The glorious quest for the ultimate typing experience begins here.

The third iteration of the corporation’s keyboard lineup, the GMMK, marks a unifying milestone, replacing both the second-generation GMMK 2 and inaugural GMMK Professional with a single, comprehensive design spanning entry-level wired, plastic keyboards to premium aluminum and brass wireless models. The versatility of a keyboard allows for customization options that can potentially modify every aspect, encompassing its casing to its keycaps and all features in between. Despite some limitations, the overall verdict is that the Wonderful gaming keyboard is arguably the most highly customizable option available.

The Wonderful GMMK 3 variant vies for a spot on the most esteemed gaming keyboard lists globally, available in three layouts – 100%, 75%, and 65% – across both professional and non-professional configurations, offering a range of connectivity options, including wired and wireless choices. Costs fluctuate substantially depending on the measurement, with significant variations between entry-level models and fully custom-built units featuring steel bodies, wireless components, and premium options. Starting at an affordable $119.99, entry into the GMMK3 universe is surprisingly accessible.

Specs

Options

The GMMK 3 and GMMK Professional keyboards offer versatility through various headline options, including Cherry MX or Corridor Impact switch types with analog, Speedy Set off, and Snap Faucet equal modes; wired or wireless connectivity via Bluetooth and USB-C; and customizable casings available in plastic or steel materials. Additionally, the keyboards feature adjustable gasket mounts for tailored ergonomics and swappable change plates for personalization. However, the complexity of keyboard layouts might render this suggestion impractical?

The Wonderful GMMK 3’s universal design simultaneously fosters ease and complexity.

A limitation arises from the fact that, while most keyboard features can be swapped out and upgraded, there are some significant hurdles to overcome.

While the primary purpose of those stops may seem straightforward, it’s actually rooted in a fundamental issue with traditional keyboards: their shape. While keycaps, switches, and gasket mount pads can be tailored to fit various keyboard sizes, ranging from 65% to 100%, the underlying board structure poses constraints on other aspects of the design.

While attempts to upgrade a wired-only, non-professional GMMK 3 to a wi-fi GMMK 3 Professional model may seem appealing, it is unfortunately not feasible. The disparity in pricing can be a source of shame, as non-professional options are perceived as offering little value to the system, whereas professional choices command an additional fee exceeding $100. While some may argue that identical scenarios are identical in every respect, the fact remains that wireless models can seamlessly integrate with their wired counterparts, rendering downgrading a moot point entirely?

Avoiding a major upgrade from standard Cherry MX-style switches to unconventional Corridor Impact switches is a crucial consideration. The GMMK 3 HE fashions integrate seamlessly with Wonderful’s personal Corridor Impact switches, providing analog input and renowned features such as quick repress and prompt counter-strafing capabilities, akin to those found on high-end analog keyboards. While you can install Cherry MX switches into an HE board and potentially sacrifice analog performance, it’s not possible to put HE switches into a standard non-HE board. The idea of combining MX and HE switches in a single HE board seems like an intriguing concept, doesn’t it?

With our newfound focus, we can scrutinize the hardware options in detail, particularly the visually striking choice of cases. The diverse array of vibrant plastic cases is complemented by a broad spectrum of sturdy aluminum cases, featuring anodized color finishes, like the emerald hue of our test unit. You may utterly chop, alter, and mix materials – plastic, steel, or others – to suit your creative vision.

The subsequent step in the process is the selection of a change plate. This component serves as the mounting plate for the switches, allowing them to connect electrically to the underlying printed circuit board (PCB). The change plate refers to the half-exposed portion of the keyboard visible beneath the keycaps, significantly impacting the overall aesthetic appeal. With an array of construction supplies available, this may also significantly impact the weight and tactile sensation of the keyboard. The three primary materials for making golf club heads are plastic, brass, and carbon fibre, the latter being employed in this context.

Following the options record is your selection of changes, offering a range of eight different Cherry MX-style switches and six distinct HE-type switches for customization. If you opt for a barebones version of the GMMK 3, you’re free to swap in your favourite MX-style switches, offering the flexibility to customise your typing experience further. Alternatively, you might prefer to upgrade from the initial switches that came with your keyboard.

Keycaps arrive subsequently, offering a diverse selection of colors through Wonderful’s enjoyable palette options, allowing you to pair them with thousands of compatible Cherry MX keycaps available elsewhere. Our flagship product boasts an impressive array of high-contrast shade caps, including gradient colors reminiscent of our standard color palette, a transparent rainbow set, and sleek black caps featuring RGB backlit legends, along with exclusive limited-edition options to delight enthusiasts. Many do not provide for through legends.

