Armaggeddon Stealth Raptor MKA-7 gaming keyboard

Armaggeddon [sic] is not a brand that is too well known within the gaming community, but it’s one that is pushing hard into the market. Established in late 2011 in Singapore, Armaggeddon has already introduced several PC gaming peripherals in the space, such as keyboards, mice and headsets, with many more products joining the line-up over the time. The Stealth Raptor MKA-7 is the latest addition to the vendor’s keyboard line-up, and it features high quality Cherry MX mechanical keys.

Under the radar

The Stealth Raptor MKA-7 comes with the option of different Cherry MX keys, but we chose to review the blue switch edition. The characteristics of this key switch are that it’s light and responsive, yet it also has a ‘clicky’ sound and feel to it. During use, this translates to a tactile bump when pressed, and a click sound during contact with the key’s activation point. For those that want a different feel, Armaggeddon also offers brown, black and red switches.

The keyboard itself has a conventional design with a black exterior. The Stealth Raptor MKA-7 is designed to be a heavy-duty keyboard that will withstand punishment, so it’s quite weighty, with a solid feel to the keys and the base. The keys are matte black, so fingerprints don’t show up as they would on a smoother key surface. All of the keys are illuminated with a blue LED, while the WASD and directional keys have a white LED. There is a wrist rest at the bottom of the keyboard, but it’s neither removable nor very long, so if you have larger hands you may need to take this into account.

Functionality over macros

Connectivity comes in the form of a combined USB cable with 3.5mm audio jacks (so you can pass your audio cables through the keyboard, too). The cable has normal plastic insulation and is not braided, which certain premium keyboards sometime adopt for durability. The USB and audio plugs are placed on the side of the keyboard, along with the buttons and dial used to control the audio level and key illumination. While the buttons and dial are well placed, they feel a bit loose and flimsy when pressed, which clashes somewhat with the overall premium and responsive feel of the Stealth Raptor MKA-7.

The Stealth Raptor MKA-7 comes with six macro keys. Instead of including dedicated keys for macros, Armaggeddon has instead assigned the functionality to the block of six keys above the directional keys (from Insert to Page Down), which are activated with the function key. On the positive side, the placement of the six keys is convenient enough where they can be easily reached when using the directional keys. However, those who want dedicated programmable keys located somewhere else on the keyboard will likely want a more comprehensive keyboard setup.

Back to basics

The Cherry MX keys on the Stealth Raptor MKA-7 were comfortable to use during testing with Company of Heroes 2 and Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, which make use of the hotkeys and WASD keys respectively. However, the lack of programmable keys on the keyboard itself meant that we mostly overlooked the macro feature that the Stealth Raptor MKA-7 offers.