Thermaltake Premium X1 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

Inside the X1 RGB

We like to visually verify we have the switches we are said to have. To do this, we removed five keycaps to expose Cherry MX Speed, Silver switches. Other things we notice are the clear switch bodies, as the LEDs are inside, not exposed, and we also see that the torsion bars are not fully exposed.

Whether looking at the default black keycaps, or the optional red ones, we can see that they are all painted. All of the keycaps are shot in white, which allows light to pass through, but are then painted, leaving the legends exposed.

After removing roughly a dozen screws from the bottom of the keyboard, we were then able to pry apart the two parts of the frame. In the lower section, we can see the USB cables path as well as the PCB for the pass-through ports. The top half has the membrane switch pads in place, which are under the buttons for multimedia and the locks.

Randomly selecting an area on the PCB to assess what level of quality control is going on, we find nothing out of the ordinary. With virtually no residue present and clean solder joints for the switches and the LEDs, we can say someone took their time to do things right.

32-bit MCUs seem to be what we see more and more, especially as the list of features increases. Used in the X1 RGB is the Holtek HT32F1775 ARM Cortex M3 processor, which is more than capable of handling what the keyboard offers.

Since they came in the box, we took the time to install them and see how they look. The optional keycaps are for the QWER and ASDF keys; they contrast highly against the sea of black, they are smooth, but have no added texture to find your way by feel in the dark.

The intensity of the RGB LEDs in this keyboard does not show well under the lighting used for our images, but once in a normal amount of light, the TT Premium X1 RGB really shines. Even the logo and all of the multimedia keys change with the rest of the keyboard.