G.SKILL Ripjaws KM780 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

The Ripjaws KM780 RGB is G.SKILL's first mechanical gaming keyboard and right out of the gate it has impressed us a lot, securing a high rating.

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Updated
Manufacturer: G.SKILL
12 minutes & 16 seconds read time
TweakTown's Rating: 98%
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The Bottom Line

The software may be a tad quirky, but what G.SKILL delivers in the Ripjaws KM780 RGB is almost amazing! Not only do you have full control of every aspect of lighting and functionality, but you get every accessory needed and a LED display that is bolder and brighter than anything we have ever seen.

Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

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While you could consider us a bit more than fairly impressed with what we saw in the Ripjaws MX780, it has us eager to check out it matched compatriot in arms. With what we have picked up on in news blasts and various videos that G.SKILL has produced already, this is a mechanical keyboard that everyone will stop and take notice of. It may be too pricey for a lot of users to afford it, but no matter where you fall, this keyboard is built to impress and does just that.

Just like with the mouse, you can tell the G.SKILL looked around at what was being offered and looked to see how they could one up just about every aspect of most other backlit mechanical solutions. While a lot of features are more run of the mill in today's keyboards, this device packs in a ton of options, switches, buttons, and LEDs that just won't quit. If that isn't enough to keep you interested in continuing, feeling a bit like Ron Popeil here, but wait, there's more. How about G.SKILL throws in a textured wrist rest, a key puller, red angled FPS and MOBA key caps, and what if we told you the caps and puller come in a handy little box that clips onto the back of the keyboard, so they never get lost. Do we maybe have your attention now?

What you are about to see in the Ripjaws KM780 RGB mechanical gaming keyboard is beyond anything we have seen or used yet. The Lobera Spectrum comes close, but this keyboard takes things a huge step forward offering per-key LED controls. So along with all the basic options in coloration and a few modes of active LEDs, if you want to take the time, you can make every key on the layout a different color. There are still some tricks we are holding back until we see them, and while this keyboard is demanding a premium price, we can see why and understand that this sort of offering is not going to come cheap.

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Something you should know before we go too far. The Ripjaws KM780 comes in four flavors. There is the standard version that is offered with what appears to be red LEDs, and you have the choice of Cherry MX red or brown switches. Then there are also two more with the RGB tag that are also available in the same switch choices. We were sent the KM780 RGB, and it is the one with Cherry MX brown switches in it. It offers backlighting of course, anti-ghosting, has a switch for NKRO or 6-KRO support, and offers a Gaming Mode or a Windows Lockout mode. The KM780 offers three modes or profiles and has six Macro keys per profile. It offers dedicated multimedia controls, USB 2.0 and audio pass-through in the back, and comes with a cable holder and detachable wrist rest.

The KM780 measures in at 518mm in width, 172mm of depth, and without the feet extended, it stands 48mm tall. All told it weighs in at 1.54 kg and is covered by a two-year warranty. What is not explained are things like the exposed brushed aluminum top plate, that this isn't the typical frame as it has a metal bar that runs around the edge, nor do they make mention of the fact that the Cherry MX switches are housed in a clear frame, and the LEDs are in the body of the switch. This makes for an amazing light display from the KM780 RGB.

As we always do we hunt the manufacturers site for all the information, we can gather on a product. It was there when selecting the type of keyboard we have versus the other three, that we noticed G.SKILL says they are $189.99 as you click the specific model. That, however, is not the end of it. While currently there is a listing at Amazon for this keyboard with browns in it, it states there is no current availability without any suggestion to a price. If you look at Newegg, however, things get brighter in both cost and availability. There we found there are currently in stock, and they only want $159.99 for the Ripjaws KM780 RGB, and that thirty dollars savings off the MSRP is greatly accepted and just amps the cost effectiveness of everything you get in this design.

Chad's Peripherals Test System Specifications

Packaging, Accessories, and Documentation

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The naming is to the left for the company, and the product seem to the right. There is an annotation to the RGB feature, and they show the switches used, and along the bottom are sure to cover ten other features found in or on the Ripjaws KM780 RGB.

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Laying the box down and looking at one of the longer sides, we did find the G.SKILL name and logo to the left, but the technical specifications, system requirements, and package contents were more important to cover in a readable fashion.

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This smaller end is kept pretty simple with just a black panel so that the red and white boldly contrasts the company and product naming. We also see that the box is sealed, and nobody has tampered with this since it left the factory.

