There are a ton of buzzwords around gaming peripherals these days. Mechanical switches, RGB backlighting, anti-ghosting, extra buttons, macro keys, and more can make figuring out what to buy pretty tricky. There's also tons of brands dipping their toes into the market, including some companies that you don't really think of as a “gaming” brand cooking up their own takes on gaming peripherals.
Aukey is one of those brands that despite being mostly known for high-speed charging accessories for your smartphone, also apparently makes gaming mice and keyboards. They sent us over some to check out, so let's see if your next keyboard upgrade should also come from the company that makes your phone charger.
Aukey RGB Gaming Keyboard
Aukey's mechanical gaming keyboard hits on all the specs that you'd want out of a gaming keyboard. It's full-sized, so you're getting the standard keyboard layout plus the extra number pad on the right side. It features full N-key rollover and a durable design, plus some tactile blue switches to perfectly handle your gaming sessions.
What exactly is that N-key rollover, though? Well, if you've ever used a cheap keyboard to play game, you might know what it's like to not have it. Having that full 104-key rollover means that no matter how many keys you're pressing at once, the keyboard will pick up and track all inputs and won't drop anything. Cheaper keyboards without this rollover might get stuck listening to just one input, so if you're holding your W key to walk forward, you won't be able to crouch at the same time; the keyboard will either ignore the second (or third, or fourth) keypress in the combination, or it'll “forget” the initial key that was being pressed, which would be W in this case. You'd have to release the W key and press it again to keep walking. Not great in fast-paced games.
Couple that with double-shot-molded ABS keycaps and a sturdy design, and you've got a board that won't fall behind in intense gaming sessions, at least on paper. But does that hold up in practice?
I put the keyboard to task in a few different scenarios. Running through matches in Quake Champions really put the rollover tech to the test, and it held up well, and performed just as well as my more expensive other mechanical keyboards that I typically use. I've been on a Two Point Hospital kick, which isn't quite as fast, but it does use quite a few keyboard shortcuts that, again, were no issue. As far as performance goes, Aukey's nailed it here. The keyboard is also a bit smaller than my Corsair board, so I get more desk space using this thing. No wrist rest, though, which could be a negative for someone that's used to one or needs one for wrist pain.
The mechanical switches are probably going to be a little more subjective, though. For reference, I do really like Cherry MX Blue switches. The click, the travel, and the sound all make for a great keyboard, at least in my opinion. They're a little heavier to press, and they have a definite tactile and loud sound and feel. That's not always great for people around you, and they're not great office keyboards, but for accurate typing I think they're perfect. I do still like them for games, but that's probably just because I'm so used to typing pretty heavily. Some people prefer a lighter switch, but again, all preference here. My only real gripe is on the keycaps, and it's specifically about the bump on the home row keys on F and J. It's a very minute bump, and I wish it was accented a little more. I type a lot every day, obviously, but you don't realize how used to those home row bumps you are until they start to go away.
Aukey is using Outemu Blue Switches for this keyboard, which are still Blue switches, just from a different brand. The generally do feel similar, although you can tell they aren't Cherry switches. The “click” is still there, but it feels slightly more linear than my other keyboard with Cherry MX Blue switches. The sound is maybe just a bit louder, and slightly higher pitched than the Cherry switches, although some of that could definitely be different keycaps and materials on the rest of the board. I wouldn't even say the Outemu switches are better or worse than the Cherry switches, just different. They are, however, quite a bit cheaper, so that's a major plus.
Aukey RGB Gaming Mouse and Mousepad
Alongside the gaming keyboard, Aukey also offers a gaming mouse and matching mousepad to round out its setup for your battlestation. It's a fairly simple mouse in plain black with just the matching Aukey RGB logo, but like the keyboard, don't let the understated design fool you.
Aukey's made the mouse out of a stain resistant material, and it utilizes a nylon-braided cable to resist fraying and damage. It's also rated for a 20-million click lifespan, which seems pretty standard for most computer mice. It's a fairly high-performance mouse, too, with a 5000 DPI optical sensor and polling rates up to 1000 Hz and no interpolation, so you shouldn't have to worry about your mouse strokes and camera movements not registering in games.
