Bobmitch
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Friday, February 12, 2021 6:46 PM
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Got the Z15 delivered today. Initial thoughts: 1. Keys are not as noisy as my TTe Sports Brown switch. They are nice to the feel...Don't have to press as hard to get a response. 2. A little disappointed in the RGB. I like solid blue...but by itself, the Blue is a bit washed out. When set to RGB...this keyboard really puts on a light show. Light surrounds the keys as well as coming through the letters. My old keyboard had light just through the letters. 3. Trying to remap keys for a few games that require WSAD is not working. I like Up arrow, down arrow, left arrow and right arrow. Trying to figure out how to change them is touch. Manual that comes with the keyboard doesn't explain anything about it. 4. I read some people's reservations about the 4K polling rate and it possibly effecting getting into the bios setup of a computer...NO issues at all with that... 5. The Unleash software pretty easy to use...just need to figure out key remapping...and I will be happy. All in all a pretty nice experience Just the beginning...
MSI MAG X670-E Tomahawk; Ryzen 7 7800X3D; Asus TUF RTX 4070 TI OC; Seasonic Vertex GX-1000 PSU; 32 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 CL30 RGB; Corsair iCue Link H150i LCD 360MM AIO; 2-Western Digital Black 4 TB SN850X NVMe; Creative SoundBlaster Z; Lian Li Lancool III; Corsair K70 RGB Pro MX Speed Silver Keyboard; Razer Viper 8K Mouse Heatware: https://www.heatware.com/u/72402 Affiliate code: 1L2RV0BNQ6 Associate Code: UD82LJP3Y1FIQPR
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Noodle 1
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Re: Z15 Initial Thoughts
Friday, February 12, 2021 10:09 PM
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Does the giant EVGA logo at the top bother you at all? That and the MSRP are the only things holding me back from buying.
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Bobmitch
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Re: Z15 Initial Thoughts
Friday, February 12, 2021 11:43 PM
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Honestly...I hardly notice it. The lights pretty much hide it in the background. I am pleased with the build quality My TTe Sports was hard plastic. The face on this keyboard is metal. The lighting is very attractive. As I said earlier...I have my every day Profile 1 in Static Blue. My Gaming profile 2 is breathing between white and blue. Nice stuff. The MSRP is pretty much there with Corsair, Razor and more. I actually like that the keyboard has built in memory...so once your settings are uploaded...you don't need to keep the software running. With Razor...you have to log into your account with them before your profiles load.
MSI MAG X670-E Tomahawk; Ryzen 7 7800X3D; Asus TUF RTX 4070 TI OC; Seasonic Vertex GX-1000 PSU; 32 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 CL30 RGB; Corsair iCue Link H150i LCD 360MM AIO; 2-Western Digital Black 4 TB SN850X NVMe; Creative SoundBlaster Z; Lian Li Lancool III; Corsair K70 RGB Pro MX Speed Silver Keyboard; Razer Viper 8K Mouse Heatware: https://www.heatware.com/u/72402 Affiliate code: 1L2RV0BNQ6 Associate Code: UD82LJP3Y1FIQPR
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Noodle 1
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Re: Z15 Initial Thoughts
Saturday, February 13, 2021 2:52 AM
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How are the media controls? Does the volume wheel have some friction to it? I personally think that Razor's and Corsair's look a lot better but it's relatively minor and their keyboards are much more expensive. I know I complained about the K15's MSRP but I think mechanical keyboards, in general, are too expensive.
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Bobmitch
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Re: Z15 Initial Thoughts
Saturday, February 13, 2021 4:13 AM
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Noodle 1 How are the media controls? Does the volume wheel have some friction to it? I personally think that Razor's and Corsair's look a lot better but it's relatively minor and their keyboards are much more expensive. I know I complained about the K15's MSRP but I think mechanical keyboards, in general, are too expensive.
