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Whirlwind FX Element Keyboard Review – A Flash of Brilliance

By: Dan
Published:
Whirlwind FX Element Keyboard

The Whirlwind FX Element keyboard is not something I think any gamer asked for. I don’t want that to sound negative, as a lot of things we end up buying are based on innovations we never considered. The Whirlwind FX Element keyboard is one of those innovations, and only time will tell if it’s something that catches on. I was lucky enough to get a review unit, so let me give you my opinion on the product.

Some History

I had the opportunity to meet the folks from Whirlwind FX at PAX East this past February. It was tough to ignore a booth with dozens of keyboards attached to a wall showing off tons of cascading and ever-changing RGB effects. Since the market has dozens of excellent keyboards, I needed to know this company’s angle.

As I often do at these conventions, I floated around the Whirlwind FX booth, trying to get a vibe for what the pitch was and what players thought. I heard a lot of “it’s really cool, but you don’t really need it”.

These comments piqued my curiosity further. It turns out that these players were not talking about the Element keyboard, but the VORTX. The VORTX is Whirlwind FX’s first product. I would consider it a haptic system that blows different temperature airs at you dependent on what is happening in-game. Imagine barrels exploding into a ball of flames, and you get hit with hot air on your face. That is what VORTX does, in the simplest terms possible.

The folks playing with the Element keyboard had a bit of a different reaction. Much more “dude, I need this” than “oh this is a nice to have”. That prompted me to flag down the CEO, Timothy Sun, and have a conversation about the Element keyboard. It was a very insightful meeting that led to me requesting a unit for review.

The basic concept is a keyboard that uses dynamic lighting to supply feedback to the gamer based on what is happening in their game. Imagine bursts of color when you are being shot, or a heartbeat pulsing as you are at critically low health. That is what the Element keyboard is bringing to the market.

Unboxing

As you may have guessed, full disclosure: I received my Whirlwind FX Element keyboard for free.

As most things are delivered, my keyboard came in a box. Everything was packaged very nicely. Upon opening the box, I saw that Whirlwind FX had supplied the Element keyboard along with a nice wrist rest attachment.

The packaging for both the keyboard and the wrist rest was very nice and professional. Upon opening the package, the same nice and professional touches are passed on to the packing of the products. Everything you need to get going comes in the box, including a little pamphlet that explains the setup procedure.

Upon initial inspection of the Element keyboard, the build quality looked solid. I did not get the same impression of the build quality as something like my Logitech G Pro keyboard, but it was far superior to the James Donkey keyboard I reviewed relatively recently.

The Element keyboard sports a brushed aluminum top with a solid plastic bottom half. This aluminum top and frame gives the keyboard enough weight to feel sturdy while still being thin and light. A braided cable for connectivity was a nice touch, and overall, the feel was of a solid $150 keyboard (we will get into actual price later).

The Specs

The Element keyboard is full-sized, complete with a number pad. I already mentioned the build materials, but what I did not talk about are the switches in use. The Whirlwind FX uses Kailh red switches, a popular “off-brand” alternative to Cherry switches. These particular switches are reliable and fast and have a lifespan of over 70 million clicks. Red switches are one of the preferred options for gamers, and if you want to know why, you can check out my guide to mechanical keyboard switches.

In addition to the expected quality in the switches, the Element keyboard has a faster than 1000Hz polling rate. That type of polling rate equates to better than 1ms latency. Considering most monitors still have 1ms or worse lag, that is a killer stat to have on the keyboard.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the RGB on the Element. It’s not just talking about all of the cool stuff you can do with it; I am talking about the LEDs themselves. Finally, with 16.8 million colors per-key, I can tell you the raw RGB look on the Element keyboard rivals any other RGB keyboard I have owned.

As always, I have held the best for last: the software. Because the innovation of the Element keyboard is the dynamic lighting effects, it requires robust software. Signal, as the software is called, is an open platform that allows Whirlwind FX (and users) to take advantage of the 16.8 million colors per-key capabilities of the Element keyboard. This open platform allows anyone with HTML5 and Javascript knowledge to write custom profiles for the keyboard, truly democratizing the experience.

