azio-vs-havit-rgb

Azio MGK1-RGB vs. HAVIT HV-KB366L – Which One is Right For You?

When it comes to cheap and affordable RGB mechanical keyboards, there are many new options out there made by lesser-known companies.

Since there’s not as much information out there on these keyboards, we’ve been testing them out to find the best of the best. Our testing has to lead us to two of the best cheap RGB mechanical keyboards for you to consider – the Azio MGK1-RGB and the HAVIT HV-KB366L.

Which one you should go with will depend on what you’re looking for out of your mechanical keyboard. Here’s your guide to deciding between the two.

Quick Comparision:

  • The HAVIT K366L has a better price and RGB
  • The Azio MGK1 has more features such as a detachable wrist rest and dedicaed media controls

See below for a more in-depth review of the quality, RGB lighting, switches, features of both keyboards.

Build Quality

For the price point, both of these keyboards have excellent build quality. They’re both very well put together with a braided USB cable and have aluminum top panels. There’s not much differentiation here.

In addition, both keyboards have excellent positive reviews on Amazon and were released quite some time ago, which helps to ensure credibility.

Winner: Draw

Extra Features – Azio All the Way

The HAVIT HV-KB366L comes with a keycap puller and no other extras.

The Azio MGK1-RGB comes with a keycap puller, detachable wrist-rest. It also has a dedicated mute button and volume wheel control above the numpad, as well as a slew of hotkeys for launching your email, web browser, etc.

Winner: Azio MGK1-RGB

Overall Aesthetic – Very Similar

This category is tough to call. The HV-KB366L has a nice aluminum top panel that reflects the light of the RGB LEDs wonderfully. Coupled with the clear RGB switches and brighter LEDs, the HV-KB366L when lit up is unmatched.

The MGK1-RGB also has an aluminum top panel, but it’s black and not as reflective. The switch casing is also black, and the LEDs don’t spill out as much light as the HAVIT keyboard. That being said, some people may prefer the blacked-out look of the Azio MGK1-RGB.

This category largely comes down to preference, but because it looks so great when lit up…

Winner: HAVIT HV-KB366L RGB

Switches – Kailh Vs. Otemu

The HAVIT HV-KB366L RGB comes with Outemu Blue mechanical switches. The Azio MGK1-RGB comes with Kailh Blue mechanical switches.

Both of these are Cherry MX Blue clones made in China. It’s hard to say if one is better than the other over the long-run. They feel pretty identical. I’ll give a slight edge to Kailh switches since they’re more well-known and heavily used, so they may end up being more reliable.

That being said, the differences are likely to be minor and I wouldn’t put a huge weight on this section.

Winner: Azio MGK1-RGB

RGB Lights – For You Gamers Out There

Both of these keyboards have top-mounted RGB LEDs that have adjustable brightness levels.

The HAVIT keyboard has clear switch housing which makes the light disperse further over the keyboard, and the HAVIT LEDs seem to have a higher max brightness level than the Azio.

The Azio does have more levels of brightness settings, but it’s not that impressive since the LEDs aren’t as bright.

Winner: HAVIT HV-KB366L RGB

LED Profiles

When it comes to LED lighting profiles on these cheaper RGB keyboards, they become very important as you can’t program your own like you could on a BlackWidow Chroma or STRAFE RGB. To view the built-in lighting profiles, check out the videos below of the two keyboards –

Each keyboard has a distinct advantage when to comes to lighting profiles.

HAVIT HV-KB366L RGB – rate of change speed moves very fast

Azio MGK1-RGB – Cycling color mode doesn’t fade to darkness between colors, per-key backlighting is a big plus.

Winner: Depends on your preferences. I think the fast rate of change of the HAVIT is really awesome, but the Azio profiles are a bit more advanced.

Final Word – So, Which One is Better?

Really with either of these keyboards, you can’t go wrong.

If price and RGB backlighting is most important to you, you should go with the HAVIT HV-KB366L RGB.

If you want more features on your keyboard like a detachable wrist-rest and dedicated volume controls, then the Azio MGK1-RGB is more your style.