Overall, the media controls are decent. Not too much friction with volume wheel...but it doesn't spin freely. Agreed that all mechanical keyboards are expensive, but I have been using one for over 5 years now and am so used to them...can't go back to membrane. The Unleash RGB software is pretty nice. Very functional and one of the keys to it, for me, is that I am left handed and use the arrow keys to move forward, back, left and right. WASD is very awkward for me. I have some games that I acquired over the years that don't have keyboard remapping built into them. With Unleash RGB, I created a second profile just for those games. Mapped Up arrow to remap to W, and so on. Now I can play the games like all the rest. There is macro assignments, and many others. As I said earlier...the other benefit is that once you apply the profiles to the memory on the keyboard...you don't have to run Unleash RGB in the background. More pleased the more I play around with the keyboard.
MSI MAG X670-E Tomahawk; Ryzen 7 7800X3D; Asus TUF RTX 4070 TI OC; Seasonic Vertex GX-1000 PSU; 32 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 CL30 RGB; Corsair iCue Link H150i LCD 360MM AIO; 2-Western Digital Black 4 TB SN850X NVMe; Creative SoundBlaster Z; Lian Li Lancool III; Corsair K70 RGB Pro MX Speed Silver Keyboard; Razer Viper 8K Mouse Heatware: https://www.heatware.com/u/72402 Affiliate code: 1L2RV0BNQ6 Associate Code: UD82LJP3Y1FIQPR
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Noodle 1
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Re: Z15 Initial Thoughts
Saturday, February 13, 2021 7:14 AM
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I'm considering getting it but I already have a Corsair K70. Still considering it since at the elite price, it's a steal compared to other mechanical keyboards since it's from a reputable, mainstream manufacturer with great support. Do you know when the elite sale ends and the warranty length on the keyboard?
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Bobmitch
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Re: Z15 Initial Thoughts
Saturday, February 13, 2021 2:02 PM
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Noodle 1 I'm considering getting it but I already have a Corsair K70. Still considering it since at the elite price, it's a steal compared to other mechanical keyboards since it's from a reputable, mainstream manufacturer with great support. Do you know when the elite sale ends and the warranty length on the keyboard?
I have no idea when the Elite promotion ends. There was nothing wrong with my TTe mechanical keyboard...but I just finished building a new Ryzen machine and a new keyboard was like the Cherry on top of the Sundae. Plus, I wanted to see how the software would work when having different profiles and key re-assignments. This worked out great for me.
MSI MAG X670-E Tomahawk; Ryzen 7 7800X3D; Asus TUF RTX 4070 TI OC; Seasonic Vertex GX-1000 PSU; 32 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 CL30 RGB; Corsair iCue Link H150i LCD 360MM AIO; 2-Western Digital Black 4 TB SN850X NVMe; Creative SoundBlaster Z; Lian Li Lancool III; Corsair K70 RGB Pro MX Speed Silver Keyboard; Razer Viper 8K Mouse Heatware: https://www.heatware.com/u/72402 Affiliate code: 1L2RV0BNQ6 Associate Code: UD82LJP3Y1FIQPR
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Noodle 1
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Re: Z15 Initial Thoughts
Saturday, February 13, 2021 10:37 PM
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Have fun with that machine! It seems like you're all specced out now, including peripherals.
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Bobmitch
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Re: Z15 Initial Thoughts
Sunday, February 14, 2021 3:12 AM
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MSI MAG X670-E Tomahawk; Ryzen 7 7800X3D; Asus TUF RTX 4070 TI OC; Seasonic Vertex GX-1000 PSU; 32 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 CL30 RGB; Corsair iCue Link H150i LCD 360MM AIO; 2-Western Digital Black 4 TB SN850X NVMe; Creative SoundBlaster Z; Lian Li Lancool III; Corsair K70 RGB Pro MX Speed Silver Keyboard; Razer Viper 8K Mouse Heatware: https://www.heatware.com/u/72402 Affiliate code: 1L2RV0BNQ6 Associate Code: UD82LJP3Y1FIQPR
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notfordman
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Re: Z15 Initial Thoughts
Sunday, February 14, 2021 3:50 AM
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bobmitch can you tell me what made you choose between the z15 and Z20 keyboards? was there a feature or something that made your mind up about it? Thanks.
