Review: ARMAGGEDDON Stealth Raptor MKA-7 Mechanical Keyboard
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/keyboards/stealth-raptor-mka-7.html
Suggested Retail Price: RM 469
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 color, 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 header, 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.
Software
The package is provided with a mini-sized CD that contains the software and driver to maximize the performance of the MKA-7. The software is very simple and easy to understand and apply. There are four basic menus available in this software, which are the “Home Base”, “Button Setting”, “Macro Setting”, and ”Advanced Settings”
The first menu is “Home Base”, which only contains a little preview of the features of the mechanical keyboard, there is no any function on this menu.
The second menu is the “Button Setting”. There are a total of five profiles can be created, in which you are free to assign any key located on the keyboard. It is very useful when you can personalize the keys for each of the different games.
The next is a “Macro Setting” menu, in this menu you can set and save any buttons to be used as macros. The macro keys might not be as many as other competitors’ offerings, but this is understandable, because this mechanical keyboard is designed for the gamers of First Person Shooter (FPS) games that seldom use the macro function.
The last menu is the “Advanced Settings” menu. This menu provides four polling rate options to choose from 125 Hz to 1000 Hz. It also allows you to deactivate the Windows key, set the key response time from 1 to 16 milliseconds and adjust the light intensity.
Performance
Our tests are based on daily routine usage and while playing the games. For daily use, the mechanical keyboard works good and is very responsive. You do not need to press the keys on the keyboard in a fast speed, because with just a slight touch the keyboard is able to respond very well. The accuracy of the MKA-7 is also considered to be very good for daily use, the keyboard is very accurate to minimize typing errors. We tested this keyboard for typing articles, this keyboard will give you a different typing experience and quite responsive. Somehow, we feel that it is less comfortable because it does not include a palm rest, so it will be a little wrist sore when using the keyboard in long period of time. The keys are very good, the size of keys is not too big and not too small making this mechanical keyboard very comfortable to use. Besides that, the sound produced by the mechanical switches is kinda rough, but exciting.
Then we used the keyboard to play the games including Battlefield 4, Call of Duty Ghosts, and Crysis 3. This keyboard looks extremely reliable at the time of testing we used to play games. This keyboard has a good response rate, movement and key switching can be done very quickly and accurately. But what disappointed us is the location of the macro keys that we think too far to reach. This can be overcame only when we used the arrow keys for movement, instead of WASD keys. Mechanical keyboards have better anti-ghosting technology as compared to regular membrane keyboards. This feature is very useful especially when playing games. The design of the keys and the distance in between the buttons will make this mechanical keyboard a perfect choice for almost any function.
Thoughts & Verdicts
The ARMAGGEDDON Stealth Raptor MKA-7 is a decent mechanical keyboard. It has keys that feel soft, very good level of responsiveness, accuracy and precision while typing. Overall this keyboard fulfills the needs for modern PC gaming. There are some option settings including the polling rate and response rate that you can customize based on own your preferences. This is suitable for those who like to play Real Time Strategy (RTS) games like Diablo III. Anti-ghosting features found on this mechanical keyboard will ensure that your typing is delivered more precisely, without error, and has a very good rate of speed.
The downside is that we realized the build quality of the rotating button used to control the level of sound and the backlight brightness. It feels too plastic and does not have a build quality that is on par with other keys. Apart from that, the placement of the macro keys M1-M6 are also not so user-friendly because they are located on the right side of the keyboard. The only way to make use of it is to use the arrow keys as the movement function. The absence of the palm rest is also one of the drawbacks of this keyboard, because your wrist will be a little sore when using the keyboard in a long period of time.
The MKA-7 is priced at RM 469, which is quite expensive. But if you want a mechanical keyboard with good gaming and typing experiences, the MKA-7 is able to meet your needs.
Performance: 5/5
Materials: 3/5
Specifications: 5/5
Appearance: 5/5
Performance/Price Value: 4/5
Pros:
+ Strong and sturdy build quality
+ Excellent response rate, accuracy, and precision
+ Software that is easy to understand and apply
+ Adjustable backlight brightness
+ 8 additional keys given for customization as well as a key puller
Cons:
- Price could be lower
- Rotating button that controls the sound level and backlight brightness has a poor build quality
- No special macro key. Located too far away to be reached
- The keyboard sounds louder than normal
- Palm rest is not included and the slanted area is too small for a palm
ARMAGGEDDON Stealth Raptor MKA-7 received Silver Award from OCDrift.com
Disclaimer: OCDrift.com gives out our own award based on the Hardware Performance, OverClocking Ability, Innovation, and Value as determined by the reviewer
owikh84
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