The Wooting clones don't stop..

Summary

The video reviews the Endgame Gear 65H, a hall effect magnetic gaming keyboard with rapid trigger technology allowing keys to instantly reset when released. It has impressive build quality with a CNC aluminum case, lubed Gateron switches, and thick silicone sound dampening. However, its rapid trigger implementation is flawed, with a moving actuation point that causes inconsistent and delayed inputs compared to the Wooting it copies. Despite opportunistic copying, it surprisingly provides excellent quality for the price, though serious competitive gamers may want lower latency keyboards like the Wooting 60.

Takeaways

• 😊 The Endgame Gear keyboard has excellent build quality with a CNC aluminum case, especially for the price
• 🔥 It uses factory lubed Gateron KS-3 switches which feel tighter than previous Gateron optical switches
• 🎶 The combination of materials makes this one of the best sounding pre-built keyboards
• ⚡️ It has a rapid trigger feature to instantly reset keys when lifting up, copying Wooting
• 😕 But rapid trigger doesn't work properly out of the box - needing tweaks to minimize issues
• 😟 The actuation point moves based on where the key was last reset, causing inconsistent feel
• 🤔 Adjustments help but latency is over 20ms slower than the Wooting keyboard
• 😠 The High Ground keyboard seems to use an almost identical PCB, implying a shared factory origin
• 💸 Barrier to entry for rapid trigger keyboards is now very low due to these factories
• 🤷‍♂️ Good build quality for the price, but performance lacks compared to original Wooting

Q & A

What keyboard brands are copying Wooting's rapid trigger technology?

Razer, SteelSeries, High Ground, and Endgame Gear have all released keyboards trying to copy Wooting's rapid trigger technology.

How does rapid trigger work?

Rapid trigger allows a keyboard switch to reset instantly the moment it starts lifting up rather than having to pass back through the mechanical actuation point.

What is the build quality of the Endgame Gear 65% like?

The Endgame Gear 65% has an aluminum case with a nice sparkly metal finish, creating a premium build quality not typically seen at its price point.

How do the switches on the Endgame Gear compare to the Wooting keyboard?

The Endgame Gear uses factory lubed Gateron KS-3 switches which have a tighter construction than the Gateron Red switches on the Wooting keyboard.

What customization options does the Endgame Gear software provide?

The Endgame Gear software only allows adjusting the press and release thresholds from 0.1mm to 4mm, lacking extensive customization options.

How does the actuation point work on the Endgame Gear keyboard?

The actuation point moves depending on where the key was last reset, which can cause delayed inputs compared to other rapid trigger keyboards.

What is the latency of the Endgame Gear keyboard compared to the Wooting?

Testing showed the Endgame Gear had over 20ms higher latency compared to the Wooting keyboard.

Where are these new budget rapid trigger keyboards coming from?

Many are being manufactured in factories in China and sold under new brands on sites like Alibaba at very low prices.

What is the conclusion on the Endgame Gear keyboard?

Despite the higher latency, for only $140 it provides good build quality and a decent rapid trigger experience making it a viable option.

What keyboard has the best rapid trigger implementation?

The Wooting 60 keyboard currently has the lowest latency and best performing rapid trigger implementation.

Outlines

00:00

😊 Keyboard Review Comparing Build Quality and Performance

The paragraph provides an overview and comparison of a new endgame gear analog keyboard to the Wooting keyboard. It highlights the exceptional build quality of the endgame keyboard including the CNC aluminum case and stabilized lubed switches. It also praises the endgame keyboard's sound dampening and notes it is the best sounding out of box keyboard. Regarding performance, it explains that the endgame keyboard lacks rapid trigger enabled by default unlike the Wooting. It also explains an issue with the endgame's inconsistent actuation point depending on key reset point unlike the Wooting.

05:02

😕 Measuring Latency Reveals Endgame Keyboard is Much Slower

The paragraph explains measuring the latency of the endgame keyboard using a solenoid device and high speed camera. It reveals the endgame keyboard has over 20ms higher latency than the Wooting keyboard which is a significant difference. This slower latency is noticeable in-game with some overlapping inputs. It also notes the endgame latency results are very similar to another keyboard called The High Ground, and explains these keyboards likely come from the same factory in China.

Keywords

💡Rapid Trigger

Rapid Trigger is a feature on analog keyboards that allows the key switch to reset instantly the moment it starts lifting up. This enables much faster repeated key presses compared to traditional mechanical keyboards. The video compares how well this feature is implemented on the Endgame Gear keyboard versus competitors like Wooting and Razer.

