REVIEW: Tt eSPORTS MEKA G-Unit Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

Review: Tt eSPORTS MEKA G-Unit Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

By: Christopher “Synther” Wilson

Generally, peripherals are something that a lot of people take for granted when it comes to the computer world.  Keyboards, mice, and especially headsets are often bought on the cheap because people figure, “Well, a keyboard is a keyboard and if the headset makes sound, it works…right?”  Gamers or anyone that spends a lot of time in front of the screen know that this is not right and we take special care in selecting the best equipment.  It is important to us that a keyboard be comfortable, responsive, and provides us with a few extra little perks.  A mouse usually has to be comfortable and have more than just two buttons and a mouse wheel.  And don’t get me started on headsets…they better have good sound or you can just go home.  The MEKA G-Unit by Tt eSPORTS definitely fills the gamer/enthusiast need for a keyboard that does a little extra.

When computers first came on the scene, all the keyboards were mechanical.  They were built to last the test of time and, as such, many of those old keyboards are still around today.  And they still function perfectly, I might add.  At some point, manufacturers started putting out membrane keyboards and the market got flooded with them for many years.  So much so, that many computer users of the current generation likely have no idea of what it is like to type on a mechanical keyboard!  My guess is that the reason that these membrane keyboards came about in the first place is that they’re cheaper to mass produce.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that this cost savings trickled down to the gamer consumer, since a lot of these membrane keyboards sell for close to the same amount as a mechanical keyboard!

At any rate, mechanical keyboards are back on the scene in a big way and consumers now have a choice between mechanical and membrane keyboards.  Some people, like me, enjoy the responsive feeling of the mechanical keys and don’t mind the slightly louder noise.  Others prefer the softer touch and quiet of a membrane keyboard.  As usual, I did research before purchasing the MEKA G-Unit and I read a lot of other reviews.  I saw several people claim that typing on a mechanical keyboard is so loud that it can keep people in other rooms awake.  This is complete and total hogwash.  Unless you live with the Bionic Man or your roommates have dog ears, there is no way that the typing on a mechanical keyboard is keeping someone in another room awake.  Talk about over exaggeration and a desire to sound dramatic.  I prefer to keep that kind of ridiculous behavior out of my reviews, thank you very much.

While slightly more expensive than a “standard” membrane keyboard, the Tt eSPORTS MEKA G-Unit is well worth the money and is loaded with extras.  I purchased the MEKA G-Unit to replace a 4.5 year old Logitech G19 and I was looking for something that had a similar layout for the macro keys.  While flashy in appearance, the LCD screen was not something that was important to me since I found myself rarely looking at it during gaming.  Having had really good experiences with Logitech in the past, I chose to not purchase the G710+ because of a lack of back lighting and the literally anemic attempt at the macro keys.  Naturally, the next choice was something by Tt eSPORTS, since ThermalTake has been extremely good to me.  I was not disappointed in this purchase in any way.  Upon opening the box, I was literally in awe at the number of little extras that Tt eSPORTS had chosen to include.

Right out of the box, the MEKA G-Unit is screaming, “Pack me up and take me to a LAN!”  Tt eSPORTS put a lot of thought into the design of this ‘board and it is ready for travel.  The keyboard’s cable actually unplugs from the keyboard itself, has a Velcro cable tie on it, and Tt eSPORTS included a small velvet pouch for storage when packing up for travel.  No more wrapping your cable around your keyboard and having to be extra careful to not damage the connection when you go to a LAN.  This is a feature that should be included on every enthusiast level keyboard ever made.  I’m not sure why it has taken so long for this to come about!  They also thought ahead and included a case for the keyboard itself.  The case secures closed with Velcro, is bifurcated to include your removable palm rest, and has a small pocket to put the velvet cable pouch in.  Everything secures into one, very durable, easy to carry case.

Something to think about is that this keyboard is quite heavy.  Not that you’ll break your back carrying it or that this is bad in anyway, but it simply feels extremely sturdy and durable in your hands.  The bottom of the keyboard has the standard rubber feet, but Tt eSPORTS went a step further and put rubber feet on the folding legs too.  This is the first keyboard I’ve ever seen to have this feature and it is extremely nice.  This ‘board isn’t going to slide around once you place it on your desk.