Two key components that enable seamless control are the rotary encoder knob, available in a range of materials including brass, aluminum, and various anodized aluminum hues. The tiny badges boast magnetic hooks attaching small, transparent tabs that cleverly display the RGB indicator beneath, adding a touch of visual flair.

The final details: choosing between a coiled cable shade or sticking with the traditional non-coiled black cable, as well as considering gasket mounts. These tiny sections of silicone, often combined with PORON, serve as mounting points for attaching the change plate to the case. The cushions provide a slight layer of support for the plate, allowing you to adjust the flexibility depending on your preference between the tougher pure silicone and softer PORON combination options when sorting.

Despite exterior considerations, the board offers few genuine alternatives to consider, aside from the Corridor Impact’s analog gaming options. While you can customize various features in software, there’s no physical expansion for gaming controls, nor is there a USB hub or additional screens or buttons to enhance the overall experience.

Design

While magnificence is indeed in the eye of the beholder, it’s difficult not to acknowledge that the GMMK 3 boasts an exceptional aesthetic appeal, making a strong case for itself as one of the most striking keyboards available. While following a well-established custom, this motherboard’s design stands out within our 75% type issue evaluation pattern, rivaling the Monsgeek M1W and Drop CSTM80 for sharpness; yet, it still presents as a fantastic-looking board.

Rather than being solely founded on the green and gold/brass combination here. Transform the aesthetic into a bold fusion of sleek darkness and fiery passion, as black and crimson hues meld together in harmony. Alternatively, opt for an avant-garde design featuring an all-aluminum and silver board or unleash a kaleidoscope of colors through the RGB backlighting, mirroring the vibrant spectrum of the rainbow with precision. At the launch event for the keyboard, we observed and skillfully identified several noteworthy combos, including the striking crimson and silver options featuring white keys beneath.

The entry-level model’s aesthetic appeal falls short of being truly impressive, with its unremarkable design and construction exemplified by the black version showcased at the top of the webpage and below. While the overall appearance seems acceptable from above, the vibrant orange hue adds a pleasant touch. Nevertheless, we find the plastic’s suppleness to be slightly off-putting. To substantially enhance this design’s rigidity, introducing a material with increased stiffness like brass or carbon fiber would be sufficient, or opting for an aluminum rear casing would also yield impressive results; however, such modifications would naturally increase the overall cost significantly?

Purchase the GMMK 3 keyboard in standard configurations or fully customize it using the company’s user-friendly Boardsmith tool available on their website. Experiment freely with colour combinations to find the perfect look for your heart’s content, but remember that if you don’t quite nail it, you can always adjust other design elements later.

However, should you opt for an aluminum case paired with a weighty change plate made from brass, the boards will prove remarkably dense, rendering them difficult to lift due to their substantial combined weight of 2,042 grams (or approximately 4.5 pounds). While stability is a plus, this design’s simplicity doesn’t lend itself well to frequent board changes or rearrangements, making it less convenient when shifting boards around or moving the keyboard out of the way for various desk actions, especially given its relatively flat periphery that makes it harder to pick up than the Monsgeek M1W.

Upgradability

Unfortunately, despite our efforts to obtain a baseline plastic keyboard model, along with our custom design, to explore swapping and experimenting with individual components, this initiative unfortunately missed its timeline. Despite initial reservations, we successfully disassembled our evaluation unit with ease, a process as straightforward as one would expect from a keyboard prioritizing customization options.

At the base of the board, four removable rubber feet provide access to the underlying screws. Remove the screws and the casing easily separates, with the top portion smoothly detaching from the rest of the device. As you move forward, exercise caution when connecting the board’s printed circuit board (PCB), particularly with respect to the USB socket located at the rear edge.

To elevate the printed circuit board, enter the gasket mounts – the black and yellow items encircling the periphery – and replace the foam with sound-dampening materials; but venturing beyond that requires greater consideration. To fully disassemble the computer case, it is likely necessary to employ the provided keycap and removal tools to extract each component before proceeding with the casing’s teardown, as the case serves as a stabilizing structure that keeps all components in place.

