Womier M68HE Pro Review — Impressive For Gaming, Not So Much Else
Introduction
Keyboards with Hall Effect technology have dropped in price tremendously. Just a couple of years ago you’d pay a hefty amount for adjustable actuation, Rapid Trigger, SOCD, and high polling rates such as 8000Hz. Now you can get everything listed above from a keyboard that’s currently priced at $58.99. Which is sometimes even cheaper at around $37.
That’s why the Womier M68HE Pro caught my interest. It checks all the boxes for playing FPS at a high level and has some extras such as a volume knob and RGB lighting. However, specs aren’t going to tell you how it types, sounds, and performs when using the included software.
I was sent the white variant of the M68HE Pro. It came with the included set of keycaps and the Womier Star Prism set. Right away, I didn’t think it looked or felt very high quality. As I spent more time with it, I started to see more positives than negatives.
Some aspects of this keyboard are good; some I can’t stand. Gaming performance surprisingly isn’t one of them.
Specs & What’s Included
The Womier M68HE Pro is a wired keyboard that has 67 keys and a volume knob. They label this as a 60% at times, but it's closer to a 65% layout. The keyboard is equipped with Haimu Ice Jade Magnetic switches and comes with an ABS case and steel plate. Actuation is adjustable between 0.1mm and 4.0mm according to Womier.
You’ll find features such as Rapid Trigger, SOCD, Dynamic Keystroke, and Mod Tap, etc. Polling rate is able to go up to 8000Hz as well. It also has RGB lighting that goes along the keycaps, sides of the keyboard, grill at the back, and the volume knob.
Included with the M68HE Pro are:
- a USB cable,
- keycap/switch puller,
- instructions
- extra switches
Nothing overly fancy, but enough for what you need. The review sample I received also had the Womier Star Prism Cherry Profile Shine-Through Keycaps in white. These are sold separately from the keyboard itself.
Build Quality
Right away, this keyboard feels cheap. From the plastic case to the keycaps that come with it, nothing seems to scream premium.
However, quality of materials isn’t the same as build quality. Once I got used to using the Womier M68HE Pro, I found little fault with how it was put together. The case doesn’t flex much, if at all, when pressing down. There were no creaky sounds or cheap-feeling parts that stood out to me. The keyboard sits on your desk nicely and won’t move around.
Another thing I liked was the volume knob. It has good resistance when spinning it. The knob itself felt good quality, which was something I didn’t expect from this price range.
No way this is going to feel like a Wooting or Chilkey keyboard. But for the price, the build quality is more than acceptable, and in line with other affordable keyboards I’ve used. I don’t feel this is a negative about the Womier M68HE Pro.
Design & RGB Lighting
The RGB is definitely one of my favorite features on this keyboard. Especially on the white model.
On the back of the keyboard, you have this grill-type pattern, which I think looks like the front of a BMW. It looks nice by itself, but with the RGB going through it, it really pops. You can see the light going through the pattern, which gives the keyboard a nice look from behind.
The lights on the side are also nice. It gives off a cool reflection on your desk and doesn’t look too cluttered. Brightness and consistency are pretty good as well. All your typical RGB effects are available.
You also have a light that surrounds the volume knob. There’s no way to turn this light off that I could find. Whether in software or with a hotkey, I wasn’t able to turn just the light around the knob off. Which was a pain at times when I wanted the rest of the RGB on but not the knob.
The other negative about the design is the keycaps that come with it. I didn’t care for the look of them. When you have RGB going through them, it just looks plain. But if you swap out the keycaps for the white Star Prisms, it changes the vibe of the keyboard. The outline of light around the keycaps has a cool Tron-type look to it.
Again, this is only cosmetic, but it’s nice to have.
Keycaps
The included keycaps have a Cherry profile and are around 1.4mm thick. The side-printed legends on the keycaps are easy to read and fit on the switches fine. They don’t have any real texture to them and just feel cheap overall.
They are stated by Womier to be double-shot PBT keycaps. To me, they felt more like regular cheap ABS keycaps. Maybe I’m wrong about the material, but they don’t feel high quality to me. The design of the keycaps might not be for everyone. Personally, I didn’t like how they looked.
I much prefer the Womier Star Prism Cherry Profile Shine-Through Keycaps that I had in white. Since the keyboard I had was white, it matched well with the blue. The light that goes around the keycaps looks awesome. Comfort-wise, not much changed from the included keycaps. Similar profile and felt about the same when typing and gaming.
Switches
This is where the Womier M68HE Pro falls short. The Haimu Ice Jade Magnetic switches are scratchy. They have a lot of friction when you press them. I noticed this most when typing on the keyboard. They also feel a bit heavy. When you start to press them, there’s a resistance that you have to get used to. I found myself adjusting to them instead of just ignoring the keyboard and doing what I needed to.
They also have stem wobble, which can be felt when pressing them. Along with them being scratchy, it makes the switches feel a bit cheap. Bottoming out and the release weren’t too bad. There are some positives about them, but they scratch and wobble for the most part.
There are many magnetic switches that I’ve typed on that felt smoother. Such as those found in Chilkey keyboards or the Wooting. Of course those are more expensive, but I think the Womier could have done better with these switches.
One more thing that frustrated me about the switches. The keycaps that come with it fit very tightly on them. When I was removing some of the keycaps, it would pull the switch out with it. Some switches were hard to remove from the plate/pcb as well.
At one point, I was trying to remove a switch, and the keycap came off with it. When the keycap came off, the switch broke apart. I was able to put it back together but couldn’t get it to sit right. I’ve had switches come out with keycaps in the past and have them break apart but never couldn’t put them back together.
