Patriot Viper V760 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

Introduction

Patriot started in 1985 in the San Francisco Bay Area with the dedication to being the brand of choice for the tech industry with a high commitment to quality and outstanding customer service.  Patriot Memory designs, manufactures and markets high-performance memory modules, flash memory, mobile accessories and gaming equipment. Patriot has sales offices located throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Patriot sells through distribution channels throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Viper Gaming is a brand of Patriot Memory LLC, a global leader in performance memory, SSD’s and flash storage solutions. Viper Gaming was established in 2007 with the unveiling of the well-known, top-tier line of computer memory. Since then, the Viper Gaming brand has become synonymous with elite performance and reliability among gamers worldwide. In 2015, Viper Gaming decided to expand its product categories to include gaming keyboards, headsets, and mice. Offering entry, mid-level and high-end solutions with rich feature sets that won’t break the bank, Viper Gaming’s award-winning peripherals provide gamers everywhere the best price-for-performance and reliability that enables every Viper Gamer to dominate in their sport.

Texon Ware has recently launched Patriot Memory products in Pakistan. Patriot Memory Pakistan has sent us their Viper V760 Mechanical RGB Gaming Keyboard for the review. Viper V760 features Kailh Brown switches and has 16.8M colors customization per key. The keyboard has aircraft grade aluminum chassis which speaks for itself. There is a USB pass-through port on the front side of the keyboard. The keyboard has 103 programmable macro keys and 103 key rollovers anti-ghosting. Palm rest is magnetic which is a big plus. All in all, this keyboard packs what a modern day gamer could imagine and need.

• Product:         V760 Mechanical RGB Gaming Keyboard
• Manufacturer: Patriot Memory
• Brand:           Viper
• Availability:    Texon-Ware
• Price:            PKR 12500/-

Specifications

Packaging and Unboxing

The keyboard comes in a colorful cardboard box. On the front side there is a picture of the keyboard with lighting on covering the main section. Viper Gaming Keyboard V760 is printed on the top right side. The keyboard has super quiet mechanical brown switches and individually customizable backlit key color. The keyboard has a USB pass through which is my personal favorite feature on any keyboard that supports it. The chassis of the keyboard is made up of the aircraft grade aluminum Al¹³. There is an opening on the palm rest picture showing the arrow keys with VIPER text visible above them.

The backside of the box has a picture of the keyboard in the main section. Salient sections of the keyboard have been highlighted with white color lines and text. The keyboard has aircraft grade aluminum chassis, Light control keys, 5 Gaming Profiles, 100% Kailh mechanical brown switches, 104 programmable macro keys, 104 key rollover anti-ghosting, and full 16.8 M colors spectrum per key. The keyboard has a magnetic palm rest. Viper Gaming Keyboard V760 is printed on the top right side. Social media contact info the manufacturer is printed on the bottom. Serial no sticker is pasted on the bottom right side.

This side has a Viper brand logo printed on the left side. Cutout picture of the keyboard is printed on its right side. Viper Gaming Keyboard V760 is printed on the right side. Salient features of the keyboard are printed on the right side of the picture.

This side has identical layout as described above except that it has black color background.

The opening covers on both sides have identical layout. They have black color background. The Viper brand logo is printed on the left side in the white color. Viper Gaming Keyboard V760 is printed in the white color on the right side.

There is a red color box inside the main packaging box. It also has an opening on the same position as is on the main packaging box showcasing the keyboard while tucked inside the packaging. Opening the box would reveal the gray color Styrofoam placed on the top of the keyboard. This Styrofoam also has an opening on the same position as is on the red color box and the main cover box. Taking this foam off would show the keyboard placed inside a transparent sheet nicely tucked inside the Styrofoam paddings on the borders of the packaging box.

 

Accessories

These include: –

• Gamer Certified Brochure
• Quick Start Guide
• 2x Viper brand Logo stickers
• Keycap puller

The items are nicely packed inside a light pinkish tone color container. Quick start guide is brief which shows the overview of the keyboard along with the contents of the package. System requirements are PC or Mac with two USB ports supporting Windows Vista/XP/7/8/8.1/10 and needs 25MB of storage space for the software. Please, note that two USB ports are not mandatory as one is the USB pass through which is optional but since the keyboard has the functionality so user should take advantage. Software can be downloaded from their site by clicking here. Gamer Certified is the Viper way of saying that their gaming products are fine tuned for the gamers. Here is what they have to say about it, “Gamers are picky – nothing gets by them and they’re quick to shoot someone down (pun intended) if they receive anything less than perfect. Viper takes pride in bringing only the best products to ensure that no gamer is left behind. We understand the need for high quality accessories that will power through everything – whether you’re a novice that only plays on weekends or the expert that has 12-hour gaming marathons. This is why Viper is GAMER CERTIFIED.”

