The greatest gaming keyboards normally ship swanky RGB lighting, premium mechanical switches, and customization software program — however they typically value $100 or extra. The Hver Stealth from IOGear makes an attempt to ship all of those options for the impressively low value of $50. It has a handsome, high quality chassis regardless of the value, and the RGB lighting has 15 built-in results which might be attractive if mild exhibits out of your peripherals are essential to you.
And in case you flip off the lights, the aptly named ‘Stealth’ will mix into any workplace atmosphere due to its understated design and pretty quiet (brown) switches. However whereas the value is interesting and issues look good on the floor, making a mechanical keyboard inexpensive means slicing some corners. And with the Hver Stealth, that principally has to do with the keycaps and switches which supplies the keyboard a really feel that doesn’t match as much as its appears.
Hver Stealth Specs
| Switches | Boxed mechanical switches (brown) |
| Lighting | RGB per-key backlighting |
| Connectivity | Wired |
| Media Keys | Sure, with Fn |
| Keycaps | Double injected |
| Software program | Kaliber Gaming software program |
| Dimensions (LxWxH) | 17.6 x 5.3 x 1.5 inches |
| Weight | 1.75 kilos |
Design
The Hver Stealth makes use of a brushed aluminum base for its construct, and it has a high-quality really feel regardless of its finances value. Not solely does it really feel good and glossy to the contact, but it surely’s additionally shiny and displays mild properly. The total-size chiclet keyboard has a quantity pad and, proper above it, massive “Kaliber Gaming” branding. The branding isn’t overly obnoxious and it’s tucked behind the keys effectively sufficient to not be an eyesore.
Above which might be 4 LED lights to point when Num Lock, Caps Lock, Scroll Lock, or Home windows Lock are energetic. The keycaps have multi-zone RGB lighting beneath them that may be custom-made with Kaliber Gaming software program. There may be additionally a strip of RGB lighting wrapped across the fringe of the keyboard’s base plate that appears nice.
The RGB could be the largest perk of this $50 keyboard at face worth. The lighting and its various choices are lovely, and you’ll fine-tune it to any coloration you want utilizing the Kaliber Gaming software program’s coloration gradient scale. Choices for lighting presets embrace twinkle, retro snake, sine wave, neon stream, and even a sport mode that reacts based mostly in your gameplay.
My favourite is the flash away impact, which lights up the complete horizontal row of no matter key you press. There are a shocking variety of lighting presets for a finances keyboard, and so they’re good to have a look at. Sadly, the strip of RGB alongside the underside of the keyboard can’t be custom-made and stays rainbow-colored it doesn’t matter what coloration you designate for the keys.
As we’d anticipate from principally any gaming keyboard at this level, the Hver Stealth options anti-ghosting with n-key rollover, plus the power to swap the WASD key features with the arrow keys, maintaining MMO gamers in consideration. There are additionally secondary media keys embedded within the operate row which might be accessible by holding the Fn key. Legends on a few of the keys vaguely point out what they do. The F1 key additionally exhibits a monitor, for instance, and urgent it with the Fn key launches the GeForce Expertise overlay. The F9 key exhibits three dots in a circle, which form of signifies its operate of biking by means of lighting results.
The Hver Stealth additionally guarantees “5 programmable keys for macro features, shortcuts and extra,” however there aren’t any devoted keys for this. The primary 5 quantity keys even have alternate labels (CM1, CM2, CM3, CM4, and CM5), which makes me suppose they’re meant for use for macros — maybe together with the Fn key. However urgent Fn plus these keys simply cycles by means of numerous lighting modes. It looks like you may assign macros to any keys, so it’s not an enormous difficulty (particularly provided that the keyboard has full numpad), however the product web page makes it sound like there’s a financial institution of devoted macro keys and that isn’t the case.
Beneath the keyboard are two rubber toes that flip out from the highest. The toes on the highest and the accompanying rubber pads on the underside hold the keyboard safe when typing. The Hver Stealth by no means slipped away from me it doesn’t matter what I did on the keyboard — from aggressive typing to gaming.
The Hver Stealth appears fairly understated once you flip off the lights. It’s even a bit quieter than most mechanical keyboards when typing, so it wouldn’t look or sound misplaced in an workplace (or a house workplace). And you need to have sufficient cable size for many setups, as a result of the Stealth has a 61.02-inch (155cm) braided USB cable. It’s not detachable, however we wouldn’t anticipate it to be at something near this value.
