Hyte Keeb TKL review: a keyboard for the fans

Hyte Keeb TKL

MSRP $180.00

“Love it or hate it, there’s no denying the Hyte Keeb TKL is a great keyboard.”

Pros

• Fantastic sound and feel out of the box
• Up to four layers of key assignments
• Extremely bright RGB lighting
• Hot-swappable PCB
• Multi-function dual rotary dials

Cons

• No per-key RGB
• Only two on-board profiles
• Inconsistent legends on key caps

One look at the photo above, and you’ll know immediately if you love or hate the Hyte Keeb TKL. I can save you some time and let you know immediately that it’s one of the best gaming keyboards you can buy when it comes to sound and feel. But the Keeb TKL is a statement, and although it’s a statement I’m sure will resonate with some, it’s not one that will resonate with all.

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The Keeb TKL sets out to do something different, all while paying careful attention to the enthusiast-level features that have slowly made their way into mainstream gaming keyboards. And it mostly succeeds. Short of some software issues, this is a keyboard with a fantastic typing feel out of the box and an undeniably unique design.

Hyte Keeb TKL specs

An undeniable design

One thing’s for sure — you’ll never mistake the Hyte Keeb TKL for another keyboard. Hyte is known for pushing the design envelope with products like the Hyte Y70 Touch, but the Keeb TKL is undoubtedly its most radical design to date. One look at this keyboard, and you’ll either love it or hate it. If nothing else, the Keeb TKL demands a reaction, even if it isn’t a positive one, and you can’t say the same for keyboards like the Razer Black Widow V4 Pro.

It’s not for everyone, but I’ve grown to appreciate what Hyte pulled off here. You would never assume there’s a lot of design space to take a keyboard in another direction, but Hyte managed to do that with the Keeb TKL. The star of the show is the polycarbonate shell that surrounds the Keeb TKL, which carries light from the 155-pixel qRGB array around the keyboard (qRGB is Hyte’s own standard for RGB measurement). It makes your keyboard look like it’s floating on a cloud.

Combined with Hyte’s CNVS desk mat, which has its own array of RGB lighting, the Keeb TKL looks fantastic. A slow color wave transitions out of the keyboard and through the edges of the mouse pad. Even against brands like Razer, Corsair, and Steelseries with their own dense RGB ecosystems, the Keeb TKL really brings lighting together.

For more practical design, Hyte includes two magnetic feet on the back of the keyboard allowing you to go from a typing angle of 3.73 degrees to 6.06 degrees (the latter felt much more comfortable for me). You also get a double-shot PBT key caps, which feature a very shallow pudding design. There’s a touch of a transparent layer at the bottom of the key caps, much unlike the large transparent sides you see on traditional pudding key caps.

The construction of the key caps is fantastic. They’re thick, and the tops are smooth, much unlike the gritty feel on something the Asus ROG Strix Scope II 96. Still, there are a couple of issues. They might be too thick for their own good, as lighting through the legends is fairly inconsistent. In addition, Hyte is using the rather unique OEM profile for the key caps. It’s not a knock against the Keeb TKL, but the sculpted corners of the profile is quite the adjustment if you’re coming from a different profile.

Otherwise, Hyte packs a thick aluminum plate into the bottom of the keyboard, which gives it some weight and keeps it firmly seated on your desk. A keyboard weight is far too often overlooked among more mainstream options, so I’m happy to see it here. However, Hyte situates RGB lights around the weight on the bottom of the keyboard, and it gets shockingly warm as a result.

Great out of the box

Hyte calls the Keeb TKL a “modern human interface,” which sets a pretty high standard for the typing feel. And thankfully, the Keeb mostly lives up those expectations. Although the Keeb TKL sports a unique design, it’s clear Hyte invested a lot of time in packing this keyboard full of enthusiast-level hardware. You’re getting a gasket mount like I saw on the Asus ROG Azoth, but that’s becoming fairly common among high-end gaming keyboards. Hyte shoots ahead when it comes to the smaller details.

The switches aren’t just rebranded Cherry options. Hyte uses its Fluffy Lavender switches, which are linear and come with a light feeling compared to Cherry Reds. They have an actuation force of 36 grams and actuate at just 1.5mm. More important to the feel, Hyte lubricates the switches with Kryox 205g0 — the standard for switch lube. In addition, Hyte uses the same lube on the Durock V2 screw-in stabilizers. It’s easy to write off these stabilizers, but they make a world of difference, even up against keyboards like the Corsair K65 Plus.

The sound and feel out of the box is shockingly good for a $180 keyboard. I don’t love the use of an aluminum plate, but Hyte balances the high-end frequencies out with various layers of Poron foam inside the case. This is one of the first keyboards I’ve tested that can actually hold up out of the box compared to enthusiast options like the Wobkey Rain75 or Meletrix Boog75.

