INTRODUCTION

   Once upon a time Cherry was the sole manufacturer of mechanical switches for keyboards but today with so many others available in the market things may not be as easy if you're out looking to get a new mechanical keyboard. Granted Cherry with their MX mechanical switches still owns the largest percentage of the market (it makes sense that people would trust the original more - let's not forget that Cherry has been around since 1983) but consumers have many more options to choose from today thanks to Kailh, Gateron, Outemu, Topre, Matias, Razer (with Kailh), Logitech (with Omron), SteelSeries (again in cooperation with Kailh), Das Keyboard and Cooler Master all of which are manufacturing their very own solutions. HAVIT is far from being one of the most popular keyboard manufacturers in the market but since so far their products have left us with good impressions we decided to take a closer look at their latest HV-KB389L RGB Backlit Mechanical Gaming Keyboard.

   Founded in 1998 by Ms. Lee, a lady who loves and respects technology, HAVIT Group provides a tremendous range of consumer electronics with unbeatable value, fashion-forward and trend setting design, but what is never compromised is the quality of our products, which were approved by tens of thousands of satisfied customers. Step by step we have grown from a start-up company to a leading PC & Mobile accessories supplier for customers in over 120 countries worldwide, only to provide products of advanced technology, featuring the best built quality and durability for every intelligent, creative and motivated user. We are all working on something: some of you may be endeavoring to get the best score both in school and in games with your keyboard and mouse combo set; some of you may be engaging in coding a sophisticated program with your mechanical keyboard while chatting with your remote teammates through your webcam; and some of you may be striving to improve your triathlon skills to expand your physical limit with a pair of wireless earphones in your ears… As for us at HAVIT, we are working on making the best equipment to help you reach your goals and make the difference. Learn more at www.prohavit.com.

   The HV-KB389L is the latest member in the Magic Eagle line of mechanical gaming keyboards by HAVIT and is housed inside a hard plastic enclosure that features a floating key design (keys are placed outside of the enclosure). The HV-KB389L has a total of 104 floating keys (full anti-ghosting) and features Kailh Brown RGB backlit mechanical switches (tactile with 50g actuation force, 2mm actuation point and a lifespan of up to 50 million operations). Just like with most similar mechanical keyboards in the market today HAVIT has once again chosen to skip having to use a driver with control software so the RGB LEDs are controlled directly from the keyboard and offer a total of 7 colors with 4 modes. What's really unique about this keyboard however is that aside its on-the-fly macro support (up to 5 macros) the HV-KB389L also features a long RGB LED strip which surrounds the entire keyboard (7 colors in breathing mode) and does a very good job in illuminating the surrounding area. So time to take a closer look and see what HAVIT has been working on lately.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

HAVIT again used the same package as in the past so we see a product picture at the front right next to the main product features and beneath their logo.

The main product features are also placed at the base of the box.

At the rear we see a drawing of the product right next to its specifications list.

The keyboard is wrapped inside a cloth cover and placed between two black pieces of foam.

Along with the keyboard you will also get the user manual, keycap puller and two small feedback papers.

THE HV-KB389L

The HAVIT HV-KB389L measures 457mm in length, 202mm in width and 41mm in height so we're talking about a medium to large sized keyboard.

HAVIT has placed their Magic Eagle Game Series logo just over the lock LEDs.

For good or bad the enclosure of the HV-KB389L also includes a wrist rest (we liked it, others may not).

With the help of the FN (function) key the F1-F6 keys also double as media control keys (launch player/play-pause/stop/volume up and down/mute).

F11 and F12 can be used to create custom backlight for the keys (up to 3 profiles) and to start recording macro commands (you will need to use the Y, U, I, O, P keys after using the F12 and FN combination).

The color of the side RGB LED strips can be controlled from the print screen, scroll lock and pause keys while the 7 different colors and 4 different modes of the keys can be controlled from the insert, home, page up, page down, and del keys (with the FN key of course).

Both the brightness levels and speed of the RGB LEDs can be controlled from the up/down and left/right arrow keys.

Here we see the Kailh Brown mechanical switches.

The HV-KB389L may not have a USB passthrough at the front but we think that the RGB LED strip that surrounds it partially makes up for that (still why not have both?).

At the base of the keyboard we find 3 grooves for the USB cable, 5 rubber pads and two flip-down feet.

The flip-down feet raise the top end of the keyboard roughly 11mm from the desk.

HAVIT has equipped the HV-KB389L with a 1.8 meter cable and a gold plated USB connector.

Here we placed two pictures showcasing the lowest and highest LED brightness levels.

Of course instead of using one of the 4 available modes you can use single colors as seen above.

We also wanted you all to see just how nice the RGB LED strip looks so we placed pictures of all the available colors.

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 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

   HAVIT is in the business of manufacturing affordable mechanical gaming keyboards for people who either don't want or can't spend more and that means they have no choice but to cut some corners. So although the HV-KB389L looks surprisingly good largely thanks to the RGB LED strip that surrounds its body the plastic used (also the lack of an internal/external metal plate) is just not as sturdy as let’s say what we've seen lately from for example the X40 Pro by Das Keyboard, the Alloy FPS by HyperX or the M500 by SteelSeries. This of course doesn't mean that the keyboard will fall apart since with normal use it may last for many years but its quality is just not on par with many more expensive models (as expected really). As for the keys the Kailh Brown feel very easy to press especially since I’ve been using the X40 Pro by Das Keyboard for the past 3 months to write most of my reviews. This is possibly not a bad thing since some people will obviously like it but i can't say i did much. Unfortunately although as mentioned already the HV-KB389L looks very nice thanks to its RGB LED strip (and its keys of course) the fact that HAVIT decided not to provide software to control the keyboard means you can only use a total of 7 colors with and just like in the past this is not what RGB is all about. Sure it looks very nice (and as you will also see later on its quite affordable) but my guess is that many people would like to use more than just 7 colors for the keys and the RGB LED strip.

   For unknown reasons HAVIT seems to have ceased the manufacture of the HV-KB389L under their own brand name but you can still find it inside the USA under the Royal Kludge brand name for a very attractive price tag of USD69.99 (Amazon.com). Unfortunately we weren't as lucky in the EU since the HV-KB389L is not available under either brand name. Now since HAVIT didn't notify us about this (we will ask them first chance we get) we have no way of knowing what happened and the HV-KB389L is no longer available under their brand name (still it doesn't look very good). What we do know after spending almost 2 weeks with it in the lab is that it's a good gaming keyboard that looks great and would probably deliver on exactly what most casual gamers are looking for which is why we strongly recommend checking out.

PROS

- RGB Key Illumination
- Surrounding RGB LED Strip
- Kailh Brown Mechanical Switches (Tactile Feedback - 50M Actuations)
- Full Anti-Ghosting
- Wrist Rest
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- No USB Ports (For Some)
- Fixed Wrist Rest (For Some)
- Only 7 Available Colors
- Current Availability