Trust the GXT 863 Mazz: Two Minute Review
The Trust GXT 863 Mazz is an entry-level mechanical keyboard aimed at consumers on a tight budget, just like the rest of the Trust product family. It retails for £44.99 / €49.99 (about $50 / AU$70), although it’s currently only available to buy in the UK and all European regions, so you’ll be hard pressed to buy one. if located in the US or Australia.
While it lacks some of the features you’d find on more premium hardware, at first glance it’s visually similar to the style adopted by modern peripherals, ditching the ‘edgy’ gamer aesthetic and incorporating a cleaner look that might even feel appropriate in an office environment. .
Not that you want to, of course – the best mechanical keyboards are known to be louder than their membrane alternatives, and the GXT 863 Mazz is no different. The Outemu Red switches respond with very little resistance, and you get the expected ‘typewriter’ noises you’ve come to expect, although it’s far from the most pleasant typing experience thanks to the overall poor build quality.
Still, there are a handful of features that make it worth buying for PC gamers over a standard office keyboard. On the one hand, you’re getting anti-ghosting and Win-key locks that should help optimize in-game performance, and there are 14 preset lighting options for RGB, including the traditional ‘rainbow vomit’ that should keep your happy kids if you wanted to buy a cheap and cheerful gaming keyboard.
The lack of software will be restrictive, as it means you can’t do many of the same customizations as keyboards from brands like Razer or Asus, but if you weren’t interested in that in the first place, there’s no real loss.
Although the build quality can also be a little questionable, but it’s not unexpected for this price. There’s a lot of flexibility when you apply pressure to the board, and while the keycaps are double-shot, some of the switches make an annoying metallic noise when you type on them. If you can handle these criticisms and simply need a cheap, noisy keyboard, you’ll be hard pressed to find a more economical mechanical keyboard than the Trust GXT 863 Mazz.
Trust the GXT 863 Mazz: Pricing and Availability
The GXT 863 Mazz retails for £44.99 / €49.99 (about $50 / AU$70), although as mentioned earlier, you’ll have a hard time finding this product outside of the European market.
This means that while it is an affordable option for those who live in the UK or select European countries, we cannot recommend it to our US or Australian audience as you would have to import one that would drastically affect your affordability and there are products alternatives that we can suggest for these regions, such as the Aukey KMG14 or the MSI Vigor GK50 Elite.
Trust the GXT 863 Mazz: design and features
When unplugged, the Trust GXT 863 Mazz feels like a standard office keyboard, missing the dated and bold design we’ve seen in another Trust offering, the semi-mechanical GXT 811 Odyss. However, that changes when you plug it in, as you’ll find the usual rainbow RGB lighting that’s become a staple for PC gaming hardware in recent years.
From an aesthetic point of view, the GXT 863 Mazz would be completely comfortable on a table next to other gaming peripherals, so it will have a lot of appeal for people who only care about getting something cheap to match their setup. Lighting options are a bit restrictive, with just 14 preset modes and colors to switch to, as opposed to products like Razer or Corsair that can be fully customized using branded software.
The lighting is also quite poor compared to other offerings on the market like the Corsair K65 RGB Mini or the Razer Huntsman Mini, which might leave you disappointed.
The build quality is, as mentioned, a little unimpressive. The plastic material is lightly textured with a light grain that attracts fingerprints like no one else, and doesn’t offer much rigidity, as demonstrated when you press down on the keyboard. There’s noticeable deck flex and even some faintly metallic groans, so we wouldn’t recommend this for anyone who needs chunky hardware, such as in an environment where things are regularly knocked over on tables (looking at you, parents of young children and cat owners). ).
The lack of stiffness at least means this is a very light mechanical keyboard, weighing in at just 730g, although weight isn’t a concern for most keyboard enthusiasts unless you need something for frequent commuting and travel – in which case , a mechanical keyboard probably won’t be your best option unless you want to annoy everyone else working around you.
Rely on used dual-fire keys that are nice against your finger and easily removed if you want to customize the keyboard with the ones you’ve bought, and the typing experience is mostly pleasant until you need to use Numpad or any of the keys. to the sides.
They make more metallic noises, likely from the springs inside the Outemu Red keys that aren’t lubricated enough, and while not a problem, it will be more irritating if you’re sensitive to unpleasant noises. The switches are rated for at least 50 million keystrokes, so while the quality leaves something to be desired, it seems the Trust believes in its longevity.
We played a few rounds of Apex Legends using the GXT 863 Mazz and didn’t encounter any issues with latency, so if you don’t mind build quality, at least you’re getting a mechanical keyboard that works well in FPS games, and there are some specific features of games that made it to Mazz despite its budget price tag. You’re getting anti-ghosting technology and a Win key lock, two things that are usually found in more premium offerings.
However, one frustration is the lack of software to make additional changes, as you won’t be able to save preferences in different profiles for various games you play, as in price keyboards.
Overall, this will be a decent buy if you’re short on cash and just need something that can manage the basics. It’s also a great first mechanical keyboard for kids and teens to get used to the difference between mechanical and membrane hardware, but this will likely let you down if you’ve ever owned a mechanical keyboard from a more globally recognized brand.
If you have the money to buy something more premium, we encourage you to do so, but how about a basic mechanical keyboard? This finishes the job.
Buy if…
Don’t buy if…
Also consider
- First reviewed in July 2022