The QPAD Flux 65 is a magnetic hall effect gaming keyboard that boasts tight controls and pinpoint precision with every keystroke. It features an ultra-low latency 8K polling rate, which is ideal for the user after a peripheral that works for competitive gaming and the ability to fine-tune each key’s sensitivity to match a particular playstyle or gaming experience.
Visually, the keyboard features vivid per-key RGB lighting, which can be customised both on the device itself and through a companion application. It also minimises the use of desk space with a streamlined 65% design that sacrifices some keys for the ability to be both sleek and more easily portable.
From an aesthetic point of view, the QPAD Flux 65 goes hard on a minimalist design that prioritises sleekness and looks over what some might consider to be essential components of a keyboard. The quality of the RGB lighting and the amount of customisation that can be done is really top notch and makes the keyboard beautiful to look at.
While Cubed3 reviewed the white variant of the device, which looks clean and smart, the keyboard also comes in a black edition. With any keyboard the essential components ultimately come down to the ease of typing and playing games. Typing for both work and leisure on the QPAD Flux 65 is incredibly satisfying thanks to the integrated sound dampening, providing smooth and quiet keystrokes. Despite being such a compact keyboard, it also feels very sturdy, with a robust aluminium frame adding stability and a premium sense of weight. The hot-swappable keys themselves also exude a premium quality through both feel and look.
Where the sacrifice for compactness comes though is in the form of a missing numpad and function keys (F1, F2, etc). For general use obviously this becomes less of an issue, but there are a few occasions when using the keyboard constantly over the last two weeks that there has been a yearning for quick access to the numpad keys. The small layout of the keyboard also means getting used to the compact area of space the keys occupy might take those fast typists a bit of getting used to if they plan on using it as their main device.
While a lack of some keys is obviously disappointing, the compromise means the QPAD Flux 65 is the kind of device that is easily packed into a rucksack or under the arm ready to take to a friend’s house or while travelling. The only other compromise in this regard is that the USB cable that comes with the keyboard isn’t the longest, which may impact the ability to use it on some setups without purchasing an alternative USB cable. Not the biggest deal in the world, but for a price – RRP £119.99 – that is starting to creep into the mid-range budget, it would be ideal to have a cable that suits all setup types.
For gaming use, though, the QPAD Flux 65 is an ideal device, especially for those kinds of games that require good reactions. A decent keyboard can make all the difference. Here, there are several features that are done very well, including what is billed as ‘Rapid Trigger Technology’, which is aimed at ensuring keys reset the instant a finger is lifted off. Testing it out on several games including Hunt Showdown: 1896,it functioned very effectively and was an enjoyable experience in what is a very reaction-focused FPS. While it also takes a bit of getting used to, the ‘QPAD Quick Tap’ feature – which gives ultra-fast activation on opposite key releases – allows for quick directional changes, which can be invaluable when playing competitively against other players.
