This article is about Thermaltake W1 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard Review. Now and again toning it down would be ideal. There are a lot of devotees who might joyfully forego additional items like RGB, programming and large scale keys, and are entirely happy with a very much valued, agreeable mechanical keyboard. Some will cheer at the Thermaltake W1 Wireless ($110 as of composing) gaming keyboard’s curbed look.
There’s no RGB to divert you or gobble up battery life, and you get media keys and a wrist rest. Similarly as with probably the best wireless keyboards, you can even associate by means of a USB Type-A dongle and up to three Bluetooth gadgets for simple multi-gadget control, just as through a separable link.
In any case, to those with even somewhat more on their list of things to get, the W1 Wireless has a scanty list of capabilities. Furthermore, my review unit experienced solid keys, shaking stabilizers and pinging, particularly with the spacebar. Things get more off-kilter when you understand how comparable The W1 Wireless is to one of Logitech’s wireless keyboards.
Those issues eventually make it hard for the W1 Wireless to contend with the best gaming keyboards, yet it can in any case be a solid wireless mechanical keyboard for different purposes, in case that is all you’re after.
Thermaltake W1 Wireless Design
Most keyboards focusing on gamers today are obviously from the new thousand years. Numerous RGB lighting impacts, some of the time helped by pudding keycaps and different stunts, and sparkly top plates with brushed completions make for a trendy look.
The Thermaltake W1 Wireless, then again, could be mistaken for the keyboard your folks kept (or, maybe, keep) in the PC room. Its wireless availability to the side, this keyboard could without much of a stretch be from last century, with nary a RGB or bright detail in sight.
The Thermaltake W1 Wireless looks basically the same as the Logitech G613, a mechanical keyboard from 2017 with a comparative cost and wireless featureset. Remove the G-keys, move a few pointers around and drop a few media keys for a generous volume wheel, and you have a twin.
The W1 Wireless is all “titanium dark and dark,” as Thermaltake puts it. There are gamers who’ll take a gander at it and rest and other people who will be energized by the unexciting. Not every person needs to be dazed by LEDs, but rather some type of backdrop illumination would have been decent.
Indeed, it’d gobble up battery life quicker, however it’d likewise make keys simpler to discover in a dull gaming sanctum, for instance. Fortunately, the kecaps’ legends are particularly lighter dim than the remainder of the dim keycaps.
Better contacts incorporate a volume wheel with a superfluous marker printed close to it and a committed quiet catch. You additionally get keys for exchanging between the Bluetooth and dongle association (each light up when squeezed). The Game Mode switch will show either a spot of red or green, contingent upon what direction you slide it.
This feels very essential, however surely takes care of business – and without programming. You’ll need to hold the force button on the right edge down for around 5 seconds before the keyboard’s marker lights streak, so winding down the keyboard on and could be smoother.
The entire keyboard is plastic, and feels like it. Regardless of having heave, many pieces of it feel empty. The top has some noticeable finishing, however it doesn’t carry a lot of qualification to the keyboard. The side with the force button and the left side are both smooth, and on the keyboard’s underside has a couple of feet that flip out sideways for some additional tallness.
Thermaltake powers a wrist lay on you, and it’s a continuation of the equivalent hard, marginally finished plastic utilized all through the keyboard’s undercarriage. It adds a little help and is surely more comfortablethan simply composing on a work area.
However, you’ll need to focus on unremarkableness, best case scenario, as it’s basically impossible to move up to something better since it’s for all time connected. The wrist rest has the sensation of a spending brand, yet the keyboard is modestly evaluated.
You can reveal to Thermaltake knows a bit concerning what is important in a mechanical keyboard, as it spent piece of the $110 keyboard’s restricted spending plan on PBT keycaps. At the point when you pick keycaps for your mechanical keyboard, great PBT keycaps are for the most part viewed as more solid than ABS plastic keycaps, while additionally opposing sparkle better.
