Gaming keyboards in 2024 will be remembered as the year Hall Effect switches exploded into the mainstream. What began with Wooting has now spread far and wide, into both the budget and enthusiast spaces. The Luminkey Magger 68 HE sits in both categories, coming in at $149 for the "Professional" model and $119 for the standard "Performance" version, offering full aluminum cases, stylish and durable keycaps, along with a great set of ultra smooth magnetic switches. Looking at either model, you won't find anything new feature-wise, and there's lack of an online configurator. But after putting the Pro version through it's paces, it’s a solid value and definitely worth considering even among some of the best gaming keyboards.
Luminkey Magger 68 HE – Photos
Luminkey Magger 68 HE Pro – Design and Features
The Luminkey Magger 68 HE is, in essence, a custom keyboard where all of the work has been done for you. If you’ve ever stumbled across typing tests on YouTube or setup shots on Instagram, you may already have an idea of what that means. If not, it makes for a good object lesson into the other side of gaming keyboards and the deep rabbit hole that is the custom mechanical keyboard hobby.
Believe it or not, there’s a whole community of PC users willing to spend hundreds of dollars to build their own keyboard. They obsess over every intricate detail, from the switches and keycaps to the exact composition of the individual layers that make up its inner construction. It’s not a small hobby either with several different forums and Subreddits for keyboard enthusiasts to come together and geek out over their planks and keys. Luminkey grew out of this community. Its parent company, CreateKeebs, developed high-priced premium keyboard kits before spinning off the Luminkey brand, which brings the same ethos to pre-made keyboards at reasonable prices – and that has resulted in the Magger 68 HE.
The Magger 68 HE isn’t its first keyboard, but it is the company’s first one with Hall Effect switches. It uses a compact 65% layout, which means that it doesn’t have a function row or a number pad, but does have arrow keys and a column of navigation and editing buttons on the side. The function row and several of its missing keys are available as secondary functions. It may be less convenient if you use the function row often but it provides a good balance between a compact design that’s perfect for gaming (leaving more space for your mouse and less distance between both hands) while still being very functional for typing and productivity.
The keyboard comes in two different versions, a “Performance” version ($119) and a “Professional” version ($149). Both versions share a lot of similarities such as fully aluminum two-piece cases. Each includes high quality keycaps, pre-lubed Gateron switches, and the same per-key backlighting. You can pick either model in e-coated Milky White, anodized Black, or Champagne gold color schemes. They also use the same circuit board and premium processors, one each for gaming performance and RGB lighting so they don’t interfere with each other. Each also runs at a rapid 8000Hz polling rate, reading inputs every 0.125ms for top performance.
Its build quality and Hall Effect switches, and the simple pleasure of using it, make it a best-in-class keyboard.
There are two core differences between the models, one aesthetic and the other core to the user experience. Aesthetically, the Pro version includes inset bevels on the top and bottom, above the number row, and below the spacebar for a more striking look. The top bevel has an accent piece to add more color and a more premium appearance. When you flip it over and you’ll find the Pro version also includes color accents on the bottom, including a gorgeous centerpiece that’s milled with a wavy pattern that seems to move and shift in 3D with changes in the light.
The second major difference is with the switches. The non-Pro Performance version uses Gateron Magnetic White Pro switches. The Pro model uses Gateron Magnetic Jade Pro switches. The difference between the two is small on paper: the Whites have an actuation force of 30gf and the Jades are 36gf; small enough that you probably won’t even notice the difference in weight. Both are linear switches without any kind of tactile bump and they each have the exact same 3.5mm travel distance and 100 million click lifespan.
But having used the two side by side, the Jade Pros are a smoother, quieter, and better-sounding switch (if you care about that kind of thing). Even if you don’t, the exceptional smoothness of the Jades is worth investing in for the best experience. As of this writing, they’re widely considered the best magnetic switch you can buy today. With that said, if you’re not deep enough into keyboards to notice or care about small differences like this, the White Pro switches on the non-Pro keyboard won’t disappoint.
That smooth linear actuation is important to the Magger 68 HE. As a Hall Effect keyboard (hence the HE moniker), it uses magnetic sensors and not mechanical contacts to read inputs. Because of this, it’s able to detect the exact depth of your key press, right down to 0.02mm increments. Given that the switches only have a few millimeters of travel to work with, complete smoothness is critical to firing off accurate key presses at different actuation points.
To that end, the Magger 68 HE supports the full suite of features that’s become common to Hall Effect keyboards. You can set custom actuation points for each key, which is great if you want a shorter point for more responsive gaming and a longer one to ward off typos while writing.