💡Actuation Point

The actuation point refers to how far down a key needs to be pressed for it to register input. On the Endgame Gear keyboard, the actuation point changes depending on where the key was last reset due to Rapid Trigger, which creates inconsistent feel.

💡Switch Reset

Switch reset refers to the key switch returning to its neutral position after being pressed, ready for another key press. Rapid Trigger enables near instant reset compared to mechanical switches.

💡Latency

Latency measures the time delay between a key being released and the game registering that input. Lower latency results in a more responsive, snappier feel. The video tests and compares the latency of the Endgame Gear keyboard to others.

💡Hall Effect Switches

Hall effect switches use magnets and sensors instead of physical contacts to detect key presses. They enable features like analog input and rapid trigger.

💡Click Latency

Click latency specifically measures the time between a mouse click and its registration. The video notes that keyboard switch latency is less noticeable than equivalent mouse click latency.

💡Aluminum Case

The Endgame Gear keyboard surprises with its aluminum case construction, which is rare for keyboards in its price range and contributes to a premium feel.

💡Software Customization

The video criticizes the Endgame Gear software for being too basic with limited customization options compared to competitors.

💡Ghost Inputs

Ghost inputs refer to false inputs that seem to register out of nowhere. The video notes that competitors like the High Ground suffer from this problem.

💡Dead Zone

A dead zone means an area in the key travel where inputs are not registered. The video points out a flaw with the Razer Huntsman mini having a dead zone at the bottom of the switch.

Highlights

Build quality is excellent with CNC aluminum case, reminiscent of Tofu60 keyboards