Closer Look

Patriot is well known for their Memory modules. Building upon the good reputation and base, they have invested in a Viper brand philosophy and have targeted the gaming community with some high end gaming peripherals that are Gamer Certified. We get a chance to test their gaming keyboard, V760 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard and it was a wonderful experience. Here is what Viper has to say about their V760 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, “This keyboard uses super quiet mechanical Kailh Brown switches for an undisruptive experience and each key can be individually customized to 16.8 million colors. The keyboard also features rollover anti-ghosting and 103 fully programmable macro keys for an optimal gaming experience that can be saved to up to 5 gaming profiles. An aircraft grade aluminum chassis housing ensures the keyboard will be able to handle everything thrown its way and USB pass through port conveniently allows any USB device to be used directly from the keyboard. Included magnetic palm rest is designed for user comfort during long gaming sessions and is easily attached and removed.”

Let’s take a closer look at the keyboard. This keyboard is only available in Kailh brown switches without any option of availability in other switches. Kailh is not a new name when it comes to mechanical switches as they are producing cost effective, good quality switches for over a decade now. They were founded in 1990 in China. They are well known for their MX Cherry Clone switches but they are also making custom switches as well. Here is a comparison of Kailh brown switches with MX Cherry brown switches:

Property	Kailh Brown Switch	MX Cherry Brown Switch
Behavior	Tactile	Tactile
Actuation Feel	Medium	Medium
Actuation Force	50g	45g
Actuation Point	2m	2m
Travel Distance	4m	4m
Rated Keystrokes per key	50M	50M

 

As we can see both switches are almost identical though Kailh switches are a bit more heavier than MX Cherry nonetheless the tactile feel same. Also, the design of the stems of the Kailh brown switches is identical to the MX Cherry hence they are compatible with keycaps compatible with the MX Cherry.

 

This keyboard has US layout with 104 keys on it. The keyboard has an aircraft grade aluminum frame which speaks for itself and quality is too good to speak of. The overall design of the keyboard is well synced with all elements and particularly with the magnetic palm rest. When this rest is attached to the keyboard the border alignment is so well synced that it gives the impression of a unibody design. I have no complaint in this department as build quality and design is right on the money. There is a silver color plate on the top side of the frame which is also in the aircraft grade aluminum. This plate is a bit raised above the frame or body of the keyboard and has the keys implemented on it. The keyboard has a function (Fn) key which when combined with other keys produces predefined functionality. We will take a look at that later in this section. Let’s start with the numpad of this keyboard. We have a standard 17 keys numpad. The keys on this keyboard are made of ABS material, not PBT. Note the text on the Enter key which is printed as Ent. The same convention is followed on the main Enter key. Above the numpad, there is a dedicated area with three LED indicators. The indicators are for Number Lock, Caps Lock, and Scroll Lock keys. These have LEDs which light up in the white only color to indicate that the corresponding lock is on. There is a nice silver/black color contrast in the overall design of the keyboard and the LED indicator area has a black color background to make it stand out of the silver plate. The keys on the numpad are following the standard layout and functionality.

The area on the left side of the numpad has another typical standard US layout following. At the bottom we have our arrow keys. All of these keys have dual functionality. A single press on these keys would produce a standard cursor movement functionality but pressing these keys in combination with Fn key would change the direction of the lighting effect subject to the particular key in question. There is a light orange color Viper brand name printed above the arrow keys. It does not light up but gives a better look in the overall symmetry of the keyboard. There are a set of 6 keys above the arrow keys which are Ins, Home, Pg Up, Del, End, Pg Dn. Here Ins stands for Insert, Pg stands for Page, and Dn for Down. In this set, only Page Up and Page Down have dual functionality where the second functionality is achieved in combination with the Fn key. At the very top of this section, we have Prnt Scrn, Scrl Lock, and Pause Break keys. Prnt Scrn stands for Print Screen, and Scrl stands for Scroll. Only Scrl Lock key has single functionality while the other two keys have dual functionality.

The top row has a standard implementation and it starts with the Escape key. Then we have a group of 4 keys with a gap between the groups starting from F1 key going all the way to F12 key. All these keys have dual functionality where the second functionality is achieved through Fn key combination.

