Azio Mgk L80 Rgb Gaming Mechanical Keyboard Review
by Greg King on February 17, 2017 in Peripherals
Mechanical keyboards are all the rage right now, but finding a good one on a budget can be tough. AZIO made a good first impression in the by, and seeks to do it once again with the Kaihl Brown equipped MGK L80. Coming in a couple flavours, we take a look at the RGB edition and meet how it fares.
Final Baronial nosotros took a look at the Patriot V760 mechanical keyboard. It was my first real experience with a mechanical and I walked away from the review with a positive impression.
Part of that favorable impression at the time could be attributed to information technology being my offset mech board. That said, I switched to the V760 as my principal board at home and in the months betwixt that review and now, I am notwithstanding using the V760 and am just as happy with it now as I was and so.
Not too long ago, Jamie took a await at the AZIO MGK1 and while information technology was our commencement look at an AZIO product, he had nix but praise for the mechanical board. Today we continue our exploration of the AZIO portfolio with a expect at its newest improver to the lineup, the MGK L80.
The L80 comes in iii flavors, red, blue and RGB, each is a chip different from the others. We were sent all three but this review covers the brownish switch equipped RGB model. This allows me to make a side by side comparing to another keyboard with the same type of switches.
All three boards have the same layout. The same macro buttons and book knob. The only differences are the LED colors and the switches used. The L80 Blue has blue Kailh switches and the red and RGB both have brown Kailh switches. Switches bated, the boards have backlighting that aligns with their corresponding names.
Because the MGK1 that Jamie worked with had blue switches, we volition focus on the boards with browns. Because the only departure betwixt the cherry-red and RGB boards is their LED lighting, nosotros will exist worked exclusively with the RGB lath every bit stated before.
The feel of the L80 is almost identical to the Patriot V760 that nosotros looked at earlier this year. The dark-brown Kailhs, similar Scarlet browns, are far more than serenity than their bluish cousin and generally just make a noise when the key bottoms out on the lath.
Because of their quieter design, they lack the clicking sound that the blue switches make. Perfect for utilize in an role environment and ane that I have found to be a perfect compromise for those looking for a great typing and gaming keyboard without the loud clicking audio made past the blues. Fifty-fifty the Cherry red switches are a scrap louder than the browns.
The Hardware
The L80's layout is as normal equally keyboards become. A full-sized keyboard with a number pad situated on the right, the L80 does zippo that departs from the keyboards we've grown accustomed to over the class of our digital lives. Where the L80 differs from many other keyboards on the market place however, is the addition of a volume command nob in the upper right hand of the board.
This is a characteristic I've missed and am happy to see included. Beyond that, the only other buttons on the L80 are a pair of buttons labeled M and K. The G switches the board into gaming mode. What this does is fix the F1 through F4 keys to macro functionality. That'due south all well and good, just how exercise we program those macro keys? That is done with the M primal.
Similar with the MGK1 that Jamie reviewed late last year, the L80 lacks any software needing to be installed on the host PC or Mac. The L80 is truly plug and play. This will be seen by many as a negative, given the L80 is being marketed as a gaming keyboard. For others, this is a positive.
Without whatsoever software to be installed, the overhead on the computer's OS, nevertheless small that might be, is eliminated and the lath is ready to get immediately after plugging information technology in. For those that want to utilize macros on the L80, the process to set up them upwards isn't likewise terribly complicated. The process is as follows:
Make sure the keyboard is in Gaming Manner by pressing the "G" button. The "G" LED should exist lit.
- Press the "M" button to enter Record mode. The 3 LED status indicators will beginning to flash, indicating the keyboard is in Record Mode.
- Press the key you would like to record (F1 to F4).
- Enter the Macro sequence you wish to program.
- Press "M" button again in one case you are finished. The 3 LED condition indicators volition stop flashing indicating recording is complete.
Some other welcome feature of the AZIO L80 is the magnetic palm residual. It attached firmly to the front of the keyboard and is designed with a pleasant bending. Because it'south magnetic, it can be easily removed if you lot already take a palm rest that yous adopt, but in the couple of months that this board has been tested, we've been pleased with the rest that ships with the board.
