Written by Profi | 17 April 2014
Posted in Articles - Reviews

I have reviewed a pretty big number of mechanical keyboards and a big surprise for me that none of them have dedicated media keys. I know that all desired keys and shortcuts could be assigned to macro-keys or could be used via FN-keys, but come on, it’s very complicated to press several keys just for “pause” or “play next track” during the gaming or streaming sessions. It’s clear if we are talking about compact gaming keyboards, but why is that difficult to add dedicated media keys to the full size keyboard?

I started researching and found only a few mechanical keyboards with dedicated media-keys, and one of them is MEKA G-Unit Illuminated from Tt eSPORTS. I was fortunate enough that the gaming division of Thermaltake have agreed to provide me one for review.

 

Specifications:

• Type: Mechanical with MX Black switches
• On-board memory: 64 KB
• Polling rate: 1000 Hz
• Backlight: Full backlight LED Red
• Wrist Rest: Detachable
• On board ports: two 3.5 mm audio jacks, two USB 2.0 ports
• Cable: Detachable braided 1.8 m
• Dimension: 553 x 271 x 70 mm
• Weight: 2530 g

 

 

The Box

As many other boxes of gaming devices, the box has an “aggressive” design with black-grey-red colors. Key features are outlined at the front.

More details about features and functions of MEKA G-Unit keyboard can be found on the back, as well as translations on 15 languages.

It’s time to open the box. Inside I found the cover for keyboard, but it’s not that simple as it sounds. There is the description of main interface of the keyboard’s software. Pretty interesting idea! Also, an envelope is embedded into the cover.

Inside the envelope, there is User’s Guide, disc with software, warranty policy, and a couple of neat stickers with Tt eSPORTS logo.

The last, but most important stuff I found at the end: keyboard, wrist rest and cable.

 

 

 

Design and Construction

Let’s start from the USB cable, because it’s really worth a dedicated paragraph. Cable is braided for better protection, and its connectors are gold plated. Also, for better cable management, there is embedded buckle and angled micro-USB plug. Moreover, cool pouch for USB cable is available too!

And here is the keyboard. What made me happy from the very beginning? There is no any single glossy element! Matte matters. The contour lines in combination with red logo on top center and red lines on the sides are making the design pretty stylish.

On the left side there are two “columns” of additional macro-keys called “T-Keys”. They are divided into 3 blocks of 4 for more convenience.

 

The buttons for switching the profiles are located on the top left. Those keys are significantly different for making sure that you will not press them by mistake, especially during the epic battles.

 

Same type of the buttons are available on the top right, but in this case they’re “responsible” for media control. There are more media buttons plus button for controlling the backlight levels located below.

Mini-USB port for connecting keyboard itself, two USB 2.0 ports and two 3.5mm jacks are located in front panel.

On backside of the MEKA G-Unit, there is “channel” for cable management and a few small zones with the special material to make sure your keyboard does not slide on table.

The height of the keyboard is adjustable at around 5 degrees. Also, there are special grooves for easier opening/closing the stands and they are made of special non-sliding material. It’s really great when a manufacturer pays attention to small details.

Attaching the wrist wrest is very easy. Just align relevant “sockets” and attach.

 

 

The Software

Despite to availability of the disc with the software and driver for keyboard MEKA G-Unit, it’s always better to check the official website and download the latest version.

Installation of software is absolutely the same as for any other Windows application. It went smooth and fast.

Almost everything can be adjusted via main screen. Take a note that keyboard supports two general modes: normal and game. The main difference between Normal and Game modes are that in the first mode you can assign T-Keys only, while in Game Mode you can customize almost entire keyboard except media keys.

After selecting a mode and profile which we would like to customize, click on any key of virtual keyboard. Now we have four options for the selected key: assign macro combination – it should be pre-recorded first, and this will be described below. Pay attention to additional functions of assigned macros on screenshot! Also, you can assign single key or shortcut to any software or game. For restoring the default – assign the D function.

On the right side press Macro Key button for switching to macro-recording tool. The interface is pretty intuitive and even without manual you can understand how to work with it. Press Record button and type the desired macro-combination. After this procedure, you can adjust the latency and edit the commands.

In Light Option you can assign different backlight levels for each profile. Full light off (level one) and “breathe” (pulse) are available too.

 

In Usage and Conclusion

Keyboard is fully plug-n-play and you can go ahead by just connecting it to PC. If you would like to use all of its features you have to install the software. With software you can assign all desired commands, shortcuts, brightness level and so on.

As mentioned in Software section, keyboard supports two modes: Normal and Game. During the routine usage I found this pretty useful. T-Keys could be assigned as shortcuts or hotkeys for your software which you are using mostly, such as Microsoft Office, Internet Browsers, Photoshop, etc... In Game mode you can re-assign almost an entire layout. Also, in Game Mode Windows button is disabled automatically for avoiding “sudden jump” to Windows from the game.

Another very useful feature is the overlay. Graphical icons are appearing when you’re switching profile, using media keys, adjusting volume, etc. I thought “well, looks good”. But when the overlay has appeared during game, I was greatly impressed. With this feature you can instantly see that your profile is switched to desired one, the volume is on most comfortable level, etc.. Awesome!

Keyboard has audio-ports and that ports are not extenders. There is embedded sound card! Of course it’s not professional, but the quality can be easily compared with those cards which are embedded to modern motherboards. How this could be useful? First of all, this minimizes cable-mess. You can connect/disconnect the headset whenever you want, without showing acrobatic skill behind your PC. Secondly, if you’re taking part in LAN-parties or events, you will know what kind of sound you will get which is crucial for hardcore gamers.

There are two USB ports for connecting your flash drives easily. Sad that they’re not 3.0 version, but I hope that we will see that version in next revisions of MEKA G-Unit.

Design of the keyboard is solid and attractive. I liked its matte materials. Build quality is great and I didn’t find any technical or software problem while testing for over a month.

The backlight of the MEGA G-Unit Illuminated keyboard is red and looks fabulous, especially at night when all lights are off. Of course you can turn it off almost entirely via software. I said “almost” because there is no possibility to turn off the backlight of “TT Esports” logo on keyboard. The light of the logo is not so bright, and it will not annoy your eyes, but could be better to have an option to turn it off too. On many keyboards indicators of Caps Lock, Num Lock and Scroll Lock are located on upper-right corner and you have to jump with your eyes from button to indicators and vice versa. Engineers of TT Esports found better option – indicators are located on keys! Here how it’s look like:

With full “Light On”, everything became more impressive:

And now, let me get back to the main question of the review: do dedicated media-keys make life easier? Yes, yes, and yes! No need to assign multimedia commands for macro-keys for each profile or check your fingers’ flexibility in combination with FN-button. Press single button and be happy!

The only cons which I found is that backlight of the logo can’t be turned off. Also, the response of the software is not instant. Hopefully, this will be fixed in future updates.

Overall, MEKA G-Unit is a MEGA keyboard. If you’re looking for a keyboard with bunch of dedicated macro-keys, dedicated media-keys, embedded USB ports and sound card, in addition to the detachable cable and wrist wrest – MEKA G-Unit keyboard is the right choice!

 

Pros:

• Excellent build materials and attractive design
• Backlight with different levels and modes
• Detachable wrist rest and USB cable
• Embedded USB Ports
• Embedded sound card
• Dedicated media and profile keys

 

Cons:

• Backlight of logo could not be turned off