**The Zed Machine Gaming Keyboard Review**

In this review, we'll take a closer look at the Zed Machine gaming keyboard, a board that promises to deliver high-performance features and customization options at a premium price point. As we delve deeper into the keyboard's design, features, and functionality, we'll explore whether its unique characteristics justify its $139.99 price tag.

**Design and Build Quality**

The Zed Machine keyboard boasts a solid plastic build with a weight of 1.3 kg, resulting in very little flex. The keyboard's construction feels sturdy, with the exception of some minor drawbacks. For instance, the lack of RGB lighting might be disappointing for some users, but it's compensated by a range of lighting modes that offer customization options. Additionally, the use of bright white LEDs provides excellent visibility on the board.

One notable aspect of the keyboard is its design, which seems somewhat utilitarian. The 1.7m cable is nicely braided, and the board features nice grooves for easy wire management. On the bottom, you'll find two flip-out feet and rubber pads for better grip, indicating a focus on ergonomics and durability. However, the use of a full-sized layout for this gaming keyboard might seem counterintuitive, as it takes up valuable mouse space.

**Gaming Features**

The Zed Machine keyboard is designed with gamers in mind, featuring MX Red switches that offer light actuation and high pulling rates. The 1000 Hz polling rate provides seamless performance, while the full N-key rollover ensures accurate key presses. The board also includes five macro keys with three functions each, which can be programmed using a specific technique.

The macros are useful for gamers who want to customize their keyboard experience. However, the lack of non-timed, non-looping macros for video editing is a notable omission. It would have been nice to see more flexibility in this regard, particularly considering the board's focus on gaming. Nevertheless, the macro keys are easy to use and can be programmed quickly.

**Customization Options**

The Zed Machine keyboard offers various customization options, including lighting modes, macro programming, and switch settings. The lighting modes include a range of adjustments for constant backlighting and custom modes with seven stops of adjustment. There's also a mask mode that allows any key to be turned on or off, with the backlight indicating keys currently in use.

Other notable features include media shortcuts, a double tap NumLock calculator launcher, and repeat speed control, which allows the key repeat to be sped up to 100 strokes per second. The keyboard also includes a light meter display, but its usefulness is debatable.

**Conclusion**

While the Zed Machine keyboard offers many desirable features for gamers, its high price point might be off-putting for some users. With competitors offering unique driver characteristics or lighting options at similar price points, this board's premium feel feels slightly justified. However, it ultimately comes down to individual preferences and priorities.

In conclusion, this keyboard is a solid performer that does everything well, but the $139.99 price tag might be too steep for many consumers. If you're in the market for a high-quality gaming keyboard with customization options, it's definitely worth considering – especially if you can pick one up on sale. However, if budget is a concern, there are plenty of other options available that offer similar performance at lower price points.

**The Verdict**

As we've explored in this review, the Zed Machine keyboard offers many desirable features for gamers, including customizable lighting modes, macro keys, and switch settings. However, its high price point might be a barrier for some users. If you're willing to invest in a premium gaming keyboard with unique features, the Zed Machine is certainly worth considering – but it's essential to weigh its pros and cons before making a purchase decision.

**Rating**

Based on our review, we'd rate the Zed Machine keyboard 4 out of 5 stars. Its solid build quality, customizable lighting modes, and macro keys make it an excellent choice for gamers. However, the lack of RGB lighting, non-timed, non-looping macros, and high price point might be drawbacks for some users.

**Recommendation**

If you're in the market for a high-quality gaming keyboard with customization options, we recommend considering the Zed Machine. However, if budget is a concern, it's essential to explore other options that offer similar performance at lower price points. As always, make sure to research and read reviews before making an informed purchasing decision.

