Melgeek Modern97 Overview
The first thing that will catch your attention when you pull the Modern97 out of the box for the first time is the the colorway. Melgeek is offering this keyboard in “Ocean” and “Fountain” colorways. We have the Ocean colorway which is more of a light or white design compared to the Fountain which is darker.
I think the most interesting thing about the colorway is the top casing, which is this white color with sort of dots or ink splats in it. I really reminds me of something out of the 80s or 90s and I haven’t seen this type of design on a keyboard before. It really makes the Modern97 stand out compared to other keyboard. When it comes to the rest of the colorway we have mostly white keycaps with a few being blue and dark gold.
Talking about the keycaps they are ABS, but they are double-shot which will feel a bit better than just plain old ABS keycaps. Melgeek is using a MCR profile on their keycaps, which I have never heard of before. Below is an overview of these keycaps compared to others and they are very close to the Cherry profile.
Removing these keycaps we have our mechanical key switches which are the Kailh Sonic53, you also have the option to get the keyboard with Kailh Box Plastic and Kailh Tactile switches. These switches do come factory lubed. The Kailh Sonic53’s are designed as a fast linear gaming switch with a operation force of 45g, pre-travel of 1.2mm and total travel of 4.0mm. The PCB of the board is hot-swappable as well which allows you to not only swap out your switches but over time you can re-lube your switches.
This keyboard makes use of an upgraded gasket mount design. With this type of design the PCB is placed between two pieces of silicone with no screws connecting the PCB to the aluminum casing. The means that sound will not echo throughout the keyboard as you are typing. There are multiple dampening layers beyond just the large silicon dampener.
Looking at the keyboard from the side we can see that it sits at an angle. Melgeek has gone with a 7.5-degree angle, there is no other adjustment beyond this.
You will notice a transparent plastic all around the keyboard, which adds to the cool look of the keyboard. On the front edge of the keyboard towards on side you’ll find the USB-C connection as well as switch which will change between 2.4 GHz wireless, wired, and Bluetooth wireless modes.
Flipping the keyboard over we can see that transparent casing, which allows us to see the large silicon dampening pad. There are also some logos on the bottom of the keyboard and four rubber feet that will keep the keyboard in place on your desk.
