INTRODUCTION

   Tenkeyless mechanical gaming keyboard sales are on the rise lately so as expected many both well established and rather new gaming peripheral manufacturers have launched their very own models lately in an effort to try and get a piece of the pie. Now although i never owned a tenkeyless gaming keyboard nor did we ever used one in the lab (aside of course the ones we test/review) it's a fact that there are many people out there who may not have enough space on their desks for regular sized keyboards (some may never even use the numeric keypad so that could also be a reason as to why they'd choose a tenkeyless model) or who may prefer a shorter distance between the keyboard and the mouse. With the help of crowdfunding via Kickstarter DREVO recently launched their somewhat unique BladeMaster TE and PRO Tenkeyless Mechanical Keyboards (both wired and wireless) and today with us we have the wired version which we've been using for almost two weeks.

   Founded by a group of Gamers, Programmers and Designers, DREVO is a young brand which focuses on gaming PC components, peripherals and accessories products. With the purpose of exploring new technology, new workmanship and providing a new experience, we continuously create super cool tech products. "Game With Cool Tech" is our slogan. DREVO is working hard to provide the ultimate gaming experience for each global customer. “No added hassle, pure gaming fun” is a consensus here. DREVO is working hard to convince everyone that it is very simple to have fun with gaming. The R&D team at DREVO don’t just design products, they design experiences. Each and every detail is crafted after some well-designed research based on user requirements. Every product that comes out of our stable undergo strict quality checks to ensure that you have a smooth gaming experience.

   DREVO actually managed to raise a total of well over 435k for the BladeMaster TE and PRO models by a total of 3559 backers and according to them (haven't really checked that out for ourselves) these are the most backed mechanical gaming keyboards on Kickstarter to date. But what made the BladeMaster mechanical gaming keyboards so popular? Well aside being tenkeyless models DREVO has also equipped them with Gateron RGB switches (KS-9 black/red/brown/blue for the wired BladeMaster TE model) and Cherry MX RGB switches (silent red/speed silver/brown/blue/red/black for the wireless BladeMaster PRO model), programmable genius knob (similar to a mouse scroll wheel), Radi RGB lighting system (360 degrees light bands with 10 modes and per-key illumination), 16MB of onboard flash storage (for storing of up to 3 profiles), 75MHz 32-bit Cortex-M0 MCU, 4000mAh lithium rechargeable battery (PRO model), extended functions (via 4 DIP switches located at the base of the keyboard), FlashLink 2.4GHz wireless connectivity (PRO model) and Bluetooth v4.0 connectivity (PRO model). Other features include 100% anti-ghosting, NKRO (N-Key Rollover), CLOUD storage for your profiles, and 1000Hz polling rate.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

DREVO uses a yellow and black box to ship the BladeMaster TE model that has their logo and a large product picture at the front.

The layout and Gateron KS-9 switch type used are checked at the base of the box.

A large product picture is used to showcase the various features which are in turn printed in 8 languages.

In the box we see that the keyboard is placed underneath a plastic cover and between two thick foam spacers and a piece of cardboard.

Along with the BladeMaster TE DREVO also packs a cleaning brush, keycap puller, sticker, rating card and the user guide.

THE BLADEMASTER TE

The 940g heavy BladeMaster TE Tenkeyless Mechanical Keyboard measures 369mm in length, 136mm in width and 45mm in height.

Just like with most keyboards released in the last couple of years the BladeMaster TE features floating keys for easier cleaning.

DREVO has placed their logo on the spacebar and their name right next to it on the keyboard housing.

You can use the function (FN) key with the ESC key to reset the keyboard, with the 1/2/4/8 keys to toggle the polling/report rate and with the F1-F3 keys to switch between the 3 available onboard profiles.

With the insert, home, delete, end, page up and page down keys you can switch between lighting modes, adjust the brightness level, change the color and speed of the backlit illumination and control the audio function.

The programmable knob located on the left side of the keyboard can be used in a similar way as the mouse wheel.

Here we see the Gateron KS-9 brown switches.

At the base of the keyboard we find 5 rubber pads, two height adjusters and 4 DIP switches.

Via these switches you can exchange certain key functions (caps lock with left control and alt with windows) and change the keyboard layout (Dvorak, Colemak and Minimak).

The two height adjusters raise the front end of the keyboard roughly 12mm from the desk.

At the end of the 1.8 meter long cable (rubber not braided) we find a gold plated USB plug.

DREVO POWER CONSOLE

You can download the Power Console Software from the DREVO support page.

Although you can use the DREVO Power Console software in offline mode i do recommend registering an online account to make use of the CLOUD storage feature (extra profiles).

The Power Console software is a unified solution so you can use it for all gaming peripherals by DREVO.

From the very first tab of the keyboard you can program each of the keys to launch macros, batch commands, mouse functions, multimedia functions, windows shortcuts and programs.

On the right side of the screen there are 4 shortcuts for managing your profiles, creating batch commands and macros and checking key statistics for various games.

As mentioned earlier the programmable knob can be used the same way as the mouse scroll wheel so you can assign pretty much any command to it just like with the keys.

DREVO packs 9 RGB illumination modes in the Power Console software (10 if you include the off mode and 11 with the custom mode) and from here you can also choose colors and adjust the brightness levels, speed and effect direction.

From the general settings tab you can enable game mode, disable keys, enable/disable sleep mode, change the report rate and reset the keyboard to its factory settings.

In the above pictures you can see the lowest and highest brightness levels for the keys.

The side RGB LEDs look great especially with many colors flowing through them.

Here are also some of the available modes/effects.

AUDIBLE FEEDBACK

Many ask our 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

   DREVO is far from the oldest gaming peripheral manufacturer in the market so I have to admit that we were all surprised to see that they raised almost half a million for their BladeMaster TE and PRO Tenkeyless Mechanical Gaming Keyboards. Of course although the PRO version is far more interesting than the TE model which we looked at today still we weren’t disappointed from what we saw. The Gateron KS-9 switches work fine and provide good feedback, the programmable knob is very useful since you can even use it in-game as a shortcut for various functions and the Radi RGB illumination system is among the best ones we’ve seen to date. That being said we would had liked to see a top aluminum plate used (along with an aluminum knob) since it would increase the build quality of the keyboard considerably but as you will see later on DREVO wanted to keep cost to a minimum so that wouldn’t be possible really (DREVO was planning to make an 100% metal BladeMaster for around USD999 but I don’t know if that ever came to pass). As for the Power Console software it may not be the easiest one to use but it offers every single setting you’d want to access for your keyboard and in our book that’s what counts the most.

   As for price the BladeMaster TE Tenkeyless Mechanical Keyboard by DREVO currently retails for USD89 inside the USA (Amazon) and for 90Euros inside the EU (Amazon UK). Needless to say that at around that price point the competition is quite fierce (especially among the less known manufacturers) but thanks to its features the BladeMaster TE has almost nothing to worry about and that’s why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Overall Build Quality
- Full RGB Per Key Illumination
- RADI RGB 360 Degrees System
- Gateron KS-9 Mechanical Switches (Linear With 50M Actuations)
- Fully Programmable Keys & Knob
- 10 Available RGB Effects
- Extended Functions (DIP Switches)
- NKey Rollover With 100% Anti Ghosting
- Tenkeyless Model (Size)
- CLOUD & Onboard Profiles

CONS

- No USB Passthrough
- Power Console Software (Complex)