Ducky Shine 5 Review

[DarkEnergy]

This is my first review so give me some slack. 
 
I finally received the Ducky Shine 5 RGB in the mail today after over a month of waiting 

I chose the 5 over the others because the price was pretty much the same ($165 USD)

 

Due to new forum format, post had been split into multiple spoilers, click arrow(s) below

 

 

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I went with the MX Browns because I am a gamer and I type a lot. I prefer browns over reds because I feel that with reds I can't tell if the key is pressed or not which messes me up. I would have rather of gotten the blues but that would annoy everyone around me. 

 

The accessories it came with were the detachable usb cable (sadly it's not braided), the keycap puller, a menu key, and an extra spacebar with a goat on it (Year of the Goat). I've read that the plastic key puller like the one Ducky has can scratch the keys so I will be getting a metal prong one to replace it. 

 

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And then there's the keyboard itself. It features a brushed aluminum look (it's plastic). The keycaps have a grainy texture, more grainy then previous Ducky keyboards as far as I can tell. And the build quality is pretty solid, similar to the Shine 4. However compared to the Shine 3, I would say the Shine 3 has a more solid plastic feel. You have your standard key arrangement, and dedicated volume keys in the top right as a nice added bonus. As for the font they chose, well, I have no idea what it is. I've never seen it before but I like it a lot. One thing that they should have done would be to make the current windows keys not have the windows icon as not everyone will be using windows. 

 

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One of my favorite parts about this keyboard is the elevated stand. It's a soft plastic stub that you screw on to the bottom (It comes already installed) instead of a pop out flip one. This helps with keeping the keyboard from moving around and there is no chance of it closing up on you.  

 

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In the dark, the colors stand out very well. The blending modes included are; Color Cycle mode, Wave Mode, Snake Marquee Mode, Raindrop Mode, Reactive Mode, Ripple Mode, Aurora Mode, and of course no mode (all turned off). You create the colors either using a palette select or inputting how much of Red, Green, Blue you want. One thing I noticed is that there doesn't seem to be a brightness setting that effects all of the lights at once. (As far as I can tell, If I wanted to change the brightness of my current keys I would have to remake the color and just use less of the colors I used to make that color (tap red once makes a dark red, tap it more and it gets brighter))

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm very happy with my purchase and it's a big step up from my Logitech G105 membrane. 

[johnt]

Looks great, man! Congrats! 

[byalexandr]

 That is one sick keyboard. Still though, I love my Shine 3. ​

[farhanorakzai]

looks great. can't wait to get my mx blue shine 5 

[srolle]

nice - just got mine the other day. went with mx browns as well. love it.

 

the goat bar looks really nice when lit up. recommend checking it out once you get the puller.

[iTonyy]

nice - just got mine the other day. went with mx browns as well. love it.

the goat bar looks really nice when lit up. recommend checking it out once you get the puller.

I have a shine 5 YOTG and imo the goat spacebar is meh at best. Sure it looks cool but I really hate how they cut the channel for light to come through but didn't smooth the edges. While it's not enough to cut you, it's can be quite irritating on your thumb. Also not to mention that the lighting isn't very even on it, the top half is basically dark on mine and looks kind of half-assed when compared to the rest of the keyboard

[srolle]

I have a shine 5 YOTG and imo the goat spacebar is meh at best. Sure it looks cool but I really hate how they cut the channel for light to come through but didn't smooth the edges. While it's not enough to cut you, it's can be quite irritating on your thumb. Also not to mention that the lighting isn't very even on it, the top half is basically dark on mine and looks kind of half-assed when compared to the rest of the keyboard

 

mine looks and feels great on the black version. 

[DarkEnergy]

mine looks and feels great on the black version. 

It's going good here too. I do notice that the LED's under the spacebar can shine in your eyes if you're at the right angle which I am a bit often. 

[Kobathor]

where did you order it? On Mechanicalkeyboards it's still pre order. 

[DarkEnergy]

where did you order it? On Mechanicalkeyboards it's still pre order. 

From Mechanicalkeyboards. I thought it was off of pre order by now. 

[SurvivorNVL]

Gorgeous.  I can't wait for a Shine 5 TKL.  Dying to try the Nature White switches.

[Kobathor]

From Mechanicalkeyboards. I thought it was off of pre order by now. 

Oh.. I guess they're just out of stock for a FEW MONTHS then. Damn, why can't Ducky just make tons of keyboards? 

[Legion]

nice - just got mine the other day. went with mx browns as well. love it.

 

the goat bar looks really nice when lit up. recommend checking it out once you get the puller.

 

I just hope ducky don't screw me from using my snake bar. I have 3 of the lying around

[Couch225]

Are the RGB color programmable on this keyboard, I don't recall seeing any info.  (I was just skimming so may have missed it) Also would this be a good alternative to like the K70? 

[DarkEnergy]

Are the RGB color programmable on this keyboard, I don't recall seeing any info.  (I was just skimming so may have missed it) Also would this be a good alternative to like the K70? 

Yes, you can program each key's color and brightness.