The most important thing you should know about the GamePro MK80 and GamePro MK85 is that they are mechanical keyboards, and full-size ones at that. And they’re hardly the cheapest on the market at all. Neither of them costs more than $30. And yet, yes, they’re honest mechanics. Not membrane, not membrane mechanics, but honest mechanics.
GamePro MK85 and MK80 GamePro Video Review
You can look at the keyboards in dynamics here:
Market positioning and price
Now, the cost. The full-size model in both versions, GamePro MK85B and GamePro MK85R, are $30 without the discount, but are available now for $23. Hopefully this isn’t an “AliExpress discount”. And you know what’s funny? The GamePro MK80B and GamePro MK80R cost the same, although they aren’t full-size, as they only contain 87 keys.
Package and characteristics
In fact, none of the keyboards has a complete set, the box contains the keyboard itself and a Ukrainian-language manual. The plastic here is ABS, which is expected, the weight – from 550 to 650 g, the cable is 150 cm without braiding, there is a foot-stand, but the caps are made according to the pudding scheme. That is, the part of the plastic at the bottom is white and allows RGB-lighting to pass through it very well.
The legends on the keyboards are English and Ukrainian, Num and Scroll indicators are present. RGB is present here as it is – the pudding keys make the backlighting visually splendid. However, it is, expectedly, not full RGB backlighting, it is sectoral. But it is changeable, and there are tons of settings, even brightness change is present.
These nuances apply to all four models, by the way, they are almost all the same, but in the following I will mention GamePro MK85 first of all, because it is a full-size model. And you can’t imagine how much harder it is to find a full-size model with NumPad.
Mechanics or trickery?
Are the mechanical switches here honest? Because companies have been very much sneaky so far, on the verge of lawsuits sometimes. Some had diaphragms inside the switch, some had a diaphragm DOWNLOAD of the switch, above the PCB. And the price in the latter case was absolutely on the level of the heroes of our review.
So, is the GamePro MK85 a bona fide mechanical keyboard? Yes!
The scrolls here are not replaceable, so I had to sacrifice one. And I had to do it with pliers, like a dentist, because the removal tool doesn’t work on switches that don’t physically come off. But really, the GamePro MK80B’s scrolls are mechanical, and really Blue type, with a noticeable and loud click.
Red, respectively, is soft and linear. But there are no membranes here. Nowhere. So these are honest, new, brand-name mechanical keyboards. All of them. No, I haven’t taken apart the GamePro MK85R or the GamePro MK80R, but I say with 99% certainty that there are no membranes there either.
Because the company has already spent money on making their own switch, in my opinion – more complex mechanically. And Red is even cheaper to make.
Obvious things
Now. Don’t be fooled by the quality of these switches. Blue are very dry, very sharp, but it doesn’t hurt to hear them. They’re just dry, and it feels like the lever inside is on its money, so to speak.
That is, I don’t believe that these switches will survive the promised 50 million presses. It is possible in theory, because Cherry, for example, recently announced MX2A, where it promises twice as much reliability.
Read also: GamePro HS1240 and GamePro HS1630 Gaming Headsets Review
But imagine the price… I’m kidding, you don’t have to imagine, it’s $6.00 for 10 pieces. That is, the GamePro MK85B costs exactly 49 Cherry MX2A switches. Or almost 1/2 of the HP membrane-mechanical keyboard discussed above.
Does that make keyboards bad? No. Nor does the sector backlighting make them bad. Yes, it’s cheap, but it doesn’t hurt anyone and it’s visually very cool. And the warranty on all models is 1 year. So the conclusions are as follows.
Summary of the GamePro MK85 and MK80
The main advantage and main goal of the GamePro MK85 and GamePro MK80, to me, is to be able to show how a mechanical keyboard differs from a membrane or scissor keyboard. These models are the most affordable on the market, they have backlighting, a warranty, and they are honest mechanics. Whether you like the click or not is a different situation. But overall – I recommend it. At least give it a try.
Real also:
- Keychron K3 Pro Wireless Keyboard Review
- Hator Rockfall 2 Mecha TKL Review: Сool Mechanical Keyboard for $55
- ASUS ROG Azoth Wireless Gamer Keyboard Review: Towards Customisation