Seems like cheapest price ever.
Check previous deals for comments/reviews
EVGA Z20 RGB Optical Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, RGB Backlit LED, Optical Mechanical Switches (Linear) - Actuation Distance: 1.5mm - Actuation Force: 45g - Total Travel Distance: 3.0 mm - Micro Processor: 32-bit ARM Cortex-M33 Processor - RGB Lighting: Per Key RGB Left and Right Side RGB Light Bar
Z15 for $59 (Save $110)
https://www.bpctech.com.au/product/821-w1-15us-kr-evga-z15-r…
Hot swappable keys.
Are the keys loud?
They aren't too bad - louder than your typical membrane keyboard of course, but not super 'clacky' - it is my first proper mechanical keyboard though so my opinion may not be the most accurate
As a touch typer - yes… very clacky and has a metallic springy reverb like the cheap Kogan ones.
So much so I think I might use this keyboard on my less used pc and go back to my ducky keyboard.
Can you let me know whether the macro keys can be programmed to Windows key + Left key and such, for snapping windows around?
Too bad I don't need a keyboard.
You must be new here.. that's exactly why you need one.
same. bought 5
You're right where is my Ozbargain spirit , I need a bargain in my life today so I bought one.
Nice!
There it is.
Once you have a keyboard with a scroll wheel, you'll never want to go back.
And once you have a headphone amp, you'll never want to go back to the keyboard with the scroll wheel.
Media keys are still very useful, and often come with keyboards with a scroll wheel.
It see why it is so cheap!
It has media keys, scroll wheel, macro keys, so many keys that's why it is cheaper.
Less Keys = more price is the trend isn't it? all these 65% keyboards are all much more expensive than this one.
I wonder when they will come out with a 15 key keyboard. (half the alphabet, with shift to access the other half and to switch between enter and space).
@Ahyao17: Here you go: http://www.frogpad.com/.
I brought one of these when I broke my wrist, took a while to learn how to use but eventually got the hang of it. Much quicker typing one handed on this than on a QWERTY keyboard.
I have one with a scroll wheel but I never use it as my headphones control volume (which controls chat volume vs game volume) which is just better.
I got buttons already, I want a wheel. When I got wheel, i started to miss the buttons….
I had one back about 15years ago; I don't recall missing it at all.
I had one 10 years ago and broke due to a Vodka + OJ spillage
To change volume I have software which allows me to hold down the ALT key and scroll up/down on my mouse.
Oddly specific memory as to the particular drink, but I suggest going for something waterproof if you're clumsy, either that or a sippy cup 😆
I miss the scroll wheel
Once you have a mouse that can control volume with the scroll wheel, you'll never want to go back
Hotswap capability is a must!
Same price after discount code and free shipping through their ebay store.
z15
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/224481302211?epid=26046925005&ha…
z20
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/324578621727?epid=10046844873&ha…
What discount code brings the z20 down to $69?
I have the same question as well.
Shipping fee to my area is $6.12 via Aramex, so the total would be about $75
Its ebay price is $85 (free shipping) and ebay plus gives me $5 off, so the total would be $80.
There are $5 difference.
Use AFTERPAY10 code
Oh Aramex. Shudder. 🥺
Last time I ordered from Total Tools and shipped by them, it took over a month to go 20km. Just over 1 star rating on Productreview.
What's the discount code you're talking about ? I can get max $10 off.
$10 off makes it $75 in eBay. $69+delivery on the deal should work out the same as eBay has free shipping.
Also wanting to know what code this is.
Anyone know the turn around time for in store pick up?
Do you have to wait for confirmation or just show up?
Just call up to confirm stock then show up and pay on the spot. I've done that for my last 2 purchases from BPC.
I've picked up same day (after contacting them to ensure they had it in stock)
For eBay are you guys talking about this code thats not active yet?
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/677791
Sorry, mistake, brings Z20 to $75 which worked out cheaper than +shipping on official website.
Checked ebay listing again, originally I saw a 10off code which seems to have been removed.
OP might need update. Sorry team.
I've had this keyboard for several months now and whilst it is a decent piece of hardware, the EVGA software that comes with this is truly awful.
