INTRODUCTION

   Back in the late 80's early 90's the consumer PC market was pretty much non-existent so gamers didn't really have gaming peripherals such as keyboards, mice and headsets to choose from (there hardly were any hardware components for us to begin with). There were quite a few low-cost membrane based keyboards in the market of course so whenever one happened to fail (surprisingly enough that didn't happen a lot) we could just go out and get a new one. Microsoft changed all that in the mid 90's with the much more durable natural line of membrane based keyboards (worth roughly 6-7 times more compared to a regular model) and the rest as they say is history. Today of course things have changed a lot and so thanks to the large number of keyboard manufacturers people have a vast number of models to choose from whether that's for gaming or professional use. Das Keyboard may not be well known for their mechanical gaming keyboards (their Division Zero line flew under the radar) but that's all about to change since they just released the 5Q and X50Q smart models both of which ended up in our lab roughly three weeks ago.

   Das Keyboard, a brand of Metadot, makes high-quality mechanical keyboards. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas and is dedicated to delivering innovative technology products to increase productivity. Created in 2005, Das Keyboard has been praised by major media outlets, techie magazines, geeks and regular people who use and rely on keyboards to be productive throughout the workday. For more information, please visit www.daskeyboard.com.

   Since we received both the 5Q and X50Q together we were going to do a single review/comparison for both but in the end we decided to test them separately (more time with each keyboard means more extensive reviews) so today's review is about the X50Q model. Now although the X50Q is yet another mechanical keyboard our friends over at Das Keyboard seem to have outdone themselves at least on paper. So the brand new X50Q is equipped with several interesting features including the new Gamma Zulu mechanical switches manufactured by the Japanese OMRON (up to 100 million actuations/enhanced brightness mode/45 grams actuation force), RGB per-key backlight with 6 effects and 10 brightness levels, full N-KEY rollover (NKRO) with 100% anti-ghosting, dedicated media controls, aluminum top panel, detachable soft-touch wrist rest, 2 meter long braided cable and extra WASD textured keycaps. What really makes the X50Q unique however is the ability to pair internet connected devices with your keyboard which in turn can send color-coded Q smart notifications via IFTTT (If This Then That) and Zapier directly on its keys (by default Das Keyboard has 69 such notifications available - click here to see them all - but you can also add your very own). Of course the same alert system can be configured to notify you of new emails, CPU activity, weather forecasting, stock trends and more.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The X50Q RGB Mechanical Keyboard arrived inside a green box that has a large product picture at the front right next to the main product features and the Das Keyboard logo.

The complete features list is printed at the base of the box in 9 languages and listed at the top are the three main features.

Both the bundle contents and hardware requirements can be seen on the left side.

Das Keyboard showcases just how the Q smart notifications work at the rear of the box.

As always the keyboard is wrapped inside a plastic bag and placed between two pieces of cardboard (the paper at the top is our reviewers guide so it's not included in the retail package).

Along with the X50Q RGB Mechanical Keyboard and its detachable wrist rest you will also get a keycap puller, extra WASD textured keycaps and the quick start guide.

THE X50Q

Measuring 451mm in length, 168mm in width and 32.5mm in height the 1.54Kg heavy X50Q is a medium sized keyboard.

Once again we see the floating keys design which significantly simplifies cleaning of the keyboard.

The company logo is printed at the top center of the keyboard while the model name is printed on the lower right side (for some reason however it says X50 instead of X50Q).

On the top right corner we find the brightness level (10 levels in total), play/pause, next/previous keys and a volume control knob.

Here we see the Gamma Zulu mechanical switches and if they seem familiar to you it's because they are very similar to the Romer-G switches used in Logitech keyboards (both are made by OMRON after all).

Both sides of the keyboard feature RGB LEDs which as expected you can adjust from within the Das Keyboard Q software.

Turning the keyboard over we see the company name, two rubber feet and two height adjusters.

These height adjusters can lift the top end of the keyboard 1cm from the desk.

The two meter long braided cable ends on a single gold plated USB plug.

Just like other manufacturers Das Keyboard also bundled a textured keycap set with the X50Q.

The detachable wrist rest features the usual clip-on system and once mounted onto the keyboard its length now increases to 233.8mm.

Q-DESKTOP

The Q-Desktop control software can be downloaded from the official Das Keyboard support page as seen above (and should still be in beta).

Once you install the software you will see a welcome message along with a how to use the keyboard video tutorial.

As expected this software was tailored specifically for the 5Q and X50Q models so it will first detect which one you are using.

A large product picture takes most of the main tab and displays the exact RGB illumination profile currently loaded.

If your system is connected to the internet and you register an account with Das Keyboard then in the edit tab you will find several RGB profiles already available for you to use.

Of course you can always create your very own by choosing passive and active effects, colors and the keys you'd like to illuminate (by default the color you choose will apply for the entire keyboard).

As mentioned earlier through the software you can also change the color of the side RGB LEDs (this can be done either with both linked or individually).

Of course as expected you can tie profiles to specific programs and/or games.

Here you can see the minimum and maximum brightness levels for the keys (Das Keyboard claims up to twice as much brightness and although that's not something we can measure these are very bright).

Some of the available RGB profiles are showcased above (including the side RGB LEDs - somehow we forgot to use the wrist rest for the above picture).

AUDIBLE FEEDBACK

Many 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

   Das Keyboard grew to become a popular brand name not because their keyboards came with exciting features aimed at gamers but because of their high build quality something especially important for professionals and demanding consumers alike (we still have their Pro S model in the lab). The brand new X50Q model aims to change that by combining high build quality with RGB per-key illumination and an innovative notification system. Granted the IFTTT/Zapier based smart notifications may not appeal to gamers and mainstream users but as more smart devices get introduced into the market and end up finding a place in our homes Das Keyboard may just be on to something here. Unfortunately the X50Q lacks certain things we’d like to see including the ability to program all of its keys (macros, shortcuts, commands – perhaps a future firmware update could change that) and a USB passthrough (I wouldn’t say no to a few extra lighting effects either – again a future firmware update could bring more).

   So just how much are you required to pay in order to get your very own X50Q RGB Mechanical Keyboard by Das Keyboard? Well one of the drawbacks of focusing in high-quality products has always been price and so Das Keyboard was never aimed at people on a tight budget. Still the new X50Q is one of the most expensive models ever released by them (probably only beneath the 5Q) and so it currently retails for UD199 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 199.99Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). This is pretty much the single largest issue with the brand new X50Q and although we expect a good number of potential buyers to be look elsewhere because of this (perhaps one of their non “smart” models) thanks to its build quality and features it’s certainly worth of our Golden Award.

PROS

- Excellent Build Quality (Aluminum Top)
- Gamma Zulu Mechanical Switches (100 Million Actuations/Silent)
- Per Key RGB Illumination With 6 Effects And 10 Brightness Levels
- RGB Illuminated Sides
- Q Smart Notifications (IFTTT/Zapier)
- Full N-Key Rollover (NKRO) With 100% Anti Ghosting
- Dedicated Media Keys
- Detachable Soft Touch Wrist Rest
- 2 Meter Long Braided Cable With Gold Plated Plug

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Keys Aren’t Programmable (For Now)
- No USB Passthrough