Trust GXT 867 Acira Review

Verdict

The Trust GXT 867 Acira is a solid small form factor gaming keyboard with a sturdy, lightweight chassis, as well as responsive Outemu Red switches and reasonably even RGB lighting. It may not be the most exciting or feature-packed keyboard, but for its price tag, it’s a decent choice for cash-strapped gamers.

Introduction

The Trust GXT 867 Acira adds a new type of mechanical keyboard to the brand’s lineup of more affordable choices – a 60 percent option.

Up to this point, Trust’s keyboards have either been full-size or tenkeyless, so adding a 60 percent option to the canon both helps expand the range and indicates the sustained popularity of the layout.

Other brands such as Logitech have recently unveiled similar keyboards for the first time, although the likes of the Logitech G Pro X 60 cost a lot more than the humble £39.99/€49.99 price tag of the GXT 867 Acira.

I’ve been testing Trust’s latest small form factor gaming keyboard for the last few weeks to see how it stacks up against the competition, and whether it’s one of the best gaming keyboards in its price category.

Design

• Lightweight but sturdy chassis
• Convenient space-saving layout
• Simple interface

The GXT 867 Acira isn’t the most exciting-looking keyboard in the world, although for its price tag, it’s sturdy with a textured plastic casing that offers little in the way of deck flex. A 460g weight makes this especially light, even for a keyboard of its smaller size, although that lighter weight matches the GXT 867 Acira’s cheaper price tag.

The 60 percent layout here is the most interesting piece, offering the keys you need and little else, with just the standard alphanumeric keys. You don’t get arrow keys, a nav cluster or even a function row, all in the name of saving desk space for more real estate for mouse movements.

Of course, the sacrifices can take some getting used to without those dedicated keys found on bigger keyboards, but the GXT 867 Acira comes with a selection of secondary functions on a function layer such as arrow keys, multimedia controls and navigation keys to make life easier.

The two-tone black and grey keycaps complement the GXT 867 Acira’s black plastic chassis well, and help the keyboard’s meaner aesthetic. They’re smooth under finger, and given the more affordable price tag, I’m not too fussed about the fact that they are made of ABS plastic as opposed to PBT. They are at least doubleshot moulded for extra durability and allowing for better diffusion of light from the RGB LEDs underneath.

Otherwise, there isn’t much else to the GXT 867 Acira, with a simple interface that only features a USB-C port for wired connectivity, while the bottom is home to some non-slip two-stage feet for raising the keyboard up. The space bar also has Trust branding on it for a little added flair, while the GXT 867 Acira’s packaging is also sustainable and plastic-free. The keyboard is wrapped in paper, while the cable comes with an elastic band around it, and the box itself features small reminders that it’s recyclable. That’s a handy touch.

Performance

• Responsive Outemu Red switches
• Poor acoustics and sound
• Useful additional touches including Win key lock

Inside, the GXT 867 Acira features Outemu Red switches, an MX Red clone which has been featured in more affordable keyboards for a long time. While they aren’t the best clones out there, the fact that they’re linear and reasonably responsive makes them a good choice for gamers on a budget. In a few runs of CS:2, the combination of the smaller layout and light, snappy switches helped.

Even the mere presence of mechanical switches at this more affordable price point is noteworthy, given that similarly-priced keyboards from bigger brands such as Razer and Roccat are purely membrane, offering a mushier and less positive feeling. These switches are also rated for up to 50 million actuations per key, meaning they’re also a lot more durable than a rubber dome on a membrane ‘board, too.

For day-to-day productivity workloads, the Outemu Reds were fine to use, with a reasonably consistent keypress. Linears are a more sensible choice for a more affordable keyboard too, given the typical nature of soft-tactile switches on cheaper keyboards lacking a sense of tactility with an inconsistent keypress.

Its acoustics aren’t the best, however, with a lot of case rattle and ping from the stabilisers on larger keys. Of course, at its price point, the GXT 867 Acira isn’t going to be challenging even more affordable enthusiast-grade choices such as the Lemokey P1 Pro, but it would have been pleasant to see (and hear) at least some sound dampening for a more pleasing sound profile.

Elsewhere, the GXT 867 Acira also comes with touches usually reserved for more expensive options, such as Windows key locks to prevent accidental keypresses, as well as NKRO for allowing for simultaneous inputs.

Software and Lighting

• Confusing messaging surrounding software
• Integrated functions offer basic configuration
• The lighting is reasonably bright and even

Unlike other more affordable keyboards from Trust, such as the GXT 863 Mazz, the GXT 867 Acira comes with software, or at least, according to Trust’s website and marketing information. However, in searching for it at the link Trust provides on the box, the software was nowhere to be seen – it simply links to the manual and data sheet for the keyboard.

The manual at least provides some detail for the functions integrated into the GXT 867 Acira, such as using the key combination of Fn+Tab to change lighting effects, while Fn and the Windows key locks the key to prevent accidental keypresses, and Fn and the square bracket keys change the level of the RGB backlighting.

On that note, the lighting present on the GXT 867 Acira is decent for a keyboard of its price, offering reasonably vivid colours and solid coverage across most keys. The only key that offers weaker coverage is the Enter key, where the backlighting is hard to notice.

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