

CONTROL SOFTWARE

You can download the available control software from the official Tesoro support page.

It may look nice but the graphical user interface of Tesoro’s control panel is far from the easiest to use.

From here you can program the keys, manage the 5 available profiles, record/edit/delete macros and of course you can also adjust the illumination.

I took some shots of the available colors and zone configurations and at least in that area the Excalibur RGB is very good.

CONCLUSION

   Tesoro markets the Excalibur RGB as the jack of all spades for people who are not eager to spend a whole lot on a mechanical gaming keyboard so as soon as it arrived in the lab we knew we shouldn't expect much from it, at least not in terms of available features. Of course the somewhat "classic" design and the lack of macro keys are two things that i really don't care much about so i don't consider those to be a serious drawback but i would like to see an USB port at the front and why not even the usual headphones and microphone plugs. As for the Kailh switches well the Excalibur RGB is not the first one to use them so as with other models which we've reviewed in the past they offer very good tactile and audio feedback extremely similar to that of Cherry MX brown switches. Certainly many consumers consider Cherry to make the best mechanical switches around and i do tend to agree with them but when you also get the same 50 million actuations from another mechanical switch i doubt there's any reason to worry about durability. Moving to the LED backlighting well pictures speak for themselves i think but overall the Excalibur RGB looks great although the new Excalibur Spectrum model also allows you to change the color of individual keys so if this matters to you i suggest waiting for that review.

   Unfortunately for some strange reason the Excalibur RGB mechanical gaming keyboard is not widely available but luckily it is available inside the USA where it retails for USD119.99 (Newegg.com) a price tag which puts it in the lower end of several other competitors. Still I have to admit that spending a few bucks more for a mechanical gaming keyboard is really not farfetched so if you're looking for more features and a better design the Excalibur RGB may not be the right model for the job. On the other hand however if you just want a solid mechanical gaming keyboard with RGB backlighting the Excalibur RGB (G7NFL) by Tesoro should do the trick and that's why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Kailh Mechanical Switches (50m Keystrokes)
- Full 16.8m RGB Key Illumination
- Macro Commands
- Gaming Mode
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Availability
- No USB/Headphones/Microphone Ports