Typing Expertise on the Hver Stealth
The typing expertise on the Hver Stealth leaves a bit to be desired. The double injected keycaps have laborious, angled corners that don’t really feel nice when your fingers miss the center of a key. The keycaps additionally really feel low-cost and are considerably slippery — they didn’t make my keystrokes really feel as exact as I like.
What makes the typing expertise worse are the weak brown boxed-style switches the mechanical keyboard makes use of. Though they supply quieter keystrokes, which is nice in an workplace setting, they really feel mushy. Granted, a few of this comes down to private choice, however the tactile suggestions from the brown box-styled switches shouldn’t be notably pleasing. Paired with the slippery, sharp, and in any other case cheap-feeling keycaps, these switches make for a less-than-ideal typing expertise. There doesn’t appear to be a lot keycap wobble, which is one factor the corporate says the switches assist stop — however I simply want they felt higher.
That mentioned, these points didn’t hinder my typing abilities and I truly noticed enhancements in typing pace and accuracy, regardless of it not feeling nice to kind on. I examined my typing capability on 10fastfingers.com, and managed 59 phrases per minute (WPM) with 89.73% accuracy with the Stealth. That is sooner than I kind on my private Razer BlackWidow V3 Professional with Razer Inexperienced switches (55WPM) however much less correct (93.52%). It’s additionally sooner than I kind on my work keyboard. I bought 53 WPM on the Asus ROG Strix Scope TKL Electro Punk with Cherry MX Crimson switches with a 90.58%.
Gaming Expertise on the Hver Stealth
Regardless of the sub-par really feel of the keycaps and switches, the Hver Stealth felt fairly good whereas gaming. I didn’t really feel any discomfort as I plowed my means by means of Massive Daddies in Bioshock: Remastered. However the Hver Stealth didn’t actually profit my gaming efficiency, both. The tactile clicky switches on my Razer BlackWidow V3 Professional are snappy sufficient that they really feel like they have an effect on my gameplay for the higher, however the mushiness of the Stealth’s keys appeared to cut back my rapid-fire inputs, and I bought taken down by Splicers and returned to the Vita-Chamber way more typically than I’m keen to confess.
The keycaps additionally really feel higher to the contact on the V3 Professional and performed a think about my gaming efficiency. The keycaps on my BlackWidow V3 Professional hug my fingertips and really feel much less slippery than the Stealth’s keys. This won’t be a very honest comparability, although, contemplating the Razer keyboard prices over 4 occasions as a lot because the Stealth.
Software program
The Hver Stealth makes use of the corporate’s Kaliber Gaming software program to regulate backlighting and assign keyboard features. It doesn’t routinely set up once you plug the keyboard in — you must obtain it from the product web page on IOGear’s web site. The interface is easy sufficient, and has three profiles that may be tailor-made to fit your gaming and typing wants.
There’s a macro editor button the place you may make new cycles or import/export outdated ones in batches. There’s additionally a lighting part the place you may flip the RGB on or off, assign one in every of its 15 lighting results, alter brightness and strobe pace, or decide a solitary coloration. The one factor that I disliked about this convenient however barebones software program is that you would be able to’t alter the home windows and font dimension — the letters are too small to learn simply, however that simply could also be my old-man grievances.
Backside Line
The Hver Stealth is stacked with premium options sometimes seen on keyboards that value twice as a lot — or extra. Even Logitech’s G413 SE can’t compete with the Stealth’s options or its $50 value. This alone makes the Hver Stealth an attractive selection for avid gamers on a finances. Whereas the brown switches aren’t wonderful, they’re an enormous leap over the membrane keyboards that usually occupy the decrease finish of the market.
Past the specs and the beautiful RGB, the person expertise on the Hver Stealth feels slightly low-cost, particularly in comparison with higher-end mechanical keyboards. The keycaps and switches simply don’t really feel nice, and whereas the switches are mechanical they don’t do a lot to boost gaming capability the best way extra premium choices can. The keyboard has no media controls or devoted macro keys, and no change choices apart from brown. When you choose linear or clicky switches, you’re out of luck.
In case your finances is strict at $50, the Hver Stealth is a greater choice than membrane keyboards, and it’s not a foul selection for first-time mechanical keyboard patrons who’re averse to spending extra. However growing your finances by $25 will get you a a lot higher-quality keyboard — one thing just like the TKL Redragon Vishnu K596 or Cooler Grasp’s CK552 (our present decide for the greatest finances mechanical keyboard).