Today we have an interesting collaboration between HyperX and Ducky. To be honest, I
didn’t expect this at all, I don’t think anyone did. But we know that the Ducky One
2 Mini is an immensely popular keyboard, but with this version we have the new HyperX keyswitches,
which I actually checked out in my previous video. As this is nearly the same as the normal
version, I won’t go fully into depth with everything, because I already did in the original
review. But we’ll see whether it’s worth getting this one over the normal one.
So, first impressions, as expected it’s just like the normal Ducky One 2 Mini, but
with a shiny red plastic bottom. And yeh, that’s the main aesthetic difference, that
bright HyperX red, which makes it stand out, quite different.
So it still has the same two toned plastic enclosure design. I did like the design before,
and I still keep that opinion, because usually what we see with plastic 60% keyboards, is
the same old aesthetic, because yeh there isn’t a whole lot you can do. And I think
the satin black works perfectly with the red.
Being shiny plastic, it does pick up fingerprints, not that it matters too much for the bottom.
And on the bottom we have a nice metal info plate. Apparently it’s a limited edition
board with 3700 made, so that’s cool, a little exclusivity. There’s also a couple
of rubber feet, and 2 stage flip up feet that are also nicely rubber tipped.
And we also have the dip switches, to control the Windows key, N-key rollover and stuff
like that.
As said, this is a 60% keyboard, so we just have that main area of the board, so no dedicated
function row, arrow keys, numpad, nav keys, etc. So everything is accessible in different
layers. And much of that is printed on the front of the keycaps.
The keycaps by the way look great, especially for backlit caps. There’s clean simple legends,
and there’s no gaps being seamless, which is also an indication of a legitimate Ducky
product. As you may know, there are fake Ducky boards out there, and I’ll link the statement
in the description, so watch out for those.
These are about 1.2mm thick double shot PBT keycaps. So the legend is another piece of
plastic, and won’t fade away. Plus being PBT, they won’t shine over time, so nice
and durable.
And the RGB backlighting is bright as ever. Maybe even brighter looking. Unfortunately
I don’t have the standard Ducky One 2 Mini with me, but usually for RGB keyswitches,
we have SMD LEDs that sit under the switches. However because we have the HyperX keyswitches,
which don’t accommodate for SMD LEDs, we have through hole LEDs instead, which come
out the top of the switch, and together with the white mounting plate, it’s a very very
vibrant and bright board.
And the Year of the Rat spacebar looks really good, super crisp, and the whole thing lights
up beautifully. There are 3 RGB LEDs, so 2 SMD, and one with the keyswitch, so no weird
unevenness. However those 2 SMD LEDs shine through the case which bothers me, but if
I could be stuffed, I could put something on the inside.
Alright, so far it’s much of the same, but of course the main difference is the keyswitches.
The standard version of course comes with Cherry MX switches, however especially as
of late, there’s so many other switch options that are potentially better for you. And I
explain that in a video about switch alternatives, and how Cherry MX aren’t really the best.
HyperX currently has 2 switches, the Reds for linear, and the Aquas for tactile. Both
are light, with very similar specifications to Cherry MX Red and MX Brown. But with a
slightly reduced total travel distance of 3.8mm, rather than 4. And an actuation distance
of 1.8mm, rather than 2. And there’s a boost to an 80 million keystroke lifespan which
is cool.
In my previous video, I did like the Reds. And with this board they’re even better.
They’re some of the smoother stock switches out there in my opinion. Quite a bit better
than Cherry MX Red. Maybe even smoother than some Gaterons. So yeh, pretty smooth for a
stock switch. But what makes this feel better than the HyperX TKL, is the higher quality
keycaps on this, and just a more dense build. It’s quite a satisfying typing experience
for a retail mech. It’s not super high pitched which is very common in this market. It has
a deeper feel and sound with the bottom out which I think a lot of people will prefer.
And it just feels more full.
The stabilisers as well performed great. Little to no rattle, although they could use a little
lube just to smoothen them out.
I also have the full sized HyperX Alloy Origins with the Aqua tactile keyswitches. It’s
a completely different board, so sound and feel won’t be the same as if it were to
be on the Mini, but here they are anyway.
Again, a pretty smooth switch. It’s definitely more
tactile than MX Browns. To be honest I’m not the greatest with evaluating tactiles
if I don’t have stuff side by side. But just comparing them to boards I have around
here, they feel great. The bump is right near the top, and it feels to be pretty prominent
and sharp to me. Again, they are a relatively light switch, so it’s a little hard to compare,
but the bump is clean. Not as sharp and tactile as say a Holy Panda, or T1. But I would love
to eventually, well, if I could be bothered, to desolder these, lube em, and chuck em in
a nice board and see how they fair.
Let’s quickly open it up just because. There’s just a couple of Phillips head screws under
some caps, and it comes out nice and easy.
The
case is pretty basic. A 2 part plastic construction, and it has mounts on the bottom, making it
a tray mount design.
The plate is made from 1.5mm steel, so nice and solid, and gives the keyboard most of
its weight and rigidity. And here’s the PCB. The main thing to look at are the switches,
but more importantly the LEDs. As said before, these switches don’t use SMD LEDs, as the
bottom housings are an opaque red. So instead we have 4 pin RGB LEDs, which we don’t see
too often. And it’s not really a negative but it just means they’re much more of a
pain to desolder which I want to do, but this takes away quite a bit of motivation.
And that’s the Limited Edition HyperX Ducky One 2 Mini. These 2 switches are the main
defining factor on whether you get this over the normal one. I can confidently say that
these switches are smoother, and are just nicer than the Cherry MX options. And therefore,
yes, this is the better option over the Cherry MX Red and Brown versions in my opinion. Of
course there’s personal preference, but one aspect we can usually agree on is that
smoother is nicer.
And I guess the other feature is the bright red plastic bottom. But otherwise, it’s
all pretty much the same. We get all the standard Ducky functionality with the onboard programmability
and macros. The manual is the same, it’s basically the switches that are different.
The 60% market is very competitive. There’s a lot out there, even in the budget market.
I think Kailh switches are a great alternative with other boards. But what I feel with these
HyperX switches, it just makes the One 2 Mini more attractive to me, and more recommendable
as I felt that just having Cherry MX switches limited it.
So an interesting partnership here, and I think they made something pretty cool.