Custom Backlight
Like the MGK1 before it, the L80 has a set of pre-programmed backlighting profiles. There are half-dozen in total; spectrum, splash, wave, marquee, custom, and reactive. Nosotros will drill down into a little more detail.
- Spectrum – All keys uniformly and subtly bicycle through the full spectrum of colors.
- FN + INS
- To interruption the motion of colour menses, press FN+DEL
- FN + Upwardly Arrow: Increase Brightness (25 Levels)
- FN + DN Arrow: Decrease Effulgence (25 Levels)
- FN + L Arrow: Change Colour period direction Left
- FN + R Arrow: Change Color menstruation direction Right
- Splash – The keys reveal a variety of colors through a ripple effect.
- FN + HOME
- Pressing FN+Habitation again volition change splash style
- FN + UP Arrow: Increase Brightness (25 Levels)
- FN + DN Pointer: Decrease Brightness (25 Levels) ]
- FN + + : Increase Speed of Color
- FN + – : Subtract Speed of Colour
- Moving ridge – The RGB backlighting moves across the keyboard in a subtle and slope format.
- FN + PGUP To pause the motility of colour flow, printing FN+PGUP
- FN + UP Arrow: Increment Effulgence (25 Levels)
- FN + DN Arrow: Decrease Brightness (25 Levels)
- FN + 50 Pointer: Change Color menstruation direction Left
- FN + R Arrow: Change Color catamenia management Right
- Marquee – The backlighting shifts across the keyboard in a spectrum of colors.
- FN + DEL
- To intermission the motion of color menstruation, printing FN+DEL
- FN + Up Arrow: Increase Brightness (25 Levels)
- FN + DN Pointer: Decrease Effulgence (25 Levels)
- FN + L Pointer: Change Colour menstruation direction Left
- FN + R Arrow: Modify Color flow direction Correct
- Custom – You lot have the power to effortlessly prepare the desired backlight color to each key.
- FN + END
- To customize this mode, press FN+Stop twice
- Push any key repeatedly and you will bicycle through the vii preset color options available
- After you lot accept finished customizing the cardinal's colors, push
- FN+Terminate again to exit Edit Style
- Reactive – Each central lights when pressed and stays lit momentarily before fading back off.
- FN + PGDN
- To toggle 7 preset colors, press FN+PGDN repeatedly
- FN + UP Arrow: Increase Brightness (25 Levels)
- FN + DN Arrow: Decrease Effulgence (25 Levels)
All that seems like a lot but once you've washed information technology a few times, it volition get 2d nature. That said, one of the greatest benefits of accompanying software is the ability to relieve custom settings for lighting. You forfeit that with the L80.
Final Thoughts
As Jamie said in his review of the AZIO MGK1, the market place is "rather crowded" at this time. It seems every other month a new company brings to market a mechanical keyboard. Some have plant creative ways to keep the pricing downwardly. AZIO does this past using Kailh switches in their boards. In my feel, this is not a bad thing. The browns provide decent feedback and continue the noise down to a minimum (where mechanicals are concerned).
In the few months I've used the L80, it's been a solid keyboard, void of problems of any kind. I've used it daily at the office and nearly every unmarried person to walk past, comments on the colors that information technology puts off. I keep my board in the marquee setting, which certainly catches the eye when passing by. If anything, it'southward a smashing conversation starter. This feature is not exclusive to the L80 but something that is unique is the pricing.
At the time of publishing, the L80 Blue and Scarlet can be plant online for $seventy USD and the RGB model for a beggarly $10 more. There are many mechanical keyboards on the market place and near as many with RGB lighting. Few however are priced as low as the AZIO L80. Ane affair to stress is that while the pricing is correct, the build quality does not reflect that. The L80 is a very solid keyboard and would exist a good purchase at $100.
Given that pricing is currently well below that mark, the AZIO L80 is an incredible value and something that anyone on the lookout for a mechanical keyboard should take a long await at. The board has all of the features I loved in the Patriot V760 and even addressed the i downside I had with information technology by calculation a volume dial and media keys.
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Source: https://techgage.com/article/azio-mgk-l80-rgb-mechanical-gaming-keyboard-review/
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