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Drop CTRL Aluminum Case

$10

~~$95~~

overview

specs

reviews82

photos61

q&a25

discussions165

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... / ACCESSORIES & COMPONENTS / CASES / FRAMES / DROP

Drop CTRL Aluminum Case

Name: Drop CTRL Aluminum Case
Brand: Drop
SKU: drop-ctrl-aluminum-case
Price: 10 USD
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 4.646341 (82 reviews)

$10

~~$95~~

Case Color:

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Product Highlights:

Anodized Aluminum

Frequently bought together:

Drop CTRL LED Diffuser

Drop CTRL V2 Mechanical Keyboard PCBA

Stabilizers

overview

specs

reviews82

photos61

q&a25

discussions165

Customer Reviews

4.6

(82 reviews)

(61)

(17)

(1)

(2)

(1)

96% would recommend to a friend

Malla

Jul 8, 2020

Verified Buyer

Well, well, well... Turns out feedback does work sometimes! We asked, and Drop has (finally!) come out with new case colors for the ALT and CTRL keyboards, which is definitely good news! TLDR is simple Excellently built, anodized aluminum cases in 5 new colors that look and feel just as premium as the originals, but with a bit of a new flavor twist. What's new Now, as for the new colors, they missed the opportunity to call one of them DEEP PURPLE instead of "Dark Purple" (hehe), but overall, its a nice range to begin with and as with everything else, colors are very personal. Some might hate them, some might love them, but the point here is to have extra options, and that's never a bad thing! And these new colors add that extra bit of contrast the Alt and CTRL might have been missing for people who wanted to take it to the next level, since you already could customize the switches, keycaps and cables, and now the last piece just falls into place. For $80 and $95 respectively, these cases aren't the cheappest thing in the world, but for aluminum cases constructed this well that can take advantage of all the features your Alt/Ctrl Keebs have... You could do a lot worse! In the sense you're not likely to find other cases that would even fit these PCBs correctly, make use of the side illumination and keep the premium look and feel while not costing as much as the full keyboard in comparison... Bare in mind that since the new acrylic diffusers are physically different from the ones that came in the older MASSDROP version of these keyboards, if you have one of those you'll also need an extra $10 or a new diffuser as well. What's in the box?

Bottom and top parts of the case
The diffuser if you get one
All the screws you need
Hex key
Metal plates that go within the sandwich to serve as attachment points for the...
Magnectic feet (which are color-coordinated with the case)

Assembly Take your keyboard apart, pick up the PCB (carefully), place it into the new case, add the diffuser, the metal plates, back plate, screw it all in, put in your switches and keycaps, plug the keyboard and be happy! I would suggest you guys take the time to mod the PCB with band-aids and add a bit of sound absorbing-material in the case since you'll have everything opened up already anyways. Yes, both of these things help, and if you haven't modded your stabilizers, do that too! And lub them! Do everything you can already, like, once and for all. You'll thank yourself later. Conclusion The silvery color actually bumped up the illumination on my CTRL board to 11, so I ended up lowering it a little bit because it got "too bright", but it's nice to be able to BLAST RGB from the keyboard even more strongly than before.... But that's it. Not much to say, other than its good to have new options, and that I fully expect Drop's gonna end up being a one-stop-shop for everything you need in terms of standalone parts for building mechanical keyboards in no too long. I've also dropped a video on these new cases on Youtube if you'd like to check it out: -> https://youtu.be/0xLMzULK89E (shameless plug, I know! haha) -------------- *Disclaimer: This case unit was provided by Drop in advance of release for the review. Drop didn't pay or attempt to influence the review in any way, nor did they have any advance access to the final review copy.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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Jul 9, 2020

I am going to be getting my own samples soon. But I am confused what the metal plates actually provide. What is their utility?

Malla

Jul 9, 2020

erickongThe little rectangle metal things? You set them in specific spaces on the acrylic piece and that serves as "docks" for the magnetic feet.

holyoctopus23

Jul 30, 2020

Verified Buyer

Love it, this is exactly what I wanted for my board.

