Unbelievable budget board
There is an awful lot of competition in the budget keyboard space right now, and in a lot of cases, a single company can keep coming out with boards that outdo others in their line. That's the case with this Yunzii AL75 Pro. This board is so above and beyond some of Yunzii's other offerings, especially their plastic boards (I have a 98% that I never reach for anymore), and in this case, the price is better. How are they doing it? I have no idea, but keep up the great work, Yunzii! I purchased the silver variant with Gateron Zeros for under $80 and for that price, I can't think of another pre-built 75% that can compete (and I have a LOT of them). I'm looking at 11 75% boards in front of me right now, and this was a better value than every single one of them, except the Weikav Stars75, which is maybe my favorite board but not widely known about or very widely available (and was still more expensive than this board by like $40). My other current favorite is the Yunzii AL80, although I feel like the screen could have been more refined, but I digress. This board feels and sounds incredible. It's poppy, a little on the deeper side (I'd hesitate to call the alphas thocky, but the backspace certainly is!), crisp, smooth, and looks great. I do wish the badge was still gold on this variant like the non-pro version, but the silver DOES match the overall aesthetic of this board better, so the change was logical. The machining of the case is phenomenal. It's smooth and gorgeous. The mirrored back weight really keeps with the silvery theme of this board, but I'm not the biggest fan of mirrored surfaces because fingerprints. Still, it's absolutely stunning and an incredible inclusion, considering the very low price of this board. The stock keycaps are actually really nice and I think I'll keep them on this board, which says a lot, considering I usually buy every board with the intention of changing out the keycaps right away. The wireless connection to the USB dongle works flawlessly. As we speak, I'm reclined in my office chair sitting several feet away from my computer with this keyboard in my lap, and the connection is rock solid, not a moment of lag or stutter in sight. There are only 3 things I would change, and that's not because there's anything wrong with this board in the slightest, but the first 2 are personal preference and the last 1 is a functional change that would be an overall improvement for most users: 1. I wish this came in colors other than black and silver. I LOVE a creamy white, or white white board. The color of the AL80's cream case would've been perfect. I know there are a ton of white boards out there, but that's because so many of us lean towards that clean, neutral, light-colored aesthetic. Also, there are not enough budget keyboard companies making light sage greens, blue grays, or navy blue keyboards. If any keyboard makers would like to collaborate for ideas - come find me, I have a ton. :P 2. I wish there was a knob. I know they're not everyone's cup of tea and not supremely useful for everybody, but I really like being able to just grab a knob to turn the volume down or mute something quickly. I'm more than capable of using the fn+ shortcuts to do it, but it's not nearly as convenient, and I don't feel like anyone would really miss the insert button if it were replaced by delete, and a knob took up residence in the top right corner. 3. I wish this was VIA-compatible. Period. I wasn't sure if this was going to be a board I wanted to keep in my collection, but after using it for 10 minutes, it absolutely is. Read more