Gigabyte Aivia K8100 Gaming Keyboard Review

A Closer Look
As soon as we have the keyboard out of the box we need to get our sunglasses on as the very bright yellow makes it hard to miss! The coating of the board is smooth and glossy and sat on the desk really stands out as a focal point. The wrist rest at the front of the board is detachable from the main body and this is released by undoing a couple of screws on the base.

On the base of the board there are a series of rubber feet to keep it firmly in place whilst in use and certainly with its weight, it’s not going to move far too easily.

There are also two feet to raise up the rear of the board for added comfort. The braided cable has two points from where it can leave the board, either from towards to the left or more to the centre. This is easily changed by pulling the cable out of the recess and slotting it back into the other.

The top left of the board id where we find the macro and ‘mode’ buttons, each of the five macro keys can be programmed with 5 different profiles with the included software and using the mode button which slowly pulses in one of five colours, you can switch between each of the profiles.

Along the top we find the touch-slide volume control, as you slide your finder along the board you’ll notice the arrows to the right light up to indicate the control.

On either end of the board there is a single USB2.0 port (two in total) – ideal for plugging your mouse or a flash drive into rather than fumbling around on your system looking for a port.

This conveniently brings us to the keys themself. They look like just any other don’t they, but hold on, all is not as it appears. The guys at Gigabyte have been working very hard and its clear that looks are just half of what you get. Keys that are most often used during gaming and those that are commonly used have different elastic force against them (the sprung force required to return them to their original position) this makes them easier to use for long periods of time and is also meant to relieve the strain on your fingertips whilst playing games.

Also included is a silicon cover for the keys to keep them all clean whilst not in use, although this does not have to be removed in order to use the board. The Aivia word is moulded into the silicon on the middle of the space bar as a finishing touch.

As we saw earlier the K8100 comes included with an extra set of WASD keys and a handy little key remover. Seeing as the WASD are the most highly used keys during gaming, it’s nice to see that Gigabyte have provided an extra set in order to keep the board looking great and functional. The key also makes it easier to remove the lot in order to clean under the entire keyset.