JCKEL MK Fission RGB Acrylic White LED Backlit Mechanical Keyboard - Black Keycaps, Silver Cherry MX Switches

Update 30 September 2017: still the best keyboard I have ever used.Update 18 April 2017: after two months of use this is still the best mechanical I have ever used.ORIGINAL REVIEW:Wow. This is a lot of keyboard for a more than decent price. As I type on it now, just having received it today, I can't give a detailed long impression. I can only provide my initial perceptions and those are beyond amazing.----- Keycap Color -----Firstly, I got the white-keyed version with Cherry MX Clears. The switch type is irrelevant to the keyboard since there are so many options and they are all so personal. The key color, however, is quite relevant. In my current hindsight, I might have chosen the black-colored keycaps only because this keyboard is destined to be my work keyboard and the white keys certainly stand out. I love them. In my future's hindsight, I am sure I will not regret my decision to possess such a boldly colored keyboard. The contrast of the white keys on the black metal backplate is stark and beautiful.----- Keycap Lighting -----The keycaps are quite starkly lit if you chose to use the light. VERY bright white light on white keycaps is actually astoundingly beautiful as well. It is incredible how much contrast they managed to produce with white backlighting on white keys. As mentioned in some reviews of this keyboard, there are some keycaps where the lighting is not perfectly even. This is due to the extremely high-quality caps, believe it or not! However, that is still a negative aspect. The number pad experiences the largest gap in lighting: the Home, End, Ins, Del, NumPadArrows, PgUp, and PgDn legend writing is not lit much at all. This could be by design; I know I NEVER use those features on the number pad, and as I state later, the welcome default of NumLock ON means I likely never will.The lighting options are also quite nice. The last choices selected are saved to the keyboard, so you never have to reset them due to a random computer restart or when you are forced into a relocation of your computer or keyboard. The video goes over them well enough, though, so I won’t recap each one here. I do think that they could have added a few more brightness and speed levels, but that is so minor a grip because I feel most people will either want off, dim, or max. (They provide off, dim, LackLuster, and BRIGHT)----- Keycaps -----They are double-shot caps and the feel about as sturdy as they come. Unless it is due to discoloration of the white caps, I doubt I will ever need to replace these keycaps. Unfortunately, I can't give a valuable perspective on the keycaps based on their longevity because this is a brand-new keyboard release. All I can say is that they feel like the thickest I have ever used.However, I can continue to comment on the legends: I do believe that placing legends side-by-side on the dual-symbol keys is the best approach for lighting AND readability. Oft I have been led astray by a “gaming” keyboard swapping which one is on top. (Razer) We read left to right – it is about time our keys reflect that. The left symbol is the output without “shifting” and the right symbol is the “shifted” symbol. Simple and consistent. If you view this as a negative you are being silly. I only mention this because others have. It really is a non-feature and non-con.But the Fn/media-legends are different. They are very important to be able to see and discern since they are different from keyboard to keyboard and you might not memorize them as you do the location of the tilde. Of note, they are not lit. Upon testing, the media keys on the Function row are barely visible without room-lighting. Your displays will likely light the keys well enough however; this may vary based on keycap color – since my white caps might reflect my monitors lighting much more aggressively.On a final note, the Fission logo is a bit obtrusive to the aesthetic of the keyboard. I hope that they subdue the logos of their future keyboards. Also of a minor note is that this keyboard does use Cherry MX leveling mechanisms for the stabilized keys. I always find this a plus.