If you’re on the hunt for a full-sized budget mechanical keyboard, put the KG950 on your shortlist
The Marvo KG950 is a full-sized mechanical keyboard that comes with Outemu Red switches. It has a heavy duty build with a metal mounting plate and ABS casing. This keyboard is packed with features: hot swap, per-key RGB backlighting, dedicated multimedia controls and a volume wheel. It definitely has a more premium feel than other Marvo boards I’ve reviewed.
The KG950 comes with a smooth black finish, and the frame has a stylish upward curve at the top. I love the look of this bezel. The ABS casing comes up past the keys, so not a raised key profile design. Then there is also a metal mounting plate with as silver surface. This keyboard feels very heavy and sturdy. Little bit of frame bend but that’s to be expected from an ABS case. The underside features six rubber feet, and rubber tipped fold outs. We have a braided cable which also adds to the premium feel of this board – a little bit short at only 1.6m though. But all in all I was very impressed with the build and finish of this keyboard.
The KG950 looks really good with full RGB and ABS keycaps. I really like how the frame curves upwards at the top, and the multimedia controls and volume wheel look very stylish. The backlit Marvo logo is a bit flashy, but it didn’t bother me too much. I’m not generally a fan of branding on a keyboard, but the Born for Gaming text above the arrow keys looks absolutely awesome – I really like the subtlety. The RGB is very vibrant and slightly enhanced by the silver top plate. The KG950 features one of those wide, blocky fonts; not really my cup of tea and I prefer something more elegant. But this is just a personal nitpick, and the I love the design of this keyboard. Great job by Marvo.
There are 19 colour schemes that can be set on the keyboard or with the software. The RGB controls are pretty much the same as most other Marvo boards, and there are four levels of brightness. I like the fact that Marvo didn’t put unnecessary icons on the keycaps. Rather show this kind of thing in a manual. The keyboard just looks a lot more professional. Because of the dedicated multimedia controls and volume wheel, Marvo forewent the Fn functions on the F1-12 row.
We have Outemu Reds on this board with an actuation force of 50g. I love linear switches so I was very excited to start typing on the KG950, and it didn’t disappoint. The typing experience is absolutely awesome. This is lightyears ahead of any Marvo keyboard I’ve tried before. The Outemus felt smooth, and finally a Marvo keyboard with good stabilisers. The rattle on the bigger keys is minimal. The typing experience comes pretty close to my main keyboard, the Ducky Mecha Mini. The only nitpick here would be the metal pinging, which was fairly bad. But it was just a minor annoyance and didn’t ruin the experience for me. For some reason it was the worst on the I key. I was easily hitting over 130WPM on the Aesop typing test, with a maximum of 133WPM. Just a light and smooth typing experience with good stabs. Gaming performance was also excellent, and the Outemu reds felt great in FPS games. I still prefer my Cherry MX reds though, but Outemu is a great budget switch.
The software is simple and easy to use. You can choose from 19 different colour schemes, and there is a nifty little colour palette that lets you change the colour. There is also remapping functionality, and you can reprogram any of the keys to a macro, single key or multimedia. I really like how easy and lightweight the software is – took less than a minute to get it up and running.
I’ve reviewed a few super cheap Marvo keyboards, and it always felt like they cut corners to get the price so low, whether it be a flimsy build or poor stabilisers. But the KG950 is the real deal, and at $55 it’s still very affordable and definitely worth its price tag. Marvo hits all the right notes with the KG950: sturdy build, smooth typing experience, gorgeous design, and a ton of extra features. The only downside of this keyboard is the metal pinging, and on a personal note I just can’t get myself to like the font. But if you’re on the hunt for a full-sized budget mechanical keyboard, put this on your shortlist.
headtr1p 