REVIEW : Gamdias HERMES E1 Keyboard and Mouse Combo
So, Gamdias were kind enough to provide us with GAMDIAS Hermes E1 mechanical gaming keyboard and mouse combo for review. We have reviewed Gamdias products in the past and all have been very well received. Gamdias strikes the perfect combo of price and features. Gamdias has vast lineup of gaming peripherals ranging from mouse, keyboard, headsets to mousepads.
The first you will notice about the complete package is its weight. The entire package is on a heavier side and feels premium. The box contains images of mouse, keyboard + wrist rest and mouse pad. The items are very well secured inside the box.
The Hemes E1 features mechanical blue switches which are Gamdias certified and have a lifecycle of 50 million keystrokes. Size-wise, it’s 448 x 202.4 x 36.9 mm with the wrist rest, and 448 x 156.6 x 36.9 mm without, we ended up using the keyboard without wrist rest after a while as it did not go well with our setup. The keyboard weights 1.56Kg with wrist rest and 1.30Kg without wrist rest. The cable is 1.8m in length and is braided. There is also a key puller at the back of the keyboard. The keyboard has 256k in built memory and features a polling rate of 1000 Hz. The keys are back lit with red color which is the only color the keyboard supports. Keyboard also features 21 key roll-over along with 6 multimedia and 2 programmable keys. Further adding to the feature list, the keyboard supports, OTF Macro Recording, Windows Key Disabling, All-Keys Lock, Graphical UI – GAMDIAS HERA, 6 Gaming Profiles, WASD & Arrow keys Change, Consecutive Attack Mode, Quick-Attach Wrist Rest.
Hermes E1 is not a light weight keyboard and feels premium to hold and work on. The keyboard is made of plastic with still feels quite premium feel.
The wrist rest attaches and detaches easily and is comfortable to use. The keys are large and easy to type on, only gripe with them is that the font is often unreadable. The keys provide a satisfying clicky sound which we appreciate.
Hermes E1 also features light effects using the HERA software, we ended up using the breathing effect. The length of breathing effect can also be adjusted, fast breathing to slow breathing effect. The keys are also easy to remove which makes cleaning the keyboard a breeze.
The Hermes E1 combo includes the DEMETER E2 Optical mouse. Here are the specs:
Advanced Gaming Optical Sensor
Dimensions: 120 x 75 x 40 mm
Weight: 105 grams
DPI resolutions: 1200 / 1600 / 2400
Switch lifecycle: 1 Million
1.5m braided cable
TPE Mouse feet
Though Hermes E1 is star of the package but Demeter E2 is no slouch and is brilliant in design and build quality.
Demeter E2 ergonomic design fits well with a palm grip with all the buttons easy to reach and press. The sides of mouse are contoured to provide comfort for thumb and finger.
The mouse features lighting but not your typical RGB but it pulsates through purple, blue and red. The lights are not as customizable as keyboard. The wheel lights up along with strips along the mouse. The mouse features a basic layout along with on the fly DPI changing buttons. Pressing the DPI button also changes the lights.
The E1 mousepad is pretty generic and has a Gamdias logo in the middle. We wish the mouse pad could be larger in size.