Continuing with NAG’s exploration of the affordable side of gaming, I find myself in the land of keyboards – with my first stop being the Gamdias Hermes P2, featuring RGB lighting and mechanical optical switches.
Just to make sure we are all on the same page, a mechanical optical switch uses light to register the key stroke. A standard mechanical switch uses electrical contacts so that when you push the key a circuit is completed and the signal is sent. A mechanical optical switch, on the other hand, is more akin to tripping a laser beam in a spy movie – break the beam of light and the signal is registered. This switch design is touted as being more durable, but the variant that Gamdias uses is rated for 50 million keystrokes, which is the same as any Cherry MX mechanical switch.
The Gamdias Hermes P2 is a solid keyboard with no discernible flex when used on a solid surface, and given its weight I’d be surprised if there wasn’t a metal plate inside to boost that firmness. This also also helps when putting this keyboard to the test – in fact, I’m typing this review on the Hermes P2 at the same speed I can get on my Razer Black Widow Chroma. The mechanical optical switches deliver on their performance promise and because they’re a Blue variant, they offer tactile feed that has the sort of responsiveness I like in a keyboard, and with the satisfying click-click-click noise too.
The lighting aspect of this keyboard is controlled solely by the Gamdias Hera software. While this little application is not the most refined, it does offer eight preset lighting effects and of course because this is an RGB deck, you have the full rainbow of colours at your disposal. Furthermore, there are six profiles in the software which not only allows for different macros and key assignments but also different lighting effects. This is ideal for those who want to make their CS:GO setup feel and look different to their Dota 2 setup.
At the R699 price point, you aren’t going to find any offerings from the big names vendors with mechanical switches. The Steelseries Apex 150, for example, is aR150 more and only has membrane switches. If you want mechanical switches from Razer, Cooler Master, Corsair, or SteelSeries, then you’re looking at spending a minimum of about R1,250. That’s what makes the Gamdias Hermes P2 so appealing, and after using it for a month, I can’t find any fault with it and I’m starting to wonder why I paid so much for my Razer Black Widow.