Over the course of several updates, I can no longer get the RGB's on the keyboard to switch off when my PC is shutdown and now due to this. the sleep/wake-up sensor also no longer works.
If anyone's got any recommendations on a fix for this I'd appreciate it, but just be aware that you're dealing with pretty terrible software along with this keyboard.
Heard this from multiple people also. Need to weigh up if it’s worth it
Yeah this is why keyboards shouldn’t have lighting. It’s just superficial (I’m going to get flamed for this), just needs letters printed in it and it’s just a keyboard.
Haha I know what your saying. As long as it’s got a plain old backlit keys function, I can manage!
Use other USB port, also check with your mb as some offer USB constant power on setting.
^^THIS^^ Your BIOS will have asetting somewhere to keep the USB ports powered when the system is off. Find that setting and turn it off.
That's interesting - The software seems a little bloated but I've had no issues with it doing anything unexpected, the lighting turns off with the pc and the sensor still works fine for me too - Hope you can find a solution!
Is this actually any better than the Kogan mechanical keyboards?
no
Came here with just this question in mind, thanks for saving me $69.
Haven't used EVGA but from experience the Kogan keyboards are truly awful.
So almost certainly yes.
Do BPC offer free shipping on entire order over if spend $X amount?
this is a good price for optical switches. unfortunately optical switches are pretty crappy. i bought a 60% keyboard for gaming with optical switches. there suppose to be "super fast actuation" since it uses break beam laser, but i accidentally mis press keys all the time with it. it was also a hot swap board and i had gateron blue, brown, red, yellow, black, and speed silver optical switches. I tried to make my gaming keyboard perfect and tried to find the perfect switch, but they are all pretty bad. they also have a lot of stem wobble. i went back to regular mechanical switches and find no difference. i guess you will be 0,00000000000000001 ms faster then your competition, but i find no difference in either. currently using gat black ink v2.
Thanks for the heads up - I had thought optical might be the solution to all the reliability and chatter issues I seem to have with mechanical keyboards. I might just keep an eye out for a good membrane option instead.
That's not "optical switches" fault - usually you can set the actuation distance on higher end keyboard - but you're correct that it makes no difference to reaction speed.
set the actuation distance? no you can't, lol. oh, you're probably talking about the steel series keyboard. i never tried it, but also not interested in it, lol. i like hot swap keyboards that i can switch out switches easily. i have been spoiled with premium keyboard and can't use plastic. i currently have a mammoth, but i had and sold my jelly, mr. suit, and 7v. i hate plastic keyboards now, i need my keyboard to break the table, lol.
Can someone explain to me what the big deal is with mechanical keyboards? I don't get it. Is it the clickity clack sound? Hardcore gamer flex and neon lights?
I use my keyboard on my work laptop when I WFH. Mostly writing emails, documents and Excel.
So do I need a mechanical KB? (Pls honest answer not OzB answer)
Short answer to whether you need one, no.
I think how it feels to type is very subjective, I personally do enjoy them, but that means little imo.
There are things that are definitely different. Membrane keyboards rarely have overtravel, as in, with membrane keyboards, you have to press the keys all the way down for the keys to register. So the experience can feel less like you have to bash every keys for a key register with a mechanical keyboard. There are definitely more varieties in key feels, more options for layouts, and more options for customisations. All these could mean getting a mechanical keyboard might make your typing experience better, it could also mean little if you don't care for these.
My wife for example enjoys using a mechanical keyboard with switches with dampeners inside, because they are not as loud as switches that don't have those. It does not have RGB and she uses them at work. She uses them while on meetings as wel so I am guessing it is at least tolerable in terms of noise level to her co-workers? So there are definitely different options out there for mechanical keyboards.
May I please ask which keyboard she has? I've been looking at mechanical recently but don't want to be too loud on meetings!
I think it was Ducky One 2 with Cherry MX Silent Black. Cherry has switches with dampeners inside called Cherry MX Silent Red (also called Pink sometimes), and Cherry MX Silent Black. They still do make noises (big keys inevitably make more noises), but the noises are dampened by silicone dampeners inside that stops the plastic part hitting on the plastic bottom of the switch.
