Intro
Graystudio and Oldcat reached out to me regarding their latest project, the think6.5 v2. I was so in love with the original think, that I just had to give this new one a test run. The differences between the original and this definitely made my head turn. Gasket isolated, fr4 plate, as well as a fun new design. While I am totally aware the new design isn’t for everyone, I really like it! I’m an old school tattoo kind of guy, and the anchor and nautical aspects of it really looked good to me. The v2 took some of the key elements of the original, like the carved sides and badge placements, and really made it one of the best boards I’ve used all year.
For full transparency, I was sent a prototype version of this board for review’s sake but that does not affect my review at all. In fact, I liked it so much, I purchased another two out of pocket!
Build Experience
If you wanted to learn a bit more about the design of the Think6.5 v2, I recommend checking out the geekhack thread! I will be jumping into my experience with the prototype of the Think6.5 v2 here.
The FR4 Plate
This was a huge selling point for me. For context, here is what FR4 is:
FR-4 is a NEMA grade designation for glass-reinforced epoxy laminate material. FR-4 is a composite material composed of woven fiberglass cloth with an epoxy resin binder that is flame resistant.
This material sounds so good with a lot of different keyboards and is typically a real joy to work with. It’s not quite as soft and flexible as something like a POM plate or thinner polycarb, but it has a unique feel and offers some amazing sound signatures with it. I am so glad they went with this as the stock option for the board.
The board also featured a foam for the PCB / plate. Which is always a welcomed option to come stock with a board.
Case Assembly
The Build VOD
What are my final thoughts? I absolutely love the case and I can’t wait to get the other ones I ordered to come in!
There were some other issues that popped up, all of which are being revised for the final product. For example, the PCB LED placements on the back for the PC version didn’t allow for an even spread of the RGB effects due to the weight placement. There will be a toggle for the badge LED and demostudio is fixing the power draw issue with the PCB that we ran into (longer cables don’t supply enough power with the RGB turned on all the way).
Sound test?
See below for a sound test! We did do a build for both a linear switches (tealios and tangies) and tactile switches (POM holy panda’s) and both sounded stunning. I can honestly say this is the BEST sounding board I’ve used all year, but please keep in mind sound is subjective to the user.
Can you mix the PC and Aluminum?
Yes and no. You can but tolerances can be finicky as seen in the VOD. I managed to do it but I can imagine if this was any tighter, you’d damage something.
How did you get the Graystudio screwdriver?!
It comes in the box! The packaging itself is very nice and you can see me going through the contents in the VOD, it was a really nice accessory to get rather than the standard allen key set.
All in all, it’s a great offering from Graystudio and it’s a huge win in my books.
Want to watch more live streams? Visit my twitch channel here: Alexotos on Twitch