Gamdias Hermes P1 RGB Mechanical Keyboard Review

Now there s a mouthful to say if you are thinking of reviewing this keyboard, “Hey mate guess what keyboard I own

“Hey mate guess what keyboard I own”

“No idea, what have you purchased now”

“A Gamdias Hermes P1 RGB Mechanical Keyboard”

“WTF never heard of them, but that’s one hell of a name”

That was basically a conversation I had with one of my friends when it came to explaining what keyboard I was now reviewing, so shall we get on with it?

Marketing and Sales – What we see on the box when we purchase in a store;

On the front of the box, you can view the full keyboard with the palm rest, also to note the use of the term RGB making this keyboard ‘disco fantastic’, with a program you can also fully customise the colour scheme you wish to use, this is noted on the front of the box.

Now we move to all the bullet point sections

• Gamdias Certified Mechanical Switches
• 32Bit Microprocessor
• 6 Profiles
• N-Key Rollover

The only one you most likely do not understand is N-Key Rollover, this is taken from a wiki page to describe what this function does ‘This means that each key is scanned completely independently by the keyboard hardware, so that each keypress is correctly detected regardless of how many other keys are being pressed or held down at the time’

More bullet points

• RGB Back Lighting – 16.8 Million Colour and Customisable lighting effects
• 2 Programmable Nacro Keys – FN + G1/G2 to easily execute your recorded macros
• Quick-Attach Wrist Rest – Quick-Attach wrist rest with ergonomic Design
• HERA Software -Program your devices to customise your gaming experience

Let not forget you also get a free Key-Cap remover, the joy, I needed one of these, as every single keyboard I own never came with one, so this went to use straight away, cleaning my Razer Keyboards, why not, they needed cleaning.

The keyboard also has a Textured design aluminum back plating, looks very good I have to say. Moving to the back, it’s time for the most laborious section, ‘specification’ for all those tech geeks out there.

Key Switch Information

• Key Switch – GAMDIAS certified mechanical switches
• Key Switch Type – Brown
• Switch Lifecycle – 50 Million

Specifications

• Dimensions 448 x 202.4 x 36.9 mm (w/ wrist rest) 448 x 156.6 x 36.9 mm (w/o wrist rest)
• Weight1.56KG (w/ wrist rest) 1.30KG (w/o wrist rest)
• Built-in Memory – 72KB
• Polling Rate – 1000Hz
• N-Key Rollover
• OTF Macro Record – Yes
• Windows Key Disable – Yes
• All-Keys Lock – Yes
• Software – GAMDIAS HERA
• WASD & Arrow keys Change – Yes
• Consecutive Attack Mode – Yes

Customisation

• Programmable keys – 2
• Multimedia Keys – 6
• Backlit – 16.8 million colors and 4 levels brightness
• Customizable Lighting Effects – Yes

The keyboard is compatible with Windows XP / Vista / 7 / 8 and 10. must have one USB connection spare and have access to the internet to download the relevant software to program the keyboard for use.

Now we roll back a little, who the hell are Gamdias, let’s let them tell us shall we, saves my writing it;

Who are we?

The first three letters GAM stands for gaming art in motion, and DIAS is the Latin word for God. Therefore, GAMDIAS all together is the god of gaming. GAMDIAS is a gaming brand based on ancient Greek Mythology, coupled with a visually pleasing work of beauty, obsessed with pursuing the epitome of gaming. Themed around ancient Greek Mythology, all GAMDIAS products are named after Greek gods. Each product possesses a uniquely patented function engrossing the characteristics of each deity. GAMDIAS represents justice, allowing gamers to immerse themselves in the universe of Mount Olympus. GAMDIAS was designed to fulfill the needs of all hardcore gamers, while also providing a platform, “Olympics” for gamers to exchange tips and pointers. ZEUS, king of the gods and the gods of Mount Olympus, lead the charge defining the essence of GAMDIAS with their signature weapons and bestowing upon the gaming peripherals, power, authority, and gaming supremacy.

GAMDIAS & GREEK GODS Story

ZEUS is the God of the sky and ruler of all the Olympian Gods and known to mortal men as Dias, the Divine King. ZEUS represents justice and mercy, striking down wickedness with his infinite power. GAMDIAS has harnessed ZEUS’ most powerful weapon, the lightning bolt and transferred into Psi-Manifestation, the ability to mold lightning into a physical form.

Done and dusted, now you know who they are to a degree, now let’s see how they pack this keyboard, better be good, or complaints will fly.

From the images above you can see the keyboard is packed well, foam for the sides where the keyboard is held in place, a thin foam cover to protect the keyboard and clear plastic sleeve to protect the wrist rest, also noted an instruction manual, something not seen of late from many firms, its short and to the point, and in different languages.

