XVX Trooper63 HE Review — Not Everything Needs to Be 8K
The Hall effect keyboard scene is in a strange place right now. Each new board wants to push the numbers higher. Whether it is 8k polling, 32k scanning, .01mm precision, or whatever else, it's all fine if your goal is to build the fastest possible keyboard. But some of us enjoy our keyboards for more than that. We want them to feel nice, look nice, and maybe have a little bit of something extra.
Which brings us to the XVX Trooper63 HE.
The phantom black model that I have falls under the $100 mark. I have been using this board for nearly a month, and I believe XVX knew what they were doing. This keyboard isn’t for the person who sees “8k” on the spec list and instantly passes. XVX put more focus into what this keyboard feels and looks like. From the unique aluminum chassis to the Gemini Dual-Lighting. The odd Wedge PRISM keycaps and their light-bouncing Gemini HE switches. All of this without sacrificing much gaming performance.
Specs and Features
- 63% ANSI, 64 keys with dedicated arrows
- CNC-machined aluminum case
- 304.8 × 110.5 × 32 mm
- ~673 g weight
- Tray mount
- 1.5 mm carbon fiber plate
- Wired USB-
- 1000 Hz polling rate
- 4000 Hz key scan rate
- 32 kHz sensor scan rate
- Advertised 1 ms latency
- Adjustment precision down to 0.01 mm
- Linear magnetic switches, hot-swappable, 32 ± 5 gf initial force, up to 45 gf bottom-out, 3.65 ± 0.1 mm total travel, Dual-diffuser design
- Cherry-profile Wedge PRISM keycaps
- Gemini Dual-Lighting RGB System with north + south LEDs, independent control, and per-key RGB
- All gaming features like Rapid Trigger, SOCD, Macros, Mod Tap, Rappy Snappy
- web software
Unboxing and First Impressions
Very minimalistic. There isn’t much to it, and the accessories aren’t overly flashy either. You get a non-braided USB-A to C cable. Two extra Gemini switches, a keycap/switch puller that isn’t the greatest, and a manual. Along with 21 additional keycaps to finish the job because, out of the box, the board has around 2/3 of the Wedge PRISM keycaps and 1/3 translucent PC with big legends. This allows you to swap out some of the Prisms if you want it to look more consistent. Not the most accessories, but we’ll get to that later.
The Phantom Black looks pretty decent. While I wouldn’t call it some high-end CNC aluminum, it feels rigid with no rattle. All pieces line up correctly, and it looks to have some sort of coating over it. For the price, I have nothing to complain about.
Its design is also interesting. I’m still unsure why they named it the Trooper. Doesn’t really give me that thought, but maybe I’m missing something. The open sides and under panel remind me of something you’d see in the Alien movie. It’s definitely meant to look like a gaming keyboard. Those open sides and artistic bottom give it that sci-fi feel. Not another generic 65% alu board.
The Trooper63 HE weighs in at 673 grams. Not a heavy keyboard by enthusiasts' standards, but it rests nicely on your desk. You don’t have to have a 2kg board to be heavy enough. The rubber feet have also not peeled or come off in the almost month I’ve had it.
Layout
It's a 63% ANSI with 64 keys. So it's pretty small while still having arrow keys, which I like for gaming, but there are downsides.
One is the small right Shift key. It's positioned close to the arrows, and I still catch myself pressing it instead of my arrows. Also, no Function keys, which is a pain. There are ways to get around this with mod taps, and I use them, but if you can't live without the Fn keys, this isn’t for you.
The typing angle is okay for gaming and short periods of typing. I would use a wrist rest if I were doing prolonged typing on this. After an hour of typing, I start to realize this is a gaming keyboard not meant to type on for long periods.
Wedge Prism Keycaps
These are by far the weirdest keycaps I’ve seen. Cherry profile, but the tops of the keycaps are uneven. Almost cut-looking on some of them. Looks cool but takes a bit of getting used to. You may feel the unevenness of the keycaps when typing or slide a bit depending on where you land your finger.
