Gaming keyboards are a highly competitive product in the industry, with every gaming company making keyboards for virtually every need. As a result, people know more about what goes into a keyboard now than ever before, because when it comes to finding the right model for you, the devil’s in the details.
The XPG Summoner RGB gaming keyboard is a full-sized aluminum RGB keyboard that comes in a gun metal grey colour and has a ton of great features for the everyday user or gamer. It comes built in with Cherry MX RGB key switches, commonly among the top-rated switches in gaming keyboards. It comes in the Speed Silver (which I tested) for fast, responsive gaming, Blue for audible and tactile gaming and red for a similar linear experience to the speed silver with a little less than instant response, allowing for more deliberate key presses. In terms of noise, the Speed silver and red run relatively silent compared to the more clicky blue switches.
In the box you get the XPG Summoner RGB Gaming Keyboard, red replacement keys for the W, A, S, D and arrow keys plus a plastic tool for removing keys and a magnetic wrist rest that sits quite securely against the keyboard while in use. The wrist rest is easily the most comfortable that I have used. Features on the keyboard include a gaming mode that allows you to do anything from blocking the functionality of the Windows key to programming specific macros for your use.
Also available are up to five profiles that can set anything from the gaming mode to lighting modes. Multiple users can set up their own profile and with a quick command, can have their preferred setup in front of them without going through the whole setup process.
On the XPG Summoner RGB Gaming Keyboard you will find media controls, including a universal mute button and volume scroll wheel. On the back of the keyboard is a USB pass-through port, ideal for plugging in a USB drive or perhaps your mouse. This feature comes with a price, that price being a bigger USB cable with dual USB cords coming out of the end, one for the keyboard’s power and connection and the other for the USB pass-through. It is a wonderful gift to avoid crawling under the desk to plug in a drive, I must say.
The RGB on the XPG Summoner RGB Gaming Keyboard is a very nice quality as well. Neither the most vibrant nor the least among gaming keyboards, but the per-key lighting offers a beautiful effect when certain modes are activated. Among those modes are static, breathing, trigger, explosion, colour cycle, colour wave and WASD.
“The RGB on the XPG Summoner RGB Gaming Keyboard is a very nice quality as well.”
All of these modes can be selected (as can the brightness) on your keyboard by hitting the Function Button plus arrow keys. Macros can also be configured directly on the Summoner, but if you want to take your customizability to the next level, you can take advantage of the keyboard’s compatibility to the XPG Prime App.
Within the app you can control all the preloaded lighting modes that we have mentioned, plus make some of your own customizations. Macros can also be configured here, making for a much easier experience than trying to do it on the keyboard and relying on yourself to make no mistakes in your keystrokes. From here, you can also sync the Summoner with an XPG mouse to create a seamless lighting experience on your desk.
At $109.99 USD, there are cheaper offerings on the market from some top names in the peripheral business, but the XPG Summoner RGB Gaming Keyboard feels competitive given its choice in materials, switches and feature set.
