Genius Scorpion K10 Gaming Keyboard Review

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Penned by Austin Carroll

Austin Carroll is a writer and web designer from Eugene, Oregon. He's been at HGG for five years and maintains an active role designing and develop... Read more

Reviewed by Benjamin Barr

Hey everyone! Austin here with another review. This time I’m checking out the Genius Scorpion K10 Gaming Keyboard. It markets itself as a smart gaming keyboard with RGB backlighting and a mechanical feel for ultimate gaming prowess.

The past 2 weeks I’ve been using the Scorpion K10 for everything from daily work emails to long gaming sessions. I’ve had a lot of fun testing it out, and I’ve got a great deal to share with you all.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

Unboxing

I’ll admit that I was a little disappointed when I first saw the box. The design on the box leaves a lot to be desired. It’s a strange blend of fonts, colors, and a poorly designed layout. If I was shopping in a store and saw this in front of me, it would be an immediate turn-off. Still, you can’t judge a book by its cover.

Package Contents:

• Genius Scorpion K10 Keyboard
• Instruction Manual

I pulled out the keyboard and removed the surrounding plastic wrap. The first thing I noticed was the keyboard has a nice heft to it, and I love that. The keys themselves feature big, bold lettering. At first I wasn’t sure I liked this, but the style grew on me over time.

I set the keyboard down and tried a test stroke. A lovely mechanical clack echoed through my room. Beautiful.

The K10 is a plug-and-play model, so it makes for a quick setup. I unwound the cable and plugged it into my USB port. The keyboard blinked to life as a rainbow of LEDs gently pulsed from right to left underneath the keys. The light was dim in my room, and the colors danced around my desktop.

I opened up Chrome and got to work testing out the Scorpion K10. I navigated to my email and started writing a message I’d been neglecting. As with all keyboards, there was a learning curve for my fingers. The layout is standard enough, but the keys on the K10 are very high up compared to most keyboards. This was new to me.

Once my fingers became accustomed to the configuration, I quickly felt comfortable with the K10’s ease of use. The keys press down fairly smoothly, and the click from every keystroke is a lovely sound. But if you or anyone in your home is not the type of person who enjoys loud clicking, this keyboard is not for you. Everyone within a 15 foot radius will hear you pecking away. Yes — it’s that loud!

Okay, but how does the K10 perform in-game?

A Lash of Scorpions

I’ve been on a total Fortnite kick, so I launched right into a game. It was tricky the first few go-arounds, again due to the fact that the keyboard was new to me. But it didn’t take long for me to find my groove.

Movement was fluid, as was swapping weapons and quickly switching in and out of building mode. I was able to run, jump, and expertly navigate the map with the best of them. The sweet click clack emanating from my keyboard was a treat to my ears, as my bolt-action sniper took me to top 5, then 3, then 1. I was on fire as the keyboard glowed a crimson red underneath my battle-forged fingers.

Victory.

The Scorpion K10 build boasts a mechanical typing experience, sturdy anti-sliding design, ergonomic hi-lo keys, and solid construction. The front of the box reads in bold lettering: fast, fierce, precise.

True to its name, the Scorpion K10 definitely has a durable heft to it. That’s always a good starting point. The keyboard appears well put together with the top and bottom moldings held together by tiny metal screws. The keys themselves appear to be a cheaper plastic, though. And while the keyboard itself is sturdy and weighted, the keys do not impress. They press down a little too easy, and I don’t get the same enjoyment as with some other keyboards I’ve used.

The keyboard does not move when used, even in intense matches when my nerves are jolted. It rests on my desktop with no issues. And the underside is well thought out. It’s simple and precise, with few bells or whistles. For the price, the K10 is what I expect and a little extra.

All that said, I have mixed feelings about look of the keyboard. I didn’t like the big, bold lettering that comes on the keys at first. But it really started to grow on me, especially when I realized it’s much easier to see in the dark. It’s functional, and the style works for this keyboard.

The raised hi-lo keys are not my favorite. I’m not sure why Genius made the decision to include gargantuan keys. Even my typical keyboard wrist wrest isn’t very comfortable due to the height of the keyboard. That said, I prefer a more even-lined wrist and finger setup. I know many people prefer to type on an upward slope. But even then, it just don’t look flush. Minus points for that one.

The rest of the keyboard is fairly typical. The way the cord winds and snakes from the back end actually works very well. A lot of keyboards try to do something fancy with it for no reason. Genius kept it simple, and it looks good.

Where the Scorpion K10 really shines, though, is in the RGB lighting. The breathing backlight is beautiful and it functions like a dream.

The backlight on the Scorpion K10 truly shines! Seriously, it is impressive. For such a reasonable price you get a keyboard with light settings that match much more expensive models. With the click of a few keys, you get a totally different look and feel. Want to match some of your other accessories like I did? No problem. Can’t sleep with the light? Dim it down. There are a ton of options to choose from, including:

• Waves/flashing
• Color sequence rotation
• Single color backlight
• Breathing light
• Ripple effect

And that’s only the tip of the iceberg! There are a ton of other individual settings to play with, including brightness, speed, and more. Plus, Genius goes above and beyond by letting you fully customize the settings in the user definition mode. The customization options are endless! Well done, Genius.

A Modest Exoskeleton

Mobing onto the Switches. Ah, the switches. Possibly the most important part of the keyboard.

Let’s start with the good. For the price, this keyboard performs well. The keys aren’t very weighted or particularly ergonomic, but this is an entry level keyboard. With the suspension keycaps and cleartones, they do perform well enough. The loud mechanical clicks and clacks are very nice on the Scorpion K10. I just love the sound in my ears, and that’s what makes this keyboard stand out for me. The sound rivals other mechanical-style keyboards I’ve used at much higher price points.

And when it comes to gaming, anti ghosting is incredibly important. The Scorpion K10 boasts anti-ghosting technology, and it doesn’t disappoint. All of my keystrokes were registered in game, and there was never a lost opportunity. Kudos.

Still, we need to face reality. You should know that this keyboard is bare-bones in terms of comfort. The keyboard doesn’t feel the best on my fingers. The keys are not very weighted, and typing is not a beautiful experience. As I mentioned before, the keys are also very high above the keyboard. They are not set in at all which really detracts. It’s not super comfortable, and then having to press on the cheap plastic keys is a bummer. Again, the saving grace here is the sound. But otherwise I’m not impressed.

The Scorpion K10 gaming keyboard is an entry level accessory for most gamers. It’s functional, it looks pretty good, and it’s nice enough to use. But what really makes this keyboard stand out is the light effect. When the lights are off and it’s just you, the keyboard, and your enemy on the screen, you feel like a badass with lights all aglow.

It’s also worth mentioning that Genius provides an optional software download on their website called the SmartGenius app. It’s supposed to make the K10 a smart gaming keyboard with macros. To write a well-rounded review, I had to check it out.

The software installation was easy. Getting it set up was a whiz, and I was booted onto the software homescreen. The software is fully functional and quite feature-rich. It’s an impressive offering to go alongside an entry-level keyboard. Unfortunately, the software design is rather outdated. It’s not intuitive at all, and there is a learning curve to go alongside its use. But if you’re willing to test it out and learn the software, it will level your competitive advantage. A great bonus offering by Genius.

Overall, you’re getting what you pay for — plus a little extra. For more gaming keyboard ideas check out our best gaming keyboards page.

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