They are a combination of Double Shot Shine Through ABS and Translucent PC for the Prism keycaps. And the other PC keycaps are frosted PC. Legends are pretty big, so if you’re a minimalist, you may not like these. I personally don’t mind them, and they pair well with the lights. I also like the Prism keycaps more than the other PC keycaps that came out of the box. They will also wear less since they’re already transparent.
Gemini Dual-Lighting
This is where XVX tried to bring something new to the table.
Most RGB keyboards will light up the switch location from the north or south side. The Trooper63 HE has both. There are lights pointing towards the north and south sides of each location. The Gemini switches allow the light to pass through due to the dual diffuser — that’s why XVX calls it the Gemini Dual-Lighting RGB System.
It's noticeably brighter than your typical RGB setup. On full brightness, it's almost too bright for my liking, so I tend to turn it down. On the lowest brightness, it's still bright enough to see the colors. Having dual LEDs with clear switch components and the prism keycaps really enhance the look.
It's evenly lit with no major hot spots. The switches don’t add any color tints to the lights, which is nice.
You can play around with the lights in the software by turning off the north or south side. This is where you can truly see what it's capable of.
I keep mine on static RGB most of the time. Not a fan of the rainbow effects, but I think even with a static color, this is one of the best RGB setups I’ve seen. XVX didn’t just stick more LEDs on the PCB. They made the switches and keycaps to complement the light.
Something to note is that RGB is a selling point on this keyboard. Not something to ignore when looking at the Trooper63 HE.
Gemini HE Switches
The stock switches are linear at 32±5gf and reach 45gf at bottom out. POM stem with a pc top housing and PA66 bottom housing. Spring length is 19mm with a total travel of 3.65±0.1mm.
They’re light and pretty smooth. Bouncing back to me is what I like about these the most.
There is a cushioned feel to them that makes them fun to move back and forth. Great for games that require you to constantly change directions and bunny hop. I may find these to be slightly less precise than my TTC KOM, but that could be preference.
There is some wobble to the stems, but not too bad. Once you put keycaps on, it’s easier to tell. Still not bad enough to be an issue for me while gaming.
Since the switches have dual diffusers, they also help with the RGB aspect of this board. Hot-swap works as intended. I was able to get Astro Link switches working after calibration. The software doesn’t list them, but it does recognize them.
Mounting & Typing/Sound
The Trooper63 is mounted with a tray mount — 1.5mm carbon fiber plate and FR4 PCB that isn’t flex-cut. Has some Poron, IXPE, and PET inside.
Get Damian Cooper’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Tray mount is my preferred style when gaming. Gives you that firm bottom-out and less wobble.
Which is what you get with this. There isn’t much cushioning from the mount itself. It's not going to have a gasketed feel to it. So when I say bouncy, I mean from the switches. Having a solid board to type on with light, bouncy switches feels great to game on.
The downside is the sound. I would call it muted clacky. It’s not the quietest board out there. There is dampening, but with the mount style it’s going to have that clack to it.
Bigger keys are fine except for the spacebar. After a month, I’ve started to hear a slight rattle from it. The stabs are okay, but the spacebar has become a bit annoying for me.
Software
I was pleasantly surprised by this.
This is XVX’s first attempt at making web software for their keyboards. It’s simple and gets the job done. There’s no unnecessary stuff to dig through to find what you want.
Actuation, rapid trigger, calibrate switches, travel/actuation test. Dead zone, SOCD, Mod Tap, Rappy Snappy. Macros, configs/profiles, firmware update, and RGB.
Mod Tap works as it should. SOCD works as it should. Rapid trigger stays accurate on lower numbers.
These aren’t things I just threw in to make it sound fancy. I use SOCD for strafing, and Mod Tap is great on a compact board. Rappy Snappy is nice to have as well, but SOCD and Mod Tap are must-haves for me.
