Granvela Z-77 87-Key Mechanical Keyboard | Aluminium Panel | OUTEMU Tactile Brown Switches | Rainbow LED Backlit | N-Key Rollover |Tenkeyless | Hot Swappable |Spare Switches Included-Black

****as with most of my reviews, there is a written form (what you're reading now) and there is a video form (which can be found on my Youtube Channel). If you want to watch the video form of the review to get a better understanding of how this keyboard looks and sounds, head over to YouTube and search "FrancoTech" the video will be under the title, "Best $40 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard?? (MechanicalEagle Z-77)" While you're there make sure you like comment and subscribe!!"So to start off the review I’m going to be taking a look at the build quality and design of this keyboard and for $40 dollars you’re getting a really sturdy and great looking keyboard. The Z-77 keyboard does have a metal plate that makes this keyboard feel very solid and adds a good amount of weight, it’s not too light but not nearly as heavy as other keyboards. So it weighs in at just over 2lb, 2.3lbs to be exact so it does have the tendency to slide around a little bit, but the rubber grip down below does help keep the sliding to a minimum.As for the look of this keyboard, as you can see I have the black version and in my opinion this is a really nice looking keyboard with beautiful lighting on all 87 floating keys, but don’t be fooled, this keyboard is not RGB backlit it’s actually just multi-color backlit but really to a lot of people there’s not going to be much of a difference between the two. Also with this keyboard, the color layouts are fixed, so you won’t be able to change that or even make it be one single color which is disappointing but that a very minor issue because again, this is a mechanical keyboard for only $40. And while we’re on the topic of the lighting, this keyboard actually has a lot of cool lighting features that I’m sure there’s one that will suit exactly what you’re looking for. So with this keyboard there are 9 really cool lighting effects that you can cycle through by hitting the FN key as well as the insert key and really a lot of these lighting modes are really cool but I would have to say that the reactive mode has to be one of my favorites because every time you hit a key it does this ripple effect all across the keyboard and it really just looks awesome. And the effects don’t even end there, so while we have 9 different Lighting Effect Modes, we also have 8 Gaming Pattern Modes on top of that and what this does is it will only light up certain keys based on what the type of genre you’re playing. For example, hitting the FN and L1 key at the top will cause only the ESC, W,A,S,D and UP keys to light up while hitting the FN and L2 keys will cause more keys light up and this activates the keys that are more geared towards First Person shooters and so on and so forth. So the L1 through L8 keys are already preset however the LR1 and LR2 keys are completely customizable and I absolutely love that feature. And of course with most gaming keyboards, you can expect to find anti-ghosting keys on this keyboard as well as multi-media functions keys on the F1 through F12 keys.So like I said earlier, this is an actual mechanical keyboard and you can see that by the blue switches down below. Now, I believe these switches are call Outemu Blue Switches which are pretty much almost the exact same as Cherry MX Blue switches and you can expect them to feel and sound very similar to them as well so as you can expect, typing on this keyboard is very comfortable and if you’re like me the clicking sounds that it makes it very satisfying but be warned, it’s also pretty loud. Now with the black version of this keyboard, GranVela is actually including 5 free switches as well as 2 switch removers completely free and this does not come in the white version.As usual, I like to talk about the cord that is being used, and unfortunately the cord on this keyboard is plain rubber, it’s not threaded or anything so that’s kind of disappointing but not really that big of a deal. So it does connect through USB 2.0 and does not require any driver installations so just plug it in and you should be set to go and this will work on any windows operating system from windows vista to windows 10 as well as mac and linux.So what are my final thoughts on this keyboard? Well honestly for $40 you’re getting one hell of a keyboard. From the design to the look and feel and also the all of the lighting features you will definitely be getting your money’s worth with this keyboard. Now there are some very minor complaints I have about this keyboard like the font that was used on the key caps or even that it doesn’t have the number keys on the side which I’m already very used to but honestly, those are very minor complaints because again, for $40 you’re getting one awesome mechanical keyboard that I can highly recommend.