What’s more, as in the Thermaltake W1 Wireless’ case, PBT keycaps frequently accompany a truly and outwardly engaging surface. The W1 Wireless’ keycaps appear to be quite thick, yet you can feel the paint filling of the laser engraved legends on top, causing them to appear to be less expensive and putting the masters in danger of ultimately blurring. On the off chance that you don’t care for them, the keyboard accompanies a modest keycap puller.
Discussing sturdiness, there’s a gently disturbing measure of room lining each key group, particularly the bolt keys. I dread this will draw in residue, or more terrible, lead to keyboard harm. All things considered, I haven’t saw any issues during two or three weeks with the keyboard.
Thermaltake has a talent for making some juggernaut keyboards. The Thermaltake Level 20 gaming keyboard, for instance, is 3.3 pounds and 19 inches long. Also, its W1 Wireless follows that topic. Some wireless keyboards pick versatility, however the W1 Wireless is that exemplary sort of huge keyboard that rules a work area. It’s 17.4 inches long, 8.7 inches deep,1.6 inches tall and weighs 4.4 pounds.
For correlation against likewise estimated wireless mechanical keyboards, the Logitech G613 is significantly more, because of its G-keys, however lighter (18.x 8.5 x 1.3 inches, 3.2 pounds), while the efficiency centered Razer Pro Type saves space and weight by dropping the wrist rest (17.4 5.2 1.6 inches, 2 pounds).
Specifications of Thermaltake W1 Wireless
| Switches | Cherry MX Blue (tested) or Red |
| Lighting | None |
| Onboard Storage | None |
| Media Keys | Volume wheel, mute |
| Connectivity Options | Bluetooth 4.1, USB Type-A dongle, USB-A cable |
| Cables | 1.5m USB-C to USB-A braided cable |
| Additional Ports | None |
| Keycaps | PBT plastic |
| Software | None |
| Dimensions (LxWxH) | 17.4 x 8.7 x 1.6 inches (442 x 222 x 40.6mm) |
| Weight | 4.4 pounds (1,991.3g) |
| Extra | Keycap puller |
Wireless Experience With Thermaltake W1 Wireless
In case you’re tired of links, you can associate the Thermaltake W1 Wireless to your framework by means of its USB-A dongle or Bluetooth 4.1. You can flip between up to three Bluetooth gadgets (by squeezing Fn + 1-3), making it simple to flip through 4 gadgets and get to composing rapidly.
I kept the dongle in my best gaming PC and kept it combined through Bluetooth to my work PC and a cell phone and PC. Exchanging between the dongle and Bluetooth association or between Bluetooth gadgets was consistent, with a defer that was no longer than the time it took for me to abandon one screen to the following.
It’s not difficult to switch your present wireless mode, however not really as simple to recollect which mode or gadget you’re utilizing. The dongle and Bluetooth fastens just light up briefly in the wake of being squeezed, and it’s basically impossible to know which Bluetooth profile you’re utilizing without composing and seeing which gadget reacts. While flipping between the dongle and Bluetooth association, the keyboard will naturally default to your most as of late utilized Bluetooth gadget.
Thermaltake claims that, with the 2.4 GHz dongle association, you’ll see as little as a 1ms delay between when you press a key and when that activity really occurs. Assuming you need to game wirelessly, that is the best approach in light of the fact that the postpone increments to an indicated 125ms when associated through Bluetooth.
The keyboard producer likewise asserts that you can utilize the keyboard from up to 32.8 feet (10m) away with its dongle association.
I experienced no difficulty utilizing the keyboard’s dongle association during my testing period. I generally utilized it close by a wireless mouse and regularly with wireless earphones and never saw any undeniable slack or experienced a dropped association. I was likewise ready to utilize the Thermaltake W1 wireless all around my little, one-room loft, even with two shut entryways between the keyboard and dongle.
Curiously, the Thermaltake W1 Wireless uses Bluetooth 4.1, despite the fact that Bluetooth 5.x has been a thing for some time presently (see the expensive Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro). While the fresher age packs a more noteworthy max transmission capacity and working reach, everything relies upon the execution, and your genuine encounter will likewise shift dependent on your current circumstance.
