Enermax Acrylux Keyboard Review

Enermax Acrylux Keyboard Review

Testing and Conclusion

Starting with the obvious, the Enermax Acrylux is absolutely deserving of the design plaudits it’s received.

Everything about it is exquisite. The outstanding piano black finish is deep and lustrous. It’s not surprising that Enermax include a polishing cloth as piano black is a notorious magnet for dust and fingerprints. However despite it being an outwardly curious choice for something designed to be used by fingers, it doesn’t end up being half as bad as one would expect.

The attention to detail is further enhanced by the placement of the USB ports into the bar that supports and raises the rear of the keyboard slightly off the desk. Of course a perfectly flat keyboard isn’t the best for ergonomics and Enermax have perfectly judged the amount of angle to impart.

Speaking of ergonomics, the key layout is equally meticulous. So often we’ve seen so-called laptop-style keyboards that reduce the size of certain keys or eliminate them altogether. Not so with the Acrylux as it’s a full keyboard and all the important keys (backspace, return, right shift) are full-sized.

The keys themselves require very little pressure to depress, and every key has the same actuation weight. This makes for a very smooth typing experience. Even the space-bar, nearly always the achilles heel of scissor keyboards both in smoothness and noise, is exceptional. It takes the same amount of pressure, and delivers the same near-silent sound, as the rest of the keys.

In short, everything about the Acrylux is a joy to use. It is a treat for the eyes and a balm for the fingers. Despite being made of acrylic it’s by no means flimsy, nor do the top and bottom sections squeak. It’s rock solid.

We’ve thought long and hard and can only find two slight niggles about it. The first is that for a keyboard with no obvious frills besides the design, it’s perhaps £5 too expensive at £45. The second is that the orange behind the keys is just begging to be lit up. The Enermax logo lighting shows the internals have the space to take lighting, so it’s disappointing it’s just a plain colour.

However those are both minuscule niggles in an otherwise exceptional product. If you want something that types like lightning with little pressure needed to activate each key, or need a quieter typing experience, or even just want a product that wouldn’t look out of place in a Soho art gallery, the Enermax Acrylux is the one for you.

   

Thanks to Enermax for providing the Acrylux for review. Discuss in our forums.