This keyboard does not have dedicated multimedia keys but keys from 1 to 6 on the main section (not on the numpad) are designated for the additional multimedia functionality when used in combination with the Fn key. Certain keys of this keyboard have triple functionalities like the key no 1 where a simple press would output the number 1 on the screen but when pressed with Fn would play/pause the current track and when pressed with shift key combination, it would output the ! mark on the screen. The spacebar has 4 lines on the top of the key where the LED light makes its way and gives quite a subtle effect on this key. We have Alt keys on the spacebar’s left and right side. We have a window key on the left side of the left Alt. Unfortunately, this key has no dual functionality, which is very surprising as a simple Fn+Win key could have locked/unlocked the Windows Home key at much convenience. This could have been a handy feature. The software of the keyboard allows to lock/unlock the windows home key. Their design team should have considered this basic implementation. Before starting your gaming session, you would need to access the software and disable Windows keys from there which could have been a simple Fn+Win key combination. The Fn key is located on the right side of the right Alt key and it has a Viper brand logo printed on it in addition to the printed Fn text. The key on its right side is a properties key. Ctrl keys are the very ends of this line in the main section.

This table shows the defined functionality per key in combination with Fn key.

Keys Combination	Functionality/Effect
Fn + 1	Play/Pause
Fn + 2	Previous Track
Fn + 3	Next Track
Fn + 4	Mute
Fn + 5	Volume Down
Fn + 6	Volume Up
Fn + F12	Manual Macro Recording using F1 to F5 keys
Fn + F6	This combination toggles between these lighting modes: ·         Radar ·         Spotlight ·         Wave
Fn + F7	Ripple Mode Effect
Fn + F8	Vortex / SideWinder Modes
Fn + F9	Combination toggles between these lighting effects: ·         Raindrop ·         Reactive
Fn + F10	Breath Mode Effect
Fn + F11	Combination toggles between these lighting effects: ·         Static ·         Spectrum
Fn + Pg Up	Increases the speed of certain lighting modes
Fn + Pg Dn	Decreases the speed of certain lighting modes
Fn + –	Decreases the brightness of the lighting
Fn + +	Increases the brightness of the lighting
Fn + ˂	Changes the lighting effect direction from right side to the left side of the keyboard. In Wave mode, the functionality would be to increase the speed of the lighting effect.
Fn + ˃	Changes the lighting effect direction from the left side to the right side of the keyboard. In Wave mode, the functionality would be to decrease the speed of the lighting effect.
Fn + ˄	Changes the lighting effect direction from the bottom side to the top side of the keyboard. In Wave mode, the functionality would be to increase the speed of the lighting effect.
Fn + ˅	Changes the lighting effect direction from the top side to the bottom side of the keyboard. In Wave mode, the functionality would be to decrease the speed of the lighting effect.
Fn + Pause Break	Reset the keyboard to factory settings. There is an onboard memory for this purpose.
Fn + Prnt Scrn	Enables remapped keys to function according to user customization. This is what Viper refers to as Game Mode.

 

There is a functionality of defining custom backlighting and assigning to 5 designated kesy without software on this keyboard. Pressing Fn + F12 would make the keys F1 to F5 blink. Please, note that these keys have numbers printed from 1 to 5 in order which designate their recording behavior. Once these keys start to blink, press any key at a time to select that key to be assigned the custom key configuration. Pressing any key in record mode will change the color of the key and pressing it again will cycle through preset colors. Do this until keyboard is customized to preference. i.e: if keys WASD were selected, WASD will be illuminated, indicating that these keys were recorded and assigned to the selected “F” key where F would mean the corresponding function key from F1 to F5. When recording is completed, press the Fn + F12 keys again to save the recording. Repeat the process for each customization. This keyboard has 5 predefined Gaming Profiles each with specific lighting effect on it. Please, refer to the RGB Lighting section for more details. This keyboard has 103 programmable macro keys. For more info on the Macro, please refer to the software section later. Being a mechanical keyboard, it has 103 key rollover anti-ghosting feature ensuring that none of the key press will go un-actioned and un-noticed.