You've got two buttons on the side right about where your thumb rests, at least if you're right-handed. I appreciate having buttons right in this area, and it's pretty similar to some Logitech mice that I frequently use. Aukey allows these buttons to be remapped in their G-Aim software, with my personal preference for back/forward buttons or copy/paste buttons. They can also be rebound for shortcuts in games, if that's what you're going for.
Speaking of, gaming performance is great with this mouse. I used it alongside the keyboard for Quake Champions and Two Point Hospital to test it out, and both of those games rely pretty heavily on the mouse. Quake is fast, and Two Point Hospital requires tons of moving and clicking as a simulation game. I'm clearly not a professional gamer, but I had no issues at any point; the mouse feels good in hand, the clicks are solid and satisfying, and the weight is almost exactly my preference for a computer mouse. It's definitely a mouse made for someone that's right-handed, however, so keep that in mind if you're a lefty.
The mousepad ties everything together, and it's definitely a little harder to talk in depth about a piece of cloth. Still, though, Aukey's mousepad is big and spacious, and features a really nice RGB LED strip around the edges. It's a small detail, but it definitely adds a little extra pop to your setup and can be easily color-coordinated with other peripherals you have. I enjoyed using it, either with Aukey's mouse or my other, regular mouse.
Aukey G-Aim RGB Software
There are a lot of cool RGB functions on Aukey's keyboard, and it's all controlled with a very hard to find piece of software. I struggled to get the currently updated version of the software anywhere on Aukey's website or from some Google searches, and did have to reach out to them for the latest version of their G-Aim software. This allows full control of the RGB lighting on the keyboard, which you're going to want.
The software looks really plain, but it's incredibly lightweight and has some pretty serious customization options for a brand that's not necessarily known for gaming peripherals. There are a ton of tweaks you can make to the keyboard, including completely remapping certain keys to different shortcuts or other keys. Want to turn all of your number pad keys into shortcuts for other things? Go right ahead! It doesn't completely make up for the lack of dedicated macro keys, but it's still really nice, especially if you have keys that you don't typically use on your computer.
The lighting effects are also pretty slick, with a ton to pick from on the keyboard. You can also configure your own static lighting on a per-key basis, if you feel like getting creative, but the software is a bit lacking compared to what you'll find from Razer, Corsair, Logitech, etc. The lighting effects for the mouse and mousepad are also a bit more basic, only giving you the standard static, breathing, neon, or rainbow cycle effects. You can fully customize the color you want, though, with over 16.8 million shades in the RBG spectrum.
Unfortunately, other parts of the G-Aim Software is just… weird. There are links to other G-Aim products, but they're broken and simply redirect to Aukey's store. Otherwise, it's pretty barebones, which is also probably the nicest thing I can say about it. Where other pieces of software are huge memory hogs just to control the colors of the lights on your keyboard, Aukey's software is extremely minimalist when it comes to chewing up resources. Set it, forget it, and don't worry about losing FPS in games while it's running.
I'd still like to see it cleaned up, though, since broken links on the main page of your product simply aren't acceptable. It also tends to lag a bit when you dive too deep into color customization, but overall, not a bad place to start, especially since the program seems to be in its early days.
Worth it?
So, should you buy Aukey's mouse and keyboard combo to upgrade your gaming rig? Honestly, yeah, I can pretty comfortably recommend these. The keyboard has a $50 MSRP and is typically a little cheaper than that with frequent sales, and the mouse costs just $14.99, and the mousepad (which is nice to have, but totally unnecessary) is just $20. If you don't get anything on sale, you'll have spent a total of $85 for a full set of peripherals that are quite customizable, have great build quality, and will easily give you whatever aesthetic you're looking for. That price is less than what just my keyboard costs.
There are some drawbacks, of course. The keyboard does use noisy blue switches (a plus for some, a negative for others) and the software leaves a bit to be desired. You can also get cheaper keyboards, albeit with worse switches and build quality, if you absolutely need to stay under a certain price point, but if you're looking for the best bang for your buck on a set of peripherals that many users would consider “real” gaming hardware, I don't think you'll find a better deal anywhere else.
Aukey KM-G12 Gaming Keyboard | Amazon | $44.99
Aukey GM-F2 Gaming Mouse | Amazon | $14.99
Aukey KM-P6 Gaming Mouse Pad | Amazon | $19.99
