The KB65HE is the first ever keyboard released by Endgame Gear, a relatively new peripheral company who primarily specialises in high-end performance mice for gamers. The German brand has impressed so far with its mouse range, and has even won over the notoriously hard to please Reddit mouse enthusiasts, so we were eager to see if it would do the same with their first foray into the gaming keyboard space. Read on to see if it was worthy of inclusion into our best gaming keyboard guide.

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Pros

Hall Effect switches with custom actuation
Excellent build quality
Ducky PBT Doubleshot keycaps
User-friendly onboard software
Hot swappable (but only for Hall effect switches)
Reasonably priced for a premium board

Cons

No printed characters on keys for secondary functions
No fold-out feet
No onboard memory
Not the lightest

Design & Features

The Endgame Gear KB65HE is a 65% size, 69-key, wired-only keyboard. Unlike the smallest, most stripped down 60% layout, the 65% size comes with arrow keys, plus the Delete, Page Up, Page Down, and End keys, though it lacks the function keys of the larger 75% size: it’s becoming an increasingly popular size/layout option in the gaming keyboard space. There’s no multimedia knob or controls besides your standard keys, but multiple different secondary functions can be programmed via the onboard Endgame Gear software.

Tech Specs

Form-factor

65%

Key-switches

Gateron KS-37B switches

Actuation Force / Travel

30g/4mm

Actuation Point

variable (as low as 0.1mm)

Dimensions

315 x 108.8 x 37.2mm

Weight

1.050kg

Keycaps

PBT Doubleshot

Connection

USB 3.0 Type-A (180cm braided Cord with silicone cable tie)

The key draw of the KB65HE is the Hall Effect switches it supports: these utilise a magnetic mechanism rather than a mechanical one, though they do feel similar to mechanical switches under the fingers. Each key has a magnet within it which, when the key is depressed, causes a change in the magnetic field that is detected by the sensor in the keyboard, which can then know exactly how far the key has been moved to a high level of precision – specifically 0.1mm of accuracy. The actuation point can actually be set manually within the onboard software (the Endgame Gear software) to increments of 0.1mm, which is the best degree of variance on the market in any Hall Effect keyboard. This means you can have a feather light actuation distance of 0.1mm, which is very low indeed.

The standard switches that come with the keyboard are the Gateron KS-37B Hall Effect switches, though these can be swapped out for other Hall Effect switches if need be (you can’t swap in non-Hall Effect ones though it’s important to note). These switches are linear (non-tactile with no bump), pre-lubed and have a dual-rail design which makes them more stable and consistent than the more common single-rail design. They have an actuation force of 30g and bottom-out at 50g, with a total travel distance of 4mm. As discussed the actuation point can be varied within the onboard software.

The chassis of the keyboard is made from CNC-milled aluminium, making it as tough as you like: there’s no detectable flex to the board at all. This does make it a bit on the weighty side at 1.05kg though; some people like a heavy board, but if you’re after something a bit more portable this might put you off. Aesthetically the KB65HE isn’t anything to shout about: it’s a pretty nondescript looking black (though there’s a swappable yellow EndGame branded escape key included in the box) and it doesn’t really compete with the nicer looking premium boards out there, though you can always buy alternative keycaps to spice it up a bit.

In terms of how they are to the touch though, the doubleshot PBT keycaps, made by Ducky no less, feel great under your fingertips, and their quality of material construction means they should outlast those on most competing models available at this price point (such as the Corsair K65 Plus wireless that we recently reviewed), which normally come with the more common single-shot dye-sublimated caps. Another great feature you typically would only find on a premium product.

The KB65HE doesn’t come with the fold out feet you usually find on a keyboard, instead having detachable rubber feet which can be replaced with the alternative ones in the box, essentially giving you the choice between a flat position or one that’s slightly elevated; ideally we would have liked a more elevated option in addition to this. The ports are limited to the single wire connection port and that’s it. Additionally, there’s no memory/storage capacity on the keyboard, so you can’t save any of your custom profiles to the device and have to load up the software and manually change them whenever you’re using a new device, which is less than ideal.

Price

At the time of writing, the MSRP of the Endgame Gear KB65HE is $149.99 / £139.99, which is very reasonable indeed considering what you get: it’s not a cheap keyboard obviously, but it is a premium-grade product for a price approximately $50 lower than you’d typically expect. Obviously this is a smaller board that doesn’t have dedicated media keys and the like, but in terms of build quality, typing, and gaming performance it is top-notch.

Performance

Our experience using the KB65HE with the standard Gateron KS-37B linear switches was top-notch. We’ve yet to test a lighter, more responsive keyboard in gaming, particularly after you fiddle around with the actuation in the Endgame Gear software. The software in question is one of the best we’ve ever had the pleasure of using: it’s very easy to navigate and completely free of bloat – a pleasingly efficient experience.

The pre-lubed linear switches were as smooth as silk, they had some bounce to them thanks to the dual layers of silicone padding, sounded great (with a nice THOCK but not too loud) and felt very stable, thanks to the dual-rail setup. Indeed the whole keyboard felt stable, durable, and as solid as any keyboard we’ve tested. The feet are pretty solid and grippy and gave good purchase though we did find ourselves missing out on the usual extendable feet and higher raised position. The key backlighting does the job, making key identification in darker conditions perfectly easy, with all the standard RGB customization available in the onboard software, though it’s not quite as impressive as that of some of the recent Corsair models we’ve reviewed.

For typing it really depends on your personal preference – the very low actuation settings probably aren’t the best for most typists but you can always adjust these in the software settings. If you like a more tactile typing experience (like me) then these linear switches likely aren’t for you, but that’s not really a criticism of the keyboard, given it’s a subjective preference. Ultimately this is a gaming keyboard first, and it’s a truly great device if you’re looking to maximise your reaction times.

The Endgame Gear KB65HE is a hugely impressive gaming keyboard if you’re interested in feather-light responsiveness. It gets all the important stuff right: the keycaps feel great and are of excellent quality along with the tough chassis, and the hall effect switches offer fantastic sensitivity and customization options for the true enthusiast via the streamlined software.

Obviously if you’re looking for a wireless model this board might not offer the flexibility you need. Plus, the lack of fold-out extendable feet, printed legends on the keys signifying their secondary functions, and relatively low wow-factor of the utilitarian aesthetic design stop it just short of getting a perfect score. Nevertheless, this remains one of the best gaming keyboards we’ve tested this year.

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