Now we have come to the fun part,  how do I feel about the keyboard, does it hold up well against its rivals like Razer, Corsair, and SteelSeries. Well removing the keyboard from its packaging and having a look at it, it does look good, very good, there are kick stands underneath so you can angle the keyboard up if this is something you like doing, and there is also cable channeling so you can cable manage to a position that best suits your needs. for me, its was directly up and down the shaft of my desk and into the base unit.

The cable is braided which is great as it stops cable tangling, huzzah, and comes with a non-gold plated USB, not gold plated, which gamers seem to want of late. The question is, does it make any difference, Gold-Plated vs NON- Gold Plated, there seem to be two types of users, one states it’s a ‘waste of money’, the other ‘a higher grade of product’.

Cable sorted, now the keyboard itself, impressive, titanium in colour, full brushed aluminum, nice, thanks to this design choice the chassis has little to no flex, but of course does weight in a little more than a high-quality plastic keyboard. There is also the removable palm rest, a must have for me and a good added edition, thumbs up from me for this.

I love my RGB Lighting, even my desk has RGB lighting incorporated into it, might be thinking this guy crazy, and the answer is yes I am, I love my RGB lighting now. My Mouse, Headset, Mouse Mat and my PC also has RGB lighting, even my room edging has LED RGB strip lighting to give it a nice mood effect, it also gets a lot of looks from people passing by, and kids asking their parents, “Can I have them please” and their parents saying “No”, it’s pretty funny.

There are four preset themes, Wave, Spiral, Wave Crash and Static, you can choose which effect to use by pressing FN + DEL, Control the direction of the effect with FN + Left or Right Arrow Keys, control the speed with FN + Page Up or Down and finally brightness with FN + Number keys (Up and Down).

Now we shall move to the software, fun times here, as I was not expecting this option, you can assign any key to do anything, you also have on-the-fly macro recording, which is activated by pressing FN + F9, you know when macro recording is on via the three lights in the top right-hand corner flashing. Once recorded press FN + F9 again to stop recording then assign to the two macro keys on the keyboard. This is where it gets DUMB, who puts macro keys on a Space Bar and B key is also known as G1 and G2, please Gamdias DO NOT do this again, make a set of keys on the side of the keyboard instead, these two macro keys are just stupidly thought out.

Moving back the RBG Lighting again, now we have the software installed, and it’s time to town and creates what you want, even put a different colour on each key if you so wish. There are also more lighting effects to play around with, which includes breathing, fade out/ fade in, marque (like a snake that goes around the keyboard), Ripple, Neon (bright colour cycle) and finally, there is rainbow effect (similar to star effect from Razer)

That’s the software done and dusted, Macros, enhanced RGB Lighting effects and some rubbish that we do not need to discuss, So its time for play and typing, the brown switch performs great for typing, however for gaming, in general, it is nowhere near as tactile as a Red Switch, which is a shame as I really wanted to check this keyboard out with loads of games, but I just could not get used to the brown switch at all, there is simply no tactile or feedback. I guess if you have never used a red switch before, then the brown switch will be ok, as it is also quieter and might be better for streaming.

So what are my final thoughts? I like the lighting effects that are pre-installed and when the lights are off or it is not a bright day and the sun is shining down on your keyboard the lights really do shine through, thanks to the etched and raised keycaps. When software is installed you get a whole lot more, which brings more freedom of choice and customisation.  I like that they have chosen to use an aluminum chassis, as this leaves little to no flex, and if dropped it will most likely take the fall with little to no damage.

I do not like where they have assigned the macro keys, the Space Bar and B key, to me this was a dumb idea and needs to be looked at, in the next revision. Maybe added the macro keys to the side of the keyboard and more of them.

Now pressing keys, you might be wondering what switch is being used? well, it is not a CHERRY MX BROWN original, as the Cherry MX pattern has expired, and now many manufacturers either use their own branded Switches, like Razer, or they use copy cat versions from China. Unless you are a die hard Mechanical switch fan, I doubt you will either care or notice the difference anyway. This switch has no tactile or audio feedback and sounds linear from when you start pressing the key through actuation, which sucks.

I much prefer Cherry MX Red over Brown, However,  I could easily get used to them, if I had no choice, being a reviewer I do have the choice and will be sticking to Cherry MX Red Keyboards. The cable management is a must have for anyone that likes tidy desks and roots their cables in a certain direction, and feet and kick stands give grip and height when and where required.

Final thoughts – Good Lighting, and effects through pre-installed and software activated, on-the-fly Macro recording, braided cable, cable management, wrist rest and strong chassis thanks to its aluminum build.

Downfalls – Lack of more macro keys and stupid positioning of the only two macro keys on the keyboard. Brown Switch they sent me, it is not suitable for me and gaming.

So what do I score it, If I ignore the Brown Switch and just based it on build quality, design and software then I would give it a 9/10 however due to the stupid macro alignment and brown switches that I can not stand using, I am giving it an 8/10.