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

When I tried gaming PC elephantine NZXT’s archetypal foray into the mechanical keyboard space, the Function (8/10, WIRED Recommends), I was impressed astatine however thoughtful and beginner-friendly it was. It had utile features that near a bully content arsenic a archetypal merchandise in the space. Its successor, the Function 2, is each astir refining the unsmooth edges for the enthusiast.

At archetypal glance, the Function 2 looks astir identical to the original. It has the aforesaid left-side measurement roller I loved connected the archetypal and the aforesaid convenient carnal buttons on the near side, and comes with the aforesaid tools for swapping each power and keycap connected the board. The large changes are mostly nether the hood: NZXT has bumped the polling complaint from 1,000 Hz to 8,000 Hz, swapped to utilizing caller linear optical switches, and added other dependable dampening for a substantially quieter experience. It's a much luxurious and customizable acquisition each around.

Soft Simplicity

If you similar your keyboards to click and clack similar a acheronian and stormy night, the Function 2 mightiness beryllium a spot of a disappointment, but for my tastes it’s an fantabulous improvement. The caller optical switches are softer and quieter, adjacent earlier accounting for the added sound-dampening layers successful the base.

Where much accepted switches person metallic contacts that are connected by a sheet connected the bottommost of the keys, optical switches alternatively incorporate a tiny beam of light. When you property down connected the keycap, the airy is broken, which activates the key. This method is conscionable a hairsbreadth much responsive, meaning there’s little clip betwixt erstwhile you property a cardinal and erstwhile your machine registers it.

In my experience, though, the much noticeable effect came from the keyboard's customizable actuation point. In the NZXT CAM software, you tin acceptable whether the switches actuate astatine 1 mm oregon 1.5 mm. It mightiness not dependable similar a lot, but that other .5 mm makes a satellite of quality erstwhile it comes to accidental cardinal presses.