A series of shallow grooves line each side of the bottom half of the case. These appear to mimic the side carvings of some limited-run custom keyboards, and they serve a functional purpose, making the keyboard easier to lift. The design is reflected in the aluminum button in the upper right corner, which features a similar pattern. I really like that these designs are not just ornamental, but actually serve a functional purpose during regular use.
Going further into the aesthetic choices of this keyboard, I am a little lost with the keycaps. I’m not a big fan of the camouflage design. The shapes don’t always line up with the keys, and it looks cheesy overall. However, the print quality is excellent, with no blurring or fading, consistent even on the sides of the keys. Since the keys are white with multi-color printing on top, the RGB lighting is able to bounce between the white plastic plate and the white underside of the keys, appearing brighter and spreading more evenly across the keyboard.
With a polling rate of 1,000 Hz (meaning the keyboard sends 1,000 messages to the computer every second), the DeltaForce 65 is snappy and responsive. This combines with the relatively lightweight Gateron Red switches to create a keyboard that is effective for gaming while remaining comfortable to type on. This doesn’t compare to high-end gaming keyboards with Hall effect switches and 8,000Hz polling rates, which will be faster and more customizable, but for casual gaming it’s more than enough.
The keyboard’s compact size is ideal for gaming, saving a significant amount of space compared to a full-sized keyboard. This allows more space for the mouse and allows your hands to move closer together for faster movement between the mouse and keyboard. To compensate for the loss of the function row at the top, you can hold down the FN key and press the corresponding number key (i.e. FN+1 = F1), and the FN key can be used with other keys for Home, Pause, Print Screen and other removed keys. The top right button is easy to reach and has a satisfying notch. It’s programmed to set the default volume, but can be remapped to almost anything else.
Software quirks
Photography: Henri Robbins
When it comes to programmability, VIA is the star of the show here. The DeltaForce65 uses an open source system known as QMK for its programmability, and VIA is a QMK-based in-browser interface that allows for seamless and rapid keyboard layout customization. The system is incredibly powerful and intuitive to use, and is a capability common to many modern mechanical keyboards.