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The other longer side also keeps things simple with the company logo to the left and the KM780 RGB keyboard printed down its length.

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Both ends are sealed as we can now see, and as to the rest of the panel, it is a direct copy to what we saw on the other end.

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Making it now to the back of the packaging shows us the KM780 RGB with LEDs lit and the red key caps installed. Around that image, there are twelve things addressed, and in case they are not clear enough, they are listed again in the fine print at the bottom.

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The keyboard is shipped inside of plastic, with cardboard around it, and a folded bit at the back to offset space and offer a place for the cable. The rest of the included goods are in compartments below this and are also bagged in plastic so that like this one, it arrives in great shape.

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The quick start guide does what it sounds like, it gets you connected, briefly covers the keyboard, and shows where to get the drivers. Never fear, there is a full user manual available there too. Also included is the paperwork for what G.SKILL will cover in the two-year warranty period.

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As we mentioned, do not forget to look under the keyboard. Otherwise, you may miss the black textured wrist rest, as well as the key cap puller and caps set case.

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Opening the smaller case we find ten red caps with thick raised sections across their tops, and each is angled for the perfect fit to the fingertip. Inside of the top, there is also a key cap puller that is clipped in so that neither the caps of the puller gets lost.

G.SKILL Ripjaws KM780 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

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The actual keyboard stops at the left where the brushed aluminum top plate stops, but to offer something different, G.SKILL offers a steel bar around the edge, and a plastic wing cover, this time sporting the company name. Even without the feet raised, we like that the caps follow a curved plane and puts a lot of the keys flat or angled to the user already.

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The left main section of the KM780 RGB offers all of the usual suspects along with a few others that we will get into more detail on later. They use a metal sticker for the logo at the top, and we find the font is pretty typical and easy to read.

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The Macro keys for this design are labeled as G1 through G6, and we have seen this before. With three profiles to play with, this allows for eighteen Macros without remapping any other keys.

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At the top edge of the KM780 RGB, we find two groups of keys. To the left are the on-the-fly MR or Macro record button, and the M1 through M3 keys are for profiles; not Macros. The next group offers a Windows lockout key, a dimmer for the LED brightness, and a timer that duration can be set in the software to remind you of something by flashing the keys or an OSD option.

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The right end of the keyboard follows suit with the standard font used and a layout that everyone is used to. Along with the command keys, the arrows, and the number pad, we are also offered to use numbers for arrows if desired.

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At the top here, we find the dedicated multimedia keys. There is stop, previous track, play/pause, next track, and mute buttons with a scroll wheel for the volume. Below the grid will illuminate left to right corresponding to the volume level, and the lock identifiers are just below that.

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The right side of the keyboard is much like what we saw on the left with the steel bar and its cover, but this time there is no naming to be found. We have raised the feet and notice it does angle the keys further forward for more ergonomic use of this board.

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Just around the corner we first run into the cable holder that tucks away under the keyboard when not in use. Next to that are the USB 2.0 and HD Audio pass-through ports. There is also a switch marked G for NKRO and S for 6-KRO.

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Under the keyboard, it is easier to see the smaller frame in the middle protected by the crash bar that runs around it on all sides. To keep this in place on the desktop, four small rubber pads are applied. We can also see that cable holder tucked under the board at the top left.

Ripjaws KM780 RGB Continued

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You can gain almost a half of an inch of rise by extending the feet at the back edge of the KN780 RGB. They do not lock strongly and could collapse in heavy gaming sessions, but work as well as any other feet that flip out as these are oriented.

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The cable from this keyboard is super thick but is sleeved with cloth braid. The total length is slightly over 1.8 meters, and just more than three-quarters of the way down, the fat cable breaks down into gold plated connections for USB and 3.5mm jacks for audio.

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G.SKILL hides a screw again and without trashing the logo on the top, you cannot peel this keyboard apart. That being said we move right along to the switches. Yes, they are browns, but realize the housing is clear, and there are no fat LEDs found behind them as we usually see.

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The caps are molded white and like many others offer a painted coating leaving the legends blank to allow the LED to pass through them.

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Since we were messing around with the caps, we went ahead and swapped out for both the FPS and MOBA caps at one time. This shows their bold contrast as well as the angles provided to keep you "seated" ion the right keys.

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Stepping back a bit, we went ahead and snapped in the wrist rest to have a look at how nicely it blends into the front of the KM780 RGB. We also removed the accessory caps and stuck the case to the rail in the back.

