Montech is a relative newcomer to PC gaming gear. Established in 2016, the Taiwanese company has been focused on making components, working mostly on PC cases and cooling gear. Now, Montech is making forays into PC peripherals, including the Montech MKey ($99), a mechanical gaming keyboard that offers hot-swappable key switches and a customizable rotary control knob. It's a looker, too. All of that is impressive enough, and when you factor in the MKey's eminently reasonable cost, it easily clinches an Editors’ Choice award as an enthusiast-level gaming keyboard at a near-budget price.

No MKey Business Here

The Montech MKey comes in two form factors, the full-size layout tested here, and a tenkeyless (TKL) version, which is $89. The company offers two different color schemes for both layouts: Freedom and Darkness. We tested the Darkness color scheme, which, as you can see in the photos throughout the review, isn't as dark as its name suggests. While we aren’t too keen on the naming convention, we found the multiple colors to be a refreshing change from the monotone nature of most other high-end gaming keyboards we’ve seen over the years.

The aesthetics are matched by the included keycaps. While a standard set of keycaps is included and pre-installed, you get an extra set of keycaps in the box with designs on them to replace the Escape, Enter, spacebar, and Function keys. The optional keycaps add an extra layer of artistic design that is much appreciated and usually reserved for higher-end keyboards.

Along with the alternate keycaps, the MKey comes with an included keycap/switch puller. You'll also find in the box a braided USB Type-C cable for connecting the board to your computer. While the MKey lacks wireless connectivity, its USB wiring is thoughtfully designed. One end of the cable has nubs that slip into grooves around the MKey’s port, adding a layer of security against disconnects and port breakage. Also, channels in the chassis' underside help with cable routing.

Our test keyboard is outfitted with Gateron Brown mechanical switches. Gateron switches are pre-lubricated at the factory, and are smooth-press in action, with moderate clickiness and pleasing feedback. A Monkeytype test showed accurate registration of key presses in hot-and-heavy typing sessions. If the feel of Gateron switches isn't your cup of tea, you can replace some or all of them from the hot-swappable PCB. While the MKey isn't as open to customization as a truly elite enthusiast keyboard like the System76 Launch Heavy, which is three times as expensive, it is nice to see hot-swapping becoming more common in lower price ranges.

Measuring 1.6 by 17.4 by 5.4 inches (HWD), the board stands just slightly smaller than the Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro, our previous top choice for premium gaming keyboards. Angled feet on the top corners of the keyboard offer three different typing angles to relieve wrist strain. The keys themselves are made of PBT plastic and painted over, so there’s no shine of the RGB lighting through the keycaps' tops. Instead, the RGB LEDs are south-facing and are tied to each key individually.

Holding down the Function key and hitting the C key will cycle among RGB effects, but a more satisfying way of doing it is with the rotary knob. Pressing the knob until it glows (it has its own RGB lighting) will allow you to cycle through RGB effects. Pressing the knob again yields more functions: It can control audio volume when it glows blue, and it can zoom in and out within programs when it glows red.

While cycling the RGB effects is fun, you probably won’t be doing it much once you land on your preferred effect. We would’ve appreciated the ability to reprogram the rotary knob using a software utility, but that doesn’t seem to be a feature at present.

Skip the Software

Montech has a software utility for other customizations, though it's oddly named ("Mcore105") and hard to find. We didn't see a mention of the utility on the included quick-tips card. or on the box. In fact, we found it only by hunting for it on Montech's website.

Clicking on the software button sent us to a download page on the cloud storage site Mega (yes, that one), which raised our paranoia levels a tad. This feeling persisted when Windows Defender flagged the program as potentially dangerous, but we threw caution to the wind and were greeted with a standard, if a tad bare, software utility.

In the end, you don’t gain much by downloading Mcore105. As previously mentioned, you can cycle RGB effects on the keyboard itself, and hardware-record macros on the keyboard itself via a number of button presses. If you’re the kind of person who fusses with keyboard settings, you may appreciate the ability to see your macros on the screen to help organize them. Even if you're not, it's still disappointing to see such a half-baked software utility servicing such a nice keyboard.

Verdict: A Light in the Darkness

A handful of big-name keyboard manufacturers make perfectly serviceable keyboards around $100, but no maker has emerged from obscurity swinging as hard at the budget-mechanical keyboard market as Montech has. The MKey's stellar build quality, stunning design, and ease of use more than make up for its lackluster software. So far, Montech has only the MKey (in those TKL and full-size versions) available in the US. But if it's anything to go by, watch this company. We're keen to see (and type on!) Montech’s next offering.