Wooting’s 80HE makes the best gaming keyboard even better

Wooting created the champion gaming keyboard connected the marketplace 2 years agone pinch the 60HE. It popularized the usage of Hall effect switches and a Rapid Trigger strategy that speeds up really quickly you tin activate a key, making it perfect for PC gaming. Now, Wooting has created the 80HE — an 80 percent keyboard that makes the champion gaming keyboard moreover better.

While I’m a instrumentality of 60 percent keyboards for gaming, I miss having a delete key, a people surface button, and moreover dedicated arrow keys and an F-row. The 80HE adds each of these keys wrong a package that really doesn’t consciousness that much larger than the 60HE. It’s fundamentally 2 keys wider and an F-row of keys taller. The other keys surely make it much comfortable for regular typing and a batch much convenient than having to mod keys aliases usage usability cardinal shortcuts.

Wooting has besides switched up the lodging for its 80HE, moving to a gasket equine alternatively of the tray equine connected the 60HE. The silicone gasket equine holds together the committee and the move plate. It does a awesome occupation of reducing the noise, making the typing acquisition a small softer than connected the 60HE. You tin besides set the lawsuit perspective to 2.8 degrees, 7.5 degrees, aliases 10 degrees acknowledgment to a assortment of silicone feet included successful the box.

I’ve been trying retired some the $109.99 zinc alloy lawsuit and the $34.99 PCR ABS integrative lawsuit for the 80HE complete the past week, and I personally for illustration the zinc material. It’s the pricier action of the two, but you get a hefty lawsuit that helps nutrient the benignant of thock sound I bask connected keyboards.

I recovered the integrative lawsuit a small fiddly to unfastened erstwhile I was building a bare-bones module type of the 80HE acknowledgment to the clips holding it successful place. The zinc action slid isolated a batch much easily, though. You’ll person to beryllium observant if you do return the 80HE isolated aliases build 1 yourself, arsenic location is simply a JST cablegram that needs to beryllium disconnected erstwhile you region the committee from the case.

The sound connected the 80HE is besides improved complete the 60HE acknowledgment to updated Hall effect switches. Wooting’s Lekker V2 switches now wobble little and sound amended than the original V1 switches. The differences are subtle, but I ever disliked the cardinal wobble connected the 60HE default switches, truthful I’m happy to spot that improved.

The Lekker switches are hot-swappable, truthful you tin switch them retired if they break aliases switch them pinch immoderate Hall effect switches. Wooting lets you prime betwixt the Lekker L45 and L60, pinch some emotion for illustration linear switches and the L60s having a small much cardinal commencement and extremity force. Wooting besides uses screw-in stabilizers to destruct rattle connected the 80HE, and these are besides replaceable pinch astir different third-party screw-in and clip-in stabilizers.

The existent magic of Wooting’s keyboards is made imaginable by these Hall effect switches, which usage a magnet truthful the committee tin way really acold a move has been pressed. Most Cherry MX-style switches that are commonly utilized connected mechanical keyboards usage a copper system to registry a property pinch a committee astatine a group actuation constituent of astir 2mm. On the 80HE, you tin set the actuation constituent connected individual keys each the measurement down to 0.1mm.

The improved Wootility package allows you to alteration adjustable actuation points, Rapid Trigger, and much precocious cardinal functionality. Rapid Trigger changes the actuation and reset constituent of keys connected the alert truthful that keys will activate the infinitesimal you property down and deactivate instantly erstwhile you merchandise them. You tin past repetition a cardinal property successful the mediate of a motion, without needing to surpass the actuation point.

Rapid Trigger is perfect for PC gaming because of the accelerated deactivation that lets you move astir quickly and repetition cardinal presses faster. Keyboard manufacturers for illustration SteelSeries, Keychron, and others person copied the Rapid Trigger characteristic aft adopting Hall effect switches, and it has go a celebrated characteristic among Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, Overwatch 2, and Apex Legends players.

The different large summation to the 80HE is simply a caller LED barroom that sits supra the arrow keys. Wooting says it’s designed to pass pinch you and tin show you which floor plan you person progressive connected the committee aliases really overmuch RAM aliases CPU your strategy is using. You tin besides conscionable usage it for nosy RGB effects to lucifer your keys aliases the remainder of your setup. You tin configure the LED barroom successful Wooting’s updated Wootility software.

One awesome characteristic of Wooting keyboards is that they shop your floor plan connected the committee itself. You configure it successful the Wootility web app, and there’s nary request to instal an app aliases person thing moving successful the inheritance connected your PC. Wooting is breaking from that contented somewhat pinch the 80HE, though.

If you want RAM aliases CPU monitoring connected the LED bar, you’ll request a caller inheritance app, which is coming soon. I haven’t been capable to trial this yet, but Wooting says it will only beryllium required for the much precocious LED barroom functionality. I’ve been utilizing the LED barroom arsenic a floor plan indicator, which is ace useful for swapping betwixt gaming and typing profiles.

If you update the firmware connected the 80HE, the LED barroom fills up to show the progress, a neat small touch that hints astatine what will beryllium imaginable pinch this caller addition. Right now, you tin get it to bespeak the floor plan you’re using, erstwhile keys are pressed, aliases to fto you cognize erstwhile the CAPS fastener cardinal is enabled. It will besides beryllium capable to show your strategy measurement erstwhile the inheritance work is available.

The 80HE besides supports up to 8kHz USB polling, but nary wireless connectivity. While galore keyboards committedness 8kHz polling, the 80HE besides scans each analog cardinal position astatine that aforesaid rate. This faster polling complaint besides lowers the 80HE latency to conscionable 0.125ms.

While I admit the improvements connected the 80HE, the layout intends the only options for cases correct now are from Wooting directly. I’d expect to spot third-party options complete time, but until then, you’re stuck pinch black, ghost, and frost options for the integrative lawsuit aliases black, white, and earthy options for the zinc case.

The 80HE — arsenic a complete keyboard pinch a integrative case, switches, and keycaps — starts astatine $199.99. If you upgrade to the zinc alloy case, prices commencement astatine $289.99. You tin besides bargain the standalone 80HE module without switches and keycaps for $154.99, but you’ll request a $34.99 integrative lawsuit aliases a $109.99 zinc alloy one.

Keychron, Corsair, SteelSeries, and galore others connection akin boards pinch Hall effect switches, but nary rather connection the operation of hardware and package that Wooting delivers. If you’ve ever been tempted by the 60HE but wanted much keys, the 80HE delivers that and overmuch more.