Vortex PC66 Keyboard (Hardware)
Official GBAtemp Review
Product Information:
- Official Store: https://vortexgear.store/products/pc-66-66-key
I’ll start this review off as I have many reviews of interesting-looking things: by saying I’d not heard of Vortex prior to seeing this keyboard. Based out of Taiwan, Vortex were founded in 2010 with an aim to make well designed PC peripherals that were both high quality and affordable. It’s a pretty generic mission statement, but knowing the company’s been around for more than ten years now does instil a certain confidence, and create expectations as to the quality of their gear. I saw the PC66 back in December and absolutely fell in love with its aesthetic. After two months of waiting it’s finally here, but does their time in the business shine through as you’d hope?
Let’s just jump straight to it. This keyboard is absolutely gorgeous. Based on the classic design of IBM’s PCjr it screams nostalgia from every part of itself. You have a solid-feeling cream plastic shell housing your classic off-white and beige keycaps. On top of this, you get a nice coiled USB C to USB A cable, and my favourite feature of all with the PC66: an emblem in the bottom-left of the shell. I recently built my own keyboard using the Momoka Zoo 65 kit, and while I really love how premium and clean it looks, the PC66 scratches an itch on the polar opposite end of the spectrum.
Now while I love the design, it does come with some notable caveats. The emblem in the bottom-left corner is taking up the position of two very crucial keys: on a traditional layout these would be Ctrl and Win. Vortex’s solution to this was a simple one. Get rid of the Win key, and shove the Ctrl key across. It’s not a perfect solution I will say, and any muscle memory you might have had with keyboard shortcuts may as well be thrown out the window. If the emblem isn’t too important to you, there is a PC68 flavour that gives you these two keys back. But if you’re set on it like me, there are ways to adjust. We’ll get to those later.
Your typing experience will vary greatly depending on the switches you opt for. When I’m buying a pre-built keyboard, I often try to grab switches I’ve not tried before that sound like they’ll fit with the larger theme of the keyboard. Here, I have Cherry MX Milky switches, which to me feel like heavier versions of Kailh’s Box Whites. They’re really wonderful, and give the keys what I would describe as a really satisfying bubble-wrap popping feel. The 80g actuation force is something you really feel, especially when compared to something like the previously mentioned Box Whites’ 45g. Key presses feel intentional and forceful, but it can feel slightly fatiguing with extended use. When hitting keys, you do get a bit of a metallic reverb thanks to a lack of dampening in the case. It’s not really a deal breaker for me and I think it fits well with the switches I have, but it’s worth mentioning all the same.
Regardless of the switches it comes with, the hot-swappable nature of the board means you can happily change your mind down the line and install whatever you want. With these being standard MX switches too, there’s no real issue with you grabbing alternate keycap sets either. I’m really fond of the set Vortex picked out, but the keyboard did also release as a barebones kit for those wanting to customise it better to their tastes.
The PC66 does also feature both 2.4GHz and Bluetooth wireless capabilities, and is quite oddly powered by two AAA batteries. The USB dongle is cream to match the keyboard, which is a nice touch to avoid it getting lost in the sea of other unbranded dongles you likely have floating around your desk. As to what this wireless experience is actually like, I really couldn’t tell you. I’m not sure if the model I have handy is defective, but it would not be found by my PC regardless of whether I used the dongle or tried to connect via Bluetooth. The batteries were fine, as indicated by the wireless indicator light turning on when I pressed the appropriate buttons to pair, but nothing would happen. It’s a nice feature assuming it works, but I’m not all that disappointed it didn’t for me. I bought this intending to use it wired, so wired I shall use it.
As mentioned earlier in the review, there are certain sacrifices you have to make if you want to pick up the 66 key variant of this keyboard. The keys being shifted over is one thing, but the lack of a dedicated Windows key was a real struggle for me. It is still somewhat accessible using Fn + Z by default, but you can actually do something about it using Vortex’s dedicated software.
Having just reviewed a Roccat keyboard, it’s a noticeable step down. At least in terms of polish. Functionally though, it hits all the right marks, and at the end of the day if it works, it’s good enough for me. There are only really two pages of interest: key configuration and the macro manager. Both are exactly what they sound like, and are incredibly easy to use. Within seconds I had my left Alt key remapped to Win, and my Alt Gr key mapped to be that left Alt. A simple change, but it goes so far in terms of bolstering usability. I still do struggle a little moving between keyboards and adapting to Ctrl + X/C/V for common shortcuts, but I at least have Win + number keys at my disposal for quickly opening taskbar apps. My only real complaint on this page is that when hovering over each key, it doesn’t actually tell you what’s currently mapped. You can configure both the standard mappings and the function layer, but you’ll have to keep on top of what you’ve mapped yourself. It’s small, but it is annoying.
The macro editor isn’t anything fancy, but again it’ll get the job done. You can choose to insert specified events manually, or record keystrokes with either the recorded delay, no delay, or a set delay. From there you save it and throw it onto a key of choice using the key configuration page. There’s no frills, but it’s perfectly functional. What I do really appreciate about the app a considerable amount is the fact that all of these configurations are saved onto the keyboard itself with no active requirement to keep the software open. This is frankly how it should be in my mind, and being able to keep my keyboard plugged into a dock that I can switch between personal and work machines on is a really big point for me. I don’t want to be installing software just to have easy access to a Windows key.
Can I recommend Vortex’s PC66? It’s hard to say. It certainly suits my tastes, but this is a niche design for enthusiasts and people like me who would put a little metallic square over functionality and many years of muscle memory. On Vortex’s part though, they really did everything right. It’s a wonderful keyboard as long as you know what you’re buying, and one I’m using as my daily driver at the moment. It feels great to type on, and I love seeing it on my desk.
Verdict
- Incredible design
- Hot-swappable switches
- Functional both wired and wireless (2.4GHz/BT)
- Easy to use driver software to remap keys and create macros
- Changes made via software persist on-keyboard
- Available in 66 and 68 key variants
- Wireless capabilities didn't work on my unit
- AAA batteries are an odd choice in place of a rechargeable battery
- 66 key variant is an odd design to adjust to, and won't be to everybody's taste