It features Rapid Trigger, so you can register repeated keystrokes without raising the key all the way back up, perfect for fluttering movement. Dynamic Keystrokes allow you to tie up to four actions to a single press, triggered at different depths (two down, two up), perfect for oscillating between sprint speeds in game, for example. It even features SOCD (simultaneous opposing cardinal directional) inputs, which you might know as Snap Tap from Razer’s keyboards such as the , which lets you press a second key, immediately canceling out the first. It’s important to note, however, that this feature has been banned in some games (Counter-Strike 2 and Overwatch) and is considered by many to be tantamount to cheating.
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All of this is configurable within the Luminkey app, and also lets you remap any key across several different layers of commands. It’s a straightforward user experience – you click a key you want to remap and, using a diagram on the bottom of the window, click what you want there instead. It’s not fancy, and you won’t find masses of shortcuts or the hyper-polish of suites like Razer Synapse, but it gets the job done without overcomplicating things.
Luminkey Magger 68 HE Pro – Performance
The Luminkey Magger 68 HE Pro is my favorite magnetic switch keyboard of the year so far. That’s not because its functionality is so radically different than any other, but rather because it’s just a much better feeling keyboard to actually use and is all-around one of the best built in its form factor to date.
Its Jade Pro switches really are top-notch withtheir smoothness translating perfectly into competitive gaming. There’s such minimal resistance, no scratchiness, and no crunch from the springs (which is more noticeable on magnetic keyboards due to the lack of metal contacts). In Battlefield 2042, I left running mapped to “W” but sprint to a full press as a Dynamic Keystroke. It felt natural and fluid and I wasn’t distracted by noise or interference under my fingers.
I can’t say the same for the Magnetic Whites on the non-Pro version, though. Those switches definitely have a bit of noise from the springs. This may well be a “me problem” as someone who builds mechanical keyboards as a hobby, but once you hear that tiny crunch under each keystroke, you’ll never unhear it. You can’t feel it, though, so they’re still perfectly functional and I expect the less enthused may view me as overzealous for calling it out.
Paired with its excellent case, matching keycaps, and great performance, it’s an impressive package.
With an 8000Hz polling rate and no debounce delay, you would expect the keyboard to be incredibly responsive and it lives up to its promise. Whether or not an 8000Hz polling rate is really beneficial to a keyboard is up for debate (as 1000Hz feels identical), I always felt like my keystrokes registered instantly. I also appreciated that I could recalibrate the magnetic sensors easily within the software and ensure my custom actuation points were always accurate.
Rapid Trigger is a much lauded feature and absolutely makes the keyboard feel more responsive. It’s expected, and a definite enhancement, even if it’s not unique to the Magger 68 HE. It feels just as snappy as it does on the Wooting 60HE, the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro, and most other competitive magnetic keyboards these days. No knocks here, but nothing super remarkable either.
Luminkey Magger 68 HE Pro – Software
The same goes for SOCD, which lets you choose two keys for this to function with. I found it best with “A” and “D” for strafing since you can press and hold one of those keys, press the other to immediately head the other way, then let go of it and the first key will automatically resume. I’m of the camp that considers this cheating, however, and wish it wasn’t included, frankly. Don’t risk a ban by using this feature in competitive games (Steam will detect this rather quickly).
I also have to mention that configuring the keyboard is software only. There’s no online configurator like you’ll find with the Wooting 80HE (review forthcoming), the Nuphy or IQUNIX Hall Effects, or many of Keychron’s keyboards. That’s a bit of a bummer when other brands are making it so easy to hop in and make changes.
The biggest reason why I consider it the best is that the lessons Luminkey learned from the premium custom mechanical keyboard space are at play here. The case, for example, is composed of two pieces screwed tightly together and there are layers of silicone throughout to remove any hollowness from the sound. The stabilizers are all pre-lubed, too, so there’s no extra noise from the larger keys.
As someone that is part of the keyboard community and considers each tiny part of the keyboards I buy, build, and review, frankly, Hall Effect keyboards don’t sound great. And if you’re working or gaming at your computer all day, having a keyboard that sounds hollow or cheap isn’t ideal. Every keystroke has depth to the sound but is smoother and quieter than most others. Paired with its excellent case, matching keycaps, and great performance, it’s an impressive package.
Originally posted: Oct 29, 2024 6:36 pm
Verdict
Taken as a whole package, the Luminkey Magger 68 HE Pro feels significantly more premium than even its $149 asking price. The two available models have a lot to offer at their respective prices, but looking at the Pro version in particular, it's the one I would recommend. It may only be matching its competitors in terms of features, but its build quality and Hall Effect switches, and the simple pleasure of using it, make it a best-in-class keyboard.