Are you planning to buy a mechanical keyboard for your daily gaming action? Interested to know more about the full size Patriot Viper V760 mechanical gaming keyboard with RGB backlighting? If so you’ve come to the right place. The following in-depth review of the Viper V760 will give you an idea of its gaming focused features and help you decide if it’s a good fit for your gaming or typing needs.
Keyboard Layout and Features
Patriot’s Viper V760 comes with full NKRO and six dedicated multimedia keys. You can utilize the 104 programmable macro keys it offers as shortcuts to your regular keystrokes and tasks. There’s an option to turn gaming mode on/off and the same can be done with the Windows key in case you are not using it or worry about accidentally pressing it in the middle of a game.
The V760 is a RGB backlit keyboard. You can choose from a wide range of color combinations (default is multi-color) and patterns. It also has options to customize the patterns and adjust their operating speed. There are 5 main profiles available by default. You can modify these default profiles to suit your needs or replace them with one of your own favorite customs.
Having a backlit keyboard can be useful for many users who still need to glance down occasionally to find a rarely used key, but let’s be real; the main reason for this type of backlighting is no doubt the flashy aesthetics. Patriot is catering to the gaming market after all. It really catches the eye and draws attention to itself. It’s a style that’s currently trending in the peripheral market targeted toward hardcore gamers. Having it be RGB backlit is also great if you want your keyboard to have specific color themes for certain games or programs, but not a feature the average mechanical keyboard enthusiast will put much thought into.
The Patriot Viper V760 features two USB plugs – one is for the keyboard itself and the additional plug is for the pass through feature (located on the top right side on the back) which can be used with an external storage drive, mouse or any other USB devices you have at hand.
The “anti-ghosting” is one of the most important features as far as the gaming side is concerned and helps ensure no keystroke is ghosted or missed. This is a boon for PC gamers who need to use multiple keys simultaneously and swiftly, and also for coders who hate it when their keystrokes go unregistered.
Switch Types
The Patriot Viper V760 features Kailh mechanical brown switches, a clone of the popular Cherry MX series that features a small tactile bump with no click upon key actuation and medium actuation force. These switches help the keyboard function a bit quieter as compared to other mechanical keyboards with clicky switches while still retaining some tactile feedback. This type of tactile switch is generally considered a “well rounded” switch that’s good for most tasks, but doesn’t excel at one in particular.
I’m sure many users (me included) would prefer Cherry MX switches over the Kailh brown variants. When compared with genuine Cherry switches they perform almost the same, except for the actuation point, which is slightly higher for Cherry MX Brown switches. Long term durability is an unknown, as this switch is fairly new to the market. Kailh’s reputation is quite low, even among other clone switches such as Gateron. Unlike Cherry, who have decades of experience and credibility to their name.
Build Quality
The Patriot Viper V760 has a high-end build quality and feels very luxurious, especially for the price point it’s currently being sold at. The body is constructed from aircraft grade aluminum which makes it quite sturdy and robust. It has a very thick braided cable. A little thicker than I would like honestly, but it does feel like that thickness will give it some extra toughness. If durability is one of your main requirements from a mechanical keyboard the Viper V760 definitely has you covered in that department.
The keycaps are made of ABS plastic in OEM profile and they’re pretty thin. The legends are laser removed, meaning the keycap was painted black and a laser was used to etch the legend by removing paint. The keycap material is translucent, resulting in a shine through character for the RGB backlighting. The font used for the characters is nice. Not overly aggressive or showy like most typefaces found on “gaming” mechanical keyboards.
This seems to be one of the few areas Patriot has cut corners to keep such a low price point. ABS will begin to shine with wear and the laser etched legends will fade over time. PBT keycaps would have upped the cost by a decent amount, but they could have at least gone with doubleshots. I guess Patriot figures if the keycap material really matters to a user that much they will still have the option to spend a little extra for a full aftermarket PBT keycap set.
Accessories – What’s Included?
There’s a magnetic wrist rest which comes in handy for resting your palms during long typing sessions. If you’re not a fan of palm rests or don’t use them for some particular tasks it can be removed quickly and very easily due to it being a detachable magnetic piece. Cleaning the keys won’t present any problems as you can remove each of them using the included keycap puller tool and the floating key design makes general maintenance quick and easy.
Customization Options and Software
16.8 million. That’s how many colors the Patriot Viper V760’s RGB backlights can replicate for personalization options. Each key can be individually customized. Doesn’t get any better than that. You’ll have no troubles at all while color coordinating the Viper V760 to match the rest of your setup. You can download the software and firmware for the Viper V760 from Patriot’s official website (link) which allow you to program macros with your favorite key combinations.
The V760 also offers the functionality to change colors and patterns for the RGB background lighting and a few other vital settings such as report rates, response times and Game mode on/off toggle. In case you takes things a little too far and want to reset the keyboard back to the factory default options, it can be done by pressing and holding the Viper key+Pause Break for 5 seconds.
Conclusion & Final Thoughts On The Patriot Viper V760
The Patriot Viper V760 is a full size gaming focused mechanical keyboard that comes with a two-year warranty, Kailh Brown switches, exceptional build quality and a highly customizable RGB LED backlight under every key. Not to mention the various gaming optimized features Patriot has included. All the keys are of a standard size, so most keysets and custom keycaps will work with the V760. Good thing to, because the stock keycaps aren’t great. I would have preferred a higher quality switch brand than Kailh, but considering the other features you’re getting at this price point it’s a minor complaint.
If you’re looking for a medium budget mechanical keyboard for hardcore PC gaming that still offers all of the bells and whistles that come with many costlier mechanical keyboards, the Patriot Viper V760 is definitely a high value for the money option. That being said you’ll have to live with compromises to both the switches and keycaps.
Pros
- It’s highly programmable and you can set up different profiles.
- RGB backlit for those who like to show off.
- Standard key sizes mean replacement keysets that fit will be easy to find.
- Anti-ghosting.
- Solid build quality, feels very sturdy.
- Comes with a 2-year warranty.
- Provides a fairly comfortable typing experience.
- The response of the keys is very balanced, not too hard to actuate, but not too easy either so you won’t be accidentally pressing a key you don’t mean to very often.
- The USB pass-through is a handy feature that I found to be particularly useful.
- Compatible with all operating systems, including but not limited to Windows 10 and Mac OS X (or higher).
Cons
- Kailh brown switches. Not necessarily a bad switch. In my experience actual performance is very similar to their Cherry MX Brown counterpart, though I would still prefer the use of authentic Cherry switches in a keyboard of this price point due to their high quality standards and proven reliability.
- Thin ABS keycaps (painted black) with laser removed legends. This is about as cheap as Patriot could go with the keycaps.
- Not exactly a con, but this mechanical keyboard is still somewhat on the noisy side. It doesn’t approach the audible click levels of say the Cherry MX Blue/Green switch, but if you need a keyboard which makes very little noise while gaming the Viper V760 may not be the right choice compared against boards with silenced linear red switches Cherry also produces.
- Even when the legs of the keyboard are fully extended, the height only increases slightly and may not be enough to give you the incline or angle you need. This should not be a concern for those who typically don’t require much incline on their keyboards.
As of writing this review the Patriot Viper V760 with Kailh tactile switches is available from Amazon.
