With the market getting extremely competitive over time, Brands are also showing their absolute determination by bringing impeccable products to the market at an affordable price.
Although high-end mechanical keyboards have a separate fan base of their own, budgeted keyboards are also going neck to neck with premium keyboards.
The best example of such a keyboard is the Redragon K552.
The Redragon K552 is a tenkeyless (TKL) keyboard that comes with impressive specs and a robust build. The compact keyboard features Outemu switches as similar to the Cherry MX blue.
It also boasts of individual RGB lights and other essential function keys for multipurpose uses.
While it may lack the glamourous appeal as an expensive keyboard, it will surely impress you with its unbeatable performances.
Redragon K552 Review
1. Build
The Redragon K556 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard comprises mostly of heavy-duty aluminum base with a matte-finished ebony plastic surface and sleek silver edges.
The keyboards weights 1.3lbs and completely hold the ground while using. Further, the keyboard is encapsulated with three screws, removing which will give you access to the mainboard.
The exceptional build makes it easy for you to replace the keycaps and switches. If you prefer strength and durability over appearance, then believe us this keyboard will not disappoint you at all.
Moreover, the entire keyboard is made of a splash resistance body, meaning, you don’t have to worry about getting your fingers sweaty or have an energy drink nearby your keyboard.
The keyboard comes with 87 keys covering a full set of arrow keys, fn keys, and 12 multimedia keys.
The keyboard is not completely minimalist, but also doesn’t appear bulky or take more desk real-estate.
Overall, you will get ample space to place it comfortably and spread your arms at ease. In short, the keyboard offers a build as similar to Corsair products minus the expense.
2. Keycaps
The keyboard comes with 87 double-shot injection molded keys, with a fancy RGB lighting underneath.
As a compact keyboard, it doesn’t come with a Numpad. However, despite its smaller size, all keys are freely spread across the surface, making you type easily without making typos.
On top of that, the whole keyboard offers 100 % anti-ghosting keys and a high polling rate, ensuring your keyboard stays connected to your system all the time.
3. Adjustability
The keyboard includes two Non-Slip adjustable rear feet at the front for optimum grip. Also, it has two adjustable feet at the back, which you can use to adjust the keyboard’s angle as per your preference.
4. Usability
You can connect the keyboard by unboxing it straight out of the box. Simply plug the USB port to the computer and you are all set for good.
It also comes with built-in Fn shortcuts, enabling you to toggle between RGB brightness and lighting modes with ease. Similarly, it also allows you to change your lighting direction and speed on the fly.
Furthermore, pressing the Fn+ windows key will put the windows key in lock mode. As a result, if you accidentally press the windows menu, it won’t hinder your gameplay.
Not to mention, you can also control your game volume and playback by using the Fn keys for media playback controls.
5. Key Switches
Apart from high-end double shots keycaps, the Redragon K552 comes with highly responsive mechanical keys.
Although the switches don’t include branded switches, they offer the same responsiveness and gaming abilities as Cherry MX blue.
As a result, you get a keyboard that offers superb tactile feedback, a longer actuation distance, with a slightly higher clicky sound.
While some may consider the clicky sound as distracting, for coders and individuals who types a lot will found it quite alluring. Actually, the clicky sound coupled with the heavy tactile feedback almost eliminates tying errors to zero.
Meaning, each time you hit a key, you get reassuring feedback about the activation of the key. Hence, you make fewer typos in the long run. Meanwhile, we tried the keyboard with headphones and sound systems.
Surprisingly, we didn’t find the clickiness quite a distraction. Contrarily, the bumpy feeling of the tactile feedback was quite reassuring, especially when shooting with limited bullets.
6. Backlighting
In total, the keyboard includes individually backlit keys with 18 modes and 4 different modes for gaming genres like FPS, MOBA, RTS, and MMO.
You can customize the lighting on the keyboard by using the Fn key and pressing inset, end, delete, home, page up, and page down.
Each key includes 3 presets, allowing you to use all modes by repeatedly pressing the respected key.
To customize keys individually, you can press the Fn key and the tilde(`) key to enable the customization mode on the keyboard.
After that, you can press the Fn key and the right arrow key to change colors.
7. Connectivity
The wiring in the keyboard is non-detachable and it does not have wireless connectivity. However, it comes with a non-corrosive gold-plated USB.
Moreover, the keyboard also does not come with a USB pass-through. Overall, not so impressive in terms of connectivity.
8. Performance
Frankly, the manufacturers were not kidding about the anti-ghosting feature. We played FIFA by reconfiguring our keys with the Redragon software, and surprisingly we didn’t encounter a single misfire or loss of keypress at all.
Considering the price range, we personally feel the keyboard did its best in terms of quality, built, switches, and other crucial factors.
However, if you are a wireless lover, you may have to look for other options. Honestly speaking, when it comes to speed and accuracy, you can’t put your entire trust on wireless since a single glitch in connectivity can ruin your whole gains.
Highlighted Features of Redragon K552 KUMARA
- Superior Aircraft-grade aluminium body
- Double-shot non-fading and firm keycaps for extreme gaming
- A strong base, firm grip and double-height adjustable
- Brightness adjustable backlight with 6 different light levels
- Can interchange WASD keys with arrow keys- great for left and right-hand users
Conclusion
The Redragon KUMARA K552 mechanical gaming keyboard is one of those keyboards, which does not come with a level. Meaning, it doesn’t fall under the binary of gaming or typing. In our opinion, it offers a very precise balance over everything.