But you can make it better. Hyte uses a hot-swappable PCB that supports 3- or 5-pin switches, though unfortunately with north-facing RGBs. I threw my preferred WS Morandi switches into the keyboard, and it completely transformed the sound. It’s one thing to get a good sound out of the box, but the real testament to build quality is how the keyboard holds up once you’ve made it your own. Hyte definitely excels on that front with the Keeb TKL.

One unique feature

Hyte packs dedicated media controls into the Keeb TKL, but in true Hyte fashion, they aren’t as straightforward as you might expect. Starting with the media keys, Hyte actually uses low-profile tactile mechanical switches for the media keys, along with low-profile keycaps. They feel completely different than the regular keys, almost like hitting a low-profile typewriter. It’s a small detail, but as someone who actually uses different switches for media keys in my personal keyboard, I can appreciate the attention Hyte paid to that detail.

The more interesting addition are the dual rotary dials. By default, the left dial adjusts your volume while the right adjusts the brightness of your lighting, but you can rebind these dials to other commands within the Hyte Nexus software (more on that next). There are some basic options, such as the ability to scroll pages, zoom, or switch between apps, but Hyte goes further.

You can also use the dials to scrub the timeline in a video editor, cycle your tools in creative apps, and even adjust your brush size in Adobe apps. The dual scroll wheels look a bit unwieldy, and I wish there were a way to remove them. There’s no denying that Hyte makes good use of the extra space, though. It brings some of the tactile control you get with something like the Cooler Master MasterHub directly to your keyboard, which is great to see.

Although the roller apparatus isn’t removable, the dials themselves are. They’re attached with magnets, and Hyte tells me it hopes to have additional accessories for the roller in the future. Those aren’t available now, however.

Inside Hyte Nexus

To manage the Keeb TKL, you’ll need to download the Hyte Nexus software. I first tried this software out with Hyte’s Thicc Q60 cooler, and it’s one of the more interesting software utilities I’ve used. Out of the gate, it’s leagues more attractive than Corsair iCue and Asus Armoury Crate, and it doesn’t immediately overwhelm you with ads or extraneous settings. However, there’s a learning curve to using Nexus. It’s a powerful utility, but like Hyte’s products, the software doesn’t stick with the status quo.

Hyte adopts a focus similar to NZXT’s CAM software, using Nexus as both a utility to manage the Keeb TKL and to show system stats like your GPU and CPU temperatures. These various aspects of the software are grouped into widgets, and you’re free to add, remove, or swap widgets to make the home screen your own.

In the keyboard settings, Hyte gives you two onboard profiles, which is a bit low. However, each of those profiles includes up to four layers of key assignments. By default, the Function key will momentarily unlock your second layer, but you’re free to rebind how you get to the additional layers within Nexus. Hyte includes momentary layer switching, toggles, and even an option to return to your top layer. And in each layer, you can rebind the keys to macros, mouse keys, and functions like opening your web browser. Even with just two onboard profiles, you can pack a ton of functionality into the Keeb TKL if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty.

My main issue with all of these layers is that you can easily get lost in them. Hyte doesn’t give you an option to, for example, change your lighting when switching profiles, which would make it much easier to get your bearings. In fact, Hyte doesn’t give you a lot of lighting options in general. In Nexus, the focus is on an RGB ecosystem, so instead of individual assignments, you place different devices inside of a window so your RGB lighting can stretch across them.

It works well if you have multiple Hyte products, such as the CNVS desk mat, but there’s still no per-key RGB assignment. That’s a huge downside to the Keeb TKL compared to the competition if you like to customize your RGB lighting to fit your unique setup.

Should you buy the Hyte Keeb TKL?

Hyte built a great keyboard with the Keeb TKL between its enthusiast-grade construction and wealth of features. But the biggest factor when it comes to a buying decision is the design. The Keeb TKL demands immediate, and sometimes extreme, reactions. It doesn’t matter how good the keyboard itself is — if you don’t like the design, the Keeb TKL just isn’t for you.

That’s OK. I appreciate how Hyte is attempting to push keyboard designs forward with the Keeb TKL, and how it serves as a statement piece, especially if you have other Hyte products. Not many keyboards can claim that. The good news if you’re a fan of the design is that you don’t have to give up on the keyboard front. Hyte never sacrificed the typing feel in its pursuit of creating a keyboard that stands out, and it’s been a joy typing and gaming on the keyboard over the past few weeks.

Although design is the biggest factor here, there’s some legitimate criticism of the Keeb TKL compared to other mainstream options. Nexus is a powerful app, but it still needs per-key RGB assignments. In addition, the key caps have great construction, but I’d like to see Hyte pay closer attention to the legends in future revisions given the inconsistent shine the current key caps offer.