We were lucky enough to be one of the first few to try out the Hex.4B Dreamcore Edition mechanical keyboard, which went on sale on 19 Nov 9pm at hex.dreamcore.com.sg. It is basically the Hex.4B keyboard by Hex Keyboards, but in a Dreamcore purple colourway. You can find out more info on the keyboard here.
Design and build quality
First thing I noticed when I took the Hex.4B Dreamcore Edition out of its carrying case was the weight. It is hefty at about 2kg and the build quality on this is incredibly solid, expected from its CNC milled aluminium and internal brass weight.
The purple colour is what Dreamcore dubs the Vivid Nightshade, and the anodisation on it is pretty nice. It looks really gorgeous in person, and matches really well with the Laser clones keycaps that Dreamcore has clothed them on. You can check out the photos below to get a sense of the colourway.
Do note that the rubber bump-ons on the back of the case on this unit will not be the same as the retail units.
Typing experience and acoustics
In this fully assembled board, the Hex.4B Dreamcore Edition is equipped with Gateron Lion switches, which are custom linear switches designed by Kasterborous of Hex Keyboards. Since I don’t have much time with the board, I won’t be dissembling the board.
As the Hex.4B Dreamcore Edition features a plateless design, the typing feel on this is gentle and has some level of bounce and flex to it. Personally I really enjoy typing on this keyboard. I don’t think the switches in this it were lubed as it felt a little scratchy still. You can have a quick sense of the acoustics by checking out the video below:
Final thoughts
The Hex.4B Dreamcore Edition has VIA support as well, which to me is crucial if you have a 75% layout since the side keys can be mapped to any keys of your liking.
I’ve always been typing on keyboards with plate, so this is my first time typing on a plateless keyboard. And I gotta say the Hex.4B Dreamcore Edition really offers a unique typing experience, where I can kinda feel the bottoming out of the switches as compared to typing on keyboard with a plate. I guess this is something to that you have to try it out physically to feel and decide for yourself.
Perhaps one day SuperSolid will be gracing us with some custom keyboards of their own. But in the meantime, this collaboration between local desktop builder Dreamcore and local keyboard maker Hex is one step in the right direction.