So I thought that the price was a little on the high side when I first ordered this (the Just Black color) but I was very stoked to change up the look of my CTRL since I felt the stock silver left something to be desired. Upon receiving the case I replaced it easily (I was familiar with this since I split a cup of coffee on my board a few months earlier and needed to soak all the parts in water LOL) and immediately noticed how quality it felt. The black has a matte look to it and it tends to dull the RGB for the switches/keys but gives it a very stealth feel to the overall board that I felt that CTRL was missing with the silver case. Overall, love this so much that I might buy another color or two.

Recommends this product? Yes

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AKR706

Nov 28, 2020

holyoctopus23Would it be possible for you to show few more clearer images? Thanks!

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MingRose

147

Jul 26, 2020

Verified Buyer

A Couple Minor Flaws

Love the "Silvery" case. Left side feels perfectly flush against the diffuser, but right side feels maybe a millimeter too far out. Unfortunately, the magnets in the included matching "Silvery" feet are significantly weaker than the black ones that came with the originally assembled keyboard, so I won't be using those. Neither of these things are deal breakers though. I wanted a lighter color housing that would better diffuse and amplify the RGB. I got what I wanted.

Recommends this product? Yes

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DonQuixoteMC

Jul 26, 2020

Verified Buyer

Beautiful! Now if only Drop sold PCBs

I'm surprised by the quality of this case - it's truly a phenomenal upgrade to an already great board. The only pain point comes from the realization that your old case now has no purpose. I would gladly pay $100 for the case option if I got to pick up a $50 PCB to go along with it.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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Kevin

5437

Outreach

Jul 26, 2020

DonQuixoteMCThey're on order with our factory now... I'm hoping we have them in stock, available for sale by October.

DonQuixoteMC

Sep 9, 2020

KevinThat's awesome info! I'll keep an eye out.

Vote

jasonwc

Aug 16, 2020

Verified Buyer

Very nice

I always thought the original grey of the CTRL keyboard was ok. Went with the Almost black and its like a new keyboard! Very easy to install, well packaged. and looks lovely.

Recommends this product? Yes

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DarthVader501

Jul 22, 2020

Verified Buyer

Silver Case over Space Grey is a subtle difference, but noticeable all the same

This case was very easy to swap into with the included QR code for instructions. Going from the Space Grey case to the Silver one, there was not a huge difference but Drop's white Skyline keycaps popped more on the silver board. I can't wait to see what it looks like with the GMK Deku keycaps in February or whenever they ship out. This isn't a cheap investment at $95 for the Drop CTRL case, but the price is definitely reflected in the quality and machining. There are even matching feet for the case, which I wasn't even expecting and didn't know I wanted. The bottom of the case also has no labels, logos, serial numbers, etc. on it except for Drop's stylized "D" which leaves a nice clean finish to the case for the few times you'll ever be looking at the bottom of the keyboard.

Recommends this product? Yes

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DarthVader501

Jul 29, 2020

The feet are very solid, but you have to make sure to screw the case together very tight in a star pattern as shown in the directions otherwise the 4 magnets won't be pressed tight enough and can shift around in the case when the feet are attached. Worth noting that the instructions list 7 case screws, but there are 8 that need to be screwed in.

Vote

elle-elle-tee

Aug 6, 2020

seconding -- the new magnetic feet are miles better than the old ones (mine are scotch-taped to the back of my keyboard). the new ones are pretty solid.

NoSpoons

Aug 28, 2020

Verified Buyer

Awesome

it makes it look like an entirely different keyboard. It's kind of a b**** to pull all the switches and stuff, I do wish the keyboard just had the option to buy it like this already. But otherwise awesome.

Still waiting on a group buy keycap set, don't judge my stock keycaps :P

Recommends this product? Yes

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Chocokakke

Aug 1, 2020

Verified Buyer

The build quality is flawless, and I was a little hesitant on the price but I'm so happy I pulled the trigger. The clean look on the burgundy is so on point that I'm already looking at matching artisan caps.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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BrownieB

Feb 27, 2022

Verified Buyer

Solid case replacement

I ended up buying all the parts for a CTRL board individually, as I really liked the red case color. IT looks even better in person. I wish they offered a high profile case in the burgundy colorway because that would be an instant buy. This case does have a lot of ping however, so I recommend checking out 3rd party foam suppliers for keyboards to mute some of that ping. Other than that, the board looks fantastic, and if you don't mind the stiffness of integrated plates, its a solid buy.

Recommends this product? Yes

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