Let’s take a look at the front side of the keyboard. There is a USB port on the left side of the keyboard in a suspended design which speaks for its simplicity yet effectiveness. This is a handy feature as it enables the user to connect any USB device right to the keyboard without getting into a hassle of leaving the chair to connect the USB device on the backside of the PC Chassis. To enable this functionality, connect both USB connectors on the USB ports of the motherboard. The front side of this USB port also has a black color border. The central line on the front side is in black color whereas the limited area on the left and right sides are in silver color which really adds to the overall looks of the keyboard. Taking a peek at the left and right sides of the keyboard would reveal he double layered design of the aircraft grade aluminum. The upper portion is a straight line covering the entire length of the keyboard including half of the front. There is a black plastic material in between both layers and there is a beautifully curved aluminum body between the upper and the lower portion. It is extending on the backside of the keyboard in a reclining manner on to which the magnetic palm rest is attached. The sides show a bit of leftover work that could have been done to fine finish the sides though not a major complaint. The backside of the keyboard has 5 rubber pads in capsule design to avoid scratching on the surface where the keyboard will be used. We have two plastic feet with rubber paddings that can be slided out to raise the surface of the keyboard a bit. In my experience, these feet don’t raise the height of the keyboard to the extent that one could feel the difference and as such are not that effective. There is a white color sticker pasted on the center with Viper brand name and logo printed on the top left side. The complete model of the keyboard is PV760MBUMXGM. The keyboard is rated at 5V DC with 150mA. It is assembled in China. The USB cable is braided in two-tone colors and is really good looking in real. The length of the cable is 1.8m and it has two USB connectors. One is to power up the keyboard while is for the USB pass-through functionality. Here, we have another design time overlook. Both USB connectors have USB symbol on one side while the other sides don’t have any info to describe which connector is for what functionality. Like the connector for the keyboard should have a keyboard symbol on it and the connector for the USB Passthrough should have pass-through the symbol on it for ease of identification. This thing has nothing to do with the functionality of the keyboard but for the convenience of the user. There is a nice Viper branded cable wrap tie in red color on the USB cable. The rest palm is magnetic and this implementation has my praise for their design team. Once, it is hooked up, it sits securely and firmly. The left and right sides of the rest palm are in silver color to mix and match with the keyboard’s overall design in perfect symmetry. There is a red color Viper brand logo on the bottom right side. The backside of the rest has 6 rubber pads to avoid scratching on the surface.

RGB Lighting

The Viper V760 has full spectrum RGB 16.8 Million colors for individually customizable backlit keys. There are 11 predefined lighting modes on this keyboard in addition to 5 gaming profiles with multi-level backlit dimming. The dimming creates a unique and stunning lighting effect that is much pleasant for the eyes and is not overly done. Here is the description of the modes:

Lighting Mode	Effect
Spotlight	Keys light up on both sides of the keyboard, meet in the middle and then return
Radar	Lighting travels along the edge of the keyboard covering a section of the keys at a time
Waves	Color spectrum moves from one end of the keyboard to the other
Ripple	When pressing any key, the lighting will be spread in all directions; displaying a “ripple” effect
Vortex	Entire keyboard lights up one key at a time from the top-left towards the center of the keyboard and then becomes unlit in the reverse of the pattern
Sidewinder	Lighting effect starts at the top and winds to side to side until it hits the bottom row
Raindrop	Keys are randomly lit resembling the pattern of rainfall
Reactive	When pressing any key, the key will light up and fade
Breathe	Selected color brightens and then fades
Static	All keys are illuminated with one specific color
Spectrum	Keys cycles through colors of the rainbow

 

Nothing describes the light effect better than a video. We have recorded a video to showcase the lighting effect of the keyboard.

Software

Viper has provided a comprehensive, simple yet effective software to customize the lighting effect and defining, assigning the Macros. The software can be downloaded from their site by clicking here. When the software is launched for the first time, the software may prompt for the firmware update if it is available. The background color of the main interface is in black color. Looking closely would show that there is a Viper brand logo watermarked on the top left side. The Viper brand name is printed in the red color on the top left side. There are three small size buttons on the top right side. Clicking the ? button would show the submenu with three options. Reset Settings would reset the keyboard to its factory default settings. Click on Firmware update to check for a firmware update for the keyboard if available. The software version is 1.1.

There are no tabs but a simple interface that is easier to use. All the options are on the left side. There is a picture of the keyboard on the right side. There are Close and Apply buttons on the bottom right side. The flow layout is not dynamic hence you won’t get to see any color effect on the keyboard’s picture which could have been implemented to increase the visual effect of the software. The first option on the left side is the Lighting effects. Click on drop down list under Light Effects to see all the predefined lighting presets. We have already covered the lighting effects in the RGB Lighting section. There are 4 arrow indicators under Light direction. Clicking on an either of them would set the direction of the lighting accordingly. There are 7 preset colors for the majority of the lighting effects. Click on the desired one and then click on Apply button. If you would want to change the preset color, double-click on it. That would open a full-color spectrum window. Choose the desired color and click on Ok button. There is a rainbow button as well that would cycle through the 7 preset colors if selected except in the Spectrum and Waves modes. Next, there is a brightness slider control. Sliding it towards High side would increase the brightness of the lighting and sliding it towards Low would dim the brightness. Next is Light Speed slider. Sliding it towards Fast would increase the speed and reduces it when sliding towards slow.