While a full customization job involving the swap-out of a change plate may not be suited for those lacking extensive mechanical expertise or a willingness to venture into more complex tinkering, Wonderful has indeed streamlined this process to make it relatively accessible to enthusiasts with a passion for precision and a willingness to take calculated risks.

Efficiency

The tactile experience of your GMMK 3 keyboard setup will significantly vary depending on the specific switches, gasket materials, sound deadening system, case materials, and design nuances – even a minor difference like the 65% plastic board being only marginally stiffer than its full-size counterpart can have a notable impact.

The unique combination of an aluminum case, brass plate, and Fox HE linear switches, renowned for their smooth, linear feel and rich, creamy sound, yields a general key sensation that is remarkably soft and silky, as the pre-lubed switches glide across with ease. The heavy-duty construction and advanced sound dampening technology have collaborated to create one of the quietest boards I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing, with a remarkably low noise level of just 48dB as measured 20cm above the board.

With its decent-quality PBT keycaps featuring a standard profile, the typing experience on this board is exceptionally proficient. While I often crave a tactile sense when typing, this keyboard successfully won me over to the benefits of lightweight linear switches’ subtle feel.

Will the overall performance of the GMMK 3 in gaming be influenced by your choice of switch variant and Corridor Impact implementation, impacting both tactile feedback and gameplay experience? With standard switches, gamers can expect a traditional gaming experience, as there are few additional features to explore, aside from the ability to customize macros and key bindings through Razer’s proprietary software, Core.

While HE switches allow for custom key arrangements, you can also unlock an analog-like response, making them particularly useful in gaming applications that demand swift reaction times, such as racing and flight simulations. By customising the activation threshold per key and introducing a Quick Release mode, you could potentially remap keys to register faster than standard switches permit.

Worth

Priced at an affordable $119.99, the Wonderful GMMK 3’s most basic iteration features a 65% plastic construction, while the full-sized model starts at $139.99, offering a wider range of options for customers. The price variations start at $189.99 for basic models, $239.99 for professional fashions, which top out at $369.99 for a high-end 75% professional mannequin, excluding additional premium features like the brass change plate?

At $493.99, our evaluation model’s total value makes it undoubtedly a substantial investment in a keyboard. While comparable in build quality to the Monstreak M1W, the latter’s price tag is significantly lower, at roughly one-third the cost of similarly high-end gaming keyboards. Notwithstanding its bespoke nature, this custom keyboard, built to specification at Wonderful’s Texas manufacturing facility, offers remarkable value when compared to individual custom keyboard builders who often charge thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, a comparably equipped Drop CSTM80, featuring an added brass change plate, steel case cowl, and selection of keycaps, costs $351 – not a custom-build unit.

It’s disheartening that choosing the entry-level variants of the GMMK 3 doesn’t enable a seamless upgrade path, as having the option to spend $120 upfront and gradually improve over time could be an effective way to pace the cost and gain a sense of direction for future upgrades, allowing users to organically adapt their approach without being forced into abrupt decisions.

Verdict

The Wonderful GMMK 3 is a unique gaming keyboard that seamlessly blends an extensive array of customizable options with the ability to kick-start your personal keyboard odyssey with a pre-configured setup, offering something for every type of player. There simply aren’t other keyboards that could fairly match that exact combination.

What’s more, this keyboard boasts an impressive aesthetic, boasting exceptional build quality and customization options that allow users to tailor it to suit almost any typing style. Gaming and typing efficiency can be a harmonious combination, finely tuned to your personal preferences.

While designing a custom-built keyboard may seem straightforward, the scenario gets challenging when considering the extensive range of potential upgrades that can be applied to different boards, posing questions about which options are feasible and which might not be compatible. Consider investing in a board for around $120 to enhance its capabilities as much as possible.

Alternate options

Monsgeek M1W SP

If you’re seeking a similar gaming board with a robust aluminum construction like our flagship model, the Monsgeek M1W SP is an excellent contender to consider. The keyboard’s build quality is truly exceptional, with a robust construction that rivals its high-performance sibling, the GMMK3, in terms of ruggedness and durability. For the price of $130, it’s understandably Wi-Fi enabled without offering HE (High Efficiency) settings.

Drop CSTM80

Among the many boards that closely resemble the 75% GMMK3, another notable mention is the Drop CSTM80, a fully customizable keyboard model. For a $149 value, you can upgrade with new change plates, case covers, base weights, and easily replace switches and keycaps. Notwithstanding its limitations, this unit does not provide HE (heat exchange) switches and operates solely through wiring.