Impressions

Setup

Plugging in and using the Element keyboard is a piece of cake. All you have to do is plug in a USB cord, and you are off to the races. If you want to use all of the cool features, and you should, then that requires the extra step (at least in my case) of going to the Whirlwind FX website and downloading Signal. Once Signal is installed, you can start having fun with all kinds of ambient lighting profiles, or add profiles that react based on the game you are playing.

The ambient effects profiles were awesome. I messed around with installing what felt like a dozen of them before moving on. While they looked nice, I tend to be a simpler man. If my keyboard and mouse have the same color lighting, and it doesn’t do anything fancy, I am at my happiest.

As luck would have it, the day my Element keyboard came in, I was slated to play some Warzone with friends. As luck would have it, there was a profile for that game. This profile would allow the Signal software to send dynamic feedback via lighting to the keyboard as I played the game.

How’s it work?

Now would be a good time to explain, in basic terms, how the Element keyboard can work with so many games. Unlike other keyboards, there is no need to access proprietary APIs or code hooks in the game to get the dynamic lighting. Not needing that intimate knowledge of the gaming software means that Whirlwind FX or normal users do not need to work directly with game developers to get their profiles working.

Whirlwind FX found a neat way around the issue of hooking into games by using information from the screen and audio output to trigger different dynamic lighting effects. I found that to be a fantastic solution, as it genuinely helps democratize the process. The only concern you may have is that you have to give Signal access to your screen and audio.

Does it work?

Okay, I hear you asking if it worked or not. It did work! I had all kinds of dynamic lighting madness going on during my five hours of gaming with friends. It was insanely impressive, and what was even more impressive is this particular profile was made by someone other than Whirlwind FX.

Opinion

Look, I am a techy through and through, and from that perspective, I feel like Whirlwind FX is the best thing to happen to gaming hardware in a long time. However, from the position of a journalist and reviewer, my opinion must be far more objective. So from my inner techy: this is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Now on to the more objective reviewer opinion.

Is it good or not?

From a place of pure objectivity, the Whirlwind FX Element keyboard is good. The build quality befits a keyboard of its quality. The switches, while off-brand, are commonly used in many keyboards today. The look, feel, and performance of the keyboard is reliable.

When we dig deeper, the software is excellent. The lighting profiles available in Signal are stellar, and the ability to customize your own is amazing. The dynamic profiles that give feedback based on information from the game you are playing are even better. I would argue you are paying for the software as much as the keyboard with the Element keyboard.

Now here are a few minor negatives I can see in the Element keyboard. The first is that the keyboard itself is nothing special without the software. If you just want an excellent keyboard, the Element will fit that description, but you won’t be using its full potential. Another negative for those with privacy concerns is the fact that dynamic profiles require you to give the Signal software access to your screen and audio. The final negative, and it’s honestly minor, is that the Signal software will eat up some computing resources. If you are very particular about your resource utilization, I guess that last one isn’t minor.

Personally, the dynamic effects added nothing to my gaming from a performance perspective. I thought that it might give me some feedback that made me adjust faster, but I never really noticed it. With time, I am sure I would train myself to look for it. If you are willing to make an effort to take in the extra data point that the Element keyboard offers, I think it could be a substantial advantage.

Currently, the Element keyboard retails for $129 but is on sale for $99. At that price point, it meets or beats every competitor, in my opinion. If Whirlwind FX continues to innovate, improve, and add models to the Element line of keyboards, they will be a significant market force.

My Wish List

What would I add next? A 60% keyboard with some nice tactile feedback blue switches. That’s my preference for a keyboard, and I would replace my current setup if Whirlwind FX offered it.

In the end, this is a pretty killer keyboard with an innovative idea. Time will tell if it is a need-to-have or a nice-to-have. For now, it’s just nice-to-have for me.

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