Dygma Raise 2 Keyboard Review

The Dygma Raise 2 is simply a divided ergonomic keyboard that has competitory gamers straight successful its sights. This isn't your mean gaming keyboard; it’s a luxurious, split, conflict platform with the customization imaginable to marque it your ain successful a mode fewer others tin vie with. Unlike astir ergonomic divided keyboards, it doesn’t unit the spread connected you. When you're feeling traditional, you tin easy recombine its halves portion inactive maintaining the competitory borderline of its diagnostic set. It doesn’t travel inexpensive and this level of customization is frankly not for everyone, but compared to different ergo keyboards aimed astatine gamers, it has a batch to offer.

Dygma Raise 2 – Design and Features

If the Dygma Raise 2 were a video game, it would beryllium a genre blender. It combines aggregate plan inspirations into 1 package, offering ergonomic sensibilities with gaming-friendly features and aesthetics, and precocious programming that's capable to fulfill gamers and programmers alike. And though this compact peripheral spins aggregate plates, it someway keeps them each successful the air, making it 1 of the champion ergonomic gaming keyboards you tin bargain contiguous – and 1 worthy considering for your regular workflow if you walk each time astatine a PC.

Coming to marketplace astatine $369 via Dygma's website, it doesn't travel inexpensive and is intelligibly positioned arsenic a premium product. That content begins from the infinitesimal you unfastened the box. The Raise 2 doesn't travel successful accepted cardboard packaging. Instead, it comes successful its ain customized carrying case. It's semi-hardback for extortion and trimmed with woven cloth connected the outside. The wrong is molded to lucifer the keyboard and its accessories precisely and is lined successful a velvety cloth to support everything harmless and scratch-free.

The keyboard itself feels arsenic precocious quality. Starting with construction, I was impressed to spot that it comes successful a afloat aluminum case. There's nary integrative to beryllium recovered here, extracurricular of the switches and keycaps. Speaking of, it’s topped with treble changeable PBT backlit keycaps that won't slice oregon amusement digit oils astir arsenic easy arsenic emblematic gaming keycaps. It should look conscionable arsenic bully years into the aboriginal arsenic it does erstwhile taking it retired of the container the archetypal clip with conscionable an occasional hitch down.

Out of the box, the 2 halves of the keyboard are joined solidly unneurotic utilizing a obstruction strategy that allows it to look and consciousness similar a much accepted keyboard. There’s nary wobble to talk of. It’s stone solid, and the obstruction strategy is simply leagues amended than astir divided keyboards which propulsion unneurotic similar puzzle pieces.

Each fractional includes an integrated thenar remainder that enhances its comfortableness and ergonomics. It does diminish its compactness somewhat, but it’s a worthwhile trade-off successful my sentiment and gives the keyboard a unsocial look. You tin usage the thenar remainder connected its ain with conscionable the metallic lawsuit to enactment your hands, but the keyboard besides comes with leatherette foam pillows that connect magnetically and are shaped to lucifer the nonstop layout of each half.

Above the bottommost row, the Raise 2 uses a modular 60% layout that lacks a relation enactment oregon dedicated arrow keys, similar the Wooting 60HE oregon Ducky One 3 Mini, but determination are large changes beneath the waistline. Instead of a spacebar, there’s a thumb clump of 4 smaller, programmable buttons connected each half. The 2 apical keys are modular tallness and usage your switches of choice, but the 2 bottommost buttons usage debased illustration switches truthful your thumb tin easy descent down for speedy access.

It looks unconventional, but astir radical thin to deed the keyboard with 1 thumb, typically successful the aforesaid spot. Swapping to a thumb clump similar the ErgoDox, gives you 7 other programmable keys, cleanable for macros oregon shortcuts. Or, similar galore ErgoDox users, you could representation immoderate of these keys to different communal functions similar Backspace, Enter, Delete, oregon “layer” keys that let you to rapidly entree secondary functions for each key. There’s a tiny learning curve, but climbing it returns benefits to productivity arsenic good arsenic gaming.

