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Mechanical keyboards have become mainstream these days, and the main obvious reason behind this is that they are super responsive and offer a more precise and comfortable typing experience. There are some famous brands out there that offer premium-class mechanical keyboards at reasonable prices, and Akko is one of them.
The infamous peripheral brand Akko is quite popular for its unique, high-build quality, and feature-loaded classy keyboards. Its latest Year of Dragon MOD007 V3 HE Limited Edition is no exception.
Priced at $179.99, the Year of Dragon MOD007 V3 HE keyboard brings dozens of customizations to the table, from plate swapping to mapping keys. However, this is a very common quirk every mechanical keyboard possesses, but it has something that most of the mainstream mechanical keyboards don’t offer. More on that later.
I’ve been testing the Year of Dragon for the last few weeks to find out how well it performs and whether it’s worth standing against some of its immediate rivals, such as the Asus ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless and the Drop CSTM80.
Price and Availability
Akko MOD007 V3 HE Year of Dragon starts at $179.99 and comes in a Cyan Chinese Dragon theme. You can snag the keyboard directly from Akko’s official website.
Pros
- Sturdy Aluminum build
- Mesmerizing Year of Dragon design
- Hall Effect Magnetic Switches
- Impressive 8k Hz polling rate
- Solid PBT keycaps
- Stunning RGB lighting
Cons
- No wireless connectivity
- Slightly pricey
Unboxing
Design and Build
When unboxing the Akko MOD0007 V3 HE Year of Dragon Limited Edition, my reaction was, “This keyboard is a work of art.” The CNC aluminum frame feels incredibly sturdy and premium in the hand. Finished in a Cyan Chinese Dragon theme design, the keyboard looks absolutely stunning. The Year of the Dragon-inspired perfectly carved elements, such as a Cyan Dragon, Chinese letters, and symbols on several keycaps, truly reflect the rich stories of Chinese mythology.
The keyboard underwent a three-tone anodization process, making it highly durable, scratch-resistant, and enhancing tactile sensation. The combination of Cyan, matte Black, teal colors, and light turquoise accents makes the keyboard even more mesmerizing. The shiny gold-finished strip on the four sides of the keyboard gives it a striking look.
Image Credit – Abhinav FatingOn the back side, there are Chinese letters meticulously engraved on the golden finished plate, translating to “Year of the Dragon Limited Edition”. The carved Chinese letters are not only visually eye-catching but also feel very premium to the touch. Additionally, four rubber strips at the bottom offer a steady grip on the desk without any sliding.
Akko went with the compact 75% layout for the Year of Dragon which is indeed a great choice. The TKL compact layout offers considerably more desk space compared to the full-sized keyboard. While I loved the TKL (tenkeyless) layout keyboard which is very compact, comfortable, and easy to use.
The board’s default FR4 and Brass plate has some flex but Akko also offers an extra copper plate which gives a stiffer feel while typing. The keyboard brings a decent amount of heft, weighing over 1.9 Kg, making the board a lot heavier than the likes of Asus’s Azoth, Strix Scope II 96 wireless, and Drop CSTM80. Keep in mind that the keyboard isn’t designed to be portable and don’t even try it because its weight makes it hefty for a board of its size, and when you hold it in your hand, you’re going to feel it.
Image Credit – Abhinav FatingThe keycaps Akko offers here justify the price tag itself. You get Akko’s PBT keycaps in Cherry profile, meaning that they are highly durable and hard-wearing plastic than the cheaper ABS, and should last a long time.
The Dye-sublimated PBT keycaps have a great textured finish that feels excellent under the finger. There is also a multifunction knob for controlling volume and brightness levels, which brings great convenience. Some keycaps have 5-sided Dye-Sub including Spacebar, Tab, Caps, Shift, and Esc, which is very intriguing. There are no adjustable feet here, instead, you get a taper-shaped 5-degree fixed typing angle.
Image Credit – Abhinav FatingAccording to Akko, the magnetic switches aren’t hot-swappable, but since there’s no electric contact between the switch and PCB, it indirectly makes it hot-swappable. However, I wouldn’t suggest doing so. One thing to note here is that the Year of the Dragon doesn’t support mechanical switches, which is slightly disappointing. However, Akko offers a dedicated MOD007 Flex Cut PCBA separately that supports 5-pin mechanical switches, which you can directly add to your order while purchasing the Year of the Dragon keyboard.
In terms of its connectivity and interface, the Akko Year of the Dragon Limited Edition has only a wired connectivity option. You’ll find the USB-C port on the top side of the keyboard for wired connectivity. It’s a shame that a $180 keyboard isn’t wireless; even its immediate rival, the Asus ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless, offers a tri-mode connection – a 2.4GHz receiver, and wired and wireless options at similar pricing.
Performance
Inside the Year of Dragon Limited Edition, Akko has incorporated its in-house Akko Cream Yellow Magnetic switches with bottom-out 50g force. The soft linear switches are extremely smooth and responsive and offer a total 4mm travel distance and 2mm actuation point, which feels supremely snappier, making them a superb switch for gaming as well as typing.
Image Credit – Abhinav FatingThe Year of Dragon is also gasket mounted, which gives a softer and more comfortable typing experience. Inside the casing, there are plenty of sound-dampening foam layers — a 3mm Poran plate foam and 1mm poram bottom case foam — which helps it to offer excellent acoustics.