Only happened with one switch, so I can’t speak for the rest. But be aware that this could happen if you decide to remove the keycaps or switches. That’s a bummer, if you ask me.
Sound & Stabs
As far as sound goes, this keyboard isn’t going to impress you. It’s a loud-sounding board that has some case resonance to it. Doesn’t sound very clean or pleasing to my ears.
The stabilizers could use some more tuning. There is a rattle that can be heard when typing on the space bar. Every time you use it, it’s annoying to hear.
When I switched over to the Star Prism keycaps, the sound didn’t change much. It just looked better, and the stabs were still rattling.
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If all you care about is gaming, you may not mind this. But if you spend a lot of time typing, this isn’t a keyboard that I would recommend.
Software
Again, this is OEM software.
The M68HE Pro has the same software that other cheap keyboards have. Every time I see this type of software, my opinion of it gets worse.
It’s clunky and takes forever to load. There are some features that I had to dig around for. I know my way around it because I’ve used this type of software multiple times. But if this was your first magnetic keyboard, it may be confusing.
Another annoyance is that you have to install software. In my case, I had to install an IoT driver. It is an exe file that I had to download. Kind of defeats the purpose of having “web” software.
All the features I used on the M68HE Pro worked fine. So while the software is annoying, the functions work. There’s room for improvement in the software department. OEM’s have gotten better at putting good specs on their cheap keyboards. Why not spend that money on making better software as well?
Gaming Performance
I wasn’t expecting this to perform well while gaming. But it actually did pretty well. I played Quake, QuakeWorld, Battlefield, and Insurgency: Sandstorm. All felt responsive and could change directions quickly. I didn’t have any issues with the keyboard missing inputs or ghosting.
I played with actuation set to 1.5mm — 2.0mm, with rapid trigger turned off. I did try rapid trigger, and it worked as well. SOCD functioned with no issues.
Polling rate was set to 8000Hz the entire time I used this keyboard. Didn’t have any reason to lower it to 4000 or 1000Hz. I also didn’t notice any drops in polling rate.
The only thing that bothered me was the switches. They feel scratchy and heavy when pressing them. I had to get used to them, but after that I could play fine. It was more of an annoyance than affecting my performance.
Not a smooth experience, but it does what it’s supposed to do when it comes to gaming.
Latency
I measured a latency of around 0.9ms. This was at 8000Hz and had Rapid Trigger set to its lowest.
While not my fastest latency, there are keyboards that I’ve tested that have gotten me under 1ms. Of course, you have to keep in mind that these measurements can vary depending on how you measure them. So it could be a smaller number for some.
Just to clarify, that is a single keypress measurement. Not press and release. I don’t want to mislead anyone with that number.
Having that latency at 8000Hz is pretty impressive. The electronics on this keyboard seem to be solid.
Competitors
Would I buy this over a Wooting, Chilkey, Iqunix, or Nuphy? No. Those keyboards are built better in many ways. But they aren’t built for everyone.
Some competitors that I would compare it to are the GamaKay TK75 TMR and the XVX Trooper63 HE. I’ve used both and feel that the Womier falls below those. Due to the scratchy switches and overall feel when typing. Plus the issue I had with the switch breaking.
If this was $58.99, I would say its ok. I’ve seen it go down to around $37 on Amazon. Which, if you can get it at that price, I think it's definitely worth it. You have 8000hz polling that worked for me. Low latency, hall effect features, and looks good with some RGB lighting.
You could always swap out the switches for better-feeling ones. But I haven’t tried that. There could be some switches that work better than others as well.
Final Thoughts
The Womier M68HE Pro has some good things going for it. The case feels sturdy, and the volume knob was nice. The RGB lighting on the back and sides is cool. If you swap the keycaps to the white Star Prism set, it looks amazing. Gaming performance is good, and I got a latency reading of 0.9ms.
The switches scratch and feel heavy. Stabs need some work, and the keyboard has a hollow sound to it. The software is annoying and took me a while to get used to. Having a switch break when removing keycaps wasn’t a good sign.
If you have a small budget and want a Hall Effect keyboard, I would definitely consider it. Just know what you're getting when you buy this one.
Bullet Points
Pros:
- Excellent value for money, especially at promotional prices around $37
- Very good gaming performance and responsive movement in FPS games
- Stable 8000 Hz polling rate throughout my testing
- Impressive ~0.9 ms single-keypress latency
- Solid ABS construction with minimal flex and no noticeable creaking
- Excellent multimedia knob for this price category
- Attractive side and rear RGB lighting
- Rapid Trigger, SOCD, and other gaming features work reliably
- No missed inputs, random activations, or cutouts during gaming
Cons:
- Stock Haimu Ice Jade switches feel heavy, scratchy, and wobbly
- Hollow, plasticky acoustics with audible case resonance
- Poorly refined stabilizers with noticeable spacebar rattling
- Generic OEM software is slow, outdated, and unintuitive
- Web configurator requires an additional IoT driver installation
- Stock topographic keycaps feel cheap and look rather uninspiring
- Keycaps grip switch stems excessively tightly, making removal difficult
- One switch came apart during removal and couldn’t be reassembled
- RGB around the volume knob cannot be disabled independently
Buy M68HE Pro here
or Amazon
Disclaimer
This review is not a paid endorsement. I want to ensure transparency and let you know that I am not receiving any monetary or other compensation for evaluating or discussing this tech product. Certain images might have undergone digital enhancement to improve visual clarity. These adjustments do not alter the product’s true appearance, shape, or physical characteristics.