The thumb clump supports ergonomics by allowing for little manus movement, but much important is the divided itself. The typing country connected a accepted keyboard is narrower than astir shoulders and forces you to tuck your arms successful to type. Likewise, due to the fact that you're moving connected a single, azygous slab, each of the keys are positioned consecutive on, forcing you to crook your wrists outward to really usage them. Neither of these are a bully lucifer for the quality assemblage and tin pb to repetitive accent injuries implicit clip done pronation, supination, and ulnar deviation.

The Raise 2 gives you the quality to debar each of that. The divided allows you to decently abstraction your arms much comfortably and follow a much neutral position. Each broadside being autarkic besides means that you tin space them to amended lucifer the space of your wrists.

But the keyboard has 1 much instrumentality up its sleeve, albeit 1 that you’ll request to wage other to experience: tenting. The quality to "tent," oregon vertically space each broadside of the keyboard, is simply a cardinal diagnostic of galore divided keyboards successful the productivity world, but is inactive uncommon successful gaming. Since the Raise 2 is designed astir due ergonomics, its inclusion present makes a batch of consciousness (even if I privation it was a default diagnostic alternatively of an optional add-on).

On the underside, you'll find not one, not two, but three sets of adjustable tilt feet that let you to personalize the space from a level zero degrees to a comparatively steep 60 degrees. This is done utilizing 2 agelong horizontal tilt feet connected the apical and bottom, each inset with 3 smaller tilt feet that tin beryllium turned to slot into a track, locking the angle. The feet closest to the borderline of the keyboard flip retired to adhd stability. You don't request immoderate tools and these changes tin beryllium applied successful conscionable seconds. At its highest, your palms fundamentally look each other, the aforesaid mode that they volition if you marque a close space with your elbow.

And if you opt into the Tented Base add-on ($80), you'll besides beryllium capable to adhd 1 of my favourite features from the archetypal Dygma Raise: the 360-degree underglow lighting ring. Each is encircled with a airy diffuser, projecting a colorful glow underneath. It was already agleam connected the archetypal Raise, but Dygma has made it adjacent brighter here. It’s gorgeous, topping each different gaming keyboard with a akin airy ringing I’ve encountered. It gives the quality that the keyboard is floating connected a basal of airy and is an adjacent much striking diagnostic than its per-key RGBW backlighting.

It’s lone aesthetic, but it’s truthful defining that I privation it were included connected each keyboard. Unfortunately, it's different add-on that volition tally you a 2nd $80, bringing your add-on full to $160 – and that’s without considering immoderate different extras oregon accessories you mightiness beryllium funny in, similar wireless connectivity.

If there's an Achilles' bottommost that divided keyboards look extracurricular of the archetypal learning curve, it's the magnitude of wires they require. Depending connected the board, you'll person to link some halves to each different and past tally different ligament to the PC. Or sometimes some halves tally into a cardinal portion which connects to the PC. In its wired configuration, that's wherever the Raise 2 falls, with each fractional needing to link to a tiny hub that Dygma calls the Neuron.

Upgrade to wireless and each of that goes away, astatine slightest for a while. With this add-on, the USB hub besides acts arsenic a wireless transmitter, allowing some halves to run wirelessly with a 1,000Hz (1ms) polling complaint for gaming-grade responsiveness. It's besides capable to link to up to 5 antithetic devices implicit Bluetooth, though for gaming, you'll decidedly privation to usage 2.4GHz for the champion responsiveness.

I accidental “at slightest for a while” due to the fact that each of its bold lighting makes a immense interaction connected its artillery life. Each fractional comes with a 2,370mAh artillery (4,740mAh total), which Dygma rates astatine astir 20 hours of beingness with the lighting connected max. Dropping brightness tin widen this (as tin connecting implicit Bluetooth) but you’ll beryllium recharging this keyboard comparatively frequently.

All of these add-ons are meaningful upgrades to the Raise 2, and it’s to Dygma’s recognition that it’s offering addons that genuinely heighten the experience. But brace yourself, due to the fact that the existent pricing exemplary means that if you privation this keyboard afloat kitted out, you’ll request to walk $619. You work that right.

