AOC AGK700 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard Review

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Cody has been a gamer ever since his family got a Sega Genesis when he was five-years-old. In addition to his love of narrative-focused RPGs and ho... Read more

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

If you’re part of the PC community, then you might know AOC as a company that makes premium gaming monitors. They’re branching out, now — AOC has just come out with a line of peripherals including a “Tournament Grade” mechanical gaming keyboard called the AGK700. They sent one to High Ground Gaming so we could take a look at it and give you a fair and unbiased review. That way you can see if this performance grade keyboard is right for you.

Unboxing & Review Video

Unboxing and Build Quality

The AOC AGK700 is a full-sized mechanical gaming keyboard. It comes wrapped in plastic and inlaid in a protective padding of cardboard and foam. Underneath the board, there is a separately wrapped leather magnetic wrist rest, a keycap remover, four extra red keycaps (WASD), and the quick-start guide.

The keyboard housing is made of a stylish black aluminum. It has all black keycaps pre-installed and a large chromatic red volume dial in the top center. There are five programmable G-Keys on the left side of the board that can be mapped through the G-tools software. The braided cable splits off into two USB Type-A inlets: one for the keyboard, and one serving as a passthrough for a USB port on the back of the board. It also has adjustable feet at the back to give it an incline. The magnetic leather wrist rest feels particularly premium.

Unfortunately, the media keys are permanently backlit red. This, along with the red volume dial and red accents on the cable, make the otherwise neutral-colored board very color-oriented. 

Can’t Beat Cherry MX

The AGK700 they sent us came with Cherry MX Blue switches, though you can also buy it with Cherry MX Reds. (No options for tactile switches yet.) Cherry MX is considered one of (if not the) best mechanical switch brand on the market, so it’s no surprise that every keystroke on the AGK700 feels like a dream.

Construction and basic usability are really where this keyboard shines. There’s little to no play in the keycaps and there is a satisfying tactility to the volume knob. I enjoyed using it for gaming and productivity alike. 

Not the Sharpest G-Tool in the Shed

The G-Tools software is one of the AGK700’s weaker points. It has all the basics covered. You can manage macros and activate a game mode, but it’s limited compared to the offerings from companies like Corsair and Logitech. The sensitivity adjustment does feel pretty thorough, however, and there are twelve lighting effects to choose from. All of these features can be assigned to one of five different profiles you can cycle through with the “Mode” button.

More than anything, the software just looks and feels old. It’s enough to get the job done for most people though.

Is the AGK700 Worth It?

At $179.99, the AOC AGK700 is priced to compete with some of the best mechanical gaming keyboards on the market. The SteelSeries Apex Pro, Razer Huntsman Elite, and Corsair K100 all share a similar price point. To AOC’s credit, the AGK700’s build quality is second to none. They didn’t cut any corners in its construction. It comes up short in features, though. Lighting and keymapping profiles on the G-Tools software feels outdated compared to similarly priced models.

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