By: Aaron Lai
October 4, 2024
In my mind, it is hard to find someone who does not like ice cream. Barring allergies or intolerance to lactose, I know many who would endure an upset tummy to have a scoop of frozen goodness. My girlfriend also falls into this camp. Non-dairy options are available, but they can be quite expensive. As such, when I obtained a Ninja Creami, which is a small kitchen appliance capable of mixing up ice cream and other frozen desserts, my first batches of ice cream were all different non-dairy options. While I do not personally have an issue with dairy, I also do not have the typical ingredients needed like heavy cream or even half-and-half. I experimented with coconut milk, oat milk, and various stabilizers like guar gum, but I have still not found a texture and taste that I really like. It is difficult to find an alternative to dairy for ice cream, especially as dairy is precisely what makes the texture right. For myself and my girlfriend, the search will continue to find something that is tasty and as good as the original. In a similar vein, I have tried an assortment of keyboard sizes for quite a while, spanning from standard full-sized keyboards to 60% options and everything in between. These may not be alternatives to each other, as it varies from user to user. I have typically liked tenkeyless options, but I am always willing to try a different form factor to see if it will make me reconsider. Today, we have the Epomaker MS68, a keyboard in a 65% size with a neat party piece of an LCD screen in the corner. Will the MS68 bring enough for me to change my choice of keyboard? Let us read on to find out!
Today's review unit of the Epomaker MS68 arrived from somewhere in the People's Republic of China. Once again, our tracking information does not exactly show the city this off-white plastic bag came from, but it came from their manufacturing location in Shenzhen, Guangdong. This parcel traveled overseas before Canada Post picked it up and delivered it to our offices here in Calgary, Alberta. Along with the MS68, we also received the Epomaker TH40, which my colleague Ronald Chow will review it in the coming weeks. The plastic bag did have a small rip in one area, so we will see if there is any damage inside.
Out of the white plastic cover, you can see similarities in the design of both retail boxes. Both are primarily black boxes. Unfortunately, our keyboard box did indeed suffer some dents, but the result is nothing too concerning. A scaled down image is in the middle with the Epomaker logo found on the top left corner. Underneath, we have the product name, with the description of "65% Triple-mode Aluminum Gasket-mounted Mechanical Keyboard with LCD Screen". This is a wordy but correct line to highlight all the aspects of the keyboard. As you can see from the box, we have the green variant of this keyboard, although the MS68 comes in other colors too. Around the back, we have a few more features and specifications highlighted for users to read, but we will explore these later. Since sending us this review unit, Epomaker has pulled this keyboard's landing page from their website, although it remains on sale from several popular retailers.
Before I continue, I have grabbed the specifications from the user manual for your viewing pleasure:
Technical Specifications
Model: EPOMAKER MS68
Keys Amount: 66 Keys
Screen Size: 0.86 inch
Mounting Type: Gasket
Case Material: Aluminum
Plate Material: Flex-cut PC
Stabilizer Type: Plate-mounted
PCB Type: 3/5-pin Hotswap PCB
Connectivity: Type-C Wired, 2.4GHz, Bluetooth
Anti-Ghost Key: NKRO
LED Direction: South-facing
Polling Rate: 500Hz under Wired and 2.5G Mode; 125Hz under Bluetooth Mode
Battery Capacity: 3000mAh
Compatibility: Windows/Mac
Dimension: 328 x 113 x 40mm
Weight: Around 1.5kg
The packaging of the Epomaker MS68 is quite well-done, with the keyboard nestled in between thick walls of dense foam. The keyboard is in a semi-translucent bag to protect the keyboard from any surface damage. The small LCD screen on the keyboard has a plastic seal on top to further protect it from scratches. There are two separate boxes above the keyboard, and they hold all the accessories for the Epomaker MS68. This includes a braided 2m USB Type-C to Type-A cable, short USB dongle for wireless operation, a combination keycap and switch puller, small hex key, and three more key switches. I do appreciate all these additions along with the MS68, as they are quite useful. Otherwise, let us take a closer look at the keyboard itself now.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware and Software
3. A Closer Look - Disassembly and Internals
4. Conclusion
