Keyboard customization has been a really good market for PC gaming lately, and its popularity has only grown higher. All this caused a lot of people to innovate on keyboard design, which led to the Glorious GMMK Pro, which we’ll talk about today.
What Is The Glorious GMMK Pro?
The Glorious GMMK Pro is a 75% mechanical keyboard with a lot of good things going for it. We’ll talk more about them later, but for now, let’s talk about their specs.
Glorious GMMK Pro Specs
The Glorious GMMK Pro keyboard has an 83 key, US (ANSI) layout that has a clickable Rotary Encoder. However, there’s also an International, 84 key ISO Layout available. The difference between the two is only in the positioning of some keys and the addition of 1 key to the International layout.
In terms of dimensions, it’s 332mm x 32mm x 135mm with a 6-degree typing angle. Its plate mounting is gasket mounted and uses aluminum as its case material. Once placed, its keycaps and the 6-inch USB cord are all removable and can be exchanged so long as they fit. However, the keycaps aren’t included in the base laptop. Its modular switches can be hot-swapped, though, like the keycaps, they’re not included in the laptop to encourage builders to build their own unique GMMK Pro.
Last but not the least, the base laptop has a Full N-Key Rollover, a USB-C 2.0 interface, and finally, QMK Open-Source Firmware Compatibility. The base laptop purchase also comes with tools for pulling keycaps and switches, so that’s a cool addition.
However, as stated, keycaps and switches aren’t added to the base laptop because they come in a separate package.
The Glorious GMMK Pro 75% Keyboard has a price of $169.99 for just the keyboard. Other additional parts like switches, keycaps, top frames, et cetera, are sold separately. We’ll talk more about those in the Design section of the article.
Glorious GMMK Pro Review
Design
Design-wise, the Glorious GMMK Pro lives up to its name. it’s a really good 75% Keyboard that comes with a variety of looks that cater to the builder’s wants. The keyboard, at its base (meaning what the keyboard comes with off the box), is its base layout complete with what we mentioned on the specs. It looks great in terms of design, and the fact that the user can customize it adds a lot to how it looks.
The Glorious GMMK Pro comes in 2 variants: White Ice, and Black Slate. Other than this though, the company also allows the user to tailor-make their keyboard on their website. Here are the various things that they offer for the Glorious GMMK Pro’s customization:
Keyboard Style
Black Slate: Matte Black with an Anodized Finish. A sleek, professional look that can appeal to anyone. Incredibly cool-looking when combined with some of the customization choices the company has available.
White Ice: Matte Silver with an Anodized Finish. Why this is called White Ice and not Silver Ice is beyond me. But it pairs well with RGB lighting and some of the other choices for the GMMK Pro’s customization.
Switch Plate
Aluminum: The base Switch Plate that comes with the GMMK Pro. It’s pretty good overall but is interchangeable with the Brass and Polycarbonate variants.
Brass: replaces the switch plate with a clean-looking brass plate that gives a clean tone when typing. Do note that some of the 3rd party stabilizers might not fit on the brass switch plate without further modification.
Polycarbonate: Last but not the least is Polycarbonate, which offers users a softer typing experience compared to the Aluminum and Brass switch plates. Not to mention it looks incredibly good on either White Ice or Black Slate variants.
Switches
There are a lot of switch variants that are available for the Glorious GMMK Pro. They come in either Linear, Clicky, or Tactile Switches and we’ll list them all here for perusal:
- 108x Glorious Pandas (Lubed and Unlubed) (Tactile Switches)
- 108x Glorious Lynxes (Lubed and Unlubed) ((Linear Switches)
- Red 120x Gateron (Linear Switches)
- 120x Gateron Black (Linear Switches)
- 120x Gateron Clear (Linear Switches)
- Black 120x Kailh Box (Linear Switches)
- 120x Kailh Box Red (Linear Switches)
- 120x Kailh Speed Silver (Linear Switches)
- Black Gateron (Tactile Switches)
- 120x Kailh Box Brown (Tactile Switches)
- Copper Kailh Speed Copper (Tactile Switches)
- Pro – 120x Kailh Purple (Tactile Switches)
- 120x Gateron Blue (Clicky Switches)
- Green Gateron (Clicky Switches)
- 120x Kailh Box White (Clicky Switches)
- 120x Kailh Speed Bronze (Clicky Switches)
Keycaps
Keycaps-wise, the ISO and ANSI Layouts have different keycaps available to them. However, we’ll list all the available keycaps and mark which ones are available for either ANSI or ISO.
