Will this other Hermes variant be your next gaming keyboard?

Gamdias is back with another gaming mechanical keyboard and from its Hermes mechanical keyboard model. The Hermes P1 features a frameless keyboard design with an aluminum body to provide a cutting-edge look, and similar with the original Hermes, it also features RGB lighting that allow customization to the keyboard. But is this P1 version a superior from the original Hermes? Let’s find out.

Below is the specifications of the Gamdias Hermes P1:

• Key Switch: GAMDIAS certified mechanical switches
• Key Switch Type: Blue
• Dimensions:
  • 448 x 202.4 x 36.9 mm (w/ wrist rest)
  • 448 x 156.6 x 36.9 mm (w/o wrist rest)
• Weight:
  • 56KG (w/ wrist rest)
  • 30KG (w/o wrist rest)
• Built-in Memory: 72KB
• Polling Rate 1000Hz
• Additional Macro Keys: NA
• Programmable keys: 2
• Multimedia Keys: 6
• Switch Lifecycle: 50 Million
• Backlit: 16.8 million colors and 4 levels brightness
• N-Key Rollover: N-Key rollover
• Cable Length: 1.8m (Braided Cable with Gold-plated Connector)
• Interface: USB

The big difference with the P1 and the original Hermes is the design, now sporting a gray aluminum body and a frameless design that still makes the look neat while having an aggressive feel. The floating effect on the keys help give the RGB lighting some illumination.

The back portion of the keyboard has five rubber feet to keep your keyboard from moving on your desk, it also has two stands with rubber feet that allows you to increase the height of the keyboard. Also on the back part is the keycap puller, which you can use and reattach at any time and a pretty neat feature to keep your keycap puller and use it when needed. It also has the cable routing groves that provides cable management, but with the placement of the cable is outside the keyboard instead of being underneath, using the groves is not advisable as it can damage the cable itself as you need to bend it in order to insert it to the groves.

The P1 includes a detachable wrist rest that adds comfort to your wrist when playing for prolonged hours. Made out of plastic, the wrist rest can easily be placed on the keyboard without any locking mechanism, there are two pegs on the wrist rest that you connect on the holes of the lower portion of the keyboard that it keeps the wrist rest in place, and it even has three rubber feet to prevent it from slipping. It would have been nice if the wrist rest have paddings to help cushion your wrists, but it still provides some decent comfort and you can remove it anytime if you need the extra space.

There are several shortcut keys that provides easy access to some functions on your PC, specifically anything related to multimedia. You can adjust the volume and playbacks on your music or video by pressing the FN key alongside the corresponding shortcut key, the RGB effects also has several shortcut keys that you can toggle even without using the Hera software as well as switching to different keyboard profiles that you registered with the software. Two macro keys can also be activated, though programming a macro requires the use of the Hera software.

The keycaps are purely a miss, this is probably an issue on the production as some keys have sprue marks on their upper back portions, though it may not be entirely visible, some users make find it unpleasant to see but these can be remedied by sanding on the sprue marks. All of the keycaps are doubleshot keys which provides a sharper letters on the keys along with a futuristic-like font style, however some of the keys’ plastics were molded properly, causing some of black plastic to bleed in to the font when illuminated. It makes the keys look cheap as the original Hermes keyboard doesn’t show the similar issue.  The plus side on the keycaps are its contoured shape, making if comfortable to type as the keys goes nicely on your fingertips when typing.

Its main highlight is the RGB lighting gimmick, providing different lighting effects that suits your taste, the types of lighting effects are similar that with the original Hermes, so the P1 does not have anything unique to its RGB effects. We also noticed that the brightness on the P1 is dimmer than with the original, this is probably due to how the LEDs are placed deeper in the innards of the mechanical switches which lessens the spread of the illumination when compared to LEDs that are placed almost on top of the switches. It may not be as bright as other keyboards, but still provides good illumination to the keys to help it stand out on your desk. More on the sample footage of the RGB effects on the video:

The Hermes P1 uses the TTC Blue mechanical switches, a new switch compared to the original Hermes that uses the Kailh switches. There are no differences in terms of actuation points though the TTC switches tends to make lesser clicking noise than the Cherry MX and Kailh switches, plus the lifespan of the TTC switches are promised to reach around 50 million keystrokes which is the same with the two known switches. You can check the sound test on the TTC switches on the video below.

There is no worry for any ghosting issues as it has an N-Key Rollover that allows multiple keys pressed simultaneously and all of its input will be registered. The 1000 Hz polling rate provides a quick response time of the keyboard to register any inputted data. After testing the keyboard for hours on the usual typing and gaming sessions, we didn’t noticed any lag inputs.

The Hera software is required if you plan to customize the Hermes P1. It can allow macro programming and create new profiles as well as customizing the RGB colors to your liking. Just take note that you need to have the latest version of the Hera software as the keyboard tends to malfunction especially on the RGB lighting when customizing it on an outdated version. You can directly update the software and it takes a couple of minutes to install the newer version so there is no need to download a new version to install it.

Overall the Gamdias Hermes P1 is a decent gaming keyboard if you are looking for a good frameless-designed keyboard. The major flaws are its keycaps that are poorly manufactured and can be a nuisance if you are conscious with the design, and those who are into bright RGB lighting may not enjoy the dimmer illumination of the Hermes P1. But if you plan to replace the keycaps with a compatible variant or just not bothered with its keycaps and the dim RGB lighting, the Hermes P1 is a durable keyboard and it has the same features with the original Hermes but PhP 500 to PhP 700 cheaper. Plus, the TTC switch is a good alternative to the Kailh switch and even the Cherry MX as it almost have the same feel. The detachable wrist rest is a nice addition as it fits well with the keyboard’s design. However if you have to choose between the Hermes P1 and the original Hermes in terms of keycap quality and RGB color brightness, you would probably pick the original Hermes as the price difference is small and it has better keycaps and RGB illumination.