Manufacturer: Tecknet

Release Date: 8/18/2015

MSRP: $39.99

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Tecknet is a British up-and-comer for gaming peripherals, and they tend to be on the budget end yet produce decent products. For a $40 keyboard, the X641 is surprisingly well built and feels close to a high-end keyboard from someone like Corsair or Logitech. The keyboard has a minimal design with just your basic keyboard layout. No fancy macro buttons, no extra anything, and no software. This is an easy-to-use plug-in-and-play keyboard with basic media functions, and that’s it.

That’s not to say this is a bad thing. A lot of people don’t need fancy software and macro buttons. The keyboard has a solid aluminum frame that will keep your keyboard still, and it weighs quite a bit. The keys themselves are Cherry MX keys, so they are very loud and clacky and have satisfying feedback from people who like them. Cherry keys are raised quite high off the keyboard and require a little more dexterity of your fingers to press down and type fast. After using a membrane keyboard for so long, my hands would cramp after only a few minutes of typing. The keys are spaced out quite a bit, and the keyboard itself takes up little desk real estate.

The keyboard is backlit with a button that changes to three different colors. This is a nice touch and will help your game and type in the dark. Honestly, this keyboard isn’t quite what I want, as the keys are much too elevated and typing feels like a chore. I would eventually get used to it, but I found my WPM to be slower because of how hard you have to press and how far apart the keys are. I also found the enter button for the traditional return key, and I kept hitting the backslash button all the time. Even after 3 days of use, I still did this, so that’s a problem. I found the light button to be in an odd spot and constantly pressed it when going to Shift or Ctrl. Overall, these can be compensated for in the end.

For what it is, the Technet X641 keyboard is a decent low-budget Cherry MX keyboard and gets the job done. It looks pretty decent and has lighting, but the lack of software features and exclusive buttons may turn hardcore gamers away. If you like membrane keyboards, stay away from this thing, as the Cherry keys will give your hands a serious workout. A few buttons were placed in odd positions as well. The keyboard is super sturdy and well built, and it doesn’t take up much room.