Welcome to my review of the Tecware Phantom 88 Key Keyboard with hot-swappable switches. I was kindly sent both this keyboard with red switches and also a Tecware Exo Elite mouse which will be in a separate review.
Tecware started around 10 years ago with a passion for computers and hardware. Now they are pushing the boundaries and forcing bigger named manufacturers to try and compete with them. Good on them I say. They make a huge range of products from keyboards and mice, to PC cases, and much more.
Type type type.
Continue reading to find out more about the Tecware Phantom 88 Key keyboard. You can also check out our previous hardware reviews when you’re done here.
The Hardware
So I am saying 88 key up above because that’s what it’s called. Typically this would be known as a ten-keyless (TKL) keyboard because it does not have the Numpad set of keys on the right of the keyboard. It also has legs that have rubber feet to help prevent sliding on your desk or mat. The keyboard I was sent, as mentioned above, has red switches. The brand of the switches is Outemu which is quite well known, well, to me at least.
These are hot-swappable (or even modular) meaning if one should fail you will be able to replace it very easily. It also means if you’re not a fan of red switches, you can swap them out for blue switches for example.
In the very well-packaged box, we have the keyboard itself, a small bag with four replacement switches, and a switch puller tool. You may notice I did not mention a keycap-pulling tool. That’s because this is nicely stored under the keyboard in a small cut-out in the frame so you won’t lose it.
Bloody brilliant idea!
Speaking of keycaps, the ones installed are Double-Shot ABS keycaps. This means that the keycaps are made from two pieces of plastic that are moulded together. This helps prevent wear on the letters on each cap in the long term.
The keyboard has a braided 1.8 metre USB A cable attached to it, which is not replaceable. But, at this price point that is understandable as it probably helps to keep costs lower. It has N-Key rollover which is perfect for gamers, as well as up to 1000Hz polling rate. There are 11 multimedia keys which come in very handy, more than you might think. There is also a Windows key lock feature to prevent you from accidentally pressing the Windows key and jumping out of your game.
The keyboard also has 16.8 million RGB per-key lighting with 18 lighting modes at 5 different levels and 5 different speeds. The LEDs are long lifespan SMD LEDs. Impressive for the price range which is under £60 at the time of writing.
At first, I wasn’t too sure if I liked the keyboard or not. This is because I have been using Razer “yellow” switches for a long time. If you’ve used those switches you will know exactly what I mean as they’re so smooth to type with. However, the red Outemu switches are definitely nice to type on.
Forget Expensive Keyboards!
The LED lights on the keyboard aren’t as bright as some I’ve used in the past which was a little disappointing for me, but not the end of the world of course. The FN keys are very useful and laid out pretty well. It also has some of the typical RGB lighting modes, fade, strobe, rainbow, static, you get the gist.
I personally love the subtle branding on the keyboard which you can see in my above picture. On top of that, the keyboard has a nice weight to it as its backplate is made of “gunmetal alloy”. The rest is black plastic but feels very high quality and doesn’t seem to flex unless you really try to do so.
At the price point, this keyboard is bang on the buck and you will not be disappointed with it in my opinion.
Connection and Software
The Tecware Phantom 88 Key has a non-user replaceable USB A cable that then connects to your PC, laptop, PS5, or whatever you’re connecting it to.
Tecware does have some free software that you can download which will help you configure your RGB LED lights as well as some other stuff such as macro recording and assignment, and up to 3 user profiles.
But the software is not fully required should you not want it, you can just plug and play as well as configure the lighting on the keyboard itself via the function (FN) keys.
Conclusions
What can I say? I’ve used quite a few keyboards that cost much more than this one did. Yet, I love this keyboard more than them. I cannot find any fault with it with the exception of the aforementioned brightness of the LEDs on the keys. However, some may prefer that and to think of it, they may live longer and not burn out as quickly as I have had with Corsair and Razer keyboards. But only time will tell with that matter.
Other than that, everything else is such a joy. The layout of the FN keys, the keycaps themselves, and the switches that have been chosen. It all just fits so well. Kudos to Tecware for making such a brilliant piece of hardware at such a budget-friendly cost.
I score the Tecware Phantom 88 Key a 10/10.
Should you wish to learn more about the keyboard you can visit the official Tecware site. As mentioned up top, I also have a Tecware Exo Elite mouse to review which will be coming very soon.
A sample was kindly provided for us to review this product.
