Is Azio MGK1 Mechancial Keyboard any good?

Nope, go for it. Cheaper boards will have the same switched as more expensive ones, if anything wears out quicker it will be the finish on the keys and stuff like that.
 
HeavensCloud said:
Nope, go for it. Cheaper boards will have the same switched as more expensive ones, if anything wears out quicker it will be the finish on the keys and stuff like that.
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I'm not sure if manufacturing QC on the cheaper boards has gotten any better, but many use to be prone to receiving poor solder joints which would fail and cause the keys not to function. Easy to fix with a little solder skill, but still quite a nuisance having to open it up and find the point of failure.

This can easily be confirmed by looking at Razer's earlier Blackwidow lineup (manufactured by iOne), lots of reports of keys failing.
 
Also, some of the cheaper keyboards use cheaper Chinese switches (Kalih) instead of Cherry MX switches. The MGK1 uses Kalih blue ones.

Many have had great luck with them and claim they fill just like Cherry switches. However, I've had 2 keyboards with Kalih switches and both suffered from random double or triple key repeat. For example, if the word "keyboard" was typed, it might look like "keeyboaaard".

I'm not sure if it was due to the switches or the manufacturer build.
 
Just ordered one. I submitted a price match request to Amazon yesterday for the MGK1 and they just dropped it down to match newegg

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OBA6QYY?app=1BA&ascsubtag=1ba_0_spk_000-os-device-browser-localeTest-testApp-custom%3AA%7Ccustom%3AB&partner=amazon&platform=CR&programCode=org&ref_=bit_bit_org_1ba-cr_def_us_title&tag=bit-org-1ba-cr-us-20&tagbase=abba-chrome

Was considering a K70 or a 710+,but the LED issues (K70) and broken keycaps (710+) scared me away.

edit: that was a short ass price cut. back up to 90.
 
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So just got home from the Columbus Zoo and the keyboard was sitting on my front porch. Being my first "real" mechanical since using one ages ago in like middle school. This thing is really nice. Though without having any other ones to really compare it too.

The lights are nice and not too bright. the wrist wrest isn't big but isn't small. The keys are overly loud for me. and they all feel really nice.
 
After 1 yr., for the people above, are you still happy and using your Azio keyboard?
 
I've had mine for almost a year- O ringed it because I type like a Neanderthal, but I like it. Cheap and simple 'brown' keys that work fine and it's not squeaky after a bit of silicone oil on the spacebar stabilizers. Love the volume roller.
 
I purchased the Azio MGK1-K (brown switches) back in January and have had zero problems with it. It's currently $60 at Amazon, which is an awesome deal.
 
Love mine- I o-ringed it because I type like a Neanderthal, but the lights are bright (I keep mine on low), the volume scroll is a little clickey- in a good way (little steps / clicks). Easy to keep clean. Oh- I masked the numlock / capslock lights with a blue post it, they are bright.
 
DWolvin said:
Love mine- I o-ringed it because I type like a Neanderthal, but the lights are bright (I keep mine on low), the volume scroll is a little clickey- in a good way (little steps / clicks). Easy to keep clean. Oh- I masked the numlock / capslock lights with a blue post it, they are bright.
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I installed O-rings (blue) on mine as well.

My keyboard at work uses brown switches with blue O-rings. The cherry and kailh switches don't feel identical, but they are very close. I prefer the feel of the cherry switches but I still really like the Azio keyboards and don't hesitate to recommend them.

Funny, I don't see the lights as being bright at all, even on the highest settings. Actually, I kinda wish they were a little bit brighter.
 
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I should say I play in a fairly shaded corner desk- and I agree that the keys aren't to bright, it's the capslock / numlock / winlock trio that's bright on mine... a solid step brighter than the keys on their brightest setting. But that's not important, it's still a kick@$$ $60 keyboard.
 
Magicforce 68 is one of the current budget deals. Comes in blue, black Kalih and brown Cherry MX variants. Non-backlit version of the keyboard is $40 on Amazon... which is a pretty fucking good price for a mechanical.

