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100% would recommend to a friend 
Vortex Race 3 Mechanical Keyboard
01 / 07
Vortex Race 3 Mechanical Keyboard
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1.2k Sold
Product Description
A compact 75% keyboard, the Vortex Race 3 has everything you need and nothing you don’t, plus three layers of customizability to fine-tune the board to your liking. Designed for laptop users, it’s easy to take on the go Read More
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Customer Reviews
4.6
(88 reviews)
5star(65)
4star(15)
3star(4)
2star(1)
1star(3)
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keyboard_arrow_downHR1S
2
May 16, 2018
checkVerified Buyer
Been using for almost a year now as my daily driver and I have to say I haven’t a Single issue. The dsa keycaps make it low profile enough that it doesn’t take up much room in my pack pack on the way to work.
The colours are eye catching, yet tasteful and I have had many compliments for its ‘Nintendo’ Retro aesthetic.
My one gripe with it is the lack of task manager shortcut. Instead I have to opt for right clicking the taskbar. Which I must admit is a little tiresome.
However the macro functionality is phenomenal and I use them every day at work to help automate tasks and at home while gaming. Vortex also push firmware updates:
http://www.vortexgear.tw/vortex3.asp
The colours are eye catching, yet tasteful and I have had many compliments for its ‘Nintendo’ Retro aesthetic.
My one gripe with it is the lack of task manager shortcut. Instead I have to opt for right clicking the taskbar. Which I must admit is a little tiresome.
However the macro functionality is phenomenal and I use them every day at work to help automate tasks and at home while gaming. Vortex also push firmware updates:
http://www.vortexgear.tw/vortex3.asp
Macklin
11
Nov 4, 2018
checkVerified Buyer
Follow-up to: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/vortex-race-3-mechanical-keyboard/talk/2037842
Typing on the keyboard, as expected, is now completely natural. The layout takes a little getting used to, and more so the switches (though this is to be expected when moving between switches). The build quality is top notch, but the keycaps are inconsistent as I said, with some being warped and discoloured, and the legends on a few being misaligned. Removing the keycaps has been a bit of a sore point for lots of people, but it's really not an issue at all given you use the right tool (a wire keycap puller), and are careful about it. I've had to do this numerous times, both for cleaning and once when I managed to dump an entire cup of water in the thing.
While I try to force myself to use the macro functions, they leave a lot to be desired - especially since you can't bind keys any keys that aren't already present on the keyboard. The one thing that I knew I would miss by buying this keyboard was QMK support, which would fix this issue completely. A major issue with the macros in my opinion, is how they are activated. I especially don't like having to cycle through layers in order to press macro keys. For example, in order to press a macro on layer 2, you need to hit Fn+Shift twice (which requires you to release both keys each time, very unnaturally), press the macro key, and then cycle back to the default layer by pressing Fn+Shift 2 more times. This makes using macros take way longer than they should, and depending on the macro can actually end up taking more time than just manually pressing the keys. I'd really like this to be simplified to a single Fn+Key action like the default functions already do (and perhaps the addition of another modifier for other layers). I've also been burned by the macro character limit (of 128 characters) a few times, especially considering it can cause you to wipe out any other macros keys that you press after the limit is hit (when the keyboard exits the recording mode and returns to the "key selection" mode). This could be easily fixed by keeping you in record mode, and just ignoring characters past the 128 count. Although I doubt many people will have this issue, since 128 characters should be enough for most.
Additionally, the connector at this point should really be type-c, there's no real reason not to.
This keyboard also ended up costing quite a bit to ship to Australia, $152 USD plus a $5.84 AUD transaction fee, coming to about $216 AUD! Not at all a cheap, but at least you get a solid keyboard in return.
tcbrekke
2
Feb 26, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
This keyboard is great. As some others have mentioned, would be slightly better if it was USB-C, but I'm reviewing the keyboard I bought rather than the keyboard I wish it was - I have a USB-C to Micro-USB cable so I can use it with a USB-C enabled computer without adapters, and it suits me just fine. Hard to tell what it is that makes this keyboard so exceptional, but I just got back to it after weeks using a Massdrop CTRL (which is fine! It's fine.) and this is just a joy to type on. If anything, I'm ready to retrofit the CTRL with DSA keycaps to see if I can get just a bit closer to the experience the Race 3 offers. It really is that good.
