Review – EVGA Z12 RGB Gaming Keyboard

The EVGA Z12 keyboard is fine for programming. It offers additional macro keys, and you can reprogram any specific of its keys. There is RGB backlighting if you do the job in a dark conditions, but it can only zone-lit. Typing feels just alright simply because the keys are soft and very sensitive, which could lead to a lot more typos, but could possibly be light to press overall. The EVGA Z12 is good for home office work with. It’s a full-size solution with very good ergonomics because it has 2 incline controls, and even though it does not come with a wrist relax, you can purchase one separately. The rubberized dome switches are light-weight to press, but typing level of quality can feel basically acceptable because they’re sensitive and may possibly cause an improve in typos, and they don’t offer a ton of tactile responses.

The EVGA Z12 is a excellent gaming keyboard. You can easily reprogram any of its keys using the specific software, and there are 5 additional macro keys. It has RGB backlighting, but it’s zone-lit and not separately lit up. The rubber dome switches are light to push for a fast gaming experience, but the latency may be too high for many gamers.
The build quality of the EVGA Z12 keyboard feels alright. It’s a quite standard keyboard made out of plastic material that flexes a lot. It’s mostly matte plastic with the exception of for the shiny plate on top where the company logo is. The laser-etched ABS keycaps truly feel low-cost because they’re slick and are predisposed to oil shine. Luckily, you can replace the keycaps with any Cherry MX-compatible keycap because the rubber dome switches have appropriate stems. The switches by themselves really feel soft, and the keys not necessarily really stable, particularly the bigger ones such as the Spacebar and Enter keys. 5 rubber pads directly below the keyboard keep it in place, and it’s fixed even with the incline feet fully extended, so it should not move during standard use. It’s also certified to be IP32 ranked, so it should continue doing work even if you spill some water on it.

A well made keyboard with colorful, adjustable lighting, that has a very nice key action with a soft click per keypress noise. The noise is not loud at all and the keystrokes are pleasantly short and easy to press, with a nice typing feel. The media controls are easy to use and functional, and the full size keyboard is a pleasure to type on in contrast to a gaming keyboard with cherry red switches. It seems properly responsive in fast paced games and the self turn off feature kills the lights quickly when away from the keyboard. We haven’t tried the macro recording, but it records directly from the keyboard vs using an app. The application does offer many other optional adjustments. The cushion palm rest is comfortable and attaches snugly with magnets and self centers.

The EVGA Z12 has fine general typing quality. The keycaps and key spacing are relatively typical, so it shouldn’t take long to get used to the feel. You can also replace the keycaps with whichever Cherry MX-compatible keycaps you choose. The switches themselves feel mushy and don’t offer you as much responsive feedback as you would expect to have from rubber dome switches. They’re light to press, so you shouldn’t feel a lot fatigue, but this means that it’s easier to make typos because of the instant actuation. The keyboard can also benefit from a wrist rest, but you can buy one separately straight from EVGA.

The EVGA Z12 keyboard is inadequate to use as a home theater PC keyboard because it’s not created for this use. It’s wired-only, so you have to attach directly to the TV SET, and it does not have a trackpad, so you’ll require a computer mouse to navigate the on-screen menu.

EVGA Unleash is the name of the specific program fit for EVGA peripherals. The most recent version at the time of testing was offered separately, which was 1.0.8.0, newer from the release version used along with the EVGA Z20 review. The installer downloads as an repository folder that is ~29.5 MB. Setup is very easy and demands just 42.4 MB for the installed version, which is a far cry from the hundreds of megabytes used up by competitive options. Getting far fewer products to assistance does help, but let’s take a look at the user experience before drawing any specific final thoughts. Operating the drivers with the keyboard installed motivated us to update the firmware, which is unusual for a brand-new device that just released. In any case, updating the firmware was simple and required less than a minute.

Therefore, things are relatively specific in terms of managing the EVGA Z12 for value. If you can get it for $25, it’s a really good offer for the feature set. There are competing keyboards featuring comparable approaches of taking functions from higher-end mechanical keyboards and placing them on membrane switch keyboards to target those who want the looks and typical features without the price tag attached to them. Certainly, there are also numerous who prefer membrane switches to start with. Regrettably this is where EVGA’s risk may prove not successful. We don’t really see people purchasing this keyboard and then buying aftermarket keycap sets unless they have one lying around. Those buyers have a tendency to go with mechanical keyboards already, and making an attempt to get a very similar typing practical experience to a tactile switch but not really doing so makes this feel stuck in the center of nowhere.

At $50, the EVGA Z12 keyboard competes with the likes of the CORSAIR K55 RGB PRO with similar 5-zone RGB lighting. The Z12 does much better with onboard profiles, but the K55 RGB PRO is better with the software and specialized controls. We would probably go the K55 route if We had $50 to spend and needed a membrane keyboard. But at $25, probably slightly more depending on what the Z12 settles in at by the moment you read this review, EVGA definitely wins even with the caveats. That said, there are just too many factors at play here to arrive at a precise, singular summary, and thus We leave you with our experiences to decide if this is for you primarily based on its selling price at this time.

The EVGA Z12 keyboard is an entry-level gaming keyboard that’s EVGA’s simply non-mechanical keyboard. It sits right behind their mechanical options, the EVGA Z15 and EVGA Z20 and functions rubber dome switches for those who avoid like the experience of mechanical switches. Simply being a budget friendly choice, it does not have some capabilities the higher-end options have, like individually lit keys and an included wrist rest, but you still get zone-lit RGB back light, and you can buy a wrist rest independently. It uses the EVGA Unleash RGB program, which is standard software that you can use to personalize the backlighting or reprogram every of the keys, including the 5 additional macro keys. Photo: EVGA

EVGA Z12 keyboard Specs

• Switch Type: Membrane
• Actuation Distance: 1.5mm
• Actuation Force: 45g
• Total Travel Distance: 3.0 mm
• Connection Type: USB
• Micro Processor:
• USB Report Rate: 1000Hz
• RGB Lighting: 5 zone RGB

Dimensions

• Width: 5.96 in / 151.5 mm
• Length: 18.62 in / 473 mm
• Height: 1.52 in / 38.5 mm
• Weight: 2.2 lbs / 1 kg