Thoughts on the Matias FK303
Posted: 11 Mar 2022, 19:23
Dear reader
Don't read this
Much love, The Laptop Lagger
Right,
This board has been my daily driver for a wee bit now and, I think I've come to a conclusion regarding Clicky Matias switches.
As a typing switch I love these, the tactile feedback is nice and their weighting feels light but not overly eager like some gaming boards.
The layout itself is less my thing however, whilst I typically appreciate 75% style boards, preferring them over typical TKL, I find this board to be some weird hybrid between normal TKL and 75%. Rather than squishing more keys onto a smaller service by omitting certain blank spaces, like 75% does, this board just omits certain keys, putting them behind a modifier instead.
This means that the layout itself, whilst maybe more familiar to most than 75%, sits in this weird uncanny valley for me.
Rather than "Best of both worlds" it seems more like a "worst of both". Being wider than my 75% counterparts but with less features.
At least the F-keys aren't behind a modifier! I hate it when board do that. What? They are??
Yep, this board, on Linux, prioritises the shortcuts over the F-keys. So Alt+F4 because Alt+FN+F4.
I utterly hate it!
This is my main issue with 60% boards and many laptops. Maybe that layout works better for Mac users but I personally rely on my F keys a lot and it throws me off every time I have to use them.
Further more, I'm a pretty aggressive typist. I strike my keys with a certain degree of certainty. So take this next bit with a grain of salt.
But I personally notice this board sliding across my desk and away from my fingertips way too quickly! It just doesn't like to stay in one place. It slides around far too easily. Whilst the weight isn't even that light I personally assume it's due to the fact that it rests directly on plastic feet, rather than rubber pads. The front 2 pads are rubber, the rear 2 feet are not. And even with them retracted the board rests on the side of the feet rather than on secondary rubber pads. This makes it way too prone to sliding.
Beyond that, the detachable cable is nice, even though Micro USB is the spawn of the devil I understand that it would've been either this or something proprietary given the original release date of this keyboard.
The built in USB hub, though obviously limited in sue, is a GODSEND.
It is simply the only reason I use this keyboard at all.
Unlike many modern gaming boards the USB ports on this Matias are a "Hub" rather than direct passthrough.
This has it's own benefits and drawbacks. The main benefit being that it all goes through a single cable. The main drawback being that it all goes through a single cable, this means that it is limited in power and bandwidth to whatever that MicroUSB cable manages to provide. Amazing if you're lacking for USB ports, or prefer to only have a single thin cable. Less ideal if you've got USB ports to spare and would rather enjoy full bandwidth for each port on the keyboard.
Overall build feels... modern? With all the pro's and cons that come with that. It's plastic fantastic and not much else. But it doesn't feel excessively lightweight or flimsy.
Though I personally find the moulding to be less than optimal, especially around the USB ports it feels quite sharpand unrefined. Same goes for the plug on the included cable.
So, now we're two posts in, how do I actually feel about this board?
It's... fine.
It has no real significant issues. The switches are nice to use and entirely functional. And everything mentioned above was a pet peeve at worst.
I do however think that due to their rarer nature these boards can often fetch a premium depending on your market. And I think that when comparing this to other second hand board in the "€50" range it sorta falls flat.
Anyway,
Thank you for reading another overly lengthy post about a keyboard nobody cares about. Have a good one!
Cheers.
Don't read this
Much love, The Laptop Lagger
Right,
This board has been my daily driver for a wee bit now and, I think I've come to a conclusion regarding Clicky Matias switches.
As a typing switch I love these, the tactile feedback is nice and their weighting feels light but not overly eager like some gaming boards.
The layout itself is less my thing however, whilst I typically appreciate 75% style boards, preferring them over typical TKL, I find this board to be some weird hybrid between normal TKL and 75%. Rather than squishing more keys onto a smaller service by omitting certain blank spaces, like 75% does, this board just omits certain keys, putting them behind a modifier instead.
This means that the layout itself, whilst maybe more familiar to most than 75%, sits in this weird uncanny valley for me.
Rather than "Best of both worlds" it seems more like a "worst of both". Being wider than my 75% counterparts but with less features.
At least the F-keys aren't behind a modifier! I hate it when board do that. What? They are??
Yep, this board, on Linux, prioritises the shortcuts over the F-keys. So Alt+F4 because Alt+FN+F4.
I utterly hate it!
This is my main issue with 60% boards and many laptops. Maybe that layout works better for Mac users but I personally rely on my F keys a lot and it throws me off every time I have to use them.
Further more, I'm a pretty aggressive typist. I strike my keys with a certain degree of certainty. So take this next bit with a grain of salt.
But I personally notice this board sliding across my desk and away from my fingertips way too quickly! It just doesn't like to stay in one place. It slides around far too easily. Whilst the weight isn't even that light I personally assume it's due to the fact that it rests directly on plastic feet, rather than rubber pads. The front 2 pads are rubber, the rear 2 feet are not. And even with them retracted the board rests on the side of the feet rather than on secondary rubber pads. This makes it way too prone to sliding.
Spoiler:
The built in USB hub, though obviously limited in sue, is a GODSEND.
It is simply the only reason I use this keyboard at all.
Unlike many modern gaming boards the USB ports on this Matias are a "Hub" rather than direct passthrough.
This has it's own benefits and drawbacks. The main benefit being that it all goes through a single cable. The main drawback being that it all goes through a single cable, this means that it is limited in power and bandwidth to whatever that MicroUSB cable manages to provide. Amazing if you're lacking for USB ports, or prefer to only have a single thin cable. Less ideal if you've got USB ports to spare and would rather enjoy full bandwidth for each port on the keyboard.
Overall build feels... modern? With all the pro's and cons that come with that. It's plastic fantastic and not much else. But it doesn't feel excessively lightweight or flimsy.
Though I personally find the moulding to be less than optimal, especially around the USB ports it feels quite sharpand unrefined. Same goes for the plug on the included cable.
So, now we're two posts in, how do I actually feel about this board?
It's... fine.
It has no real significant issues. The switches are nice to use and entirely functional. And everything mentioned above was a pet peeve at worst.
I do however think that due to their rarer nature these boards can often fetch a premium depending on your market. And I think that when comparing this to other second hand board in the "€50" range it sorta falls flat.
Anyway,
Thank you for reading another overly lengthy post about a keyboard nobody cares about. Have a good one!
Cheers.