Tt eSPORTS Poseidon Z RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
RGB mechanical keyboards have been popping up this past year and each one of them has had something to stand out from the rest. Corsair has the distinction of being the first with Cherry MX RGB switches while SteelSeries and Logitech use their own custom switches. Thermaltake hopes that the relatively low price of the Tt eSPORTS Poseidon Z RGB, currently at $97.99 shipped, will entice shoppers looking for an RGB mechanical keyboard. At this time, it’s the lowest priced RGB keyboard on the market as it is available for less than the Tesoro Excalibur Spectrum ($99.99 shipped).
While the Poseidon Z RGB looks similar to the original Poseidon Z keyboard with the minimalist enclosure and the media keys, there are a number of differences. Full N-key rollover, custom key assignments through the software, RGB lighting, on-board profiles are big features not found on the original. Some of these features are not even found on competing RGB mechanical keyboards.
This is our first good look at the Kailh RGB switches and we’ve got some good things to say about them. In the past, we haven’t had any complaints using Kailh clone mechanical switches as they look and feel virtually the same as their Cherry counterparts. The RGB lighting for these Kailh RGB switches is quite special though. By integrating the RGB LED into the switch housing as opposed to surface mounting and having it shine through clear plastic as is the case with Cherry MX RGB switches, the lights on the Poseidon Z RGB appear much brighter than those on the Corsair RGB mechanical keyboards which use Cherry switches.
Another nice feature is that storing the lighting effect in on-board memory eliminates the need to install software when the Poseidon Z RGB is travelling. We will note that there isn’t as much variety of lighting effects compared to some other RGB mechanical keyboards. The software is also somewhat disorganized, but the settings are unified into a few menus which means one doesn’t have to dig deep to find what they want. Color gradient are smooth, though this is less impressive to note now that all competing keyboards on their newest firmware have smooth gradient effects.
There isn’t much to complain about this keyboard considering how much it costs. Again, the Poseidon Z RGB is cheaper than many other RGB mechanicals at $119.99. Sometimes it’s considerably cheaper as we have seen it go on sale for $98. You won’t get as many lighting effects compared to some other competing keyboards and there are no dedicated media keys or dedicated macro keys. Yet there are some nice features including custom key assignments, on-board memory for traveling, and the bright RGB lighting. We don’t mind the Kailh switches either since we don’t notice a significant difference between those and Cherry MX switches. For those looking for an uncomplicated mechanical keyboard with RGB lighting, the Tt eSPORTS Poseidon Z RGB earns a strong recommendation from us.
Legit Bottom Line: The affordable Poseidon Z gets an affordable RGB sibling in the Poseidon Z RGB which packs some nice useful features to sweeten the deal.