The Raise 2 is unsocial successful the marketplace and, with its programming options and divided design, tin connection a beauteous large acquisition to anyone consenting to instrumentality the clip to accommodate to it and larn its software. But astatine that price, you could prime up 1 of the champion monitors, a large fund laptop, oregon the Nintendo Switch 2.

This doesn't marque the Raise 2 a worse product, caput you. Halo products person their place, aft all. But it does mean that the keyboard isn't going to beryllium accessible to a immense scope of gamers and powerfulness users. This is simply a keyboard that you’ll person to cognize that you privation and precisely why you privation this nonstop happening for that terms to marque sense.

Should Dygma person included things similar the structure kit and the RGB basal successful the basal price? Maybe. But it's besides worthy remembering that this is simply a tiny team, making thing that nary 1 other is, supporting it with boutique bundle that’s amazingly powerful, and actively maintaining it with firmware and bundle updates. The R&D costs, the manufacturing, the salaries and benefits for employees, and each of the different overhead for a institution similar Dygma to beryllium are each a portion of that price.

I get it, but man, does it sting.

Dygma Raise 2 – Software

You can't speech astir the Dygma Raise 2 without besides talking astir its software. It's truthful important to the wide acquisition that portion it is technically optional, you would beryllium depriving yourself of the keyboard's existent functionality to spell without.

The keyboard uses a bundle suite called Bazecor. It offers astir of the functionality you would expect, with the lone existent limitations appearing successful the lighting, which presently lacks the quality to customize the preset lighting animations. It does let you to easy make your ain static lighting settings, though, truthful there’s inactive plentifulness of country to marque the keyboard your own. These settings tin adjacent beryllium applied to idiosyncratic layers, and I personally usage it to item shortcut keys I’ve programmed in.

Programming keys is wherever things get truly interesting. Being capable to remap keys and delegate macros is simply a staple of gaming keyboards and is particularly important for compact keyboards similar the Raise 2. But if you’re disquieted astir its missing keys, don’t be. You tin reassign them to secondary layers that are lone a thumb fastener away.

Think of layers similar virtual keyboards that you entree by a fastener of your choice. Hold that fastener and those secondary functions go available, similar holding Shift to entree symbols on the fig row. The thumb buttons marque the cleanable companion to this system, allowing you to person a full second, third, oregon 4th acceptable of keys and functions readily accessible without needing to reposition your hand.

Dygma besides gives you aggregate options for however to entree these layers which tin beryllium creatively employed to amended your play oregon workflow. You tin pat and hold, similar a mean Fn button, oregon take to person to swap to different furniture until you pat the cardinal again, cleanable for rapidly swapping layouts betwixt games oregon roles. You tin besides acceptable One-Shot keys, wherever you tin occurrence disconnected a azygous bid and person it automatically bounce backmost to your archetypal layer.

The remapping options are generous. You tin delegate keys, media controls, rodent controls, and Windows shortcuts. You tin delegate dual functions to keys, wherever tapping a fastener sends 1 output and holding it sends another. Every input tin besides go a shortcut with immoderate operation of modifier keys.

The bundle besides gives you the almighty quality to make Superkeys. This diagnostic allows you to representation up to 5 antithetic actions to a azygous key. Tap, Hold, Tap and Hold, Double Tap, Double Tap and Hold tin each person idiosyncratic assignments. You're not constricted to basal keyboard inputs, either. These tin beryllium macros, shortcuts, and conscionable astir thing other you would usually beryllium capable to map.

It's a almighty acceptable of tools that sounds simpler astatine archetypal than it really is. With a small creativity, it's imaginable to springiness the Raise 2 much inferior than a TKL keyboard. Superkeys, successful particular, is hugely almighty adjacent successful basal tasks similar double-tapping a cardinal alternatively of hitting a shortcut. It does instrumentality clip to acceptable up, and you should program connected needing to marque adjustments arsenic you go, but implicit clip you’ll find that the Raise 2 becomes uniquely your ain successful a mode astir different keyboards simply can’t.

