Tt eSports Poseidon Z

Like what we found with the Roccat Ryos MK there are many different versions of the Tt eSports Poseidon mechanical gaming keyboard. The Poseidon ZX is the cheapest model at $65 and it is essentially a tenkeyless version of the Poseidon Z ($75). The Poseidon Z is also available with RGB lighting if you are willing to drop $120.

For this roundup we will be focusing on the Poseidon Z, though Tt eSports was kind enough to supply all three keyboards.

The Poseidon Z is certainly one of the most affordable mechanical keyboards on the market though there is a good reason for this. Rather than the preferred Cherry MX switches the Poseidon Z has been fitted with the cheaper Kailh knockoffs.

The patent expired earlier this year on the Cherry MX switches, which has opened the gates for cheaper Chinese knockoffs to start appearing. As you might imagine consumers are wary of these cheaper switches and for that reason Thermaltake has been tight-lipped regarding the usage of Kailh switches.

Nowhere on their website or the product box is the word 'Kailh' mentioned, instead it would seem Thermaltake is hoping would be buyers assume the Poseidon Z features Cherry MX keys, as they are adverting the use of Tt eSports-certified mechanical switches.

Those 'Tt eSports certified mechanical switches' are in fact the Chinese made Kailh switches. As far as we can tell Kailh switches aren't bad, they just aren't made to the same standards as the Cherry MXs. A keyboard with Cherry switches will, due to the precise manufacturing tolerances and quality, maintain the same feel throughout every key. A keyboard with Kailh switches however will feel different with every keystroke due to the more laidback standards of the cheaper manufactured Kailh switches.

So with that cleared up what else does Thermaltake have to offer with the Poseidon Z? The base model is a fully back-lit keyboard which is rare at this price point, there are four levels of brightness to choose from.

Other than that the keyboard is surprisingly bland, especially for a Thermaltake product. The Poseidon Z looks much more like a Das keyboard than a Tt eSports gaming keyboard it has to be said, the design is very bland.

The Poseidon Z is also quite compact at 440mm long, 133mm deep and just 37mm thick. It is also quite light for a mechanical gaming keyboard at just 995 grams.

There aren't any macro keys and therefore no game profile options, which is extremely surprising from gaming peripheral company. There aren't any dedicated multimedia keys either.

Something I don't like about the Poseidon Z is the lack of a wrist rest. Since I can't do without a wrist rest a standalone option would be required, adding additional cost to the board and personally I don't find them as comfortable or as practical.

Also missing from the board are any connectivity options, so no USB-pass through here and no audio jacks for gaming headsets.

The more expensive Poseidon Z RGB is the exact same featureless keyboard but with support for 16.8 million colors.

In fact the only decent looking mechanical keyboard in the Tt eSports arsenal right now is the Poseidon Z Forged which includes virtually everything that is missing on the standard Poseidon Z.

The Poseidon Z Forged can be had for just $120 at Newegg right now but Tt eSports didn't want to include it as they don't consider it to be an affordable keyboard – a shame really as we quite like the look of it.