Click on Macro Management to open a window to define, record and assign the macros. We have three columns in this window. The first column has defined Macros, the second window has keystrokes and the third column has Options like Start Recording button to start recording the macro action, Delay between keystrokes checkbox, and Loop checkbox with a textbox to enter the value between 1 to 999.

Next up is the Game Mode and Windows key lock. Each of these options has two checkboxes with On and Off text. Game Mode will enable remapped keys to function according to user customization. Windows Key can be locked/unlocked using the Windows Key Lock option by clicking on On or Off checkboxes respectively. Next up is the response time of the keyboard when the key is pressed. The default is 8ms. It can be changed between 2ms to 20ms. Last option is the Report rate which is defaulted at 250Hz. The range is 125Hz to 1000Hz.

Personal Experience

My experience with this keyboard has been very good. The build quality is right on the money. Kailh brown switches are bit heavier than MX Cherry brown switches but nothing significant. It won’t put stress on your fingers in a long session. I have used this keyboard while gaming, doing a routine desktop use, editing pics etc and it is a smooth experience. My personal preferred switch is Silver/Red though these preferences are personal and have nothing to do with the functionality of the keyboard. USB pass-through port works like charm. The RGB Lighting effect is subtle and not overly done. The keys are almost in a floating layout. I did not observe wobbling on the keys. This review text is coming from this keyboard as well. Palm Rest is magnetic and once hooked up, sits securely and firmly onto the keyboard. My only complaint from functionality perspective is the lack of Fn + Win key to lock/unlock the windows home key which seems to be design overlook more than anything else. Second complaint is the lack of description on the USB connectors clearly mentioning which connector is meant for what use.

Conclusion

We got our hands on with the Patriot Memory Viper V760 RGB Gaming Mechanical Keyboard. Patriot is well known for their Memory modules. Building upon the good reputation and base, they have invested in a Viper brand philosophy and have targeted the gaming community with some high end gaming peripherals that are Gamer Certified. This keyboard uses super quiet mechanical Kailh Brown switches for an undisruptive experience and each key can be individually customized to 16.8 million colors. The keyboard also features rollover anti-ghosting and 103 fully programmable macro keys for an optimal gaming experience that can be saved to up to 5 gaming profiles. An aircraft grade aluminum chassis housing ensures the keyboard will be able to handle everything thrown its way and USB pass through port conveniently allows any USB device to be used directly from the keyboard. Included magnetic palm rest is designed for user comfort during long gaming sessions and is easily attached and removed.

The Viper V760 has full spectrum RGB 16.8 Million colors for individually customizable backlit keys. There are 11 predefined lighting modes on this keyboard in addition to 5 gaming profiles with multi-level backlit dimming. The dimming creates a unique and stunning lighting effect that is much pleasant for the eyes and is not overly done. Viper has provided a comprehensive, simple yet effective software to customize the lighting effect and defining, assigning the Macros. Software can be downloaded from their site by clicking here. Patriot Memory is providing 2 years limited warranty on the keyboard. The keyboard is listed at PKR 12,500/- and is available exclusively at Texon-Ware. This is too good a price to pay for the features that this gaming keyboard packs.

My experience with this keyboard has been very good. The build quality is right on the money. Kailh brown switch are bit heavier than MX Cherry brown switches but nothing significant. It won’t put stress on your fingers in a long session. I have used this keyboard while gaming, doing a routine desktop use, editing pics etc and it is a smooth experience. My personal preferred switch is Silver/Red though these preferences are personal and have nothing to do with the functionality of the keyboard. USB pass through port works like charm. The RGB Lighting effect is subtle and not overly done. The keys are almost in a floating layout. I did not observe wobbling on the keys. This review text is coming from this keyboard as well. Palm Rest is magnetic and once hooked up, sits securely and firmly onto the keyboard. My only complaint from functionality perspective is the lack of Fn + Win key to lock/unlock the windows home key which seems to be design overlook more than anything else. Second complaint is the lack of description on the USB connectors clearly mentioning which connector is meant for what use.

We are thankful to Patriot Memory Pakistan for giving us the opportunity to review their Viper V760 Mechanical RGB Gaming Keyboard.