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The 1stPlayer NEO87 Rome mechanical keyboard turned out to be one of the most intriguing examples of industrial manufacturing I have encountered in recent years. And no, that wording is intentional. The keyboard itself is certainly impressive, but what truly stands out is the manufacturing quality, with details that are immediately apparent to a trained eye. We’ll get to that shortly – don’t worry.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1stPlayer NEO87 Rome Specifications
- Switches: BSUN Lavender, quick-release
- Switch profile: MDA
- Switch mounting: standard Cherry
- Number of keys: 88
- Connection: wired (USB Type-C)
- Backlighting: full
- RGB backlighting: yes, 16.8 million colours, with a light bar
- Key layout: English / Ukrainian
- Cable length: 1.8 m
- Dimensions: 376×146×43 mm
- Weight: 750 g
Price and Package Contents
The 1stPlayer NEO87 Rome is priced at approximately $45, or around €40. In the box, it comes with a keycap and switch puller, several spare switches, a user manual, and a generously long USB-C to USB-A cable featuring high-quality braided sleeving.
1stPlayer NEO87 Rome Design
The NEO87 Rome is an attractive keyboard, particularly for enthusiasts of vintage designs inspired by the IBM Model M. The resemblance is not exact: the chassis is white rather than cream, and the overall color palette leans more toward a modern reinterpretation of the classic aesthetic. That said, several design elements are unmistakably borrowed from the 1980s, most notably the logo and the status indicators in the upper-right corner.
The keyboard uses an 80% layout with 88 keys, making it a Tenkeyless (TKL) design. It weighs 750 g, which is relatively light for its class, although the plastic chassis feels solid and of good quality. The USB Type-C connector is located on the rear edge of the keyboard. The folding feet feature a two-stage design and include rubberized pads for improved stability.
The keyboard features full RGB backlighting with excellent color reproduction and even light diffusion. It also includes an RGB light strip along the bottom edge of the case. In fact, without this addition, it would be even easier to mistake the NEO87 Rome for a vintage keyboard rather than a modern design.
Switches and Keycaps
Now for the most interesting part: the typing experience. The NEO87 Rome comes equipped with pre-lubricated BSUN Lavender linear switches. They offer an exceptionally smooth keypress with a pleasingly refined sound profile, making them a standout feature of the keyboard.
The real highlight, however, is the keycaps. They are made of PBT and use the MDA profile. For those unfamiliar with it, an MDA-profile keyboard was the one that finally convinced me to abandon membrane and scissor-switch keyboards for good.
The typing experience is consistently enjoyable, with exceptionally smooth and satisfying keystrokes. A sound sample is available in the video below.
A Matter of Manufacturing
So far, I have not mentioned either the wireless connectivity or the battery. That is despite the fact that both the official website and the user manual describe the 1stPlayer NEO87 Rome as a wireless keyboard. In fact, at around UAH 2,000, an 80% wireless model is priced exactly where you would expect it to be.
As it turned out, that is not the case. The NEO87 Rome is available in at least two hardware variants. The first is a wireless version, featuring a mode selector in the upper-right corner – precisely where the wired model places the backlight control switch.
The second variant is wired-only. There are also two additional color options available, although I find them considerably less appealing, as they come with OEM-profile keycaps instead of the MDA profile.
That, however, is not the real issue. The real problem is how easy it is to confuse the wired and wireless versions. The packaging provides no indication of which model is inside. Even more surprisingly, the wired version uses the same chassis, complete with a storage compartment for a 2.4 GHz receiver. Yes, the wired-only keyboard includes an empty slot intended for a wireless dongle.
Conclusion
The NEO87 Rome does not offer many standout features, but that is hardly a drawback. Modern wired keyboards simply do not require an extensive feature set. The confusion between the wired and wireless variants is unfortunate, but beyond that, this is an excellent vintage-inspired keyboard with impressive RGB lighting, thoughtful design, and some of the best keycaps I have used for extended typing. As a result, I can confidently recommend the 1stPlayer NEO87 Rome.
Where to buy 1stPlayer NEO87 Rome
