[REVIEW] ARMAGGEDDON Stealth Raptor MKA-7 Mechanical Keyboard

[owikh84]

ARMAGGEDDON Stealth Raptor MKA-7 Mechanical Keyboard



Introduction

In recent years, with the increasing number of computer users in the PC gaming era, eventually many of the peripheral manufacturers are racing to release their own mechanical keyboards. ARMAGGEDDON was no exception. It is a computer component manufacturer that is targeting at those who want gaming accessories with premium build quality. Today we will take a look at their flagship mechanical keyboard, the Stealth Raptor MKA-7.

Product Link: http://leapfroglobal.com/amg/keyboar...tor-mka-7.html

Suggested Retail Price: RM 439


Specifications

? Available In Red, Blue, Black and Brown Cherry MX Mechanical Switches
? High quality Cherry MX switches and long life up to 50 million operations
? 3 segments total 104 mechanical switches built-in with backlight effects.
? Unique ?Maldives Blue? LED backlight
? 6 fully Macro-Able keys
? Adjustable keys effective time in 7 speed transmission from 1ms ~ 16ms
? Adjustable polling rate: 125Hz/250Hz/500Hz/1000Hz
? Multimedia keys with built-in program
? Adjustable keys response time
? Adjustable backlighting effects on keyboard button
? Characteristic keycaps for WASD and arrow keys
? Gaming mode option for deactivation of windows key
? 1.8 meters multiflex cord wrapped with ultra-durable cable jacket.
? 1 Megabyte Built-in onboard memory
? USB cord management system design for your convenience


Unboxing


The MKA-7 is shipped in a black box mixed with gold colour. The front of the packaging, looks very elegant with a picture showing the product in the middle. We can see a gold ARMAGGEDDON logo on the top left corner, while on the lower right corner there is information on the features and specifications brought by this mechanical keyboard. Uniquely in the front of the packaging there is a small window to display the keyboard arrow keys in which you could test them before deciding to buy the mechanical keyboard, so it is not like buying a cat in a cage.


The back of the packaging is still dominated by the use of black color. Here you could find quite a load of information about the features of this mechanical keyboard. Features of each of the mechanical switch used on this keyboard is also described in more specific on the back of the packaging.


Included in the packaging you will receive a user manual, one additional set of WASD and arrow keys, a set of replacement rubber feet, a CD driver, and a key puller for convenience to replace the keys.


My first impression of the MKA-7 was mixed. It?s a very attractive mechanical keyboard, but it doesn?t have any other unique feature than any other mechanical keyboards. The keyboard size is pretty much standard with 104 mechanical keys. It has dimensions of 441 mm x 135 mm x 34 mm and weighing about 1.3 kilograms. The matte surface is chosen to ensure that the surface is not easy to leave fingerprints. We also noticed that it does not include a palm rest but just a small slanted bar which is quite insufficient for our normal palms.


The MKA-7 comes with four options of mechanical switches including Cherry MX Red, Blue, Black and Brown. Each type of switch gives different feel of touch and sound when pressed and will vary according to each individual. In this review, we are supplied with the Cherry MX Brown model that balances our needs for typing and gaming.


The MKA-7 key features Maldives blue backlight. The gaming keys, WASD and the arrow keys use Brilliant yellow colour, but to the actual unit it seems it's more of a yellowish orange.


The level of brightness of these backlights can be adjusted by using the rotary button located on the upper right side of the keyboard or with the included software. The rotary button can also be used to adjust the speaker volume by pressing the volume button on the left side of the rotary button. Here we can see that the build quality of the backlight button, volume button and rotary buttons is quite disappointing. They are loose and too plastic.


The MKA-7 does not come with special macro keys. The macro keys (M1 - M6) are programmed on the six buttons located above the keyboard arrow keys, that are also the "Insert", "Home", Page Up", "Page Down", "Delete" and "End" keys. These macro keys can be programmed easily using the included software. There is one problem on the placement of the macro keys. We're not sure why the 6 keys are selected as the macro keys. It is almost impossible to access these macros when your right hand is rested on the mouse while the left hand is rested on WASD keys. The only way to access to the macro keys is to use the arrow keys when playing games. Only in this way our finger can reach the macro keys.


Let's proceed to connectivity of the mechanical keyboard. There are three cable configurations that you can choose. On the top side of MKA-7 we have a USB 2.0 port (hub), microphone input and a headphone output.



As for the cabling system, you will get a 3-in-1 main cable containing a USB 2.0 connector, a microphone jack and a headphone jack. I personally prefer the cable to be braided like they did on the ARMAGGEDDON Strike Eagle MKI-3.


The back side of the MKA-7 looks simple and neat. The 1.8 meters main cable is made of multiflex cord wrapped with ultra-durable cable jacket and channel up to the top of the mechanical keyboard. There are also two adjustable stands for tilting and four rubber feet at the bottom part to give extra grips during heavy gaming session.