Page 2 - A Closer Look - Hardware
The Epomaker EK98 is an 1800 layout or 96% layout. It is also called a full-sized compact, as it replicates the functionality of a full-sized keyboard, but within smaller confines. Although the box and name suggest that it has 98 keys, the website specifications and my own inspection reveal it only has a total of 97. The EK98 only comes in the one retro game console colorway, but with three flavors of key switches in Epomaker Mulan, Zebra, and Peace Lily. From what I could gather, all three are linear switches with varying weights. Our unit today has the Peace Lily switches inside.
The overall layout and design of the EK98 is fairly simple. On the right, there are three indicator lights for Num Lock, Caps Lock, and Wireless connection from left to right. Below there is a full number pad with a shorter “0” to fit. The number pad provides increased functionality for those who need it. The far-left side has a three-mode selector switch, with the top for connecting over 2.4GHz, middle for “Off" or wired mode, and bottom for Bluetooth. The construction of the keyboard is completely plastic, but feels like decent quality. The case itself has minimal flex. It weighs in at 0.91kg, which is relatively light for a mechanical keyboard, especially for a wireless one. The dimensions of the EK98 are 381mm wide, 144mm deep, and 40mm tall. The front height of the keyboard is 22.4mm including the rubber feet. This height is usable without a wrist rest, but some may still prefer having one. The typing angle is five degrees, which can be further increased in two stages with the flip-out feet on the bottom of the keyboard.
The keycaps are Cherry-profile, my personal go-to, with dye-sublimation legends and constructed of polybutylene terephthalate, or PBT, plastic, which offers good wear resistance. Using dye-sublimation, the ink in the key legends is baked in and cannot be scratched off without removing the plastic, while PBT plastic resists becoming shiny and smudging longer than ABS plastic. The dye-sub process is cheaper than double-shot or triple-shot injection molding, but in this case, it allows for greater creative freedom in designing the keycaps at a lower expense. The PBT plastic is good to see, as they are quite durable and usually deeper in sound. Most of the keys are a light green, off-white color with brown font. The bottom row is gray, and the Enter and space bar are tan. The legends are crisp and sharp. Other special accented keys include the red Escape key and the navy-blue arrow keys. The “A” and “B” keys are in red and blue circle legends that are reminiscent of game controller buttons. The overall aesthetic is definitely going for a retro vibe. For replacing keycaps, most universal sets should fit. There are some keys that are spaced differently, including the right Shift being 2U and the number pad "0" being 1U. Otherwise, the bottom row modifiers are all 1.25U, while the space bar is 6.25U.
Underneath the keycaps, we find the Epomaker Peace Lily switches. They are oriented in a south-facing manner on this board, meaning the RGB LED light is towards the bottom. This is welcomed by keyboard enthusiasts, as it will allow the switches to operate without inference when used with Cherry-profile keycaps. The key switches themselves are green and white in color. They are linear switches, which have a smooth travel from beginning to end. To liken them to Cherry MX switches, they are a lighter version of Cherry MX Red. The Peace Lily switches have a 30g initial force to get it moving, an actuation force of 42g, and a bottom out force of 47g. The pre-travel for the switch is 2mm, which is fairly standard for mechanical keyboard switches, and a total travel distance of 3.6mm, which is a little shorter. The expected lifespan is 50 million cycles.
The stabilizers for the larger keys are Cherry-style, clip-in, plate mounted, and pre-lubed. They appear to be tuned, as there is basically no rattling when pressing on the ends of longer keys like space bar, Shift, and Enter. Although plate-mount stabilizers are usually a cheaper option compared to PCB mount screw-ins, the excellent performance is quite a pleasant surprise, and great out of the box. The plate where the key switches are mounted onto is made of frosted polycarbonate. It has flex cuts found all over it, which allows for a more pillowy feel when typing. The keyboard deck is made to flex quite a bit, but it also cushions each stroke when bottoming out of a key press.
