IQUNIX EV63 Hall Effect Keyboard Review
For the Super Competitive Gamer
Disclaimer: IQUNIX sent us a unit free of charge to review, but all thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are our own and were not discussed with the company prior to publishing.
Retail Price: $210.99
The basics
The Iqunix EV63 is a product that perfectly illustrates how an otherwise really good offering can be rendered undesirable due to one small personal preference. As a Hall Effect gaming keyboard, the EV63 covers essentially all of the premium gaming functions imaginable for a competitive accessory, so what is my dire dealbreaker that keeps me from wanting this board out on my desk full time? Let’s dive into it.
The EV63 in its violet color scheme
For a wired magnetic keyboard, I’d say IQUNIX has the gaming aesthetics fully covered. The USB-C port for connecting to a PC is isolated at the top left of the frame. It’s otherwise an aesthetically clean frame with no other holes. They offer this board in three colorways: violet, dark knight, and silver knight. The company sent me the violet offering and it's basically a black frame with what I would consider to be gray and maroon secondary accents. This version of the EV63 certainly has a masculine aura to it. The keyboard is made out of a CNC-milled aluminum case that adds significant heft behind the product. This adds an easy distinguisher between the EV63 and less premium competition out there. Once it's on your desk, it isn't moving—even during the most frantic gaming sessions. To even further fortify this premium aura, IQUNIX added carbon fiber texture to accent a couple spots in the design.
Hall Effect Goodness
The design language leans heavily into a sci-fi, industrial aesthetic, characterized by exposed screws, layered multi-color metal side pieces, and a forged carbon fiber vanity plate that adds a premium touch to the front. I’m not exactly sure if this occurs only on my unit or if it's a design language touch, but the accent plate shifts and produces a clicking sound as it hits edge to edge. It basically reminds me of a removable plate that can slide out so it isn’t perfectly lodged into place. I don’t think that’s what’s happening here but when my palms touch this spot, I do feel it shifting left and right which slightly annoys me from time to time.
Otherwise I do like the look and feel of the EV63. That back plate looks industrial with unique textures and accents throughout the keyboard’s design. It’s an exceedingly clean looking board. We also have a clean performing Hall Effect standard that covers all of the bases. The EV63 uses Magnetic X Pro switches which give off a direct stiff click with each keystroke. Typing is smooth and responsive as expected out of the box. They’re hot-swappable and the board is equipped with a 3rd-generation linear hall sensor. This allows for really accurate precision measurements that are truly noticeable in first person games.
Hall Effect keyboard staples like a 0.01mm Rapid Trigger that gives seamless adjustable actuation, 8kHz polling, and also ultra-low 0.125ms latency are obviously things the EV63 does well as a board of this manner. A custom EZ Dual Circuit System helps keep misfires, ghosting, and accidental presses from occurring in high paced matches. If I’m being honest, from a user experience point of view without any metrics to measure the differences between the EV63 and other HE competition, I have a hard time distinguishing performance differences that measure in the milliseconds. What I can say as a casual gamer is that the EV63 does all of the HE functions I’ve come to associate with the benefits of this type of board as well as any other HE board I’ve reviewed. The instant you release your finger, the key resets with snappy precision, facilitating the kind of rapid-fire repeated presses that are essential in competitive gaming. Simultaneous Opposite Cardinal direction is also a highly sought after feature that makes a big difference for games that can be decided by micro-movements and the EV63 does all of this.
For the customizing-obsessed, IQUNIX offers a breath of fresh air: the EV63 utilizes a web-based driver via their EZ Software. This means you won’t have to deal with bloated background processes eating up your CPU resources. You simply navigate to their site on a Chromium-based browser to fine-tune your actuation points, RGB lighting, and custom macros. Once your settings are saved to the onboard memory, you just close the tab and get back to the game.
This violet colorway is also distinctly different from the other two color offerings in that it has symbology on the double-shot PBT keycaps while the others opted for a uniformed translucent identity. There’s a pretty standard RGB profile here that seeps through the crevices as the keycap symbology does not allow for RGB to pass through it. Still, they’re easily legible on this model and it looks like a gaming peripheral when lit up. I don’t see anything special about the RGB aspect of the EV63, but it’s perfectly satisfactory to look at and compliments the board where it needs it to add flare to the desktop setup.
63% layout
Small shift and delete keys surrounding the directional keys
My biggest qualm with this board from IQUNIX that sadly disqualifies the EV63 from being my daily driver ultimately falls to the layout of this keyboard. It’s a highly compact form factor that squeezes directional keys into a 60% format give or take. I assume the EV63 name is to highlight the 63% layout exactly, but it’s a space saving keyboard for sure regardless of how anyone spins it. To squeeze the directional keys into this, the right Shift key has been shrunk to the size of a regular letter key. There’s also a delete key on the other side of the up direction key. It’s an unnatural place for the delete key, but my main issue lies with the right shift key with the “Super” symbology. I’m a right Shift key user and I’ve jumped up a line on accident nearly every single time I’ve attempted to capitalize a letter while typing on the EV63. This isn’t something that I’ll eventually get used to with practice as I’ve already had plenty of time to get accustomed to the layout and I’m still not able to type accurately or effectively. Even though this is a gaming keyboard with gaming focuses as its priority, typing is still an essential cog of what a keyboard is designed to do. I just can’t type with my regular speed and fluidity with this positioning and key sizes for a couple critical keys I use a hundred times daily. I get that directional keys are vital to some gamers, but in my personal use case, I’d be more than happy to sacrifice the directional keys for a more traditional 60% layout that allows me to use this comfortably for work and play at the same time.
Product Dimensions
11.86"L x 4.96"W x 1.52"H
While I couldn't live with this, I did ask Lida what she thought of the layout and it didn’t seem to affect her typing speed at all as she almost exclusively uses the left Shift key which has the traditional mass as a key. So while this one little thing may be a deal breaker to me and my flow, it might be irrelevant to yours.
The board is also a fixed angle without adjustable kickstands. The 6-degree typing angle is what you get and it’s a little flatter than I usually have my keyboards at. It’s not overly uncomfortable to my wrists, but it might be for others.
Should you Buy?
What is universally accepted to me is that the IQUNIX EV63 does feel and perform gaming functions like a premium keyboard offering. If you’re looking for an edge in Valorant or an assist in Marvel Rivals, a Hall Effect board like the EV63 fulfills the need. While I generally look for a keyboard that can fulfill my professional working needs equally to my personal gaming wants, I do see how the EV63 can be considered an elite out of the box tool for competitive gamers. The IQUNIX EV63 is a specialized tool. If you’re a casual gamer who spends more time typing emails or coding than playing competitive matches, the stiff typing feel and lack of wireless connectivity might make this a pass for you.
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