I never experienced any dropped Bluetooth associations or upsetting slack, and at last you will not pass up anything major because of this keyboard utilizing a more established kind of Bluetooth. As referenced, the Thermaltake W1 Wireless is terribly like the Logitech G613, which additionally has Bluetooth 4.1, since it turned out in 2017.
Should all else fizzle, Thermaltake incorporates a meshed USB-C to USB-A link. This implies you can utilize the keyboard regardless of whether your batteries runs out. In any case, you will not have the option to re-energize the keyboard. A compartment on the keyboard’s underside keeps the pair of AA batteries as well as has dongle stockpiling also.
Also Read: Razer Barracuda X Wireless Gaming Headset Review
Battery Life of Thermaltake W1 Wireless
Not surprisingly, expected battery life when utilizing the keyboard’s dongle association is more limited than when utilizing Bluetooth. With the 2.4 GHz association, Thermaltake asserts up to 1.5 long periods of battery existence with two AA batteries, contrasted with 2.5 months with Bluetooth. For examination, the Logitech G613 asserts as long as year and a half of battery life. The keyboard isn’t battery-powered, yet a couple of AA batteries is not difficult to track down.
Sadly, it’s basically impossible to get a definite battery perusing from the Thermaltake W1 Wireless. Be that as it may, there’s a pointer light will illuminate green (100-21% battery staying), yellow (20-6%) or squint red (under 5% battery) when you tap the force button, giving you a clue.
I haven’t utilized the keyboard for quite a long time, yet I left it on for about seven days, effectively utilizing it around 8 hours out of every day, and its battery marker light was as yet green after that testing time.
Thermaltake W1 Wireless Software
The W1 Wireless doesn’t accompany any product. For a few, similar to those tired of Razer Synapse and its RAM requests, this is something worth being thankful for. Thermaltake’s W1 Wireless is fitting and-play, as it were, and there’s no application to whine around with to get the most ideal experience. This implies there’s no accurate battery meter perusing, which is additionally useful to have with a wireless fringe.
In any case, many gaming keyboards these days do offer programming, for playing with the backdrop illumination, yet for highlights that can likewise be useful for gaming, similar to scratch planning or making profiles that can convey settings across various PCs. This isn’t the keyboard for gamers hoping to stay aware of the Joneses.
Conclusion
What makes a decent gaming keyboard? Diverse gamers have various answers. In the event that your answer is RGB, the Thermaltake W1 Wireless clearly will not cut it for you. In case it’s with regards to all around lubed switches and stabilizers and sans ping activation, this keyboard wavers also.
Furthermore, in the event that your answer is programmable keys and full scale recording, you’ll likewise be frustrated by this alleged gaming keyboard. In any case, taken absolutely as a wireless mechanical keyboard, the W1 Wireless has its successes.
For one, I never experienced a lost association or clear slack with long stretches of dongle association. Bluetooth likewise worked dependably, and the keyboard made it simple to rapidly switch between a dongle or Bluetooth association or between 1 of 3 combined Bluetooth gadgets. You even have the alternative to utilize a twisted link. Battery life ought to likewise be acceptable, in case you’re good with utilizing AA batteries.
That is a great deal of wireless usefulness and dependability for $110 (as of composing). Yet, one more issue is there’s a keyboard that is dubiously like the W1 Wireless and less expensive. The Logitech G613 ($80 MSRP) looks almost indistinguishable from this Thermaltake choice yet adds a large scale bank. In any case, that keyboard restricts you to a solitary Bluetooth profile and Logitech’s Romer-G Tactile mechanical switches.
An absence of provisions makes it hard for the W1 Wireless to stick out, particularly if the G613 is accessible for less. Yet, in the event that you incline toward direct or clicky switches and need to associate with numerous Bluetooth gadgets, the Thermaltake W1 Wireless is a link free clacker you can depend on. You just might need to keep some change lube up.