Dygma Raise 2 – Performance

Coming to grips with the Dygma Raise 2 is simply a spot similar peeling backmost an onion. While you tin usage it consecutive retired of the container arsenic a basal divided keyboard with a fewer other thumb buttons, the much you put into it, the much it gives you successful return. Features similar Superkeys, dual relation keys, and aggregate layers of virtual keyboards for game-, app-, oregon situation-specific keymaps marque it uniquely good suited to amended your show successful some enactment and play.

I'll admit that erstwhile I archetypal started utilizing it, I didn't wholly comprehend its potential. As I tested each of its antithetic features and modes, however, it became crystal wide however customizable it truly is. In my case, I bash a batch of penning extracurricular of gaming. That means a batch of navigation and substance formatting, which tin beryllium hard with a 60% keyboard that lacks carnal keys for galore of those functions. Yet here, I was capable to representation formatting controls to elemental pat and clasp commands. It ne'er got successful the mode of typing due to the fact that azygous keystrokes inactive worked normally.

For gaming, this besides has earthy benefits. Being capable to necktie up to 5 antithetic functions to a azygous cardinal tin heighten the ratio of accomplishment and spell rotations to marque you much susceptible successful combat. In World of Warcraft, this was utile arsenic I leveled up my paladin and tanked dungeons. Rather than automate my full rotation, I tied assets based attacks to my main onslaught fastener and utilized double-tap to trigger them. In Battlefield 4, I did thing akin but tied my rocket launcher to a treble pat of my superior limb key.

By giving users the enactment to execute aggregate actions with a azygous cardinal press, the Raise 2 becomes an inherently much businesslike input instrumentality for anyone consenting to instrumentality the clip to marque it their own. If you’re similar me, erstwhile you recognize the imaginable of what it tin do, you’ll find yourself wishing that each keyboard you usage offered the same. You tin spot an illustration of my productivity keymaps successful this reappraisal for an illustration of conscionable however overmuch inferior its functions tin adhd to the basal furniture without losing immoderate carnal keys.

The Superkeys diagnostic is presently successful beta. It works, but I'm excited to spot it travel to a last merchandise for a spot amended latency. Any fastener assigned a Superkey has a tiny interaction of latency arsenic the keyboard processes the 5 layers of commands. I thin to beryllium precise delicate to this benignant of happening and noticed it close away. It didn’t interaction the accuracy of my typing, however, truthful I was usually capable to disregard it.

The existent typing acquisition is precise good. Compared to the archetypal Dygma Raise, it's notably better, with improved acoustics and amended feeling keys. The stabilizers came pre-lubed from the factory, truthful determination wasn’t immoderate rattle connected my sample. I besides recovered it to beryllium precise responsive, adjacent implicit Bluetooth.

The quality to usage the keyboard wirelessly is game-changing. I emotion divided keyboards, but honestly, they’re a batch to negociate with aggregate wires to dispersed crossed your desk. The Raise 2 eliminates that. I was capable to tuck the Neuron retired of show and the keyboard inactive performed flawlessly and gave my table a cleanable look that I truly enjoy.

Though the keyboard is already small, being capable to usage 1 broadside astatine a clip is simply a large payment for competitory shooters. There’s nary request to space the keyboard oregon execute weird wrist gymnastics to maximize your rodent space. In my case, I acceptable 1 of my layers specifically for one-sided use, turning it into a afloat functional power pad utilizing a fraction of the footprint of a mean keyboard.

The large question present is whether each of this functionality is “worth it” erstwhile the asking terms is truthful high. There’s nary mode astir it: This is simply a luxury gaming keyboard. But dissimilar galore “premium” products that slope connected sanction designation and flashy looks, the Raise 2 offers genuine inferior that could heighten your productivity and show successful games. It won’t abruptly marque you a amended gamer, but it’s the benignant of instrumentality that tin complement your accomplishment and go an important portion of your arsenal.

For galore people, it’s going to beryllium priced retired of consideration. But there’s an assemblage for this keyboard that extends beyond gamers. If you’re successful the demographic that looks astatine a keyboard similar this and isn’t instantly frightened off, there’s a bully accidental you’ll autumn successful emotion with it if fixed the opportunity.