ATTACK SHARK AKS068 Wired Mechanical Gaming Keyboard 65% Alice Layout Hot-swapped Gasket Mount with RGB Backlit VIA Programmable Knob NKRO TKL AS Pre-lubed Tactile Brown Switch for Win/Mac(Black)

I really like this little keyboard. I haven't used an alice layout keyboard before and, I have to say, it's very comfortable and easy to type quickly and accurately.That aside, the keyboard, itself, is extremely well made. The housing is plastic, where others are aluminum, but that is reflected in the price. The plastic is very thick and the keyboard has a lot of heft to it. It weighs more than you would expect looking at it.The key thing to know when purchasing this keyboard is this: It's not ready to go right out of the box. You have to go through some assembly (which is also why the price of this is so good, I'm sure). The assembly is not hard; you plug each switch into a socket on the board - beware there are two small copper contacts on each switch that need to plug into small holes in the socket. Several of the contacts in my kit were bent and needed to be straightened before plugging in. Extra switches are provided. But make sure you check each switch's contacts before you try to plug it in.Once all the switches are in, you have to apply the key caps to the top of each switch. It would have been nice if the manufacturer had provided a diagram of where each key goes (the typing keys are where you would expect, but others are not as clear), but you can just use the photo on the listing to go by.It has RGB if that's your thing. I was surprised it had it given the price, but it's there. I've turned it off on mine, but people do seem to like having it. The keys themselves are solid with printed letters/numbers, though, so you won't be seeing the letters/numbers lit up when the lights are on.The knob is pre-installed and works as expected. It has little clicks with each turn, which raise or lower the volume by default. You can press the knob, too, which will mute or unmute.Overall, you can't beat the price for this type of keyboard and this one performs solidly. If you haven't tried an alice layout and are looking to try it without breaking the bank, this is a very good option.

Yes, this keyboard is cheap. Yes, it's flimsy. You can grab it on both ends/sides and twist it. Just like in the youtube video by MechTech Keyboards. And although I have a GMMK TKL and a Roccat Vulcan TKL and 104, this keyboard has a much better sound and feel than either of those. And I like this layout better than the standard Alice layout. What I mean is the W key, and then the E key flow at a smooth angle from the Q key instead of the abrupt change of a true Alice layout. It just flows so much nicer and is visually less jarring.One thing I really didn't like about this keyboard is the sharpness of the spacebar caps on my thumbs. I use mine completely flat on my desk with a Razer wrist rest. It became really annoying. So I ripped 'em out and put them back on upside down, tilting the forward edge down, and now they are super comfortable! And they look kinda cool that way too! See the included pic.Never using VIA before left me very frustrated trying to get this all set up the first time. And I get frustrated easily lol. So my advice to anyone purchasing this keyboard is to scroll down to the manufacturers description and FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS and read the other reviews. Except when you get to the website caniusevia.com there is now a browser based via app there that you can use without having to download and install anything.I really didn't like how they had the missing keys mapped out. At all. So I cleared them all and moved the HOME and END keys to Fn plus the left and right arrows, as well as Fn plus PgUp and PgDn. I also moved Ins to Fn+Del, and PrScr to Fn+Up arrow. And it worked. But was a little unintuitive and cumbersome having to move my right hand from the home row and accommodate all the keys. So I was looking for another Fn key I could use and didn't want to use Ctrl, Win or Alt for that so I played around with the left Spacebar as a second Fn key, since I don't use the spacebar with my left hand ever, and it worked! I have the Fn key assigned to Layer1 and the left spacebar as Layer2. I love it!To summarize, I really like this keyboard. Accidentally pressing Alt and Left arrow blew up a half hour of typing on my fav forum, but I will eventually make friends with it. I love the color scheme, but I do wish the caps were shine thru. But there are several very cheap (ie. $19-29) 60%-65% keyboards here on amazon that you can buy just for the shine thru caps.

This is just a kit - YOU must snap in 68 switches (without bending them), then 68 keycaps. The included keycaps are not "Shine-Thru" type. The letters/symbols on the keycaps are NOT lit - I can only see them in fully lighted room. Useless in low light setting. Backlit just means LEDS shine around these keys to make a pretty light show. I bought replacement "Shine-Thru" type of keycaps, so the letters on key tops would light up, but those don't light because this keyboard has "South Facing" LEDs. That means the each LED is ** ONLY ** under the lower (front) half of each keycap, and will not shine thru the standard letter positions, which are on the upper (back) half of the keycap. If want your letters lit / visible it seems you would need to buy special keycaps with shine-thru letters actually on the front facing *SIDE* of the keys?? ....Yes - Keycaps with NO LETTERS on top of the keys - instead the letters are on the vertical front walls of the keycaps.I feel that calling this a backlit keyboard is very deceptive. Just understand what you are NOT getting.Also - imagine returning this after you do all the assembly.... would they expect you to fully dis-assemble all the keycaps and all the key switches (~ 136 parts? ) and repack all the keys ?