The only bug I found was a config not saving and resetting. Happened once. Also, some of the default config names were in Chinese. Easy to rename.
Similar to most other magnetic boards, you can go as low as .01mm on the Trooper63 HE.
I still believe that having Rapid Trigger at .01mm is overkill. But it's nice to have that option if you want to.
My setup is typically at 1.0mm actuation with .1mm rapid trigger. Or I turn off rapid trigger. It’s capable of running .01mm and won’t fail on lower numbers. Just know that you don’t have to max everything out.
Gaming Performance & Why it's only 1k
So the Trooper63 HE polls at 1k. Many will argue that this is the reason to skip this board, with XVX pushing a 32 kHz scan rate and 1ms latency in their specs.
I was able to test my latency on 1.0mm actuation and .1mm rapid trigger polling at 1k. My latency came out to be about 2.5ms.
As you can see, it's fast enough for me.
Polling is stable and feels snappy. While gaming, I never felt like I needed 8k on this board. I doubt most people would notice the difference if you had a board that polled at a faster rate. I would have to get my keyboard to be around 10ms before I start noticing it.
If XVX could implement an 8k chip into this, I would love to see that. But I don’t feel like it’s a downfall when it comes to gaming performance.
Many people will see 1k polling and instantly think this board isn’t for them. Which is a shame because they’re missing the point of what XVX is trying to do.
Gaming
I tested most of my games on this keyboard. Quakeworld/Quake, Battlefield, Insurgency, and others.
The Trooper63 HE performed great in all of my games.
When compared to the Melgeek Made68 Ultra+ Evangelion, for example, the only game I noticed a difference in was Quake. The Trooper63 HE felt better to me when playing Quake. Probably due to the lighter bounce of the Gemini switches, which made bunny hopping feel natural.
In other games such as Battlefield and Insurgency, I felt like it was quick and precise enough. I had SOCD on when quickly changing directions and felt great.
If you’re only going to care about one thing when it comes to gaming performance, then yes, 1k may let you down. But if you play games as I mentioned above, you’ll have no issues with this board.
Price
Trooper63 HE will fall in the under $100 category. When I checked, XVX had it at $79.99 for a flash sale. They also list that they ship to the EU for free on certain amounts. So it may fluctuate.
If I saw this board at 8k and tri-mode for the same price. I would have given it a 9/10. But since it's 1k and only wired, I can’t give it that high.
I know what you’re paying for with this keyboard. Aluminum chassis, Gemini dual-lighting. Light-passing switches, Prism keycaps, and a good enough driver. It's worth it if you enjoy those things.
Also, wireless keyboards are catching up. Some TMR keyboards now have lower latency and longer battery life, so you may not have to worry about being wired anymore. But for pure gaming, I still like to stick with USB-C.
Conclusion
I think the XVX Trooper63 HE is a great keyboard for those who don’t want to sweat the numbers. If you enjoy gaming and play often, whether it's casual or competitive, and want a magnetic keyboard that looks nice in your setup, this one may really suit you.
I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who will be upset about polling at 1k. Or if you need FN keys to play your games.
Other than that, the Trooper63 HE is a nice reminder that you don’t always have to have the best numbers.
Not everyone is sweating the numbers, and that’s something that should be appreciated in today's gaming keyboard world. XVX decided to focus on how their keyboard feels and looks, without cutting too much on performance.
That’s what I appreciate about the XVX Trooper63 HE.
8/10, but would give it a 9 if it polled at 8k.
Bullet Points
- Gemini dual-lighting RGB system is a real added value here
- Gemini He Dual-Diffuser switches complement it
- The switches have that “bouncy” feeling
- RGB looks amazing
- Design and Build Quality are really good for the price
- Good enough web driver
- Typing for long periods of time can be tiring
- Sound profile can be defined as “muted clacky” in my book
- 63% layout can be annoying for some
- Spacebar rattles after a month in my unit
- … but it’s a good debut for a keycap brand
Get Trooper63 HE here
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
