Redragon K596 review: A wireless gaming keyboard for penny-pinchers

Price When Reviewed

$75

Best Prices Today: Redragon Okay596 Vishnu

$74.99

Free

A real PC gamer must have a set of equipment which can be at the least as costly as their precise laptop. Right? Wrong! That’s a ridiculous assertion, however one which appears to have some grounding in actuality when you have a look at the costs of mice and keyboards marketed to players today. Call me loopy, however I don’t assume a brand new keyboard must price as a lot as a used automobile fee. 

Enter the dragon Redragon. This Chinese model has been pumping out low-cost PC gaming equipment for years, and slowly however persistently enhancing its choices. After rising weary of the worth tags in keyboards just like the Razer BlackWidow V3 Pro and Corsair K70 RGB Pro Mini, I sought out this price range model’s greatest wi-fi competitors. That’s the “Vishnu” Okay596, a TKL board with 2.4GHz wi-fi that sells for simply $75 on Amazon. 

The Okay596 isn’t superb in any specific class, however at this value it doesn’t must be. It’s a strong, dependable board that covers all of the fundamentals, and provides just a few good extras you wouldn’t count on at this value level, like programmability, per-key RGB, and a magnetic wrist relaxation. It by no means aspires to be greater than its budget-friendly self, and that’s one thing I can respect. 

This evaluate is a part of our ongoing roundup of the best wireless keyboards. Go there for opinions of competing merchandise and shopping for recommendation, together with how we examined. 

Redragon Okay596: Features

Compared to one thing bombastic just like the Keychron Q5 I lately reviewed, the Okay596 appears fairly primary. You get a tenkeyless format, a favourite amongst players, with just a few added extras. These embody a stylish devoted quantity wheel (actual steel, surprisingly), media keys, and 10 programmable macro keys—5 mechanical on the facet, in Corsair fashion, and 5 membrane keys above the primary deck. 

Michael Crider/IDG

The Okay596 is unabashedly plastic from prime to backside, however that enables it to incorporate some othe goodies. Inside the field you’ll get a magnetic wrist relaxation (at all times appreciated by my RSI-riddled mitts), a braided USB-C cable for charging and non-wireless operation, and a sleeve of other switches to strive. Which may be very unusual, as a result of that is not a hot-swap keyboard—I needed to disassemble it and check out the soldering to verify. You’ll get price range Outemu pink switches and also you’ll like them. 

Keycaps are frankly ugly, utilizing the usual “gamer” font for his or her shine-through ABS. There’s additionally a white printed Redragon brand on the area bar that clashes horribly with the all-black design. Fortunately you possibly can swap out the keycaps with any aftermarket set due to the usual TKL format, although chances are you’ll must get inventive to fill in these 5 macro keys. 

Michael Crider/IDG

This is a devoted desktop design, which implies a 2.4GHz USB-A dongle and no Bluetooth. That additionally implies that it’s not going to connect with a number of machines by itself, which is ok at this value level. I doubt a price range gamer has a number of gadgets that demand full keyboard enter sitting on the identical desk anyway. 

The prime edge holds the USB-C port, whereas the underside has fold-out ft (single stage, however properly coated in a little bit of rubber) and an on-off change. Not that you simply’ll be utilizing the latter a lot. The keyboard’s battery-saving tech is extremely aggressive, turning off LED lighting after only one minute. Redragon says the battery lasts for 10 hours, however in precise use it appears to be a lot, rather more than that, at the least measured within the time that you simply’re sitting at your desk and utilizing it. 

Michael Crider/IDG

Oh, one final thing: Redragon naming this keyboard the “Vishnu” is in poor style, and there’s no getting round it. For the uninitiated western reader, think about somebody attempting to promote one thing known as the Okay1337 Jesus Christ Messiah Wireless Gaming Mouse, and also you’ll see what I imply. Naming your merchandise after mythological figures is one factor, however if you identify a product after a diety {that a} billion individuals are nonetheless actively worshipping, it will get awkward. Glorious, don’t get any ideas.

Redragon Okay596: Typing and gaming

Typing on the Okay596 is…tremendous. I gained’t lie, it’s a price range really feel for a price range keyboard, and you may sense that these are cheap keycaps on cheap switches. The corridor impact stems (these little containers across the cross form) lend some further stability, however the barebones stabilizers rattle as a lot as any low cost keyboard does. This isn’t going to compete with high-end boards, and that’s okay. 

The extras assist the keyboard rise above its plasticky building. The steel quantity wheel is a superb contact, particularly now that it’s changing into such a typical function in massive board designs. The different add-on buttons alongside the highest seem like one thing that got here out of the ’90s, however they work tremendous. Note that there’s a button subsequent to the media controls that allows you to flip the wheel between controlling your PC’s quantity and elevating or decreasing the extent of lighting of the keyboard itself. 

Michael Crider/IDG

I’m particularly happy to see a wrist relaxation included within the package deal. It’s not precisely a looker—that tacky Redragon brand is entrance and middle—however the barely knobbly sample is cozy for my angled typing fashion with ft folded out. The magnetic attachment is sturdy, a component you’d count on to see on a a lot pricier board. 

As for gaming, the Okay596 works in addition to any related keyboard design, with the additional benefit of on-the-fly programming (see under). Redragon doesn’t publish a polling fee, however with the two.4GHz connection and my less-than-superhuman (simply human?) reflexes, I by no means seen a dip in efficiency. The esports crowd is probably not impressed, and even I want the keycaps had been higher, however the board is greater than acceptable for everybody else.

Redragon Okay596: Programming and lighting 

Redragon presents a downloadable programming device for the Okay596, which is considerably restricted. It permits for a little bit of customization of the backlighting and as much as 5 completely different consumer profiles, however programming the keys themselves is restricted to the G1-G10 keys on the highest and left facet, plus the media controls. I by no means discovered myself needing greater than that, however when you’re used to full customization, you gained’t be impressed. 

Michael Crider/IDG

What is spectacular is on-the-fly customized programming. Press Fn plus any of the G keys and you may assign a single button or a string of as much as a dozen timed presses. It’s one thing that was once pretty widespread on gaming keyboards, however appears to have fallen out of style as driver applications have ballooned uncontrolled. For somebody who needs a helpful hotkey or a easy repeatable sequence, it’s quick and simple. 

It’s not excellent, although: I needed to resort to the motive force program to assign Ctrl to the G5 button and protect my shortcut muscle reminiscence. Again, that is pretty typical of low cost boards, and I’m simply pleased it was doable in any respect. 

Michael Crider/IDG

The Okay596 comes with a 2400mAh battery. That is, in technical phrases, an enormous ol’ chonker: Most keyboards include round 1000mAh or much less. Combined with that aggressive and hard-wired one-minute timeout, I haven’t been capable of hit the keyboard’s claimed 10-hour battery life in additional than per week of gaming and dealing. Expect to spend virtually zero time plugged in, even with the extra “gamer flair” of little LED vents on the facet of the keyboard.

A price range boon

If you will get over the tasteless identify and much more tasteless dragon branding, the Redragon Okay596 is an extremely strong wi-fi keyboard for the worth. Though I want it had modular switches for extra customization, the extras and programming instruments it consists of greater than make up for that lack. (And actually, anticipating hot-swap switches at this value could be a little bit a lot.) 

For these looking for a budget-friendly different to ballooning gaming keyboard costs, particularly within the wi-fi area of interest, it’s arduous to go mistaken with this sturdy hunk of plastic. Just discover some better-looking keycaps when you can.