Thermaltake X1 RGB Cherry MX Speed Keyboard Review

Peter Donnell / 6 years ago

Final Thoughts

How Much Does it Cost?

The Thermaltake X1 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard is available now from most major retailers. It’s around £130 right now on Amazon and is available in both MX Speed and MX Blue switches. I haven’t tested the MX Blue, but if you like the clicky-clack switches, it’s great they’re catering to that market with the X1.

Overview

Right now, you can go spend well over £130 on a rival mechanical keyboard from the likes of Corsair, Razer, Logitech and more. They’ll all be impressive, but at £130, the X1 is one of the most affordable flagship mechanical keyboards on the market today. Does it offer anything less, not at all, in fact, it has more features than most are likely to use! Of course, that could be said about a lot of high-end keyboards.

Build Quality

This is the biggest improvement for Thermaltake. Not that their previous keyboards were badly made, far from it. However, the X1 just feels like they’ve finally found the extra polish to really make this feel like a more refined and luxurious product. The use of Cherry MX switches plays no small part in that. The addition of great quality keycaps, a powerful RGB lighting engine, durable cables, and plenty of additional on-keyboard controls certainly helps too.

Features

I love a keyboard with dedicated multimedia controls, so I’m very happy to see those catered for here. The addition of both USB and audio passthrough make it super easy to hook up your controller or headset in a pinch too. However, it’s crazy features like the virtual mobile controller that really go that extra step. It’s not something I would ever use personally, but it does work, and I’m sure others will find a use for it. The fact that I can control virtually every aspect of the lighting engine from the keyboard is nice. However, you can do it in software if you prefer, it’s just great that it’s optional.

Should I Buy One?

At this price, it’s obviously quite expensive and may not appeal to everyone, nor everyone’s budget. However, £130 is a pretty damn good deal for such a high-end keyboard with this many features. It’s around £20-30 cheaper than some rival products, while still offering everything they do. If you’re looking for not only one of the best keyboards on the market, but also the best keyboard Thermaltake has to offer, this is it.