gamdias hermes 7 color review

Gamdias Hermes 7 Color GKB3000 Review

hermes keycap icons

Gamdias Hermes 7 Color GKB3000 Overview

  • Kailh Blue mechanical switches.
  • 7 static color backlighting.
  • Media control hotkeys.
  • 14 different lighting effects (9 preset and 5 customizable profiles)
  • Wristrest
  • Interesting gaming features like “Continuous Attack Mode”

Gamdias’ newest mechanical keyboard is the Hermes 7-Color, also known by its’ product number, GKB3000. The Hermes 7 Color is similar in some ways to the Hermes RGB, but at the same time, it has some key differences that we think even make it a better mechanical keyboard. See below for our hands-on review and unboxing of the Gamdias Hermes 7 Color.

Gamdias Hermes 7 Color – Unboxing

hermes 7 box

Gamdias keeps their package branding pretty similar between keyboards, one thing you may notice is this box is a bit taller than normal due to the wrist rest and top panel that slopes backward, giving this keyboard a larger footprint than most.

hermes 7 color unboxed

Here’s everything that’s included with the Gamdias Hermes 7 Color – simply the keyboard, instruction booklet, and some stickers. This is a full-sized gaming mechanical keyboard with a non-detachable wrist rest. One really great feature of this keyboard is that the indicators on the keycaps really give you a clear and easy sense of how to use all the features of the keyboard without having to rely on the instruction booklet for most tasks.

hermes 7 color bottom

The GKB3000 has a non-detachable USB cable, flip-out feet, and 5 rubber pads to prevent slipping. You can see on the top of the keyboard, plastic piece flares out at an angle that’s hollow underneath. This takes up more space on the desk but doesn’t look particularly bad when the keyboard is in use.

hermes 7 color side

From the side, you can see this mechanical keyboard has a pretty standard curve to the keys. The entire exterior of the keyboard is plastic, but the switches are metal plate-mounted underneath.

Gamdias Hermes 7 Color Keys and Switches

hermes 7 color switch

The Gamdias Hermes 7 Color uses Kailh Blue switches. The switches felt fine, but sometimes when typing on this keyboard you’ll get a metal “pinging” sound that resonates from the keyboard. It sounds like the majority of the inside of the keyboard is hollow and for some reason, it just happens. It isn’t dreadful, but it is something we don’t hear often with other keyboards.

hermes keycap icons

The keycaps used on this keyboard seem to be standard ABS plastic that you find on most mechanical keyboards. One really great feature about this keyboard is their use of icons on the keycaps. Everything is easy to find and understand, so you don’t need to hold onto the instruction manual or memorize any key combinations.

To hear the Gamdias Hermes 7 Color mechancial keyboard in action, check out the video below

Some of the other interesting functions of this mechanical keyboard include a WASD/Arrow key swap, which apparently can be useful for left handed gamers. You can also disable ALL keys on the keyboard by pressing Fn + F11. We could see this being useful if you need to step away from the keyboard for a minute and don’t want a child or pet to mess something up while you’re away. The Windows key disables feature is present here as well.

One other feature that will be very useful for gamers is the “Continuous Attack Mode“.  By enabling this mode (Fn + Q), pressing and holding a key will repeatedly send the keystroke as if you’re mashing the key repeatedly.

Gamdias Hermes 7 Color Backlighting

hermes 7 color backlit

The Gamdias GKB3000 features 7 different backlighting colors, one for each row. From top to bottom, the colors are green, whiteish-blue, purple, pink, orange, and red. There are 6 different brightness levels which offer a good range for all lighting conditions. Most color effects can have their speed adjusted, and some can have their direction of movement changed as well.

There are 9 different color effects

  • Marquee – color snakes down the keyboard from key to key.
  • Breathing – All the key’s backlighting pulses.
  • Ripple – Upon pressing a key, color ripples outward in a circular pattern.
  • Circular Marquee – color snakes around the keyboard, from outside to in.
  • Responsive Fade Out – Upon pressing a key, it lights up and fades out.
  • Wave – the backlighting waves across the keyboard. You can change the direction.
  • Colored Ribbon – A constantly waving ribbon of color goes across the entire keyboard.
  • Rotation – The color rotates around the keyboard like a hand on a clock.
  • Static – All backlighting is on.

You also have 5 different custom lighting profiles. To customize these, you press Fn + F12, then touch each key you want to be backlit. Press Fn + F12 again to exit the mode. Check out the video below to see these lighting effects in action. Please note, there LED refresh rate wasn’t playing well with our camera so the color appears to flicker on the video when they don’t in real life.

The color choices are inspired by neon colors. Gamdias did a great job capturing that “neon glow” color scheme they were going for.

Like the HAVIT HV-KB378 RGB, the LEDs are recessed into the body of the keyboard, so the colors don’t spill out over the backplate of the keyboard. Instead, they’re highly targeted to only light up their current keycap. We would have loved to see this keyboard with the LEDs mounted right on the switch for maximum light dispersion.

Gamdias 7 Color GKB3000 Overall Verdict

hermes 7 color unboxed

The Gamdias 7 Color keyboard is an amazing value for the price. It’s currently around $30 less than the Gamdias Hermes RGB, and rivals the HAVIT HV-KB366L RGB for the cost/value basis. The 9 different color effects are great and highly customizable to the point where you won’t miss full RGB backlighting.

The main drawbacks of this keyboard are the large footprint and pinging noise that can be noticed when you’re typing. Some people may prefer an RGB keyboard if they don’t like the color scheme of the GKB3000.

All things considered, we highly recommend this mechanical keyboard for its awesome LEDs, great color effects, and innovative keyboard features.