Zalman ZM-K700M keyboard review - Article

Zalman ZM-K700M
An all black mechanical keyboard doing white lighting

We review the Zalman ZM-K700M mechanical keyboard. This Cherry MX mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX red switches comes with a new single color (white) LED animation system. Overall a simple and straightforward looking yet intensely versatile keyboard with some very cool per key LED lighting features that can animate. It even has fiver game-macro keys that are programmable without the use of any software. 

As Zalman extends a new chapter in their product line, called the Z-MACHINE Gaming gear range, they now introduce the ZM-K700M. A simple looking yet very extensive mechanical keyboard that has white per key LED back-lighting while being fitted with Cherry MX mechanical switches. It's not just all about the LEDs and cool lighting animations of course, the keyboard comes in a really sturdy black design and as simple as it is, it just looks incredible (though I'll immediately acknowledge that taste is a very subjective thing). The LED lit Cherry MX based keys are coated for long lasting letters, and yeah keys and can be lit and animated per key, withouth the use of software. A few LED animation modes are thrown in as well like wave, breathing and responsive effects. 

Model Number	ZM-K700M
Key Switch Type	CHERRY MX Red Availability may vary by region
Key Rollover	NKRO (Windows)
Keycaps	ABS, removable
Polling Rate	1000 Hz/1ms
Backlight	Full back-lit, 1 colors, dimmable, animated
Windows Key Lock	Yes
Media Keys	Yes
Interface	USB 2.0, full speed
USB cable	1.8m braided,
Speedmeter	The meter is located on the far right side which shows how fast the user is performing the following actions: It shows the speed of Key input typing (Up and Down). It goes up or down according to the volume Up and Down. It goes up or down with 8 steps according to the brightness of LED. It goes up or down according to the level of macro running speed.
Weight	~1100 g / 2.5 lbs

I do like my share of bling when it comes to PC gaming, but I also like simple keyboards that go back to the roots of their fast responsive functionality. Well that and it sits sturdy on my desktop with just the right feel of keys. For this ZM-K700M model you can pick just one flavor Cherry MX keys (Red). While red is the more popular version I am slowly growing towards the brown flavored Cherry MX switches myself. We'll explain the differences in-between them later on in this article. The ZM-K700M as released under the Z-Machine branding comes with a lot of features that should be appealing to you as a gamer. For example gold low latency USB connectors, and as a mechy the keys have a long-lived, can withstand a good beating, the stuff you as a gamer like so much. We have seen it on several keyboard before already, but the ZM-K700M is equipped with anti-ghosting capability which means multi-key presses at the same time are an option, again something gamers are after.The overall design if the keyboard is appealing as well as it comes with a nice black dark design with smooth coating and thus feel.
 

The background lighting is dimmed so that you can watch and observe the LED animation system a little better.

For a first impression I like to ask you to watch the above video. The keyboard feels extremely comfortable at your hands. Design wise the forms and shapes seem a little simple, however that's until the keys light up with animated back-lighting. The LED back-lights can highlight all the keys at once you can choose from a few programmed animations. Albeit more limited, the keyboard is programmable as we'll show you later in in the article. Priced at roughly 100 EUR / USD this product isn't too expensive either though. Anyway, have a peek at the product first ... and then browse our way into the review.