Overall and Final Verdict
So where does the bloody B975 land now that I’ve done my testing and taken a closer look at the board and the software? Well, to put things in perspective I was a little worried when I got the keyboard in, saw some of the “flashy” features and felt how light the board felt. Thankfully it didn’t turn out the way it initially was looking. I ended up really liking the switches, they basically make this board. The LK Libra’s were designed to feel a lot like Cherry Browns and Reds depending on the model you get. The browns did a good job of keeping that tactile feedback without being too loud, hard to press, and without feeling mushy. The built-in stabilizers in each switch actually make each keypress feel a little more solid, this is helped a lot by the higher quality keycaps bloody went with. This alone sets the B975 up above a LOT of the market. Most companies worry about the flashy stuff and forget that keyboards are for typing (and for gaming of course). The 1.5mm actuation point seems to be a happy medium between the stock MX and MX Speed switches, I didn’t have any trouble when gaming or typing.
If I closed my eyes and didn’t have to look at anything else I think the B975 might be the perfect keyboard for me. But I wasn’t really digging the chrome accents used on the board. I also really ended up hating the logo above the direction pad. I didn’t like its size, but more importantly from time to time it would distract me when I would end up touching it because it stands out and is really rough. I initially liked the font used for the key legends, but there were a few that ended up being hard to read, so there is some room to improve there. The software also ended up being a mess for me as well. All of the functionality was there, but it was just hard to navigate and use.
So would I recommend the B975? If you don’t mind all of the flashy stuff, sure. But I really think bloody is going to have to bring out a cleaner simpler model. All of the features are there and they have something unique with their keyswitches. Its easy to see that they have spent a lot of time fine-tuning those. Hopefully they get the clean and simple keyboard that I love to go around them. The pricing is another concern as well. Including two different wrist rests and all of those extra keycaps that I didn’t end up wanting to use at all really adds to the price. At $149.99 for the MSRP, this isn’t a cheap keyboard, even compared to other bloody optical switch models. I actually think the B845 looks like it could be a similar but better buy at a much better price. Anyhow, if you get the chance to try out the bloody switches I would do it. Rumor has it, they also have a simpler model coming out as well that might fit my style a little better. With a few of the guys behind the Cooler Master mechanicals now working with bloody, I would keep a close eye on what they have going on!
Live Pricing: HERE