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Upon the initial boot up of the KM780 without software, you are offered red LEDs across the board. While the bulk of the keys can be changed to whatever you want, the top row of Profile and Macro buttons will remain red all the time.

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As an example of this keyboards lighting potential, we put it into a mode where it displays all the colors it can in a wave across the keys. Of course you can also set this up to whatever color scheme you want, one solid color, groups of keys in a color, or even set every key to its own color.

G.SKILL Unified Driver System Software

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After getting another set of drivers and software for the keyboard, these "unified" drivers do not unify between devices, you need to run two instances. After the load and firmware check, we are given the window we see now. In this window, you select a profile you want to remap, and then select a key and choose from the preset options of controls.

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Moving from Customize to the Settings, here we can adjust the polling rate, change the rollover support, and pick the alert mode and set the time for the alarm. To the right it allows you to set a repeat rate to individual keys, and you can even put the keyboard to sleep after a set duration of inactivity.

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Moving to the Lighting offers us options to pick. Starting with the background lighting, this is where you can choose to set all of the LEDs to the same color by selecting one of the twenty-four preset selections at the bottom.

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Effect lighting is where you can set reactive lighting, a wave of lighting, breathing mode and so on. As we had to with the mouse, you have to create a profile like we did to choose so that you can continue with programming the colors to it.

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The macro menu is thorough, and while you can import, export, write new, and edit all of you work right here in this window, if you want to spam the key or set a repeat rate for it, you need to go back a couple of windows and adjust the individual keys setting there once the macro is applied to said key.

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In the Lighting Profiles, this is where the lighting starts. Click on whatever style of lighting you want on the left, then click on the plus in the middle and create a name for it. Once that is done, you can tinker with what lights do what in the other lighting section. Also always remember when finished tinkering with anything, that you save everything to the device, once closed, this software will hold none of the changes.

Final Thoughts

Mechanically, the KM780 RGB is as solid as they come. There are no vibrations felt across the plate, and everything is bolted to the main section well, and nothing feels cheap. The brown switches are quiet and smooth, as not to wake anyone while you may game right next to them, and using built-in LEDs into clear housings put on the most brilliant lighting display we have ever seen in a keyboard. In our time with this product, we have no issues with its form or its functionality, and with a comfortable wrist rest and optional caps set, you can totally personalize this keyboard to fit your every last need and want in comfort.

The software is pretty straightforward except for two aspects. Most software will keep your settings, and this software makes you save any changes to the onboard memory of this mouse. That isn't a bad thing entirely, but we did forget a few times and had to go back and redo a lot of work. The second screwy thing is the way the lighting is set up. Without a lighting profile addressed first, you cannot do much of anything to change the LEDs. This is workable but very counter-intuitive. With that said, we still found controls for everything we needed, and even for some things we don't ever mess with. Also, on a similar note, testing 6-KRO and NKRO support, both work as intended, and anti-ghosting testing passed as well.

This is the first we have seen individual key LED programmability, others write something similar to the box, but this is the first actually to do as described. To be honest, we found the sweeping Wave, as it passed a rainbow of colors across the keys, to be what we used most, but we know there are tons of users waiting to get a go at a keyboard with the options this has. They offer you a solid product, they fill the box with all kinds of extra goodies, and as a whole, the G.SKILL KM780 RGB is the most feature rich offering we have ever tested, and with lesser boards that cost more, doing the math is pretty easy to see the massive value in this keyboard at $159.99. Yes, it is a bit rich for some, but you cannot get the same setup for less.

Chad's Peripherals Test System Specifications

TweakTown award
Performance 97%
Quality including Design and Build 96%
General Features 100%
Bundle and Packaging 100%
Value for Money 95%
Overall 98%

The Bottom Line: The software may be a tad quirky, but what G.SKILL delivers in the Ripjaws KM780 RGB is almost amazing! Not only do you have full control of every aspect of lighting and functionality, but you get every accessory needed and a LED display that is bolder and brighter than anything we have ever seen.

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Chad joined the TweakTown team in 2009 and has since reviewed 100s of new techy items. After a year of gaming, Chad caught the OC bug. With overclocking comes the need for better cooling, and Chad has had many air and water setups. With a few years of abusing computer parts, he decided to take his chances and try to get a review job. As an avid overclocker, Chad is always looking for the next leg up in RAM and coolers.

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