INTRODUCTION
HyperX x Ducky One 2 Mini
Those of you that feel like a tenkeyless peripheral is a more streamlined and better gaming device, then the Ducky One2 Mini board is what you should be concentrating on. However, this isn’t just your average run-of-the-mill tenkeyless board. It’s a sixty-one key gaming keyboard that also excludes 9 productivity key functions, which include the Home, Print Screen and Delete button features as well as the arrow key functions. Gamers have now been in awe of mini keyboards for quite some time now, and the Ducky One2 Mini peripheral has everything most gamer enthusiasts will love, which is a positively small overall profile, streamlined customization profile settings and, of course, mechanical key switches.
Wooting One
The Wooting One is specifically designed for those of you interested in gaming with it. This keyboard’s main goal is to provide gamers with new levels of control when it comes to in-game movements by giving players the option of hard keystrokes as well as gentle ones. The board’s build itself accomplishes this because it employs the use of analogue-based mechanical key switches, something that hasn’t been done by many gaming keyboards. While most of the gaming peripherals out there operate mostly in binary states, and provide only on/off activation features, this keyboard’s analogue key switches offer way more effective gaming experiences because they are designed and manufactured from the-ground-up
DESIGN
HyperX x Ducky One 2 Mini
The One2 Mini by HyperX and ducky is an absolutely gorgeous gaming peripheral. This small gaming keyboard measures in around 12×4 inches and has only sixty-one key functions. It’s undoubtedly one of the tiniest gaming peripheral on the market right now and can comfortably fit into any bag or on top of any workstation. In fact, you can get your hands on this device and still have plenty of room left on your desktop for that cheap regular-old productivity keyboard you’ve been eyeing, which you might actually end up needing if you opt for this keyboard. Oh, and as the board’s name suggests, the HyperX x Ducky device is a collab between Ducky and HyperX. If you’ve never heard of Ducky before, they’re manufacturers from Taiwan that produce really lovely minimalist peripherals that have a wide array of different kinds of mechanical switches.
Like most of the products this Taiwanese outlet has to offer, the One2 Mini peripheral is understated yet elegant and features swappable keycaps, if you’re the type to want the flashier things in life. The board’s black-and-red chassis made out of plastic material has several RGB backlighting zones and is striking without necessarily being obnoxious. Anyway, for those that aren’t familiar with mini gaming peripherals, it’s worth noting what you’ll be giving up if you opt for this route. You’ll most probably have to forgo discrete media key functions and a numpad. However, the One2 Mini device takes things even further by omitting the function keys usually found on the top row of a keyboard as well as 9 adjacent key features. What this means is no Home, Page Up/Down, Print Screen and arrow key button features.
Wooting One
The Wooting One gaming keyboard has a minimalist aesthetic to it, though the Wooting logo found on the frame is an exception to this, and it ignores a lot of the flashier accessories and features you’ll find on other gaming peripherals. In fact, currently you can only get it in one form and no variants are available just yet. Instead, the Wooting One peripheral concentrates solely providing an extremely satisfying and well-built gaming keyboard that can be tuned to meet the gamer’s needs.
The keycaps themselves on the Wooting One echo help show how high-quality the rest of the board’s build really is. It’s floating key design-style is further complimented by solid, precision-cut keys that almost never feel heavy or awkward. Every keystroke provides the user with satisfying feedback, with varying levels of ‘click’ volume, but this will depend on whether you chose Red or Blue switches. Anyway, the feedback and satisfaction continue into the board’s analogue modes.
Instead of searching for that instant gratification and satisfaction of 1000 tiny clacks and clicks, the Wooting One’s analogue modes allow players to experiment more during gaming and provides them with levels of control that’s really hard to match, let alone beaten. Stealth game titles will instantaneously become way more enjoyable and viable if you’re the type that likes a keyboard and mouse instead of a gamepad.
KEYS
HyperX x Ducky One 2 Mini
The HyperX x Ducky gaming device uses HyperX Reds, which are linear, quiet key switches that have an overall fine feel to them. But, they still aren’t as good as the Cherry MX Red switches they were inspired by. With that said, they’re still good for both everyday typing and gaming as well. Okay, yes the typing experience isn’t as comfortable as what you’ll find with the Wooting One keyboard, and you might accidentally hit adjacent keys but you’ll type faster on the HyperX x Ducky device than you would on a more traditional everyday standard keyboard.
Wooting One
The Wooting One keys are solidly built and use Flaretech optical switches, which can be found in both Blue and Red variants, and are fantastic for both gaming and typing. While the Blue options are definitely much louder than their Red counterparts, they still manage to be as satisfying. However, this will often largely depend on where you intend to use the peripheral as well as personal preferences. When it comes down to typing experiences, it’s hard to beat the Wooting One because it provides its fast-typing users a momentum that’s often not found in other gaming keyboards.
