NZXT Function 2 Review: Iterative Improvements on a Beginner’s Board

Once I tried gaming PC large NZXT’s first foray into the mechanical keyboard house, the Operate (8/10, WIRED Recommends), I used to be impressed at how considerate and beginner-friendly it was. It had helpful options that left impression as a primary product in the space. Its successor, the Operate 2, is all about refining the tough edges for the fanatic.

At first look, the Operate 2 appears to be like nearly similar to the unique. It has the identical left-side quantity curler I beloved on the unique and the identical handy bodily buttons alongside the left aspect, and comes with the identical instruments for swapping each swap and keycap on the board. The large adjustments are largely beneath the hood: NZXT has bumped the polling charge from 1,000 Hz to eight,000 Hz, swapped to utilizing new linear optical switches, and added additional sound dampening for a considerably quieter expertise. It is a extra luxurious and customizable expertise throughout.

Delicate Simplicity

Should you like your keyboards to click on and clack like a darkish and stormy evening, the Operate 2 may be a little bit of a disappointment, however for my tastes it’s a wonderful enchancment. The brand new optical switches are softer and quieter, even earlier than accounting for the added sound-dampening layers within the base.

The place extra conventional switches have steel contacts which can be linked by a plate on the underside of the keys, optical switches as a substitute comprise a small beam of sunshine. Once you press down on the keycap, the sunshine is damaged, which prompts the important thing. This technique is only a hair extra responsive, which means there’s much less time between while you press a key and when your pc registers it.

{Photograph}: Eric Ravenscraft

In my expertise, although, the extra noticeable impact got here from the keyboard’s customizable actuation level. In the NZXT CAM software, you’ll be able to set whether or not the switches actuate at 1 mm or 1.5 mm. It may not sound like quite a bit, however that additional .5 mm makes a world of distinction in relation to unintentional key presses.