**Author**

This review was written by Aiden, who is a hardware enthusiast with a passion for testing and reviewing PC components. You can find more of his work on the Hardware Canox channel, where he shares in-depth reviews and tutorials on everything from CPUs to graphics cards.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis video is brought to you by nc.com great technology selection and service hello everyone Aiden here with hardware canox and today we're looking at a mechanical keyboard from zman this is the Z machine k700 m a full-sized board with Cherry MX red switches and a bunch of built-in options it comes in with an MSRP of $139.99 putting it in the price range of the corses strafe RGB so there are some high expectations here alongside strong competition with already wellestablished brands in the gaming market so what does the K 700m offer while it has a decent feature set all of the functionality is done at the hardware level so the keyboard is completely driess this means you don't have the proprietary software to deal with but it also means some of the customization isn't as intuitive the keyboard is built of a solid plastic and it weighs in at 1.3 kg there's very little flex and it feels fairly tough the 1.7 m cable is nicely braided and the board has nice grooves for easy wire management also on the bottom are the two flip out feet and rubber pads for better grip so the solid build is up to scratch but is the board Rich enough in features to justify the price point one of the first things to look at is lighting the k700 M uses bright white LEDs which look great the lack of RGB is a little disappointing but there is a range of lighting modes it has separate adjust adjustment for the constant backlighting and custom modes with seven stops of adjustment you also have various modes with key touch activation three wave modes individual key lighting mask mode demo and breathing there are even six different EQ modes which I'll show briefly now unless you use your keyboard as party lights the EQ might not be that useful and the other thing to consider is there is a microphone in the keyboard for detecting outside volume so that might not be your thing The Zed machine also has five macro keys with three functions the first three keys record up to 140 characters with timings and are programmed by holding the function key along with the desired action key the fourth key will do the same function as the first three but Loop it until manually stopped you can adjust the speed of the macros with the arrow keys the fifth key supposedly Loops without timings however I found that it would only register one key thus making it fairly useless the only other thing I would have liked to see is non-timed non-looping macros for video editing I would love to see complex shortcuts running instantly and buy binds for games like csgo but alas that is missing that as side macros seem pretty simple and easy to use for typing MX Reds personally aren't my favorite switch I prefer either MX blues or Browns but the switch Choice does make sense for a gaming board the light actuation of MX Reds makes quick key presses easy and the 1000 HZ pulling rate as well as full n key rollover over PS2 and USB means that the board is pretty well set out for gaming not that having a gaming keyboard helps me much but the switches and key caps were good and being a to disable the Windows key was handy I don't understand why zman went with a full-sized layout for the board though as the numpad takes valuable Mouse space for gaming and having both hands closer together is better for ergonomics if this was a productivity focused keyboard it would make sense to have a numpad but for a gaming board I would have preferred a 60% layout that as side though I found that typing and gaming was just as good as on any other MX red board the keyboard has a couple of other little knickknacks with the mask mode I uded to earlier which allows for any key to be turned on or off with the backlight indicating Keys currently in use something which can be handy if you don't want to mash keys in game you also have Windows and control key locks various media shortcuts and a double tap numlock calculator launcher as well as repeat speed control which allows the key repeat to be sped up to 100 Strokes per second the last thing to mention is the RGB Z logo with the light meter on the side of the board it offers typing speed display volume display LED brightness control and macro running speed settings I haven't found it useful in almost any way though since for typing speed it's not nearly accurate enough to be useful it doesn't properly show volume macro speed doesn't display and led brightness is pretty self-evident the only useful thing is that it flashes red when programming macros but that could have easily been implemented elsewhere even if it worked perfectly it would still feel gimmicky and it could easily be removed from the board without any loss so it seems this keyboard is a fairly simple exterior with quite a bit of under the hood functionality the big question though is it worth the 139.99 price tag honestly I would have to say probably not it's a great board no doubt but with a really high price point especially when competing with the likes of Corsair Razer or Logitech that offer their unique driver characteristics or lighting this board does everything pretty well and I'm sure that for some people its unique feature set is appealing but I think for many that price point is just a little too high unless you pick one up on sale and then it should definitely be on your radar so thank you for watching everyone if you enjoyed this review make sure to