There is not much to see around the edges of the keyboard, but the front has a pretty unseemly seam that separates the top and bottom housing. The rear of the keyboard has a USB Type-C port on the right side. The left side of the keyboard has the continuation of the mode selector switch.
The bottom of the case has a few interesting elements. There is a label with the name of the keyboard and being made in China. There are a few certification symbols as well. The back side features flip-out feet on the left and right with two stages to further angle up the keyboard. When viewing it from the back, under the left foot, you can find the 2.4GHz USB dongle neatly slotted inside. There are four total white rubber feet, and provide pretty good grip on whatever surface you choose to put it on. The two in the back encircle the flip-out feet, while the two in the front are elongated pill-shaped.
Giving our keyboard a quick typing test, the feel of the Peace Lily switch is very smooth. These switches are pre-lubed, and there is very little friction when depressing them. There is no scratchiness or spring ping noticeable either. Even for a linear switch, it is fairly light, making key actuations easy and quick. Personally, I prefer a heavier switch, as I tend to unintentionally hit keys. There is a good bit of flex when typing due to the flex cuts in the plate and the gasket mounting, which we will look into later. The overall feel is pleasant but too "clacky" for my taste. I had no issues hitting my usual typing speeds and with minimal errors. Combining all the elements of the keyboard case, keycaps, switches, plate, and foam, the overall sound is fairly low-pitched and marbly, but the reverberation within the case makes it sound a bit hollow and harsh. I am typing on a large 3mm mousepad, which helps to reduce high-pitched reverberations and deepens the overall sound. The overall effect is best illustrated with the above sound clip.
The connectivity of the keyboard is good, offering 2.4GHz with 1000Hz polling rate and 8ms latency. I was not able to test their claims, but during gaming and typing, I found no noticeable lag in my inputs. The keyboard has N-key rollover or NKRO for short, allowing for any multiple of keys to be simultaneously pressed and registered as an input. The EK98 on cable mode is just as snappy and both modes are plug-and-play. Bluetooth pairing is also available, with polling rates at 125Hz. I was unable to find the version of Bluetooth it uses, but pairing was relatively easy. The keyboard can actually pair up to three devices and cycle through them by short pressing "Fn + Q/W/E" buttons. For pairing, the same buttons are long pressed for 3 to 5 seconds until the wireless indicator flashes. The typing is consistent on Bluetooth, with a slightly more noticeable amount of latency during gaming, but for regular typing tasks, it feels normal.
Battery charging is handled via the provided USB Type-A to Type-C cable. The battery capacity is 3000mAh, which in my testing translates to approximately 35 to 40 hours continuous use with RGB lighting on. With the lighting off, I would have to estimate perhaps up to 90 hours of continuous use. There appears to be no official numbers for battery life. The keyboard automatically enters sleep mode after two minutes of inactivity, but it comes back on pretty much immediately with a key press. To check the battery level, press and hold Fn + Enter in which number keys “1” through “0” will light up in green, indicating charge levels of 10% per light. Charging status can be checked via holding Fn + Space, where the space bar will light up in red for charging or green when fully charged.
As mentioned earlier, there is RGB LED lighting. This can be toggled on and off by pressing Fn + Backspace. The RGB LED lighting is quite vibrant and smooth. There are many modes that can be cycled through, such as constant RGB waves, reactive typing, and also switching through a few pre-programmed hues through various button combinations on the keyboard. You can toggle through different effects, colors, direction, brightness, and speed. Personally, due to the color theme of the keyboard, I looked for a static setting and changed the color to white for the best ambiance. The indicator lights were stuck in a blue LED color, which annoyingly often clashed with whichever light setting I chose. Despite the keycaps being opaque, the lighting still shone through between the keys quite vividly. Unfortunately, the built-in key combinations are not the most intuitive. It can also be quite frustrating when going between effects and colors, as you can only cycle through all of them without the ability to go forward and back.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware
3. A Closer Look - Disassembly and Internals
4. Conclusion