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Bobmitch
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Re: Z15 Initial Thoughts
Sunday, February 14, 2021 4:07 AM
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I didn't need the TOF or the macro keys. Just wanted the options it offered. Went with the silver switches...no regrets. Much quieter than my TTe Brown Switch. I watched this video...it actually reinforced what I was thinking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxLEvPfxhKc I do use the remap key feature in Unleashed RGB. Being Left handed...I always use the up arrow for forward, down arrow for back, left for left and right for right. I have a few games that I have had for awhile that I never played because they keyboard setup in the game was WASD only. Now with the remap keys...everything works for me. The keys on this keyboard are smooth and responsive. Very impressed so far. The Z20 would have been overkill for me.
post edited by bobmitch - Sunday, February 14, 2021 4:13 AM
MSI MAG X670-E Tomahawk; Ryzen 7 7800X3D; Asus TUF RTX 4070 TI OC; Seasonic Vertex GX-1000 PSU; 32 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 CL30 RGB; Corsair iCue Link H150i LCD 360MM AIO; 2-Western Digital Black 4 TB SN850X NVMe; Creative SoundBlaster Z; Lian Li Lancool III; Corsair K70 RGB Pro MX Speed Silver Keyboard; Razer Viper 8K Mouse Heatware: https://www.heatware.com/u/72402 Affiliate code: 1L2RV0BNQ6 Associate Code: UD82LJP3Y1FIQPR
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XrayMan
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Re: Z15 Initial Thoughts
Sunday, February 14, 2021 6:06 AM
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I like mine too.
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Hoggle
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Re: Z15 Initial Thoughts
Sunday, February 14, 2021 9:58 AM
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Noodle 1 How are the media controls? Does the volume wheel have some friction to it? I personally think that Razor's and Corsair's look a lot better but it's relatively minor and their keyboards are much more expensive. I know I complained about the K15's MSRP but I think mechanical keyboards, in general, are too expensive.
I can understand the "too expensive" part but then after getting one of the Z10 I realized that I like the feel of it a lot more and on that model the 50 million button presses per key really means I won't have to replace it for wearing out unless something gets spilled on it. The old IBM mechanical keyboards from the late 70's are still going strong while modern keyboards normally wear out in a couple years of office work. That said I am upgrading my Z10 to a Z20 just because I like the media controls more but the keyboard itself is still running fine after about a year and a half of use and feels just like brand new.
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Noodle 1
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Re: Z15 Initial Thoughts
Monday, February 15, 2021 2:46 AM
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I get the longevity argument but most people who buy a mechanical keyboard aren't planning to use it for the next 50 years. That might be a part of their initial argument but eventually, there's going to be some new feature that is absolutely mind-blowing for them and they just have to upgrade. Before, it was better RGB lighting, a more toned-down design that didn't scream "GAMER", and dedicated media controls. Sure, the Z10 may last another two decades easily but you still upgraded to the Z20 for better media controls which I'm guessing is because of the volume scroll wheel (surprisingly very useful) and maybe bigger media buttons. Sooner or later, modular keyboards are going to become mainstream and we're all going to buy that because it's an upgrade over our current setup. Longevity isn't a useful argument if it's almost never going to be used for that long.
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EVGATech_ErnieB
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Re: Z15 Initial Thoughts
Wednesday, February 17, 2021 4:56 PM
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Hey there, Elite Sale Pricing on the Z20 runs for the duration of the month.
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tmaeller
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Re: Z15 Initial Thoughts
Friday, February 19, 2021 6:10 PM
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Oops, sorry Bob! I was on the wrong thread when I posted my question. Edited to this. :)
EVGA Z20/Z15 Keyboard Configuration Guides:
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