Uses Gateron KS-3 switches which are tighter than previous Gaterons

Switches are factory lubricated, unlike Wooting keyboards

Thick silicone damping makes it the best sounding out-of-box keyboard

$35 cheaper than Wooting 60%

Rapid trigger has no deadzone unlike Razer Huntsman Mini

Software is clean and lightweight unlike SteelSeries Apex Pro Mini

Actuation point moves based on key reset, unlike Wooting

Has ~20ms higher latency than Wooting 60%

Latency results are very similar to High Ground keyboard

Endgame and High Ground use nearly identical PCBs

Barriers to entry for hall effect keyboards are now very low

Surprising build quality for $140 price point

Good value if build quality valued over latency

Disappointing opportunistic attempt at copying Wooting

Transcripts

razor steel series High ground and now

endgame gear another hall effect

magnetic keyboard which is copying

rootings rapid trigger feature the

ability to instantly reset your key

switches the moment you start lifting

off which has been a serious game Cher

but as usual it's the same name but

different performance and experience and

we'll get to all of that in just a

minute but first of all I just want to

talk about how good the build quality on

this keyboard is it actually comes with

a CNC aluminium case which reminds me of

lot of the tofu 60 which I've been using

for pretty much forever yeah it's plain

black has a nice sparkly metal finish

there is some subtle branding on the top

left and on the back as well but overall

it is a really clean build and yeah you

just don't see this type of build

quality in this price range of gaming

keyboards typically here you get a

plastic case some lowdensity foam

underneath the PCB and that's pretty

much it this is just stomping on

everything in this price range and the

real kicker this is actually $35 cheaper

than the wooding 60 that's even more

surprising when you hear what this board

sounds like it's pretty solid I mean

it's using the gadon ks 37 switches

which seem like they have a tighter

construction compared to the earlier

Gaton leer switches which you'll find on

the wooding those have a bit more stem

warble in my experience the switches

here on the end game are also lubed at

factory whereas the woodings are not for

sound depening there's a thick layer of

silicone between the aluminium plate and

the PCB and there's another thick layer

that sits at the bottom of the case

overall I think this is honestly the

best sounding Out of the box keyboard

that I've ever

tried but now let's get to my favorite

part which is the performance and look

we've seen some of these wooding

copycats before like razor steel series

and High Ground they're kind of the big

names to do it and they were the first

to do it and the specific thing that's

being copied here is called rapid

trigger it's a feature which you can

enable on these analog keyboards which

allows the switch to reset instantly the

moment it starts lifting up rather than

having to wait for it to pass back

through a mechanical actuation point

which is a lot slower to be honest the

first time I tried it I knew there was

no going back but the brands doing the

copying haven't hit the mark just yet on

the Razer Huntsman mini there is a half

mm dead zone at the bottom of the switch

the steel Series has impressively bad

software actually breaking my Apex Pro

Mini and The High Ground lacks any

software customization has the slowest

latency that I've tested and has these

weird ghost inputs when pausing the

movement of a switch and as for the 65 H

from endgame gear it's interesting their

software is actually very clean and

lightweight which I do like and

hopefully it stays this way as they

develop it further but you basically

only have two things that you can adjust

that is the Press threshold and the

release threshold with values between 1

and 40 which essentially mean 0.1 and 4

mm and by default it's set to 1 mm for

both which actually means it doesn't

have rapid trigger out of the box to do

that you need to set the release

threshold to the minimum value of 0.1 mm

that means the switch will reset 0.1 mm

after being released which is virtually

instantly and I've got to say the

sensitivity of the rapid trigger on this

board actually feels pretty solid like

if I completely bottom out the switch

and release it by just a hair the switch

resets just like the wooding 60 I tested

this at multiple points in the switch on

different switches and it all felt

really nice but this is when I noticed

something really weird about the end

game and that's the Press threshold

let's say you set the Press threshold to

one mm which means that initially that

is the actuation point it is 1 mm from

the top you need to press the switch 1

mm for an input to occur but let's say

you just lift it up a little bit 0.1 mm

let's say it resets thanks to Rapid

trigger you need to press the switch

another 1 mm now for another input to

occur that means that on this keyboard

the actuation point is always moving

depending on where the key was last

reset which I personally do not like at

all especially if you're doing like

really fast inputs like ad spamming and

strafing really quick for example you

just feel like some of your inputs are

delayed compared to something like a

wooing or another rapid trigger keyboard

where you can instantly actuate the

switch if you're past a certain point

the only way to overcome this is to set

the Press threshold also to 0.1 mm which

unfortunately does mean that you might

be fumbling or bumping some keys and

getting accidental inputs which I did

experience but it's the only way to get

the inputs here feeling anywhere close

to the wounding 60 I say close because

also have to talk about latency so I

have my solenoid here which mechanically

releases a switch to unscop a gun in

OverWatch 2 on my 540 HZ Monitor and I'm

recording all of this at 3,000 frames

per second on a super slow motion camera

as soon as we see the switch start

lifting rapid trigger should be doing

its thing we then just count the number

of frames until we see the UNS scope

animation on the monitor behind it and

then we can calculate the latency there

is of course PC and game latency within

this equation as well which does create

a bit of variance too but we run the

test enough times and we do get get a

pretty consistent average and the

endgame gear 65 H it doesn't look great

it's over 20 milliseconds slower than

the wooding 60 at that point it's not

variance or margin of error that is a

seriously significant difference now as

I've said in the past 20 milliseconds of

switch release latency that is a lot

harder to feel compared to say 20

milliseconds of Click latency on a mouse

with a key switch your fingers take

their own time to progressively lift off

the switch so it doesn't feel as jarring

I will say though I did feel like I had

a few more overlapping inputs while

playing on the end game just a few more

moments there where I thought my straths

weren't as Snappy as usual these aren't

things that will bother most people when

they're focusing on actually playing a

competitive game but it definitely

doesn't excuse a lazy unoptimized

keyboard which should be a lot faster

than this in fact this latency result is

eerily similar to what I saw on The High

Ground performance keyboard which is

this one right here this is just the PCB

and the plate and the switches yeah it's

another 65% whole effect magnetic

keyboard has the exact same Gabon

switches has the exact same aluminium

plate as well uh and then you flip them

over on the back they have almost The

Identical part number on the pcb2 on the

high ground it is kg 647 U and then on

the end game you have kg 657 U maybe

implying that it's a slightly more

updated model which it is but yeah it's

literally the same Factory spitting out

the almost identical board see I mean if

you're wondering why all of these random

keyboard brands are popping up out of

nowhere with somehow a hall effect rapid

trigger keyboard This is why I mean you

can log on to alibaba.com find a

supplier for exactly this a 65% rapid

trigger keyboard with an insanely low mq

like the barrier to entry now for this

type of product is insanely low but

build quality wise I do have to admit

really really surprising what endgame

have done here for 140 bucks and that

seems to be echoed throughout these

other small reviews that I've seen of

these other copy and paste hall effect

rapid trigger keyboards most of them are

coming with these l switches lubed

stabilizers and sometimes a metal case

as well it is really surprising to see

that kind of build quality at these

price points so if you value that more

than say having the lowest latency

highest performing keyboard on the

market I.E the woing 60 then I actually

don't mind recommending this so yeah I

mean I am a little bit disappointed at

you know the opportunistic money grab

attempt at a rapid trigger keyboard but

for 140 bucks I mean I got to be real

this is actually a pretty damn good

board