Quiet, small, beautiful mechanical keyboard at a nice price. This is how you can briefly describe the Dark Project KD83a gaming keyboard. We rarely write about gaming accessories, but the keyboard is so good that I would like to recommend it to anyone who appreciates mechanics.
Unboxing
In a nutshell about the packaging: the box is concise, you can see the keyboard itself and all its main characteristics. After unpacking, the massiveness of the body and the weight of the structure are impressive. On first impressions, this is a solid, heavy and solid thing.
The package includes a long cable from USB-A to USB-C, pullers (if anyone is confused by an incomprehensible word, then this is a tool for replacing keycaps) for the keyboard and switches, four types of switches and a user manual. It’s nice that you can try different switches using different ready-made options, and further assemble the keyboard for yourself.
Button test
The keyboard has 83 buttons, it has a 75 percent format and an ANSI layout. There is no additional digital block, I’m glad for that – I never understood what the meaning of these buttons, duplicating the top digital row, is. Such a keyboard takes up less space on the table, but not at the expense of convenience. Some function buttons had to be reduced: ALT, FN, CTRL, Shift on the right side. Also, the block of auxiliary buttons is lined up on the right in a column, but there was no place for Insert. At the same time, the usual layout was preserved, where F1 is located above 2.
Keyboard Dark Project KD83a is quite heavy, weighing almost 900 grams. This, of course, is not a typewriter from childhood, but some brutal associations still emerge.
The design is very dense, monolithic, during games you can safely hammer on the buttons in a fit of anger. She endures such rough treatment without uttering a sound, without moving on the surface. If you get to the innards, you can see g3ms Sapphire mechanical switches with 50 grams of actuation force, all factory lubricated for a quiet and smooth ride.
Most of the keys are milky white, all the rest, with the exception of the ESC button, are dark blue in tone with the same body. Keycaps are molded from rough PBT plastic, and the applied symbols should not wear off over time.
The keyboard turned out just beautiful, everyone has their own taste and color, but I liked it. Everything seems to be very simple, but pleasant tactile sensations when typing and pretty colors attract attention.
Thoughtful details
Two plastic feet can be used to adjust the angle of inclination. If they are folded, then the keyboard rests on the surface with four rubber feet.
In search of the perfect keyboard, you can experiment with different switches or keys, everything is very individual here. Let me just say that I liked the test version. I was afraid that the keyboard would be very noisy, but it turned out to be quite quiet. Not silent, of course, but the keys work dull and do not annoy colleagues in the room when typing.
Behind the keyboard, not only is it pleasant to play, but everything is fine with typing – the buttons are moderately elastic and you type without accidental operation.
The keys are made of matte and slightly rough plastic, printed characters can be seen perfectly. Moreover, the Cyrillic alphabet is applied in an interesting way: the symbols are located not on top, but on the side. They read perfectly, there are no difficulties, and the aesthetics do not suffer, there is no unnecessary piling up of symbols.
To type in the dark, you will need to master the blind input method. Or put a lamp – some kind of external lighting is necessary, and you should not place special hopes on the background illumination of the buttons.
Since I’m on macOS, I was delighted with the support of the system. You can activate a special poppy profile on the keyboard, holding FN and M, then the function keys work in the same sequence as you get used to it in the system. Otherwise, for example, you switch the language through Win and a space, and not ALT and a space. I came to this after reading the complete manual, so do not throw this booklet away.
The keyboard supports only wired connection, the cable connects to the Type-C port located on the back. Complete cable in the color of the keyboard and in a durable fabric braid.
On the left side there is a wheel for adjusting the volume with precise and distinct steps. Nearby is a USB-A port version 2.0. It is not fast, so working with external drives is inconvenient, but you can use it to connect undemanding peripherals or to recharge something via cable.
To customize the keyboard, record macros, change the backlight, you need to install the Dark Project application, but it is only available for Windows for obvious reasons. Hint: there is no gaming on Macs, and single curious users like me do not count.
Results
The keyboard turned out to be an interesting representative of the “mechanical” family. It’s cute, well-built, quiet, easy to customize, height adjustable, connects via a detachable USB-C cable, and is even friendly with macOS.
It remains only to add about the price. Keyboard Dark Project KD83a costs 8990 rubles. It turned out to be an attractive offer for connoisseurs of “mechanics”, taking into account all the above qualities.