- Celestial Fire (ANSI)
- Nebula (ANSI) (ISO Nordic and German)
- Celestial Ice (ANSI)
- Black Slate (ANSI) (ISO Nordic, German, Spanish, and UK English)
- White Ice (ANSI) (ISO German, Nordic, Spanish, and UK English)
- Olive (ANSI) (ISO Nordic) (ISO German)
- Pastel (ANSI) (ISO German and Nordic)
- Rain Forest (ANSI) (ISO Nordic, German, Spanish, and UK English)
- Caribbean Ocean (ANSI) (ISO German, Nordic, Spanish, and UK English)
The last 3 choices are all RGB Enhanced Keycap sets that are only available on the ANSI keyboard style.
- Black
- White
- Pink
Top Frames
Next on the list is the Top Frame, which can be added to further customize the look of the keyboard. Of course, this isn’t needed, but it’s an added option for enthusiasts. Here are the available choices:
Black/White (Base colors for the GMMK Pro)
- E-White
- Golden
- Prism Pink
- Aqua Blue
- Forest Green
- Navy Blue
Rotary Knobs
The Rotary Knobs of the GMMK Pro are pre-programmed to adjust playback volumes. However, this can be customized after the keyboard is fully customized. The knobs come in these colors:
- Black Slate/White Ice (Included on their GMMK Pro colors but can be bought separately)
- Gold
- E-White
- Golden
- Prism Pink
- Navy Blue
- Forest Green
- Aqua Blue
Cables
The cables of the GMMK Pro come in various colors. Although the Black Slate and White Ice variants have their color cables upon purchase, users can also order other colored cables for their pleasure. Here are the color variants available:
- Electric Blue
- Pixel Pink
- Cobalt Blue
- Glorious Gold
- Nebula
- Phantom Black
- Ghost White
- Forest Green
- Crimson Red
Build Quality
In terms of build quality, the Glorious GMMK Pro is pretty well-built. As stated, the keyboard has an aluminum chassis and plate that aids in its quality. It doesn’t flex at all, and the keyboard feels great to type or game in.
Key Quality
As the Glorious GMMK Pro didn’t come with keycaps upon base product purchase, we won’t talk about them here. However, all the keycaps are made with quality, though the performance will vary depending on what keycaps and switches they are using.
Switch Quality
Similar to the Keycaps, the Glorious GMMK Pro doesn’t come with switches on its base product. However, the provided switches on their website are quality switches that are built to last. Some of them are already pre-lubed, and the lubing is done pretty well. However, the user can opt to buy lube for the switches on their website as well if they wish to do the lubing on their own.
Compatibility and Connectivity
In terms of compatibility, the Glorious GMMK Pro can use both 3 and 5-pin switches, though it’s recommended to go 5-pin instead of 3-pin.
The Glorious GMMK Pro is compatible with QMK, an open-source software that allows users to edit their keymaps at their leisure. Glorious Core can also be used to edit the keymaps of the Glorious GMMK Pro. Lastly, because the keyboard is hot-swappable, it’s easy to pop and place new switches and keycaps with enough practice.
Glorious GMMK Pro VS Competitors
Now that we’ve talked about the Glorious GMMK Pro, let’s talk about other keyboards like it. We’ll start with the Keycool KC84, followed by the Royal Kludge RK84, and lastly, the IDOBAO ID80v2.
Keycool KC84
The Keycool JC84 is one of the better choices when it comes to gaming keyboards. It’s on an 84-key layout that’s placed comfortably on a good form factor keyboard that uses its space well. Users can also connect the Keycool KC84 with a USB-C Cable, or wirelessly using 2.4G, and the keyboard comes with its receiver to boot. Keycaps wise, the keyboard uses dye-subbed PBT Keycaps which is cool to see with the RGB lighting underneath them. It’s also hot-swappable, so there’s a really good addition to its specs. Overall, a good gaming keyboard to get if you have the money to do so.
Royal Kludge RK84
Another good pick is the Royal Kludge RK84, which has quite a bit of the stuff that the Keycool KC84 has. However, it comes with the addition of hot-swappable switches, which adds to its quality. Like the GMMK Pro, it comes in Black and White variants, though it doesn’t offer as much build variety as the GMMK Pro.
Overall though, it’s a good keyboard like the KC84, and can be used on either typing or gaming.
IDOBAO ID80v2
Last but not least is the IDOBAO ID80v2, an affordable customizable keyboard that markets itself to builders with smaller budgets. Overall, it’s pretty similar to the Glorious GMMK Pro, though it did skimp a bit on the build quality. However, users can pretty much make use of various switches and keycaps to their liking on the IDOBAO ID80v2, so long as they’re compatible. Overall, pretty decent keyboard for those that want affordability.
Is the Glorious GMMK Pro the Ultimate Gaming Keyboard?
The Glorious GMMK Pro is a customizer’s dream. Its base package is affordable, it’s easily customized by anyone so long as they follow procedure. It also looks pretty cool overall. All in all, it’s a great keyboard not only to customize but to use.
