Written by Johannes Amstrup Andersen
-A mechanical keyboard with great in-game performance and exceptional value for your money.
Redragon Vata K580 is a surprisingly good and highly affordable mechanical keyboard. When it comes to mechanical keyboards, some top brands immediately come to mind, and Redragon is one of them.
The Redragon Vata K580 has everything a gamer might want from a mechanical keyboard. It is one of the best mechanical keyboards in its price range and offers a lot of quality, performance, and features at a very affordable price.
The Good
An unheard amount of features & gimmicks for such an affordable keyboard
Satisfying clicky feel
Exceptional value for your buck
Performs well above it’s price class
The Bad
Redragon software can be a bit annoying
Might be too clicky if you have thin walls
All in all, Redragon Vata K580 is a good keyboard I grew tired of my old keyboard which felt like very lightweight and would slide all over my PC desk. When I went looking for a mechanical keyboard, I decided to try Redragon Vata K580. I’ve only had it for a week, but so far, I’m satisfied with both the performance and quality.
The keyboard comes with bright RGB lights and pretty loud, clicky keys which can be disturbing for people in your household but also really helps give that mechanical tactile feel.
The keys are easy to press, and if you’re an avid typist or writer, your hands will bless you for buying this keyboard. The feet of the keyboard has a sturdy grip, and it doesn’t slide around the desk easily. The media and volume control buttons work well. The keycaps are highly durable, and the LED light shines through the caps very clearly.
When you consider the price of the Vata K580 it is a fantastic keyboard with a vast arsenal of features and excellent overall performance.
Redragon Vata K580: An in-depth look
Design and Look
Redgradon Vata K580 is one of the most attractive and stylish mechanical keyboards I’ve seen so far. It comes with six backlight themes and 18 backlight modes that allow you to type confidently in the dark. If you feel the backlight’s too bright, you can adjust the brightness with the “Fn” and “Up/Down” keys. The side edges of the keyboard are also equipped with backlighting with 5 RGB modes. All and all making the K580 a very flashy gaming keyboard.
You can’t talk about a mechanical keyboard without discussing the mechanical switches, and the K580 comes with OUTEMU Blue Switches that respond fast and have a nice clicky sound. I tried putting clear damping O rings on them, but it hardly made any difference since the OUTEMU switches are somewhat different from Cherry switches. While I did enjoy the switches on the K580, I would still have preferred the standard Cherry MX switches. That said, the OUTEMU keys are not far from Cherry MX in performance and have the same durability of up to 50 million keystrokes. Definitely one of the best alternative to Cherry MX.
Performance & Features
As mentioned above the OUTEMU Blue switches are very close to the Cherry MX version, both in terms of tactile feedback and responsiveness. They have a clicky, tactile feel and can be quite loud. They are incredibly durable and most users won’t notice the difference between these and classic Cherry MX switches.
Redragon Vata K580 comes with dedicated controls that allow you to quickly pause, play, and skip music using the keyboard without disturbing your game. Not only this but the board also comes with a backlight/volume adjusting wheel to alter the volume or brightness directly with the wheel instead of using the keys. I found the controls extraordinarily convenient and straightforward.
Using the five programmable Macro Keys (G1 to G5), you can win an edge over your gaming competitor. These macro keys are customizable through the Redragon software which is easy and quick to install from the Redragon website. You can download the software from Redragon’s official website although some users have experienced some trouble getting it to work for Windows 10, I did not experience this. You can easily record the Macro keys, save the recording, remove the default keybindings one by one, or delete all the recorded keys together. In all, the on-keyboard macro keys come with a maximum length of 8 keystrokes. If you face any issues while recording the macro keys, you can get in touch with Redragon’s Customer Support Team. A customer support team that in my experience is incredibly eager to help.
According to me, one of the most attractive things about Redragon Vata 580 is the option to replace switches. The keyboard comes with eight additional switches including black, brown, blue, and red. So, you can try each of the switch colors for a different gaming or typing experience. I love the clicky and responsive feel of the blue switches but since I have a roommate and thin walls I switched some of the most frequently used keys over to Brown. The keyboard comes with an easy-to-use key switch remover that makes it pretty straightforward to swap out the keys.
Durability and Quality
Redragon Vata K580 is a high quality and durable mechanical keyboard with a sturdy build. The keys have also passed the “50 million times keystroke test.” The double-shot injection molded keycaps are dustproof, waterproof, and do not fade even on prolonged use. So, if you like Cherry Blue switches, then this keyboard makes an excellent alternative to the more high-end options from Corsair or Logitech. The difference in quality certainly doesn’t feel as significant as the bump in price. In most ways, the K580 from Redragon feels just as qualitative as a lot of high-end options, and it really doesn’t feel like you sacrifice a lot when you opt-in for this budget-friendly option.
Final thoughts
Overall, theRedragon Vata K580 comes with all the features you need for gaming and more. The “on the fly” macro recording can be incredibly useful for gamers. You can easily download the software from Redragon’s official website and configure the macros in no time. The RGB functionality is great for matching the color scheme with other equipment. There’s no shortage of lighting options. At present, I’m using a combination of beautiful pastel shades that activates as soon as I hit a key. However, if backlighting isn’t your cup of tea, you can turn it off. I also really like the fact that the letters on the keys won’t even rub off or fade as you would expect in the case of a typical mechanical keyboard.
Moreover, the font used on the keys is bold and clear. The only two things that bothered me a little were that the drivers was a bit troublesome to get working for Windows 10 and the switch replacement process was somewhat cumbersome. Luckily the keyboard works just fine as a plug-and-play option and you by no means need to install the software unless you want to customize it further.
This keyboard is indeed one of the best mechanical options I have tested for under 60 bucks. It’s excellent value for money, and extremely comfortable to use. It is not as responsive as some high-end options like the Logitech G Pro or Razer Blackwidow Elite, but for less than half the price it gets pretty close. It also comes with a ton of features that you usually pay a lot more for such as macro keys, full media controls, and RGB lighting.