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darkFlash GD100 Mechanical Keyboard

Joined
Feb 20, 2019
Messages
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Motherboard It has no markings but it's green
Cooling No, it's a 2.2W processor
Memory 2GB DDR3L-1333
Video Card(s) Gen7 Intel HD (4EU @ 311MHz)
Storage 32GB eMMC and 128GB Sandisk Extreme U3
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Audio Device(s) Apparently, yes
Power Supply Samsung 18W 5V fast-charger
Mouse MX Anywhere 2
Keyboard Logitech MX Keys (not Cherry MX at all)
VR HMD Samsung Oddyssey, not that I'd plug it into this though....
Software W10 21H1, barely
Benchmark Scores I once clocked a Celeron-300A to 564MHz on an Abit BE6 and it scored over 9000.
Not bad for the money, all the usual caveats from AliExpress in terms of shipping times and warranty/support apply, of course - but I don't think anyone buying from AliExpress is ignorant of those.

Given the price, none of the negatives really seem like negatives. It's not attempting to compete with or appeal to the RGBLED, fully-custom market, yet it's hot-swappable and moddable so you could hot-swap and mod it and still be significantly cheaper than prebuilts with those same options.

Lack of software isn't a problem really - the overwhelming majority of keyboards don't have and don't need software, it's a fad that usually only becomes necessary for RGBLED control, or layer-mapping for compact keyboards that are missing physical keys. This 95% layout offers all the keys most people will need without layers and the four missing keys are available on the numberpad if you actually need a hardware button for them.

I really like the 95% layout - I prefer TKL myself but I think I'd happily daily a 95% at the office if it's as compact as this.

The other thing I'm glad to see is 2.4GHz RF; Bluetooth is utterly useless outside of your fully-loaded OS once the bluetooth driver stack has booted. Most of us enthusiasts are poking around in the BIOS or running utilities outside of Windows/Linux. Even if the bootable utility you're running has support for Bluetooth devices, you still need a keyboard to invoke and use the boot-device menu. Yes, you can shift-restart Windows and go through the convoluted troubleshooting > recovery menu options assuming you have a USB mouse, but that's using a sledgehammer to crack a nut and it's pointlessly slow.
 
Last edited:
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Deleted member 237269

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Kowalski.jpg

@dgianstefani Good or Bad keyboard ?
£160 for the module and switches posted.
£40 for the lube and switch tools.
£67 for the case
£47 for the weight and brass plate (plate was ansi not iso)
$87.50 for the wrist rest
£27 for the caps
$110 for the Jellykey

£496.60 not including minor stuff like the surgical tape etc.

Everything will last a long time though besides the keycaps which are still like five years+, Jellykey won't wear out. It's good to support small industry creating quality products. I'd say the magnetic switches will last longer than traditional ones too.

I now have pretty much the lowest latency keyboard, fastest and smoothest switches, nicest case and wrist rest etc. Treat myself why not.

So, a nice restaurant date incl. wine and drinks after comparable price. I'm happy with the cost, what you pay is what you get with this stuff.
I only trust this man on this forum to know what is up.
 

dgianstefani

TPU Proofreader
Staff member
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Power Supply SF750 Plat, transparent full custom cables, Sentinel Pro 1500 Online Double Conversion UPS w/Noctua
Mouse Razer Viper Pro V2 Mercury White w/Tiger Ice Skates & Pulsar Supergrip tape
Keyboard Wooting 60HE+ module, TOFU Redux Burgundy w/brass weight, Prismcaps White & Jellykey, lubed/modded
Software Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 19053.3803
Benchmark Scores Legendary
View attachment 332669
@dgianstefani Good or Bad keyboard ?

I only trust this man on this forum to know what is up.
1706903000121.png


Seems OK.

I'm not a fan of non-backlit keyboards though at any price.

I take back the what you pay is what you get comment, that primarily applies to aesthetics and sound, typing quality and performance metrics seem to hit a wall at around ~$200.

VSG knows more than me.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2013
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Everywhere all the time all at once
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Display(s) 2x Samsung 43" & 2x 32"
Case Practically identical to a mac mini, just purrtier in slate blue, & with 3x usb ports on the front !
Audio Device(s) Yamaha ATS-1060 Bluetooth Soundbar & Subwoofer
Power Supply 65w brick
Mouse Logitech MX Master 2
Keyboard Logitech G613 mechanical wireless
Software Windows 10 pro 64 bit, with all the unnecessary background shitzu turned OFF !
Benchmark Scores PDQ
Joined
Jan 9, 2023
Messages
242 (0.51/day)
Not bad for the money, all the usual caveats from AliExpress in terms of shipping times and warranty/support apply, of course - but I don't think anyone buying from AliExpress is ignorant of those.

Given the price, none of the negatives really seem like negatives. It's not attempting to compete with or appeal to the RGBLED, fully-custom market, yet it's hot-swappable and moddable so you could hot-swap and mod it and still be significantly cheaper than prebuilts with those same options.

Lack of software isn't a problem really - the overwhelming majority of keyboards don't have and don't need software, it's a fad that usually only becomes necessary for RGBLED control, or layer-mapping for compact keyboards that are missing physical keys. This 95% layout offers all the keys most people will need without layers and the four missing keys are available on the numberpad if you actually need a hardware button for them.

I really like the 95% layout - I prefer TKL myself but I think I'd happily daily a 95% at the office if it's as compact as this.

The other thing I'm glad to see is 2.4GHz RF; Bluetooth is utterly useless outside of your fully-loaded OS once the bluetooth driver stack has booted. Most of us enthusiasts are poking around in the BIOS or running utilities outside of Windows/Linux. Even if the bootable utility you're running has support for Bluetooth devices, you still need a keyboard to invoke and use the boot-device menu. Yes, you can shift-restart Windows and go through the convoluted troubleshooting > recovery menu options assuming you have a USB mouse, but that's using a sledgehammer to crack a nut and it's pointlessly slow.
I'm more of a fan of the "both" option. My K100 Air (which is WAY more expensive I know) supports both RF + dongle and bluetooth.
If I had to choose I would pick bluetooth over RF any time of the day just because of the risk of losing the dongle.
Well, and that bluetooth can be used with about anything, USB isn't always an option (without a dongle at least).
 
Joined
Mar 3, 2022
Messages
212 (0.27/day)
this one looks very nice, I like the color options grey/orange on dark
 

HDP56427

New Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2023
Messages
4 (0.01/day)
Hi @VSG your link to the darkFlash Aliexpress store does not work for me. I am getting a Page Not Found error. Can you please fix it?
 

VSG

Editor, Reviews & News
Staff member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
3,473 (0.97/day)
Can’t open for my region* he must have the same issue.
Damn squirrel trying to scamaz us
View attachment 332902
Weird, does simply searching for the product show up? I use the US Aliexpress link to keep things consistent with all my reviews that have US purchase links. It could be a regional thing as you said.
 
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