KitGuru KitGuru.net – Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards
To kick off our testing, we will be taking a look at the software suite that gives access to this keyboard's RGB and customization features.
Tesoro has developed its own software for the Excalibur RGB keyboard. It is pretty bare bones and doesn't look quite as polished as alternative offerings from competing companies, such as Logitech or Corsair.
While there are no extra macro keys on the board itself, you can click on any key you wish and set a new function to it, which adds some level of customisation to the board. However, dedicated keys for extra functions would still be preferred.
The lighting suite is pretty basic. overall, Tesoro's software is very easy to use but it could do with a bit of an aesthetic overhaul. Since this is an RGB product, you can cycle through most colors, although how accurately they will be represented is another matter.
Your basics like blue, red and green work fairly well. Other colors don't come out quite as well. For instance, the preset shade of yellow looks more like lime green and the white preset has a blue tint to it.
Lighting effects are sparse, you can set up a custom five color cycle for the keyboard but outside of that, there are no more options. Additionally, you can't speed up or slow down the rate of the color cycle, which is a shame as the effect runs painfully slow.
Overall, Tesoro's software is not the best we have used, it could do with a bit of an aesthetic overhaul and some extra customization options for future products would not go amiss, particularly in a gaming keyboard.
Now let's talk about how this keyboard performs. As we noted in the introduction to this review, Tesoro has opted to use the Chinese Kailh mechanical switch, as opposed to Cherry or something of its own design. Why Kailh? well currently Corsair has an exclusivity deal with Cherry for its RGB enabled mechanical switches, which is why there is such a shortage of Cherry MX RGB keyboards on the market.
Our model came with Kailh brown switches, which are tactile rather than linear. However, unlike blue switches, the browns don't click whenever a key press is registered, making for a slightly quieter typing and gaming experience.
By slightly quieter, I do mean slightly, these Kailh brown switches are still quite loud while typing. However, during games when the keys aren't being hammered quite as much, the noise is kept to a minimum.
Tesoro has opted to not use a crazy design to appeal more to the gamer audience. The keyboard has a standard layout with standard keycaps, it is a tried and true design and makes for a very easy typing experience. I did not have to undergo an ‘adjustment period' in order to get used to using the Excalibur, nor did my touch typing take a hit.
Since this is branded as a gaming keyboard, we have to touch on gaming performance. This keyboard does not have any macro keys, which may be a deal breaker for some right off the bat. Personally, I don't make use of macro keys so I was good to go.
There was no input lag while gaming and the Windows key has been made slightly smaller so I did not find myself accidentally hitting it. When there is no Windows lock button it can present a problem for gamers.
For typing, this keyboard is great, using a tried and true design. For gaming, you are getting the bare minimum, with no additional keys for macro functions or Windows lock function.
