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Redragon K630W RGB Review Hot Swappable Outemu Keyboard

Thursday, May 06, 2021

Mechanical keyboards can be summed up by the "click, klock, klack" sound they make, which pretty accurately describes the main three types of mechanical switches on the market - blue, brown, red switches. The keyboard pictured, it's the wired version of the Draconic K530 bluetooth keyboard, both of which use hot-swappable Outemu switches. 

Hot swappable keyboard means, the switches are clipped onto the PCB board; hence you can manually remove the switches from the keyboard. However, being Outemu switches, you can only be replace them with Outemu switches. With some hot swappable keyboards, you can replace the stock switches with third-party 3-pin or 5-pin switches from different manufacturers (e.g. JWK, Khail, Akko, Cherry or Gateron).

The Redragon K630W is a wired 60% RGB led backlit mechanical gaming keyboard with full N-key rollover (NKRO), which means you can register multiple key presses at the same time. Not all keyboards integrate full N-key rollover. Some keyboards, for instance, have 6-key rollover, 2-key or even 10-key, which means you are limited to a number of key presses. Six key rollover is the bare minimum you should look in a keyboard, although full n-key rollover is preferable because it guarantees every key will register independently, which is also useful if you're a fast typist.

There are a total of 61 keys, including a Windows key, which can be disabled (Fn+Win) for gaming and, it is useful because not all games have a built-in feature to disable the Windows Key in-game. The Windows key is the least used key on the keyboard and most people never use it except when pressing it accidentally, while in a fullscreen game such as Team Fortress 2 or Valorant, usually at the most intense part of the game!

On the left side of the K630 RGB keyboard, you find the USB-C power input. Most keyboards tend to have a middle rear facing power input, which works better for most desktop setups whether the computer tower is on the right or left side of the desk. If you prefer a keyboard with rear centre power input, check out the Royal Kludge RK61, which is a 60 per cent keyboard with similar aesthetics as the K630 RGB. 

The Redragon K630 RGB keyboard has two rubberized kickstand risers for elevating the back end of the keyboard. The kickstand risers have one level of height adjustment, raising the front of keyboard an extra 0.5cm high. The front of the kickstand risers are also rubberized to keep the keyboard secure on the desk when the risers are not in use. 
The front key row of the K630 RGB keyboard is naturally higher than the bottom key row. Being a 60% keyboard, the K630 RGB keyboard doesn't have the standard 10-key bottom row, which is convenient when it comes to replacing the keycaps with aftermarket ones. A plastic removal tool is included for removing the keycaps, as well as a metal tool for prying out the Outemu 3-pin switches. 

Like all compact keyboards, the Redragon K630 RGB keyboard doesn't have all the keys you would find on a full size keyboard. This means, there aren't any physical function keys (f1-f12), navigation arrow keys nor functional keys (Ins/Del/Home/End/PageUp/PageDown). That said, these missing keys are built-in virtually into the keyboard so, you can access them via the keyboard Fn key.

The secondary legends on the K630 RGB keycaps are top printed, while on the Draconic K530 the secondary legends are side printed. Top printed seems to make the keyboard cleaner looking. The K630 stock keycaps have a double layer of ABS plastic, as well as sturdy stabilizers, which keep the keycaps secure without wiggling around when being pressed.

The Redragon K630 RGB keyboard has the exact same 60% body shell footprint as the Draconic K530 keyboard. The keybed sits inside a 2cm high shell, measuring 29cm long and 10cm. The top plate is made of hard plastic so, it isn't metal, although it's sturdy enough to prevent any flexing when typing. Also, because the top plate is white, it makes the RGB lighting bounce off of it much brighter. Since there is no battery inside, the Redragon K630 is lighter (539 grams) than the Draconic K530 (620 grams).

Speaking of RGBs, you can control them from the keyboard itself and choose various light pattern effects such as solid color and color changing. You can also adjust the brightness, speed effect and customize the RGB color to your liking. On-board customization is great because it means you don't have to rely on software. That said, the K630 RGB keyboard is supported by software, which you can download from RedragonShop.

The Redragon K630 RGB keyboard is compatible with Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 and comes with a color matching white rubber cable (1.2 meters long) with a straight plug USB-A connector and a right angle plug USB-C connector. When buying the Redragon K630 keyboard, keep in mind there are two versions - the single color (pink) version, which only ships with Outemu brown switches and the K630W RGB backlight version (pictured), which ships with Outemu red, blue and brown switches. There is also the RK84 keyboard with 2 wireless modes. Check out the review of the Anivia K614 low profile keyboard, Caraxes Pro K644 SE Wireless the Royal Kludge RK89, CASTOR K631 RGB and RK G68 hot swappable keyboard

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