Tt eSPORTS Thermaltake Poseidon Z Plus Gaming Performance Monitoring App & Software Blue Switches Blue Backlight Mechanical Gaming Keyboard KB-PZP-KLBLUS-01

First of all, I have been using and reviewing a lot of PC gaming peripherals in the market. I have critically reviewed a lot of products from Razer, SteelSeries, Logitech, Ducky, Corsair, and Asus (ROG). Among these elite manufacturers, one name consistently stands out with their excellent build quality and overall good reviews on their products; Thermaltake's Tt eSPORTS. Tt eSPORTS has gained formidable reputation with their gaming keyboards, headsets and mice, and also worth mentioning is their gaming accessories (like bags and metal keycaps). They successfully made me highly intrigued and I immediately bought myself a Tt eSPORTS Poseidon Z Forged.PACKAGING:The box the keyboard came with is rather simplistic yet elegant in a way. The details and specifications on the box tells you everything you need to know about your keyboard. You can see that Tt eSPORTS really highlight the 5 year warranty on their Tt Certified Mechanical Switches (which is Kailh Blues, more on this later). It also displays the keyboard's primary characteristics, like the awesome aluminium top plate and the ISS (Instant Shift System).INSIDE THE BOX:Apart from the keyboard itself, you get a user start guide, warranty information card, a braided high quality USB cable, and a magnetic-based wrist-rest.BUILD QUALITY:I must say, I am extremely impressed with this keyboard. The aluminium top plate makes it very durable and strong, and the brushed finish will last a long time. The metallic structure also adds some weight, so it will stay firmly in place on your gaming desk without buckling around. Overall build quality is just amazing. It is comparable to Corsair K70 and Razer Blackwidow Ultimate, and for me personally, this keyboard is better than most of its competition.The detachable magnetic-based wrist-rest is great, light and very durable. It attaches to the keyboard magnetically, so this means no more breaking clips accidentally.On the right-hand side of the keyboard at the rear, you will find two USB ports, a mic jack and a headphone jack. The position is correctly laid out. This is far more preferable than having it on the right side like Razer Blackwidow Ultimate.On the underside of the keyboard you will find cable management system. This is a really helpful addition as it means less fuss, more focus for the game.The keyboard is equipped with 10 macro keys, with five on each side. This is great for gamers who uses macro keys a lot. Be aware however, that the length of the keyboard will create quite a gap between itself and the mouse, so a wider stance is advised.The Advanced Shift System allows you to swiftly change the macro groups, giving you easy access for a total of 100 macro in gaming mode.Interestingly, the keyboard is outfitted with an onboard DAC Amplifier USB Sound Card, meaning you can plug in a headphone straight into the keyboard itself. I have experienced boosted volumes before so mind your volume level and adjust accordingly.The full mechanical switches is Tt Certified Switch, which in this case, Kaihua Electronics' Kailh Blues. Now, I have been using Cherry MX switches for a long time, with my favourite being the Cherry MX Blues. Whenever I switched to Kailh mechanical switches, I feel almost absolutely no difference at all between Cherry and Kailh. The feel and structure is very similar, in a good way. Kailh Blues, or Tt's enhanced Certified Switches, are very good in terms of performance and durability.Underneath the keycaps, apart from finding the mechanical switches, you will also find a blue metal plate that serves two purpose; to maximize durability and to accentuate the beautiful neon-blue backlighting. Keycaps is standard ABS, and the font used for the keys is modern but simplistic.You have been 6 levels of backlight illumination, including a Pulsing effect. The keyboard also has several pre-configured backlighting setting based on genre, like FPS, MMORPG, MOBA and others.PERFORMANCE:I have been using this keyboard for hours of gaming and typing, and performance is top-notch. No issues with the keyboard whatsoever. Even after a long session gaming, my wrist and hands does not feel tired at all, both with and without the included wrist rest. I play games more comfortably, and the mechanical switch is awesome; highly tactile and very clicky. Most importantly, the keyboard is wonderfully responsive and fast. This has to be one of the best mechanical gaming keyboard I have ever reviewed. Exemplary job Tt eSPORTS (or Thermaltake)!OVERALL VERDICT:With its highly accurate and fast actions, extremely durable build quality, aluminium top plate, Instant Shift System, Tt Certified Switches and awesome backlighting, the Poseidon Z Forged is an amazingly powerful gaming keyboard. It is also the best mechanical gaming keyboard I have reviewed so far. Thermaltake's Tt eSPORTS, thank you for producing such a fine gaming keyboard. Its only flaws are its buggy and laggy software.Apart from that, it is just, wonderful. :D