JanVerbeke
5
Jun 24, 2018
checkVerified Buyer
Product was in excellent state. Everything works as expected.
Only import costs (48EUR) +- 30% of keyboard price was rather painful. Nothing massdrop can improve but still worth mentioning.
Only import costs (48EUR) +- 30% of keyboard price was rather painful. Nothing massdrop can improve but still worth mentioning.
DanR
Aug 28, 2018
As an international customer, I appreaciate the heads up. Maybe one day we will be able to separate “purchase experience” from purely “product review” in the review system and that will make things less confuse for all, but right now I feel like there are multiple things being reviewed, not only the product.
BartoloColon40
80
Aug 28, 2018
DanRHe should have given 5 stars and warned (in both "discussion" and "review") about the shipping issues, in my opinion. That said, I see where you're coming from.
wavebeem
18
Aug 20, 2018
checkVerified Buyer
+ Very easy layout to adjust to after being used to TKL
+ Bezel and gap free design means the keyboard has an incredibly small footprint
+ The dual gray colorway is very nice and classic
+ The programmable Fn key combos are very nice
+ Nice keyboard feet give it a good angle if you want
+ DSA profile keycaps feel fantastic
+ Cherry stabilizer make switching keycaps a breeze
+ Easily removable cable using micro USB
- Minor warping on some keycaps causes uneven actuation.
- Nonstandard 1.5u sized Escape and Delete keys are basically impossible to find replacement keycaps for.
- Firmware was not up to date and had issues until I ran the Windows-only firmware upgrade tool.
- Not especially easy to figure out how to program it, but it's cool that you don't have to learn how to flash firmware yourself
mediis
14
Jul 2, 2018
checkVerified Buyer
Kind of crappy. Sure it types nice. But there is a bad switch on the left shift button, and this is causing all kinds of havoc and pain. They also sent me all of these cool keys to install but no key removal tool to remove the existing keys with. Right now, the thing is feeling like an overpriced POS.
ReheatedTacoBell
5
Sep 4, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Fantastic MKB!
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
MudkipMao
8
May 13, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Don't buy this if you value your wallet. This was a gateway keyboard for me. A great keyboard for the money, but next thing you know I'm dropping the same amount of money for switches and lubing them myself now 😂
Actually though, cherry mx clears feel great and the build quality of this board is top notch. People complain about how the ESC keycap is weirdly shaped which makes it hard to find customs, but I really love the stock keycaps on this thing.
Other features I love are: built in dvorak layout support (I'm one of those guys...) and being able to change to OSX command keys mode, which is super helpful because I am constantly connecting this keyboard to both macs and windows machines.
All in all, a fantastic first board! It might seem pricy but I'd argue that it's worth the money.
(Edited)
CaptNyan
28
Mar 22, 2019
checkVerified Buyer
Solidly built keyboard, love it to this day. the placement of the cursor/control keys are pretty weird and took a bit of getting used to but the layout overall is perfect for my preference over a 60% yet smaller than a TKL. the alternative coloured caps given are also a very nice touch. A bit biased though because I simply love the DSA profile and goes just perfectly with the XDA keycaps on my ErgoDox.
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Why choose this 75% keyboard over others? For me it was: - No frames, hence compact and takes up less desk space - RGBY keycaps included in the package - Quieter Vortex-made switch (IMHO, if you choose brown or silver, mine's silver) - Aesthetically pleasing, especially where the top Fn-key row is not orthogonal to the row below (but 1.5u ESC/Del keys are a bummer to find replacement) - Sturdy build. Feels like a quality product. - The Minister for War & Finance loves it
I definitely enjoyed it during the short period of owning it, before the Minister for War & Finance determined that it will be 'put to better use' under her Ministry. As she types all day she also decided to procure a wrist rest (http://a.co/eZMCCx7) 1-inch/25mm thick, which she finds very comfortable.