Intro:This is a great keyboard for people who love to use a mechanical keyboard with MX Cherry switches or for those new to mechanical keyboards. This keyboard comes with Green "Outemu" switches which are supposed to resemble MX Cherry Blue switches in actuation force and sound. Since this is my first mechanical keyboard I can't really say if that is the case with these switches. But I can say that these switches are great and sound amazing.Keycaps:The keycaps are well made and do not feel to flimsy or plastic like. Though I like the font on the keycaps it may not be a favorite for everyone. The font is clear to read and large enough to read from a considerable distance. Standing 3-4 ft. from the keyboard I could still make out what the keys were. The keycaps are also compatible with other MX Cherry keycaps so you can switch out the keycaps. I did swap out the "Windows/Modifier" keys with MX Cherry keycaps and found it to be a very well fit. As with any mechanical keyboard be sure to use a key-puller to remove keycaps! Plus the stock keycaps do allow for the lights from the keyboard to shine through in a nice even manner.Keyboard Layout:This is an 87 key layout keyboard meaning it does not come with a number pad. This is exactly what I was looking for as I needed it for my work desk and wanted something compact. I'm a Web Developer and the need for arrow keys was a must for me which is why a 87 key layout was a perfect fit for me. If you're looking a compact keyboard that is not to small like a 60 or even 40 then this 87 key layout is something to really consider.Build quality:Like I mentioned the keycaps are of great quality. The keyboard itself does have an aluminum base-plate but a plastic base. I found this quite common in these types of keyboards (Non-MX Cherry compatible keyboards). It feels well built and has a nice weight to it but not to heavy. I carry it in my backpack (in original packaging box) to and from work everyday and it adds very little extra weight. It will not slide around your desk with a bump like a Apple Magic keyboard would. The USB cable is permanently attached to the keyboard and the USB end is quite big. It sticks out of side of my laptop about an 1''. But the USB cord does come with a velcro tie that makes it easy to reign in the extra slack. I can't remember the exact length of the USB cable but I would say anywhere around 2 ft. The backlights are great and shine through nicely and evenly. They have the most common light sequences (snake, breathing, pulsing, etc) plus the most common gaming lightup sequences also. Though they are NOT full RGB meaning each row of keys has a specific pre-programmed color that it lights up (top row: red - bottom row: fuchsia).How I use it:Like I mentioned I'm a Web Developer and I use this keyboard for programming, emails, and general typing. I use it at my office and my home. I don't use it for gaming so I cannot say if it is any good for gaming. But for general typing it is great, and for more precise typing skills such as programming it is great also. The 87 key layout was easy to use since many keyboards have this layout. One interesting thing that I noticed was that the sound of the switches changes depending if you use the keyboard legs or not. So the keycaps aren't as loud when not using the legs and are louder when they are being used. What I mean by louder is they are more "clicky". You can hear a considerable difference between the sound in these 2 positions. So if you don't like the very loud "clicky" sound you can use the keyboard in it's normal flat (non-legs) mode. With the keyboard legs propped up the keyboard is very "clicky". Though the documentation only had Window/Mac support I found it worked perfectly under Linux. I primarily use this keyboard on my Fedora 24 Workstation and it works great. So yes, this keyboard has Linux support!!!Conclusion:I most definitely recommend this keyboard! I have been using this keyboard for about 2 weeks now and it has not given me any problems. It works on Windows/Mac/Linux. It's nice and compact and well built and you cannot beat the price. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to try out a mechanical keyboard for the first time. It would also make a great starter keyboard for anyone who getting into gaming, especially parents who want to avoid buying a $100+ keyboard. For those who are mechanical keyboard enthusiast this is also a nice buy if you want to pick up a nice cheap keyboard to test out non-MX Cherry switches.P.S- I typed this review on the this keyboard!

Backlit keys are bright and look great on my desk however the switches are delicate and seem to wear out without warning.Pros:- Multi-pattern lighting effects- No software to use- Bright Keys- Super responsive- durable aluminum baseCons:- switches can wear out over time and stop working- no custom profiles- not RGB

This is the best "low priced" mechanical keyboard you can buy. The quality at this price point blows me away. They put so much work into this product it feels like a real high quality product. I have used some more expensive mechanical keyboards with Cherry MX Blues and they feel like there is no difference between the off brand Cherry Blues and the real switches. The keys feel very durable and nice to type on. I like how they include a keycap and switch puller as some higher priced mechanical keyboards I have don't even include the tools! One thing to note, the backlighting may be "multicolor", however the colors CAN NOT be changed! This is not a big deal to me as at least it is backlit at this price point and it still looks pretty cool. There are many modes to change through for the backlighting. (I do not use these when I am typing because it gets really distracting, however when the computer is in sleep I put on one of the modes and the keyboard looks really cool!I would highly recommend this keyboard to anyone that wants a nice mechanical keyboarding with back lighting and is nice quality.