UPDATE 28 August, 2015:I've emailed customer service two more times since the first (below) and have YET to receive a response. Looking at others' reports, it appears Tt eSPORTS makes you pay for return shipping on the RMA. I'm about ready to scrap it and buy a more reliable keyboard from someone else. The double-entry on the tab key is getting worse/more frequent, which is incredibly frustrating -- there's no key that allows you to tab *backward* through electronic forms. Imagine having to break away and go to your mouse roughly every 6 tabs....Advice: Spend the extra $40-100 and buy a board with better and more reliable switches (eg. Cherry, Matias). Even if it means saving up, it's worth it to avoid the bad experience, especially if you're new to mechanical keyboards. I have a Cooler Master with Cherry switches, for example, that wasn't that much more costly than this and is notably better.UPDATE 8 July, 2015:Like some others, I have begun to have difficulty with the keyboard sometimes double-entering upon key-strike. For me, it has been the Tab key, though others have had it with other switches. It seems to be getting worse/more common. This is a problem for me since I tab through a lot of fields in forms and needing to take my hands off of the keyboard to get back to the skipped-over field is a hassle and really frustrating. I emailed the company to request a replacement, which others have seemed to have had success in doing. That was over a week ago, and I have heard nothing in response.If the switches are operating normally, the keyboard is nice. If they start malfunctioning, it's frustrating. In either case, customer service could stand a refresher on how to respond to customer emails.ORIGINAL REVIEW:For the cost, I think that this is a very good buy and would purchase again in a similar situation.I use a mac and most of the keys are alright. You do need to remember that the OS (windows) key is actually the apple key and that left-alt is "option." Oddly right-alt is *not* option but, rather, activates show-desktop for me. YMMV. That is, unless you remap your keyboard, and then you can make the keys do what you want.Pros:* Media keys work on mac without mapping.* Backlit* Clicky "blue" switches for less money than the Cherry MX blues.Cons:* Row 1 (bottom row) does not have scalloped keycaps like the other rows but is, instead, a convex anti-scallop. I don't like this, but it's also not that big of a deal. This is not the case with the bottom row arrow keys or the bottom row on the number pad.* Backlighting has a variety of settings (off, 1, 2, 3, 4), but the lowest setting is still quite bright. The brightest setting is *very* bright. * The secondary functions of keys don't light up bright enough. At the highest setting, they are sufficiently bright, but the light leak from around the bottom of the keys overpowers them. At the lowest setting (when under-key light is at its least offensive), the secondary functions of the keys are barely able to be read. This isn't a huge deal, though I wish it were otherwise since it's really only those secondary functions that I ever need to look for on the keyboard.* Cord is fixed and non-removable. I would prefer that the board have a make use of a usb cable that plugs in at *both* the board and the computer rather than having it attached to the board. This aids in swapping boards or transporting elsewhere and also helps the user if the cord is somehow damaged.Overall, I'd say that I'm happy with this as a lower cost board for a secondary machine that I don't use as frequently as my primary. I don't game with it, so I can't speak to the effectiveness of it for that application. For typing, though, the board is fine (with the exception of the domed R1 keys, which just aren't to my liking). I'm a new owner, so I cannot speak to the quality of the switches over time or to how well they hold up. The Thermaltake warranty, however, makes me more confident. They feel a little different than their Cherry MX counterparts. I think they require perhaps slightly more force for actuation and the click that they make isn't as high-pitched -- they make more of a "thunk" than a "clack" if that makes sense, maybe like a sound between the Matias Click and the Cherry MX blue?? The tactile feedback is there as is the auditory click that I've come to love. They're different than what I'm used to, but they're fine.For $77, I think that it's a fine buy and would do so again. It would also make a relatively decent introduction to mechanical boards if you didn't want to spend the money on a more costly board simply because someone on the internet told you that mechanical keyboards are better -- I think they are and that they're worth the money, but that's ultimately for you to decide.