Picked up a black switch and it's much better than I expected though the Kalih keys are much heavier than I'm used to. Double o-rings on the key stems helped that as I bottom out before the spring starts pushing back more. Definitely glad I picked it up as it's a great travel board... but definitely prefer my Leopold FC660M with Cherry MX Browns.
 
I just found this is NOT really a mechanical Cherry technology keyboard, it's another technology that emulates a cherry mechanical keyboard technology. As we all know, Cherry MX last 50M keystrokes. I don't know how long this one would last.
 
They are Kailh Switches, similar (OK, straight copies) from a different company. Potentially not as high quality, especially spring weight consistency, but I don't notice any really difference. You are not going to find backlit Cherries for this price point.

I'm still enjoying mine as much as my Cherry keyboard- it's a nice rig.
 
Happy Hopping said:
I just found this is NOT really a mechanical Cherry technology keyboard, it's another technology that emulates a cherry mechanical keyboard technology. As we all know, Cherry MX last 50M keystrokes. I don't know how long this one would last.
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Keystroke lifetime is the least of your concerns. You're not going to be able to tell the switches apart by that spec.
 
azio great keyboard for gamers
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Just got mine in today. Love the build quality, nice metal base and it has a good heft to it. The brown switches feel pretty good for typing. Not sure I like the lighting, it seems a bit too bright, but I'll see if I get use to it. Haven't had a chance to do much gaming with it yet, so can't comment on that just yet.

Edit: Figured out how to adjust the brightness of the lights, much better now.
 
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Yea- I like the lights on the lowest setting, but that's not a bad thing.
 
I've had the MGK1-RGB for a little over 6 months. No real issues with it so far. I wanted some nice LEDs and didn't want to pay double for the Corsair.

The blue switches are satisfying. Only complaint is the sound of the spacebar. It feels good, but has a bit of rattle on release.

The included palmrest is nice.


LEDs: Brightness control is good, you can turn them off, or set 1 of 25 steps.

Control of color is limited. There is no software control, it's all done manually with the built-in controller. Consists of 5 or so different animations that you can pause, and a custom mode ( you can select off or 7-ish different colors for every key ).

The keyboard only saves the custom preset if it's unplugged or power loss. Can't have everything for $95 bucks, I suppose.

The LEDs however look very pleasing.


These KBs are a good deal.
 
So far the only thing that bothers me about the keyboard is that they flipped the position of the Shift key characters (E.g. the The numbers are above the symbols, forward slash above the question mark, etc.. instead of the other way around). While it doesn't affect the way the keys work (numbers are still the default and symbols only activate on Shift), it's a bit confusing when I look at them, my brain momentarily registers something is "wrong".

Other than that, I like the way the keys feel for typing. The last mechanical keyboard I bought had Cherry Reds and I couldn't stand typing on it, it was too sensitive and gave little feedback, which made it way too easy to have even the slightest brushing against another key register as a keystroke. It drove me nuts.
 
Oh yea- forgot to mention: If you have a squeaky space bar (or any bigger key), put a drop or two of silicone oil right on the stem and work in into the body. My spacebar stabilizers squeaked but that cleared it right up.

I agree about the flipped shift keys, they wanted the 'normal use' to be over the light, which makes sense but looks weird.
 
Happy Hopping said:
Any one has any problem with it?
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Bought one with blue switches to use at work. Only issue is the "Prtscrn" key cap has "Scroll lock" printed on it. So i have 2 "Scroll lock" caps next to each other. Not a huge deal.
Everything else works as expected.
LEDs are not very bright/noticeable IMO (although my office is very bright, so your mileage may vary).

I have a k70 with brown switches at home on the gaming rig, and from a typing perspective, the Azio with blue switches are much nicer to type on, but that's probably just a brown vs blue thing. The cheap price of the Azio didn't hurt.
 
That's funny (the double key), if it was something important I'd demand a keycap replacement / swap... But Print Screen I care little enough about that I would just paint it or something amusing...


Like a Nic Cage pic...
 
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