----- Build Quality -----WOW! This thing is a lethal weapon! SOLID metal chassis. Seriously? This is a lot of keyboard for not so much money! Of course, the key switches are Cherry MX, so those are high quality, too. Time will tell if the interior is of superb quality, but given the lack of undercutting on the exterior, I would highly doubt they skimped on the internals.The rubber feet are very solid and of superb quality. The kickstand-risers also have rubber feet that actually work well, unlike some other keyboards. It seems they actually designed the risers starting with the rubber feet and then tried finding the best way to attach them to the board, instead of adding rubber as a useless afterthought.Now for the CON of the build quality: the cord. I have almost no doubt that the cord will last for a long time – but I also have almost no doubt that it will be the reason I am eventually forced to replace this god among keyboards. Not having a detachable cord is a HUGE issue nowadays since it is the leading cause, in my experience, of good peripherals’ failures. I would have even rather it didn’t come with any cord at all, instead just having a Micro-USB or Type-C port. Of course, they couldn’t sell it without a cord, but I hope that they listen to these minor complaints before designing their next keyboard. This is the only feature I feel they held back. I know that someone designing this beauty wanted it but was told it was too costly.This downside shouldn’t put many people off. It should only deter you if you actually plan on moving the keyboard more than once a week – for instance if you plan on carrying it back and forth to work every day. I am sure the cable will hold up, if cared for, if you merely go to LAN parties every weekend.KEEP IN MIND: If you take good care of your keyboard, the cord will never spontaneously break. It isn’t the actual cord’s fault if it breaks. I expect this board to last me at least a decade of software development.----- Media/Additional Key Functionality -----As mentioned earlier, this keyboard does come with media key legends place without lighting but in an easy to read location. The Fn-key itself replaces the right Windows/Os key. This might be a very noticeable downside if you often use the right Windows key for the various hotkeys it can be used for, but I imagine most won’t even notice the loss.As for the media and functionality keys themselves, I have tested them all and they seem to all work great. The Browser and Media Program buttons launch your defaults, which you will have to change in Windows if you don’t like them. There is no proprietary software to change them with.----- Firmware -----This keyboard does not use any additional software other than the standard keyboard interface provided by the default operating system’s drivers. Therefore, in order to provide the built-in lighting and N-Key Rollover features it must have some form of native firmware. I doubt it is an overly complex setup, but it has some interesting features that are worth mentioning:1) NumLock and N-Key Rollover (Game Mode) are ON by default.2) CapsLock, ScrollLock, and WindowsLock are OFF by default.3) YOUR SETTINGS ARE SAVED even when they board has no power.This means that the most desirable traits of the keyboard should be correctly set when you first pull it from the box. Of note is that they call N-Key Rollover “Game Mode”. This is silly, and there is a light always on next to your other toggle indicators the shows N-Key Rollover is enabled – because why would you ever disable it?Also noteworthy is that there is no ScrLk indicator! WHAT!?!? This is a huge blunder – what will I ever do if it is enabled and I don’t know? HOW WILL I KNOW!?!?! All kidding aside, this is actually a pretty real downside. In some applications there is a real difference in how they work with Scroll Lock on or off, mainly Excel, and some people may accidentally enable Scroll Lock and not be able to figure out why their program is behaving abnormally.As far as the firmware goes, it all seems to work as I would want it to; and as anyone really should want it to.----- Conclusion -----This is about the best $120 keyboard you can buy. It is minimalist if you want it to be, and it is shiny and bright if you lust it to be. The construction is as sturdy as a keyboard can be made – top-notch in almost all regards except the lack of a removable, and an unbraided one at that, cable. I whole-heartedly recommend this keyboard to anyone who isn’t traveling with it every day. It is produced by one of the largest distributors of mechanical keyboards in the United States, and its price to quality to feature ratio is far superior to any other keyboard I have witnessed. If you like the aesthetics of this board, you needn’t fear anything at all. It will live up to your demands and more.