leave a like and comment if you have any questions or feedback I'm Aiden with Hardware canox make sure to subscribe for more videos and we'll see you in the next onethis video is brought to you by nc.com great technology selection and service hello everyone Aiden here with hardware canox and today we're looking at a mechanical keyboard from zman this is the Z machine k700 m a full-sized board with Cherry MX red switches and a bunch of built-in options it comes in with an MSRP of $139.99 putting it in the price range of the corses strafe RGB so there are some high expectations here alongside strong competition with already wellestablished brands in the gaming market so what does the K 700m offer while it has a decent feature set all of the functionality is done at the hardware level so the keyboard is completely driess this means you don't have the proprietary software to deal with but it also means some of the customization isn't as intuitive the keyboard is built of a solid plastic and it weighs in at 1.3 kg there's very little flex and it feels fairly tough the 1.7 m cable is nicely braided and the board has nice grooves for easy wire management also on the bottom are the two flip out feet and rubber pads for better grip so the solid build is up to scratch but is the board Rich enough in features to justify the price point one of the first things to look at is lighting the k700 M uses bright white LEDs which look great the lack of RGB is a little disappointing but there is a range of lighting modes it has separate adjust adjustment for the constant backlighting and custom modes with seven stops of adjustment you also have various modes with key touch activation three wave modes individual key lighting mask mode demo and breathing there are even six different EQ modes which I'll show briefly now unless you use your keyboard as party lights the EQ might not be that useful and the other thing to consider is there is a microphone in the keyboard for detecting outside volume so that might not be your thing The Zed machine also has five macro keys with three functions the first three keys record up to 140 characters with timings and are programmed by holding the function key along with the desired action key the fourth key will do the same function as the first three but Loop it until manually stopped you can adjust the speed of the macros with the arrow keys the fifth key supposedly Loops without timings however I found that it would only register one key thus making it fairly useless the only other thing I would have liked to see is non-timed non-looping macros for video editing I would love to see complex shortcuts running instantly and buy binds for games like csgo but alas that is missing that as side macros seem pretty simple and easy to use for typing MX Reds personally aren't my favorite switch I prefer either MX blues or Browns but the switch Choice does make sense for a gaming board the light actuation of MX Reds makes quick key presses easy and the 1000 HZ pulling rate as well as full n key rollover over PS2 and USB means that the board is pretty well set out for gaming not that having a gaming keyboard helps me much but the switches and key caps were good and being a to disable the Windows key was handy I don't understand why zman went with a full-sized layout for the board though as the numpad takes valuable Mouse space for gaming and having both hands closer together is better for ergonomics if this was a productivity focused keyboard it would make sense to have a numpad but for a gaming board I would have preferred a 60% layout that as side though I found that typing and gaming was just as good as on any other MX red board the keyboard has a couple of other little knickknacks with the mask mode I uded to earlier which allows for any key to be turned on or off with the backlight indicating Keys currently in use something which can be handy if you don't want to mash keys in game you also have Windows and control key locks various media shortcuts and a double tap numlock calculator launcher as well as repeat speed control which allows the key repeat to be sped up to 100 Strokes per second the last thing to mention is the RGB Z logo with the light meter on the side of the board it offers typing speed display volume display LED brightness control and macro running speed settings I haven't found it useful in almost any way though since for typing speed it's not nearly accurate enough to be useful it doesn't properly show volume macro speed doesn't display and led brightness is pretty self-evident the only useful thing is that it flashes red when programming macros but that could have easily been implemented elsewhere even if it worked perfectly it would still feel gimmicky and it could easily be removed from the board without any loss so it seems this keyboard is a fairly simple exterior with quite a bit of under the hood functionality the big question though is it worth the 139.99 price tag honestly I would have to say probably not it's a great board no doubt but with a really high price point especially when competing with the likes of Corsair Razer or Logitech that offer their unique driver characteristics or lighting this board does everything pretty well and I'm sure that for some people its unique feature set is appealing but I think for many that price point is just a little too high unless you pick one up on sale and then it should definitely be on your radar so thank you for watching everyone if you enjoyed this review make sure to leave a like and comment if you have any questions or feedback I'm Aiden with Hardware canox make sure to subscribe for more videos and we'll see you in the next one\n"