Func KB-460 review

Func was one of the first companies to design PC mouse mats specifically for gamers when the Surface 1030 went on sale in 2000. After spending a decade making mouse surfaces, it has now expanded into other peripherals with the KB-460, its first gaming keyboard.

The KB-460 is an understated keyboard, with an all-black design, nothing but straight lines and no superfluous LEDs or macro keys. There are two USB ports on the back edge of the board, but at this price we would also liked to have seen some 3.5mm audio jack passthroughs for headphones and a microphone. It’s a no-nonsense approach, but one that suits us perfectly – many top-end gaming keyboards look ridiculous sat on our office desk, but this blends right in.

It still has all the right gaming credentials, however, including full N-key rollover to avoid unregistered key presses when pushing multiple keys at once, the ability to disable the Windows key to prevent accidental minimising during gameplay and red LED backlighting. It is also built like a tank, sitting firmly on a desk and able to withstand even the worst gaming-induced rage attacks.

The keys themselves are also tailor made for gaming. The Cherry MX Red mechanical switches have a tiny amount of travel and are incredibly light to the touch – even more so than the Cherry Black switches most commonly found in gaming keyboards. Each key is rated for up to 50 million keystrokes, so should last for years before being in any danger of wearing out.

It takes some adjusting to, as you don’t need to exert quite as much force as with other keyboards to register each press, but after a few weeks of continuous use we were able to type without the deafening clacking commonly associated with mechanical keys. A detachable wrist rest helped in that regard, letting us lay our hands over the keyboard rather than perch over it. In this position typing is very comfortable, although a more arched position worked just as well.

A laptop-style function button doubles up the F keys as multimedia shortcuts, controlling volume and music playback. There are also five customisable profile shortcuts, although these aren’t’t particularly convenient as the function button itself is on the right side of the keyboard – you’ll need to either let go of the mouse, or take your hands off the WASD keys to activate any saved macros.

At £75, the KB-640 costs less than most other full-size mechanical keyboards with backlit keys. You can find cheaper boards if you don’t mind a more compact design without arrow or navigation keys, but will have to spend more for just about everything else. Gigabyte’s excellent Osmium costs just £15 more and includes audio passthroughs, two USB3 ports and several macro keys, but it’s also seriously large – if you have limited space on your desk this is still a great buy.