Wooting 80HE Keyboard Review

This keyboard design sits somewhere between a compact 75% and a typical TKL (tenkeyless) layout.

The left-side layout is standard, but the right side has—in addition to a dedicated arrow key cluster— four Nav cluster keys arranged in two columns of two, two additional F-row keys, and an LED indicator bar. This is somewhat unusual as a standard TKL often has six keys in the Nav cluster, arranged in three columns of two plus additional F-row keys.

Ultimately, this is a matter of preference, but for comparison, see an image of the Logitech G515 LIGHTSPEED— its right side has a much more conventional TKL layout.

We bought this keyboard with a zinc alloy case, which is considerably heavier than the PCR ABS plastic case, which Wooting indicates weighs 790g (1.74 lbs).

This keyboard has outstanding build quality. We bought a black zinc alloy case model, which is extremely sturdy and, predictably, doesn't exhibit any deck flex.

While we haven't tested the PCR plastic case, most reports we've seen online indicate that it's similarly high quality but much lighter and more flexible. The only issues we've seen are occasional reports of minor cosmetic issues, like scratches or minor warping.

An additional white-colored zinc alloy case was available, but Wooting has retired this colorway for now as they weren't satisfied with its quality control following early user feedback. For more details, see an update posted to Wooting's blog.

The keycaps are made of doubleshot PBT plastic. They have a slightly textured finish that makes them pleasant to the touch without being slippery.

The stabilizers and switches are pre-lubed from the factory. We noted that the right shift key rattles slightly, while the other stabilized keys don't rattle noticeably. This may be a product of somewhat inconsistent lubing from the factory.

The switches wobble slightly, which is most apparent on larger stabilized keys but isn't noticeable whatsoever while typing normally.

There are multiple layers of acoustic materials sandwiched inside the case that do a great job of rounding out the sound profile.

The are three rubber pads on the back of the keyboard along the bottom edge and two indent areas along the top edge for adding the included detachable silicone feet. These feet provide support for various typing angles and do a good job of keeping the board in place on your desk without slipping.

The Wooting 80HE has a fairly standard, high-profile design. On the back of the keyboard, there are indents along the top edge for inserting the included silicone feet for different incline levels.

The flattest set of feet provides a slight 2.8-degree incline pictured above. You can also see images with the 6-degree and 10-degree feet attachments.

There isn't a wrist rest included, but Wooting sells wrist rests on their website.

This keyboard has a hot-swappable PCB but is only compatible with magnetic Hall effect switches.

Wooting indicates that both Gateron Magnetic Jade and Gateron KS-20 switches are compatible but they encourage users to inquire on their discord server for other switch compatibility questions.

By default, the switches have north-facing LEDs, which provide the best visibility for the shine-through keycaps. Additionally, Wooting recommends that the switches should only be installed in a north-facing orientation in the included user documentation. You can rotate the switches 180 degrees into a south-facing orientation, and they function normally. However, this significantly impacts the backlight clarity. For reference, we've rotated the G, H, J, K, and L switches to be south-facing in this image.

The keyboard comes with screw-in stabilizers but is also compatible with aftermarket plate-mounted stabilizers if you prefer.

Unlike the Wooting 60HE, which is highly compatible with a range of third-party cases, the Wooting 80HE has limited compatibility with other cases due to its nonstandard layout.

The Wooting 80HE has fully addressable per-key RGB backlighting that you can adjust using the software.

The shine-through legends are easy to read with minimal obstructions. The backlighting is also quite bright at maximum brightness, and the white-only backlighting is generally pure white.

However, there's a noticeable blue tint on the backlighting of the tilde (~) key in the top left corner of the unit we tested, visible in the photo above. This blue tint persists despite repeated troubleshooting efforts. Furthermore, this particular switch LED is incapable of displaying other colors, for example, when you set the board to display a different static color. We haven't seen reports of similar issues in the wider community, so we expect this may be an isolated issue with our unit.

The included braided cable retains some kinks from its packaging but comes with a velcro strap for cable management.

