Tecware Spectre 75 Keyboard Review: Pre-built with almost a Custom Keyboard Experience

We are in an era where mechanical keyboards can be personalized down to the tea for each individual, but it can be overwhelming – just like any other hobby. I have a higher affinity for pre-builds and these days, we see keyboards competing with custom keyboards and, in some cases, surpassing them with good software and such (The ROG Azoth is a perfect example). But not everyone has the dough to spend a pretty penny on such a keyboard. This is where the Tecware Spectre 75 Keyboard comes in.

After using it for a few weeks, we must say – you are getting a steal of a deal for a little over RM 330. Read on to find out more.

Tecware Spectre 75 Keyboard Review

Looks and Build

From the looks, you are looking at a 75% keyboard with a vanilla finish – there’s nothing to scream about. It’s all black, made out of a PC Plate and a plastic case at the bottom – which is expected.

You can see that the keycaps are proper Double-shot PBT keycaps that are non-shine through – so RGB is on the surface of the keyboard and it doesn’t shine through the keys. But to be fair, with the RGB it does look pretty good. Now – they do offer the keyboard in a White finish – which does look stunning. But after my experience with White keyboards, I am going to stay away for now.

But the moment you lift the keyboard out of the box, I must say – the feel of it is different. You’d expect it to be hollow but nope, it is properly dense and feels like there’s more going on. Turns out it does have a lot going on. In a traditional mechanical keyboard, it’s pretty barebones – you have the keycaps, top case cover, PC switch plate, PCB and Bottom case. Not to forget, in a pre-build, your switches are permanently soldered.

This gives a rather hollow feel and everything feels louder, raw but not rough and as I said earlier, barebones. This is where Tecware has brought the “custom keyboard” feel which usually costs a lot of money to the budget-friendly price point.

Special Thing about the Spectre 75: Lubed, Foamed and Feels Sensational

Let’s start with the switches: in our case, we received the Cocoa Brown switch (Tactile) which offers 36gf of actuation force, bottoms out at 55gm and has a total travel of 4.0mm. I do enjoy linear switches more than Clicky and Tactile. However, these tactile switches felt a lot different than the traditional kinds. My go-to mechanical keyboard uses normal brown switches and it feels like a less intense version of the Blue switches.

And usually, a normal switch feels normal, there’s no other way to say this. In this case, these switches are pre-lubed: which means it’s a lot smoother, you get a more quiet typing experience as the friction is reduced along with the spring ping. The only way you can tell the difference is if you go to a shop and try it. Trust us, pre-lubed switches feel like typing on a toasted marshmallow whereas a normal switch feels like typing on a normal marshmallow if you get what we mean.

The second thing to highlight: Foam. This is the best thing to happen to mechanical keyboards in my opinion. Foams are the best way to dampen the vibration, sound (Well, more resonance than sound to be fair) and reverb while retaining the feel and experience that you get out of your preferred switch.

There are different levels of foam application which can go from easy to super complicated. In this case, Tecware has used 2 foams – for the plate and PCB. This makes a world of difference. I love how it sounds and the thocky sound is something I genuinely enjoy over the more barebones sound that you get from your traditional pre-built keyboard. Unfortunately, you can’t remove the foam as it would void the warranty but hey, you can go ahead if you don’t care about the warranty at all.

Finally, the entire experience that comes together – it’s amazing. I was in awe typing on this keyboard and I did find a hard time wrapping my head around it, especially after I was given the pricing information. Now, what we have said does sound too good to be true and I don’t blame you. So, we have recorded an audio of the Spectre 75 – which you can listen to it below.

Some other additional things worth noting: They have opted in for a gasket mount on the keyboard, multi-layer dampening which we wrote about earlier, V2 Stabilizers, Spacebar fillers and they have included a spacebar silencer pad which you can DIY.

There are some inclusion of extra lubed switches – 4 to be specific, which makes sense if your WASD keys get worn out. But worry not, since the switches use your normal 5-pin layout – you can pick up some different switches from your nearest store and customize the keyboard to however you want.

Tri-Connectivity equals Better Versatility

With the built-in battery, the Tecware Spectre 75 offers triple connectivity. You can connect via USB-C cable and the same port doubles as the charging port, 2.4G Wireless connection via receiver and Bluetooth. So, technically you can have three separate connections to three devices which is a good thing. In my case, the Bluetooth mode was connected to my iPad Air, the 2.4G Wireless receiver was on my PC and I used the wired mode with my laptop.

The Mini Display on the Top with Control Wheel

The other feature Tecware has included in this keyboard is a cool 1.14” LCD Display which shows information about the keyboard, you can customize the experience within the keyboard, have it show your PC temperatures and the best part is, to show some cool GIFs on it. I am obsessed with Turbo Granny from Dan Da Dan, so I have it right here on my keyboard.

The GIF customization is available through the Spectre 75 application, available through their website and we’ll talk about it in a bit.

The 75 Percent Profile is Right Up My Alley

I have a specific requirement for my keyboard: I need the function row, dedicated arrow keys and quick shortcuts like Delete, Page Up, Down and End. And the 75% Spectre has been nothing but amazing. I have been using Full size and TKL as my go-to layout but the 75% is truly up my alley. If you are not a fan of this layout, fret not, because there’s a 96% version with a number pad. I am happy that they do offer options for you and you are not limited to one choice.

The Quirks

Tecware’s App for this Require Serious Work

Good hardware must be backed with equally good software – that’s not the case with Tecware Spectre 75. I have so many questions about their app direction. For one, despite Spectre 75 and 91 being somewhat of the same keyboard – both the keyboards have separate application. Secondly, you best bet the app takes you on a journey back to the 90’s because it’s extremely subpar.

You can do the following: set up a custom profile, edit macros, adjust lighting, and a special option to edit per-key RGB and the settings. You might wonder where is the option to customize the GIFs – well, that’s only available via wired connection. Most of these features are great but the app lacks a good UI and UX – and after you figure it out once, you probably will set it up once and delete the application for good. I don’t mind paying slightly more if that means you get better software.

Battery Life with and Without Backlight is world-different

Under the hood, the Tecware Spectre 75 comes equipped with a whopping 4000mAh battery – which is ridiculous. With RGB On, expect the keyboard to last less than a week because lights take up a lot of battery as it is a per-key RGB and the standby mode still consumes quite a bit of battery than expected. With continuous use, Tecware claims that it would last for 16+ days – which is not a huge number but I take it’s with 25% brightness and such. But without the RGB, we only used about 20 per cent for 1 and a half weeks which is impressive.

So, if you love your RGB – charge it up almost every week without fail, and if you are the endurance guy – well, by all means, go turn that RGB off.

Conclusion

At RM 330, I must say – the Tecware Spectre 75 Keyboard is such an appealing one. It was only a matter of time before we saw the customization that goes into a custom keyboard become a norm on pre-built keyboards – and here we are, typing this review on one. I don’t spend any more than RM 400 on a keyboard and this is by far one of the nicest pre-built keyboards I have used, which easily trumps my late IKBC with red switches.

But the software aspect of it irks me a lot as it is a deal breaker for me. But after a few weeks, of tinkering and setting the keyboard to my liking – I forgot about the app’s existence and continued to use it with my preferred settings. So, for those who want that “almost custom keyboard” experience at a fraction of the cost, then look no further than the Tecware Spectre 75.

For more tech, gaming, and lifestyle content, make sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Better yet, stay tuned to The Adventures of Vesper.