You can read the reviews, you can watch the videos, you can attempt to form an impression but nothing will do it justice. This is by far the best keyboard I've ever had the pleasure to type on. My quest started with finding a modern replacement for my trusty IBM. I thought the days of the "clicky" were all gone. I've gone through 5 different kinds so far. At the time the mechanical keyboards came out, they were mainly marketed as "gaming keyboards" and I didn't do enough of that to warrant my attention. I was looking for something that provided tactile feedback and a nice sound to go with it.As such, I went through the usual culprits:I started with a UNICOMP in hopes of recreating that clickety sound on a USB wire. It kinda worked. They sounds were close, the tactile feedback about right but the terribly cheap plastic and molding really let me down.Then I went looking for refurbished M models, since I only had 1 of the M styles still operational. I found a nice company that restores them. Unfortunately they couldn't guarantee the condition of the outer plastic, just that the keyboard would function properly. I'm terribly picky when it comes to my tools so I didn't want to end up with a keyboard that had scuff marks or scratches on it. No thanks. Not to mention the prices were far north of $200.Then I researched the TOPRE switches, since there's quite a bit of following out there. I was lucky enough to start with a Realforce 87u. It was a totally different typing experience but surprisingly satisfying. After about the first week of constantly reaching for that corner Enter key and not finding it, I thought I'm going to need a full size and ordered a 104u. What a disappointment that turned out to be. While the 87 had a nice heavy feel and bump at the end, the 104 had very light keys and cheap-sounding clack. So I sent it back. I kept the 87u and tacked on a separate programmable keypad to take care of the 10 key I was missing.Still not satisfied with my setup, I conceded looking into the cherry MX switches, that all everybody seemed to be so in love with. I had previously had a chance to play with some of those keyboards in stores but I didn't realize at the time they were ALL sporting the MX RED switches. I didn't like them very much. Too light, hollow sounding, etc. After some serious youtube and google searching, I found the MX CLEAR switches and the GREENs. I read many complains about how tough the greens are and how they compare to the buckling springs of the IBM M type. Many folks were recommending the MX clear. Looking at the specs, I just didn't think I would want another smooth feeling switch with a light touch. I'm not a hard-core gamer and I DO use my keyboard mainly for typing. Many folks said I'd be fatigued typing anything of significance on a GREEN switch but something just "sounded" right from all the videos. That's when I found the ML Fission.Now that I have it in my hands (and typing this review on), I have to say it's perfect for my needs. They keys have a meaty feel to them, for sure a higher pitch (click) compared to the old IBM but oh so satisfying to push. I don't think it's that tough. I like the travel, the amount of force and the way they actuate. While I wasn't really interested in the light effects at the time, I gotta say they're pretty awesome. I'll probably never use all the fancy LED animations this thing is capable of but being able to control the keys and side illumination independently, is quite nice. I usually run with a LED strip behind my monitor and the light emitted by the keyboard keys only...but now I totally appreciate the side illumination this thing can put out. I would have been just fine with white for the sides but this thing can do so much more.Sturdy construction, nice feel, awesome look. I went with the white keys (as many have recommended) and don't regret it one bit. For the price, I feel like this is the best thing money can buy. Will update on its long-term viability.

Replacement for my (the legendary) IBM M. It's different, since it doesn't click, but it feels just as solid. One thing of note is that the Cherry MX switches don't wiggle around as much (forward/back/left/right) as some of the copies that have come out. Black frame, white back-lit with white keys, all class, looks like it's dressed to go to a state dinner. Cherry MX Clear, obvious when you've actuated, you can type very quietly if you want to, or bottom 'em out. I'm finding myself more willing to let it fly, typing in faster bursts. Sturdy, heavy enough to not slide around, easy to pick up by the sides and move. I never use the side lights, but they work. The pictures I found online made me wonder if the glare from the lights shining on the panel under the keys would be annoying, but it's not, Compared to the brightness of the letters, it's not really noticeable. The back-lighting has 4 settings, off, low, med, high. Low is perfect for a dark room, and medium is perfect for a well lit room. Don't know what the high setting is for, it's quite bright. It's cable just goes in at the middle of the back. I prefer this to having the cable plug in at both ends because I think it wouldn't take me very long to break the port on the keyboard end. Also, I don't miss having extra usb ports on the keyboard itself because I like to move the keyboard around as I change sitting positions, and having extra wires coming out of it makes that more difficult. It's a premium quality keyboard that seems to be designed specifically for developers or writers. I'd go as far as to say that I think it will find a cult following with both groups. Five stars, I really wouldn't have scrutinized the price as much if I would have known what it was like. I was expecting meh and I got wow. Kudos to MK.

My keyboard came with white keycaps oppose to black but that's nothing major the keys are also extremely light but I got use to that quickly and the keyboard is extremely loud so that's an A+ from me