Some companies will claim that Cherry MX Red and Black (or linear switches) are quiet, but I can assure you, depending on how you type, they can be loud as hell (my wife was actually told off for using a Cherry MX Black board once if I remember correctly).
I don't think I can say how you'd perceive the noise level of a board with one of those switches I mentioned however. It might be better if you could find somewhere to kinda test them, but it's bit difficult with COVID around.
I would recommend cherry MX Brown or Cherry MX Clear. They are relevantly quite.
@Astaltar: I think noise level really depends a lot on how you type, for ones that do not have dampeners inside.
If you type "hard", as in you hit right to the bottom with fair bit of force, you are hitting the plastic bottom of the switch with the plastic slider. "Clacking" noise associated with mechanical keyboards is basically from that. Dampeners reduce that noise by having silicone dampeners on the slider that hits the plastic bottom instead.
That is why I don't really think linears and tactiles (so MX Red, MX Brown) are quiet, necessarily. For them to be quiet you need to type softly which is not something that many people do. A lot of people are used to membrane keyboards, and for those, you have to bottom out for key registrations. Therefore many people I've met were used to bottoming out with fair bit of force.
Just going slightly tangent, how much force you use to type and how you type really is a personal thing. I am just touching upon these because we are talking about noises. As in, depending on how you type you can make more or less noise, not, you should type in certain ways.
Even the ones with dampeners isn't "silent" imo. If noise is the utmost importance, I do feel that trying the keyboards out first to see how you go with the noise level is the best way to go about things.
It's just personal preference. I used a Corsair K70 for many years and switched to a Logitech MX Keys about a year ago, and haven't missed the mechanical keyboard at all. I prefer the laptop-style keys, in fact.
those aren't good mechanical keyboards, lol. what your probably would like is a tactile low profile mechanical keyboard if you like a laptop style. do u use your f row, arrows, and numbered a lot? once u use a "real" mechanical keyboard, you can't use anything else.
I had a k70. Its like night and day switching to a "proper" mechanical keyboard
What are some recommendations for a good mechanical keyboard (not being sarcastic, genuinely curious)?
@deadpoet: Id probably get one of the Chinese brands and steer away from the gaming brands. It's probably an awkward time to buy one at the moment as the new models are just coming out from Ducky, Keychron, Skyloong etc. Now I would say make sure they have hotswappable switches (which rules out Ducky 2 and Anne Pro 2), nkey rollover, and maybe even Via (software) support. I would probably wait for the Ducky 3 to be released here or get one of the new Skyloong or aluminium Keychrons. Probably a brown tactile switch which you should be able to select when purchasing. If you want smaller then try the 65% size keyboards… at least they still have dedicated delete key and arrows.
@Fobsessive: They do say Topre is really really good. It does use rubber domes in its operations, so I think that might be something you could look into (not sure about the low profile aspect). It is considered to be like one of the end games by many keyboard enthusiasts, so I think it's definitely worth looking into just for the key feels.
MX Keys is something that everyone seem to like, I haven't tried it, but it is really well received. I think that'd be my best bet since it ticks both good rubber dome keyboard and a low profile keyboard.
There are low profile mechanical keyboards out there, like Keychron, etc. Whether you'd enjoy the key feels or the noises that it could make I feel is a question that I am not sure about. Nuphy Air75 looked interesting with its layout and its PBT keycaps (low profile keycaps are fairly rare).
@Fobsessive: Maybe the Drop Alt for a 65% or Drop Ctrl for fullsize. Expensive shipping but there is a coupon for first time buyer. This keyboard can go full flat. It's quite thin. If you want high profile you can change the case to a high profile case next time. Then you can fit it with gateron low profile switches. They have a total travel of 2.5mm which is lower than the Cherry or Kailh low profiles. You can still pick linear, tactile and clicky in them too. Here is the side profile of the my drop Alt with normal switches and keycaps. The little thing next to it is a magnetic wedge to tilt the board. https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/55818/93663/20220108_0…
Also, the Drop Alt has a 3 pin PCB so you will have to cut off the 2 plastic pins on the gateron switches, if they are 5 pin. It's a pain in the ass to do. A lot of boards are still 3 pin.