You can configure macros using configuration software. However, the macro software is called Wootomation, which is different from the Wootility software, which allows you to control backlighting, actuation, and other keyboard settings.

Wootomation is available for download for Windows or Linux. For details, see Wooting's website.

The Wooting 80HE keyboard supports a range of shortcuts for profile switching, adjusting backlighting brightness, and media controls.

You can reference the quick start guide on Wooting's website for a list of the supported hotkeys.

On the right side of the board, above the arrow keys, there's an LED indicator bar that you can configure using the software to display a variety of information, like your typing speed, your key press depth, and when Caps Lock is enabled.

• USB-C to USB-C cable
• USB-C to USB-A adapter
• 2 x 2.8° silicone feet
• 2x 6° silicone feet
• 2x 10° silicone feet
• 7x extra keycaps (Home, End, Scrl Lk, A1, A2, A3, Wooting logo)
• 3x replacement Lekker Linear60 V2 switches
• 1x sample Lekker Linear45 V2 switch
• 2x spare screws*
• 4x M2 screws*
• Switch/keycap puller
• Traveling case
• Postcard
• User documentation

*Wooting's quick start guide indicates there should be seven spare screws, while their product page only indicates there should be five (M2) screws. We received a total of six screws, four of which were M2 screws.

This keyboard provides impressive typing quality. Both the switches and stabilizers are pre-lubed from the factory. The switches feel very smooth without any noticeable scratchiness and while they wobble slightly, it isn't noticeable whatsoever while typing.

The stabilizers also do a good job of keeping larger keys stable, although we noted that the right shift key rattles more noticeably than other keys. This may only be a product of somewhat inconsistent lubing.

The gasket mount design provides a slightly cushioned typing experience overall. Ultimately, it's a matter of preference, but some people may find it feels somewhat mushy compared to the Wooting 60HE, which provides a stiffer typing experience. It also doesn't feel quite as springy as the gasket-mounted keyboards we've tested. However, this is likely intentional as more gasket flexibility could negatively impact the actuation accuracy of the Hall effect switches.

The Wooting 80HE is very quiet. There are multiple layers of acoustic material inside the case that do a great job of dampening and rounding out the sound profile. The typing noise is unlikely to bother those around you. We tested a zinc alloy case, but this keyboard is also available with a PCR ABS plastic case, which we expect to produce slightly deeper, more resonant, and possibly somewhat louder typing noise.

Wooting has a typing noise comparison video on their YouTube channel.

For this test, we produced the measurements using an actuation point setting of 0.1mm and a Rapid Trigger setting of 0.15mm (press and release).

You can customize the actuation point on these switches between 0.1mm and 4mm. The default actuation setting out of the box is 1.0mm, and Rapid Trigger is disabled.

We measured various actuation point settings and confirmed that actuation is regularly within 0.1mm of the advertised range. This is very accurate and compares very favorably with other analog keyboards from other manufacturers.

Initial actuation accuracy measurements:

Setting 0.2mm: 0.32mm
Setting 0.5mm: 0.59mm
Setting 1.0mm: 1.00mm
Setting 1.2mm: 1.15mm
Setting 1.5mm: 1.42mm
Setting 1.8mm: 1.69mm
Setting 2.0mm: 1.89mm
Setting 2.5mm: 2.22mm
Setting 3.0mm: 2.77mm
Setting 3.5mm: 3.13mm
Setting 4.0mm: 3.56mm

However, we also measured a second press for each setting and found a very small but slight decrease in actuation setting accuracy. Below are our measurements for a second follow-up input.

Second press accuracy measurements:

Setting 0.2mm: 0.39mm
Setting 0.5mm: 0.72mm
Setting 1.0mm: 1.29mm
Setting 1.2mm: 1.37mm
Setting 1.5mm: 1.64mm
Setting 1.8mm: 1.90mm
Setting 2.0mm: 2.10mm
Setting 2.5mm: 2.61mm
Setting 3.0mm: 3.06mm
Setting 3.5mm: 3.05mm
Setting 4.0mm: 3.82mm

To be clear, the margin of difference is very small and even the second inputs remain quite accurate. Furthermore, we should note that it's possible the accuracy of follow-up inputs may improve with later firmware updates, and we'll update our review as necessary.

