NZXT FUNCTION, MINITKL & TENKEYLESS Mechanical Keyboard Review
Peter Donnell / 3 years ago
A Closer Look – FUNCTION
This is the largest and more expensive model of the range, albeit, they don’t actually have any more features, you’re simply paying for more keyboard here. First impressions are great though and this is one slick-looking keyboard. As you can see, I have the white version to hand, but each model will be available in black or white to suit your tastes; sorry if you’re tastes called for a neon pink one, you’ll have to paint it yourself I guess.
Of course, the white finish looks great with its almost soft looking finish, but it’s given a stronger contrast from the matte black finish of the keys. It’s a very NZXT design though, matching the monochrome aesthetic they’ve distilled into many of their PC cases, CPU coolers, PSUs, and even their motherboards. If you’re an NZXT fan and use their products a lot, this is going to pair up nicely.
This is a fairly standard layout mechanical keyboard, with a standard bottom row on all three models. This means you’ll be able to use aftermarket keycaps, which I’m sure will please customisation lovers.
The keyboard features a default profile, as well as four in the onboard memory and you’ll want to download the CAM software, so you can really dive deep into any settings, RGB profiles, macros, etc.
There are some basic media controls here, accessible by holding FN-Shift. Nothing too fancy, but they’re certainly handy while you’re listening to music and gaming.
Interestingly, there aren’t any other noticeable secondary functions on the remaining keys, which does feel a little limiting. However, at the same time, it leaves the keyboard looking much cleaner than most. Some keyboards are riddled with features these days and it can be a little overbearing to deal with, whereas this just looks cleaner… because it is.
I love this NZXT logo here, a design crisp enough for a Paul Allen business card; just look at the lettering!
One thing that is interesting, is the extra controls on the left side of the keyboard. There’s a volume when on the left, which is strange as I don’t think I’ve ever seen one on this side of the keyboard before. However, I certainly welcome it, I rely on my keyboard volume controls a lot throughout the day.
There are three controls next to that, one for master mute, one for Windows Key Lock and another to cycle through LED brightness or to turn the LEDs off entirely.
Around the back, there’s a Type-C USB port. The cable is included, of course, but with it being USB-C, you can use pretty much any aftermarket cables you desire too, which I like.
The full-size FUNCTION and the TENKEYLESS come with a full-width (relative to each model’s size) wrist rest. I certainly welcome that addition too, anything that makes these long typing sessions more comfortable is fine by me. The design is pretty cool too, with little dot peppered on it that I rather like, although Andy seems a little unsure about them. What do you think, do they look good?