EPOMAKER HE108 is a good keyboard. There couldn’t really be any doubt about this, especially given its $95.99 price. It offers all the modern sensibilities, bells and whistles, anything a discerning gamer may want from their daily driver.
But as is hinted by its name, EPOMAKER HE108 is a Hall Effect keyboard. And while it’s very close to solving many of the issues I usually have with magnetic switches, this is still, ultimately, why I hesitate to outright recommend this keyboard.
Still, if you’re completely convinced that a magnetic keyboard is what you definitely need, there are several advantages this EPOMAKER offering has over many rivals.
EPOMAKER HE108 specs and price
| Function | Specification |
|---|---|
| Connectivity | Tri-Mode 2.4Ghz/BT/Wired |
| Key Switches | EPOMAKER Creamy Jade HE Switch |
| Keycap | PBT Plastic |
| Layout | 100% (108 Keys) |
| Backlighting | South-Facing, Per-Key LEDs |
| Battery | 10000mAh Rechargeable Battery |
| Battery Life | 32 hours (RGB On), 500 hours (RGB Off), 1000 hours (standby) |
| Anti-Ghosting | N-Key Rollover |
| Polling Rate | 8000hz in USB and 2.4Ghz mode, and 125hz in BT mode |
| Latency | 0.2ms (USB), 0.4ms (2.4Ghz Wireless), 8ms (BT) |
| Key rebinding | All keys programmable |
| Cable Type | Detachable USB-A to USB-C |
| Supported OS | Mac/Windows/Android |
| Software | EPOMAKER Driver |
| Product Dimensions | 445 x 141 x 48 mm |
| Product Weight | 1200 g |
| Price | $95.99 |
Hardware
EPOMAKER HE108 is a full-size, 108-key keyboard, which has become somewhat rare nowadays, as 75% looks to be the most popular form-factor for gamers. This one looks to blend in all the currently popular modern gaming features like rapid trigger, SOCD, key rebinding, profiles, and more, while also looking like an office keyboard from 2007.
Its sleeper look immediately goes away the moment you turn it on, however, as the RGB makes it brighter than a Christmas tree.
What sets this keyboard apart from many rivals is what’s inside: EPOMAKER’s own hot-swappable Creamy Jade HE Switches that eliminate my main issue with magnetic keyboards as a whole: they actually sound good. They’re not as amazing to type on as some of the cutting-edge TMR ones, but they’re head and shoulders above most HE offerings under $150.
I’ve always maintained that sound and typefeel were two dealbreakers I had with magnetic switches, and EPOMAKER comes really close to eliminating them.
Now, this doesn’t mean that the switches are ideal — far from it. Over a couple of weeks of testing, some of the keys became way more chattery than the others, and there’s a clear difference in sound between the left and right sides of the keyboard, possibly because of how the gasket is mounted and the chassis flex.
Keycaps are decent, although they’re also clearly contributing to the overall chatteriness. They’re semi-transparent and allow pretty RGB to shine through, though there’s almost no usefulness to it, as the legend is just printed on and you still can’t see it in the dark.
The keyboard is entirely plastic, but it does not feel cheap, nor does it creak or overly flex. My version is black, and overall, it actually looks quite stylish, with its sleeper faux-office look.
I had one strange issue, however: I like to use even wireless keyboards connected via USB to avoid the need to charge them, and the included cable was constantly dropping the connection. I swapped it for something else I had, and the keyboard has no issues now, but curiously, the cable also works flawlessly with my second setup, so I’m not entirely sure what the issue even was.
Connectivity
EPOMAKER HE108 is a true gaming keyboard, so it has all the necessary connectivity types: it can do 2.4 GHz with the included dongle, it can connect via USB, and it also has Bluetooth.
Even with its 8000 Hz polling rate, both 2.4 and wired connections were indistinguishable from each other, while Bluetooth is noticeably slower.
1000 Hz polling rate would have probably been enough for most people, but hyper-competitive players will look for any advantage they can get, and will happily take increased battery usage as a tradeoff.
But this is not an issue for EPOMAKER HE108, because when testing the 2.4 GHz connection for several days, it well exceeded the advertised 32-hour battery life with RGB being turned on. It’s ridiculously long-lasting, and if you turn your RGB off, you will simply forget that this is a device that needs to be charged.
Gaming and typing
I really want to commend EPOMAKER for one thing: the company managed to make this a great daily driver keyboard that does not compromise on gaming or typing experience in favor of one side.
Its cherry profile makes it a pleasure to type on, and every single article I have written this month was done on this keyboard. The 100% layout also means that I can use my Alt+numpad combinations for special characters.
But gaming is where this keyboard truly shines. I tested it in a truly wide variety of games: Marvel Rivals, League of Legends, Cyberpunk 2077, Crimson Desert, Hades II, Resident Evil Requiem, Alabaster Dawn, 007: First Light, No Man’s Sky, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, 2XKO, Tekken 8, and Forza Horizon 6 (yes, I played a racing game with a keyboard).
Rapid Trigger and SOCD implementation work phenomenally well in fighting games like 2XKO and Tekken 8. You can picture this keyboard as a leverless controller with extra buttons: if you’re used to playing with one of those, getting good with EPOMAKER HE108 will be easy and not weird at all.
Marvel Rivals and any other shooter that allows this will also be a pleasure to play, as SOCD allows you to overlap the button presses with the last one taking precedence: you won’t stop when you press both “A” and “D,” with your latest press “overwriting” the previous. This feature is so powerful that Valve banned it from Counter-Strike.
Software
EPOMAKER uses its own proprietary software for customization and any kind of rebindings, adjustments, profiles, or macros.
The app itself is functional enough, even though some of the adjustments could be trial-and-error due to their convoluted and unexplained nature.
Still, it allows you to do per-key customization and rebinding, actuation force adjustment, and custom RGB patterns.
There’s almost nothing to complain about, except for this completely baffling AI chatbox that is included with this software for some reason. It doesn’t even answer you in English.
There are even options like AI image generation, AI audio, and AI writing, but at this point, I was disappointed enough to simply close the application.
Not sure who decided that the keyboard customization app is the one that needs all this AI garbage, but this frankly should not be here.
Verdict
After reading all this, you may still be curious as to why I’m hesitant on recommending this keyboard. It’s not that I didn’t like it; I very much did. But there are simply too many question marks.
Yes, it has decent-sounding magnetic switches, but they’re decent compared to other Hall Effect ones and just simply lose when compared against any decent mechanical switch.
Yes, it has all the popular gaming features, but many mechanical keyboards also have SOCD, and Rapid Trigger is niche enough that you probably don’t even know if you need it or not (hint: you likely don’t).
Yes, it’s only $95.99, which is not a lot for a Hall Effect keyboard, but it’s a significant amount of money for a keyboard. There are lots of comparable mechanical offerings that beat this keyboard in almost every regard. So unless you’re an osu! or a Trackmania player and absolutely need a Hall Effect keyboard, you should think long and hard before getting it.
Additional points of concern are EPOMAKER’s spotty customer support reputation and the aforementioned blatant and baffling AI implementation in its software, if this is something that’s important to you.
If you’re set on buying one, however, there’s hardly anything wrong with the EPOMAKER HE108 keyboard itself, and our final score reflects this fact.
8 EPOMAKER HE108 review Pros
- Good sound and typefeel.
- Great gaming performance.
- Good build quality.
- In-depth customization through the software.
- Good wireless connectivity and battery life.
Cons
- Slightly chattery keys.
- Baffling AI usage in the software.
- Minor hiccup with the included cable.
A model of this keyboard was provided by EPOMAKER for review.
