Patriot Viper V765 RGB Mechanical Keyboard Review

A Closer Look at the Viper V765 Mechanical RGB Keyboard.

The design on the Viper V765 is rather simple, but not in a bad way. By simple, I mean no extra macro keys across the top, or down the side. The Viper V765 has a standard 103 key QWERTY layout, with a volume wheel at the top right of the keyboard and dedicated media keys on the top left, above the F1-F4 keys.  The volume wheel has a dual function. It also works as a mute button. The Viper V765 also comes with a magnetic wrist rest. The magnet is strong enough that when the keyboard is picked up, the wrist rest can stay attached. The V765 comes with a 1.8-meter braided cable.

As mentioned previously, the Viper V765 has 103 keys and no dedicated macro keys. However, all 103 keys on the Viper V765 are programmable macro keys. Having a full keyboard of programmable macro keys could be extremely useful. Especially in programs such as Photoshop or Premiere Pro. Speaking of the keys, the keycaps have a matte finish to them. They’re almost smooth, but not quite perfectly smooth. The Viper V765 also features full N-Key roll over as well as anti-ghosting to ensure the keyboard registers every single keystroke.

The Viper V765 uses the new Kailh white box switches. The Kailh white box switches are clicky switches with a similar feel to Cherry MX Blue switches which many people prefer for typing.  The White Box switches have 3.6 mm of travel distance. This gives the Viper V765 a quicker response time, making it great for fast-paced games such as CSGO or COD. The actuation force of the Kailh white box switch is 45±15gf and the tactile force is 55±10gf. Each key on the Viper V765 is individually backlit. For more on the Kailh white box switch including technical specs, click here: http://www.kailh.com/en/Products/Ks/BOXS/315.html

The chassis of the Viper V765 is made from aircraft grade aluminum. The Viper V765 is both water and dust resistant to an Ingress Protection, or IP56 rating. This rating tells you the level of protection provided against intrusion by things such as water or dust. According to Fantech.com, the IP56 rating states “Water from heavy seas or water projected from jets shall not enter the machine in any harmful quantity.” To simplify, if you spill water on the Viper V765, you should be fine.

There isn’t much to say about the back of the keyboard. The V765 does have feet on either side to raise up the back of the keyboard. This is pretty much a given on every keyboard, thankfully. This is a feature I personally couldn’t live without. When the feet on my keyboard break, I replace the keyboard. But thats just me. In the middle, on the back of the keyboard, there is a sticker. This sticker has the model number and the rating printed on it, 5VDC.

The V765 has 5 Profile control keys. This allows you to set up to 5 custom lighting profiles to be saved to the onboard memory. There are also 14 lighting control keys. The Viper V765 has multi-level LED dimming. Essentially, you can set the brightness of the RGB lighting to several different levels. Each key is individually RGB backlit and covers the entire RGB spectrum of 16.8 million colors. There is also skirt lighting on both the right and left sides of the V765. Like the backlighting, the skirt lighting is fully addressable to all 16.8 million colors in the RGB spectrum.  Since we’re on the lighting, let’s discuss Patriots Viper RGB software.