@Sammyboy: I thought the low profile switches aren't compatiable with stardard switches board. On keychron's page, it says they are not. https://www.keychron.com/products/low-profile-gateron-mechan…
@iridiumstem: Crap my bad. Will have to use Gazzew Low Profile or Otemu low profile. Both of these are mx compatible. As least you can pick a keyboard then as opposed to being stuck with only the low profile Keychron keyboard.
@Sammyboy: The "low profile" Outemu blues are fairly interesting if you are into clickies. They use what is called "snap springs". I did enjoy using them every now and then and the boards that come with them are fairly cheap (under $60 from Amazon for a TKL board if you get them during a promotion or something).
Though, I will say that these are still fairly significantly taller than what a laptop keys would be.
@iridiumstem: So maybe the Gazzew or the GTMX?
You can see the profile comparison here on this website
https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/p6amut…
Probably the best you gonna get, otherwise you stuck with a very limited range of boards
@Sammyboy: It's slightly weird and headache inducing but, Outemu, GTMX, Gazzew switches are all produced by Gaote. People kinda use the name Gaote and Outemu interchangably since Outemu switches are basically what they are known for.
Gazzew switches are special in that they are designed by Gazzew and manufactured by Outemu.
I will however admit that is on the reddit page that you shared looks slightly different to the Outemu low profile blue switch I have in terms of the shape. I wonder if that is because MK Ultra requested modifications of the switches or whether it is a similar but a different switch on a different line up.
@Sammyboy: Thank you for the detailed response, you've got me interested now and I'll definitely be looking into the Ducky 3 when it comes out!
It feels nice to type on.
You might not need it but you probably won't go back if you use one.
So, does the keyboard actually come with the stated palm rest? I need a palm rest lol
Seems to, yes.
https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=812-W1-20US-KR
EDIT: you can also buy it separately, which confuses me now: https://www.amazon.com.au/Premium-Magnetic-EVGA-Gaming-Keybo…
EDIT 2: reviews compliment the wrist rest, so looks like it is included: https://www.amazon.com.au/EVGA-Optical-Mechanical-Keyboard-S…
whats the difference between the z15 vs z20? do they sound the same?
TLDR
Z15 - hot swappable
Z20 - audio and USB passthrough, macro keys
Different keys but similar sound and performance
Where can you test keyboards in or near Sydney?
join a LAN party :)
You mean covid LAN party
Are there no retail outlets anymore displaying a range of (mechanical) keyboards?
$61 for the ex-demo Z20: https://www.bpctech.com.au/catalog/product/view/id/43401/
Save $8 ozbargianeers!
Brought this before xmas and already return mine , had disconnecting / freezing problem. ( windows sound ) . keyboard button would stay down( bad switch spring???) , the proximity sensor also freeze the keyboard ( walk away and come back , RGB would turn off / key wont work for a good 3 min )
Great shop just crap product - They even paid for shipping back.
Looks like I better go for local shops for easier return.
+1 great shop, I had issues with my Z15, very good customer service
damn really could have gotten it if it is TKL
Anyone know how this would compare to my old M800 APEX?
got mine today its terrible it does not feel like a Mechanical Keyboard
Were you expecting a tactile switch? This comes with Linear switches
Mine arrived today - and while it does (at least to me) feel like a mechanical keyboard, its very very noisy compared to my cherry browns.
I did try installing a few silicone rings inside the keycaps which normally does the job with otemu/cherry switches, but for this keyboard, made no difference in the noise..
If your playing a game and using WASD keys, I think you'd be fine, but for regular typing and use - yikes - the Tecware Phantom RGB keyboard for the same price is much quieter.
Visually I do like this EVGA one ( except for the clunky thick USB cable and EVGA logo )… RGB colours are bright, the side RGB is a nice touch but the noise level really does make me want to take 2 stars out of 5…
Mine also arrived yesteday, and I agree with everything you’ve said and rate it maybe 2.5.
I don’t like the bumps on the WASD keys what do ever though so I’ll be changing them out.
I might be keen on returning mine then in that case.
mine arrived today as well. very average keyboard. will try to return…
I have this keyboard and really like it - from memory I paid just over $100 for it around 6 months ago so this is a steal @ $69!