FEATURES
HyperX x Ducky One 2 Mini
The best thing about the Ducky peripheral is that it doesn’t use any software whatsoever. Complex software is something not many gamers like and this is even more true when the said gaming peripheral lacks extra key functions. Now you can imagine how bad it could have been when the One2 Mini board does everything it can to remove extra keys. Furthermore, the Ducky goes a step further on the wrong end by using in-built controls to try and compensate all this. By manipulating a series of keys, you can switch profiles, change color profiles, record macros and even play titles that are keyboard light-based. As much as this sounds good in theory, in practice, getting any one of these things done can sometimes extremely difficult.
Programming macros is both hard and tedious to optimize when you don’t have visual interfaces, and it isn’t like the user has many extra key functions to store them in. And, as much as those important keys we mentioned earlier on aren’t there, they aren’t completely gone. You can find them as keyboard shortcuts that can be accessed by using cumbersome combinations of the Alt and Function keys simultaneously. Some of these keys, like the media control functions are useful, but others, such as the right-and-left mouse clicks, seem like just show off functions.
Wooting One
The Wooting One uses its own proprietary software known as Wootility. This software allows you to fine-tune different profile settings while still allowing the user to maintain analogue keys as well. Practically everything about this gaming peripheral is customizable, from the board’s full RGB lighting to the activation points and sensitivity of its keys themselves. The Wootility software is relatively easy-to-use, though, if you want to get the best results during gaming, you’ll probably have to tweak each of the available options for some time before landing on something that you’re entirely satisfied with. This, for some, can seem tricky and daunting at first, however, it’s very rewarding when you finally find what works best for you.
Under-key RGB illumination feels like something every modern-day keyboard has to have these days and the one on the Wooting One works rather incredibly. By default, the user is greeted to a beautiful rainbow design that looks absolutely fantastic and spans across the whole keyboard. However, the Wootility software makes every key customizable which means you can program whatever you want. Owning this gaming keyboard will also mean you’ll access to the Developer Portal by Wooting themselves. This feature gives users access to continuing streams of information and updates about the keyboard itself as well as future firmware updates.
PERFORMANCE
HyperX x Ducky One 2 Mini
If you’re specifically looking for a HyperX x Ducky One2 Mini device, then there’s a high-chance it’ll largely be because of the keyboard’s gaming capabilities. As far as gaming is concerned, this peripheral has very little issues, Since the action and movement key functions are all there and accounted for, you’ll have a wonderful time running-and-gunning down enemies in Doom Eternal, completing treacherous quests in Final Fantasy, commanding legions in Age of Empires and climbing ancient relics in Tomb Raider. The mechanical switches will instantly convey the commands you give and are generally very responsive.
The biggest problem with the One2 Mini keyboard is that Fn keys sometimes serve useful purposes in certain games, whether its activating special abilities in Baldur’s Gate or in Overwatch when you have to analyze character commands, and this peripheral lacks such. The keyboard shortcuts it has will need you to use both your hands if you want to access such stuff, and it’s nearly impossible if you’re playing titles where speed is major factor. With that said, it isn’t a total deal breaker in all games, but if the titles you play require you to have function keys then that’s something you should keep in mind.
Wooting One
The Wooting One keyboard’s analogue key switches work very well in game titles such Hitman, PUBG and Fortnite, where the footsteps of a player can give their position away. It’ll take some time to get fully used to this, however, once you do you’ll end up getting and seeing some huge results. Also, pressure-sensitive provide for different experiences altogether when it comes to racing games. This keyboard will help you finesse around bends and corners with subtle movements that you won’t find with other keyboards and that would normally require a gamepad or racing wheel for one to achieve.
Okay, there’s probably a high chance you’ll be using the Wooting One keyboard for things other than gaming, right? Well, fortunately, Wooting kept this in mind when designing the board and built something that has different on-board profiles users can switch between. Furthermore, all these profiles can be customized using the board’s accompanying proprietary software. After a few change of settings here and there, one keystroke can change the peripheral from a unique analogue keyboard to a more traditional mechanical one with on/off binary actuations.
VERDICT
What Wooting have managed with their peripheral is something that’s genuinely special and innovative. It does incredibly well when it comes to both gaming as well as general typing. Not only is it satisfying to use but it has a great overall look and is incredibly responsive as well. Yes, it doesn’t come cheap, however, if you happen to be a hardcore gamer that’s searching for a gaming peripheral that can help highlight your strengths as well as function efficiently as a mechanical keyboard for volume typing then the Wooting One is definitely what you need in your life. There are not many tenkeyless gaming keyboards out there that flat-out best this device.
However, if you’ve never even tried your hand at using a normal tenkeyless keyboard before, then the One2 Mini might just prove too much for you to handle. It might be okay for gaming but it certainly can’t be considered a productivity tool. The only reason you’d want to pick the mini over the Wooting One is if you’re looking for something smaller than you’re regular-old tenkeyless gaming peripheral, but, if that’s not the case then the device from Wooting takes this hands down.