Setting the keyboard up, I immediately downloaded and installed the latest software (Tt eSPORTS includes a software CD, but I always download the software for any peripheral to make sure that I have the most recent version).  The software does not feel cluttered in anyway and gets straight to its purpose of function.  Macros are easy to record and even a total n00b will be able to setup keys for macros in a matter of minutes.  The macro record function works exactly the same as it does for the Tt eSPORTS Level-10M Gaming Mouse.  So, if you are familiar with one, you should have no problem using the other.  Also just like the Level-10M, macros are actually stored to the keyboard itself!  This means you can unplug your MEKA G-Unit, plug it into another computer (such as a tournament system) and still have all your macro keys!  The keyboard stores up to three separate profiles for a total of 36 T-Keys.  The software includes a button for “Instant Shift System.”  This allows you to set the keyboard to switch over to Profile II or Profile III by pressing Shift, ALT, or CTRL and thus allows you to quickly reach all 36 T-Keys without having to press the profile buttons at the top left of the keyboard.  I noted that the help document for the software states that it will allow you to “reach all 60 T-Keys,” but I’m at a loss as to how 12 T-Keys x 3 Profiles could possibly equal 60.  It’s possible that I’m missing something but it looks like somebody didn’t do their math right.

 In addition to setting up macros, the software also allows you to setup single key replacement functions.  For instance, if you want to set T-9 to access your inventory in Dungeons & Dragons Online, you can use the Single Key function to set T-9 to be the I key.  This is something I really wish that Tt eSPORTS would add to the Level-10M software, as well (hint, hint…hello developers, are you listening??).  You can also set a T-Key to launch a program of your choice.  Let’s say you want to be able to launch TeamSpeak 3 while you’re already in Dungeons & Dragons Online.  Simply set the T-8 key to launch ts3client_win64.exe and you’re ready to go.  This can be extremely useful.

So you may be asking yourself how the keyboard actually functions as far as…you know…a keyboard.  The only answer I have to this is: Like a dream.  The keyboard has a 1000Hz polling rate and coupled with the fact that the keys actually activate about half way down without bottoming out means that the responsiveness of this keyboard is phenomenal.  When testing the MEKA G-Unit out in Borderlands 2, the reaction time from the keyboard was so fast that I could almost swear that it was reading my mind.  In Dungeons & Dragons Online, the T-Keys performed their function perfectly for macros that I had setup for weapon switching, potion drinking, and hireling spawning.  In FireFall, the media keys kept me happy switching forward and back in songs in Windows Media Player and I was able to keep the wub wub going non-stop.  The Normal/Game Mode button is very nice too and allows you to disable the Windows keys.  And the detachable palm rest is comfortable without being too large and without having any style curves in it to prevent it from adequately performing its function.  From an ergonomics view point, I can sum up the MEKA G-Unit in one word: Comfortable.

The one and only downside that I can find for the Tt eSPORTS MEKA G-Unit is the back lighting.  And really, it’s not that much of a gripe.  Rather than back lighting all of the keys, Tt eSPORTS added white LED back lighting to WASD, left-Shift, Left-CTRL, Space, arrow keys, and 8462 on the Numeric Pad.  Num lock and Caps Lock have their own lighting, as well, to indicate On/Off status.  The Tt logo also calmly pulses red.  All of the other keys on the keyboard are dark.  If it were me, I’d have chosen a slightly different lighting setup with keeping the white LED lighting on the current keys but also adding white LEDs to the T-Keys, then back lighting all of the rest of the keys with red LED lighting.  Mostly, this would be for aesthetic reasons, though…I just think it would look freaking sick.  As it stands, the lighting on the keyboard is enough to guide your hands in the dark to your home keys by lighting up three different zones.  Lighting is currently available in five different options: Off, low, Medium, Bright, and Pulsing.  Pulsing will fade the keys on and off slowly and shouldn’t cause you to have a seizure.

If you are in the market for a new keyboard, want to get in on the mechanical keyboard revolution, or just need to upgrade the keyboard you presently have, you should really consider the Tt eSPORTS MEKA G-Unit.  I give this keyboard an easy 9/10 and it would be a solid 10/10 if the ‘board had full back lighting.  The keyboard I purchased is the standard Tt eSPORTS black with red highlights, but I’ve seen that they are coming out with this keyboard in military green and white, as well.  So if you are looking to color coordinate your peripherals, you shouldn’t have a problem.  Aside from gaming, if you use your keyboard a lot for…you know…typing…this is also a good purchase.  I’ve actually seen my words per minute go up with fewer errors!  The Tt eSPORTS MEKA G-Unit is worth every penny and then some.