The Wooting 80HE maintains exceptionally low single-key latency to deliver an extremely responsive and consistent in-game experience.

This test was conducted using the following settings:

• Tachyon Mode enabled
• 8000Hz scan rate
• 8000Hz polling rate
• 0.1mm actuation
• 0.15mm Rapid Trigger (press and release)

We tested this keyboard with its stock Lekker Linear60 switches. However, the box included a sample Lekker Linear45 switch, which we also tested separately. For reference, you can see the single-key latency results with the Lekker Linear45 switch.

The Wooting 80HE provides superb and exceptionally consistent multi-key latency performance. It's extremely well-suited for playing any game that requires additional keystrokes while multiple keys are pressed and maintained.

This test was conducted using the following settings:

• Tachyon Mode enabled
• 8000Hz scan rate
• 8000Hz polling rate
• 0.1 mm actuation
• 0.15mm Rapid Trigger (press and release)

We tested this keyboard with its stock Lekker Linear60 switches. However, the box included a sample Lekker Linear45 switch, which we also tested separately. For reference, you can see the multi-key latency results with the Lekker Linear45 switch.

The Wooting 80HE has a maximum update rate of 8000Hz, which ensures it can fully take advantage of its maximum polling rate of 8000Hz without bottlenecking.

Note that you can change the scan rate setting using the software, but 'Tachyon Mode' needs to be enabled for an 8000Hz scan rate. For more details, see the Configuration Software section.

NKRO is enabled by default, but you can turn it off using the software.

The Wooting 80 HE has impressive chord split performance, with very low 4-chord and 8-chord split delay. It's an outstanding option for playing rhythm titles or other games requiring many simultaneous inputs.

You can access the Wootility configuration software in a web-based client or a downloadable app.

We tested the v5.0.0 (beta.3) software, which is publicly available but still being tested at the time of writing. Also note that Wooting's older Wootility Web (V4) isn't compatible with the Wooting 80HE.

The software is somewhat complex regarding its number of options, but it's relatively intuitive and has a well-organized layout. Settings are arranged on multiple pages, and helpful definitions for many features are provided.

The software allows you to change a range of settings, including key mapping, RGB lighting, and custom profiles. You can also configure the LED light indicator bar to display various information, like your typing speed, key press depth, and when Caps Lock is enabled, among other options.

In addition to the adjustable actuation point and Rapid Trigger settings common on most Hall effect gaming keyboards, this keyboard also supports several other advanced features related to analog key settings, detailed below.

• Rapid Trigger: This setting can dynamically adjust your switches' actuation and reset points based on distance rather than being fixed at a specific point along the keystroke. This allows for faster follow-up inputs, which can be especially beneficial in scenarios like counter-strafing in FPS games.
• Tachyon Mode: This mode is designed to ensure the best possible input latency performance. When turned on, it disables RGB lighting effects that can otherwise tax the keyboard's processing power, and it locks the keyboard to its maximum 8000Hz scan rate.
• Mod Tap: This is the ability to set two different actions to a single key based on whether you tap or hold down the key.
• Toggle Lock: You can lock a specific action between an on or off state by tapping a key. Holding down the key activates the key's normal function.
• Rappy Snappy: This setting monitors the press depth of two opposing directional keys and prioritizes the key that's pressed down the furthest.
• Snappy Tappy (SOCD): Specifies a pair of keys to activate based on custom trigger parameters. For example:
  • Last input priority: The last pressed key overrides the first if both exceed the actuation point.
  • Absolute priority: One key overrides the other if both exceed the actuation point. Disclaimer: Using this setting may be disallowed in some competitive online games, like CS:2. Wooting has more information on their website.
• Gamepad: A collection of settings on a separate page that lets you use your keyboard like a game controller. You can map keys to specific gamepad inputs, and the switches can register gradual input, which is useful for games like flight simulators or racing games to give you more precise control.