The Year of Dragon keyboard features solid linear Akko Cream Yellow Magnetic switches with Hall-effect sensors inside, making it super comfortable to use with smooth actuation. Competitive gamers will also be pleased to know that the Year of Dragon MOD007 V3 HE has an 8000Hz ultra-high polling rate, meaning you get near-zero latency (0.125ms) control, which is hard to find in mainstream mechanical keyboards. Combining the ultra 8K Hz polling rate with a rapid trigger immediately activates and deactivates the key with a shorter travel distance of 2mm actuation point, making it ideal for FPS gaming.
They have adjustable actuation points, yes you heard right. This means you can easily customize the actuation distance to trigger the key, ranging from 2.5mm to 0.1mm for fine-tuning and setting up rapid actions which is especially useful during gaming. Gamers will surely appreciate the Hall-effect magnetic switch features which are enough to take the gaming experience to the next level. During my testing, I was quite comfortable with this well-built 75% layout, and the smooth PBT matted keycaps were great to type on.
The keyboard only has a sole wired connectivity which means you won’t have to worry about charging. During my testing period, I didn’t notice any connectivity issues whatsoever. It worked perfectly while gaming and typing, the switches were extremely responsive and snappy with zero lags. The Year of Dragon is compatible with both Macbook and Windows laptop/PC. You get premium quality USB-C to USB-A flexible cable with good length, which is a nice touch.
Image Credit – Abhinav FatingA small note: The Hall sensors of the board are sensitive to temperature variations, resulting in potential changes to the magnetic field of the keyboard during transportation. For an optimal typing experience, Akko recommends upgrading the keyboard to the latest firmware as soon as you receive it via its companion app. Once the keyboard is updated, manually calibrate the keyboard by gently pressing every key through the app – about > Maximum Key Travel Calibration > Start calibration’. The keyboard auto-calibrates every second, but manual calibration is only needed initially and after resets or updates.
Software and Lighting
The Year of the Dragon has Akko Cloud Driver support to further activate the keyboard’s advanced features. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with VIA and QMK firmware support, which is slightly disappointing. But Akko’s Cloud Driver fills that void, offering a range of impressive advanced features including Roar Mode, Rapid Trigger, Remap, Dynamic Keystrokes, Toggle Key, custom activation, GamePad Mapping, and Curve, Mod-Tap, and 20+ RGB lighting effects.
You can customize pretty much everything with the Akko Cloud Driver.
Roar Mode – Roar mode enhances the keyboard speed by ensuring the fastest response from each key after activation. You can set up to four keys for the Roar Mode activation. However, keep in that the backlight will be disabled automatically by switching to the Roar mode for overall optimized performance.
Toggle Key (TGL) – Toggle Key transforms a key into a toggle switch, which means when you press a toggle switch, you can either continuously hold down the key/function or trigger the key/function multiple times at a high frequency.
Dynamic Strokes (DKS)– With the DKS you can assign four different operations to a single key. It’s quite similar to the Macro but without all the automation. The DKS works on the keypress force system: a light press triggers action 1, a deeper press activates action 2, and releasing the key also supports a two-stage key setting.
Mod Tap – Mod-tap is pretty much similar to the DKS. It allows you to set a maximum of two different functions in a single keypress – holding down the key for one function and pressing the key for another.
You also get a dedicated GamePad Mapping and GamePad Curve with six different presets to further optimize the keyboard for the ultimate gaming experience. It offers two function layers here, so power users have a great advantage here.
Image Credit – Abhinav FatingThe Year of Dragon has a per-key RGB backlighting with over 20+ preset animation modes. In addition to that, you can also create your own custom RGB light effects with Akko Cloud Driver. The south-facing RGB lights are quite vibrant and sharp, elevating the overall look of the keyboard. Gamers will surely fall in love with this RGB lighting.
Overall, I really loved Akko’s Cloud driver software. It has particularly every feature that we can expect from proprietary software.
Should you buy the Akko Year of Dragon MOD007 V3 HE?
You should buy it if…
- You want a sturdy CNC Aluminum finished keyboard
- You want a highly customizable keyboard
- You need snappy Hall-Effect magnetic switches
- You want a compact 75% layout
- You want a keyboard with a unique design
You shouldn’t buy it if..
- You want a keyboard with wireless connectivity option
- You want swappable switches
- You prefer a full-sized layout
This exceptional product has achieved the distinguished Pinnacle Selection award, a mark of unparalleled excellence for surpassing an average rating of 4.25 stars out of five. Recognized as the best in its class, it embodies the highest standards in innovation, design, and user satisfaction. Our review confirms its status as a leader, with virtually unmatched quality and performance.
Final Thoughts
Image Credit – Abhinav FatingThe Akko Year of Dragon MOD007 V3 HE keyboard is geared towards gamers and casual typers. It stands out with its class-leading design, catering to both casual and gaming users with enthusiast-level features. The unique Cyan Chinese Dragon Theme design sets it apart from the competition.
This mechanical keyboard features highly responsive Hall-sensors powered durable PBT magnetic switches. It boasts a solid, well-built CNC Aluminum finish, a compact 75% layout, advanced features, powerful software with a high level of customization, and vibrant RGB lighting. The Year of Dragon Limited Edition demonstrates that a highly customizable keyboard doesn’t have to carry an expensive price tag.
The attention to detail in the Year of Dragon is unmatched. However, its only drawback is the lack of wireless connectivity. In comparison, similarly priced competitors like the Asus ROG Strix II 96 Wireless offer a wireless option but lack advanced customizations available with the Year of Dragon.
For those seeking a keyboard that perfectly balances unique design, exceptional customizability, comfortable typing experience, and seamless wired connectivity, the Akko Year of Dragon MOD007 V3 HE Limited Edition keyboard is an ideal choice.
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