Speedlink Ultor Mechanical Keyboard Review

Speedlink have been around for sometime: they’re big on making console and PC peripherals from headsets, controllers and keyboards. So it comes to no surprise that they would continue their foray into the market and create something much more premium for all the PC gamers out there. That’s why Speedlink have developed not one but two mechanical keyboards, and I’ve had the pleasure of using their top-model: the Ultor.

As you do with the arrival of any keyboard I took it out of the box. The Ultor’s packaging isn’t anything special, It isn’t sleek or minimalistic coming in a black box with red lining across covered in logos showing its features as well as a very handy logo signifying it being a British layout keyboard. Once the Ultor was out of the box all that was left were quickstart and info papers. But we’re not here to talk about the included booklets, it’s all about the keyboard.

Popular among other manufacturers and of course gamers, the Ultor uses Red mechanical switches. The ones used here are not Cherry MX but instead are Kaihua Kailh, which aren’t as favoured as the Cherry’s, but are still of a high quality and offer excellent feedback.

Now for the keyboard itself. The Ultor is a compact keyboard, that’s not to say it’s got smaller keys absolutely not, it means it lacks a numpad. I’m personally not a fan of this as I prefer a numpad, but as I will explain, there is good intention for why Speedlink decided not to have one. For you see the Ultor’s body is designed for portability with very little comprise. It’s a keyboard for the gamer and many other manufacturers do the same as a player would rarely use the numpad in normal gaming. As for the design, the Ultor is very nice, with a frameless design and an entirely red aluminium top. When I first saw the press images I was rather put off by the entirely red frame, but as soon as I plugged it in and the glow the blue backlight of the keys came on I was surprised how pleasing it looked. And while it may not feature of any fancy RGB colours as seen on other keyboards, the blue glow was pleasant enough.

Using the keyboard took some getting used to, I love mechanical keyboards, but I’m used to a fully sized keyboard including a numpad. So this certainly took some time for my hands to adjust, but surprisingly after a short while and getting my hands positioned the typing experiencing was very comfortable and the feedback from mechanical keys was very responsive and smooth - this backed by the anti-ghosting and up to 1,000hz poll rate.

All the keys glow blue, except for W,A,S,D, the arrow keys and the dedicated Game (Print Screen) key, which glow white. Beside these, there are a number of function keys included. With the right Windows key replaced, you can use this to access a number of media controllers including: volume, next/previous track and mute. One real nice feature is the inclusion of macros - although you’ll first need to install the Speedlink drivers to use. Once installed, you’ll be able to create up to six macros as well as five profiles (switchable using the F keys) for said macros. It wasn’t something I took an advantage of, but certainly for someone who enjoy their MMO’s will be able to make full use.

I was very surprised how much I’ve enjoyed using this keyboard and I will continue to do so. Although during my time, it didn’t make me want to ditch my other mechanical keyboard, which is full-sized and has dedicated media controls. What I will say is the Speedlink Ultor is a perfect travel / LAN gaming keyboard. Due to it’s compact size, macro support and durable build it will make an excellent complement to anyone’s portable rig. Even if that’s not your thing and you’re someone looking for a unique keyboard for their gaming rig at home and your favourite colour is red, then definitely check this one out.