# [Review] Noppoo Choc Mini Mechanical Keyboad Cherry MX Brown. NKRO under USB.



## fssbzz

*Packaging:
nothing much, just a cool box inside, another box.
keyboard cover with plastic. and come with a warranty card by Noppoo.

























The Keyboard:
Pretty much come with everything you need from a full size keyboard to a compact layout.
Got ALL the features from a regular full size keyboard to a this compact layout.

Build Quality:
This thing is solid, and amazing.
Beautiful and perfect finish.
For this price, i have to say,
Overall quality AMAZING.
Solid Keyboard!
Comes with features like Volume UP and DOWN, this is Exactly what I WANT!









































































































NKRO:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLr9dDMm5Sw[/ame]

Keyboard size, and the Compact Layout of this Keyboard:

















Compare with DUCKY 9008 size:









Compare with Ducky 1087:









The Compactness Looks in Reality:
























How Solid is this keyboard?
Scale 1 LB 9.8oz









Compare to Ducky 1087, Keep in mind that, this Keyboard is smaller then 1087 about 1.5 inches, and it is almost as heavy as Ducky 1087:









Key cap:
it use POM material.
The key cap is Quite THICK.
is fun to type on this keyboard, because it is quite silent compare to my ducky Brown.
Font Printing method: UNKNOWN yet. Let Expert decide later after looking at the pic.
I can't feel the font at all, even i try to use my nail to scratch off the FONT. but my Nail cant feel it.

























































Ducky ABS key cap side to side comparison. Profile

















Color printed Cap:

































*


----------



## fssbzz

*
The back of the Keyboard:
I don't see any screw hole at all. Do you?
Still figuring out how to Open up the keyboard. lol

































Cable:









USB:
Not even Gold Plated, Just regular USB, totally NKRO on your FACE~!!









LED Brightness:
PERFECT









































Stabilizer on the Big key.
looks like Coastar Style. but works fine, Doesn't do any squezzking sound at all.
Very silent. Even way more silent then the Cherry Stabilizer from Ducky.
Probably because of the Key cap profile.

























Cherry MX mounting on the Metal Plate:
LED on the Cherry MX brown.

























What's INSIDE?
First thing i want to say is, i love to do review on this keyboard, because it doesn't have any warranty sticker on it to void your warranty away if you open up the keyboard.
2nd, This key board is totally SCREWLESS.
is SNAP ON. VERY EASY TO OPEN.
it might be a great thing for modder, it might be a bad thing for someone that need a good secure closed keyboard.
The picture show where the snap are. total only 5 snap. and the shell of the keyboard can be open.
The shell is OK. Not very soft, but it is Hard enough to protect the PCB.
and Better then 1087, not that easy to break it.

































Looks Smaller without the shell.









Pretty Clean Soldering [No IONE issue]

































Is made by September 16, 2010 ? Very NEW product i guess









Controller.
Simple small little Chip that Provides NKRO.
I have to say, they got a pretty good Engineer or who ever made this little tiny chip, you are Genius!

































USB connector.









































Diodes who make NKRO work

















*


----------



## ch_123

NKRO OVER USB LOLOMG SURELY THIS CANNOT BE

*coughs*


----------



## fssbzz

*Metal Plate Mount







































*

OVERALL:
This Keyboard is Amazingly perfectly Super Duper Awesome.
Why?
Because of the NKRO tru USB, the Layout, the Material, The Solidness,
and of course the PRICE.
They have 3 different Cherry mx Switch.
Cherry mx Black are the cheapest, and Blue are 2nd and Brown are the most expensive one, for some reason, I really don't know why.

Price: 11/10
Noise: 10/10
Quality: 10/10 !!!!! ( might change later, after i figure out the inside )
Feel when typing: 10/10
Overall: 10/10
The Look: 8.5/10 (not for everyone, but could be better)

The Bad:
I really can't find anything bad.
Maybe no detachable USB cable? lol
Not available in US yet?
try to find the bad one, but is really hard to find. This Keyboard are just Perfect for me.
Keyboard does not work with MAC OS. Reported here by polpo


----------



## Crazy9000

Cool, interested how this plays out.


----------



## kevingreenbmx

sub'd for interest...


----------



## fssbzz

ok done!


----------



## Fletcherea

Screws must be under the rubber foots and center sticker eh.

*edit* I might start saving my pennies up for this one, I can't seem to find the i-rocks board I was thinking about getting. My beat up shoulder loves compact keyboards, don't have to reach too far to the side for the mouse.


----------



## rmp459

entire board is mx browns ?

im on a 6Gv2 right now... but im very interested... i love the blacks.... im guess the browns have a tactile feel and a switching point that is very pronounced ? any decent for gaming? or would it require adjusting ?


----------



## murderbymodem

Man..I miss mechanical boards. I had to get rid of my two (ABS M1, Filco Zero series) because my Mom and Sister could hear me typing through the walls.









If this was available in the US I'd probably be pulling the trigger right now. It looks like a great LAN party board.


----------



## kevingreenbmx

looks pretty sweet, not a fan of THAT compact a layout though, i like my Filco Majestouche 87-key's layout without the arrows all pressed up on other keys.


----------



## Crazy9000

The two bumps in middle on the bottom might have screws under them.

How do the keycaps feel? They look textured







. And is the NKRO just like ps/2 board, or does it pulse them like my 12KRO Das?


----------



## rmp459

Oh man I just saw they sell them with multiple switches... im gonna need to find a way to test out some brown switches.

And then pray I can someone get one to the US!


----------



## fssbzz

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Crazy9000;11836687*
> The two bumps in middle on the bottom might have screws under them.
> 
> How do the keycaps feel? They look textured
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> . And is the NKRO just like ps/2 board, or does it pulse them like my 12KRO Das?


the caps feel awesome
typing on that brown, totally feels different from the brown of my ducky
this noppoo feels like typing on a brown switches of cherry keyboard. i guess is because of the caps.
the NKRO is fully trough USB only. i never use PS/2 on it.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLr9dDMm5Sw[/ame]


----------



## webwit

You appear excited. I have one incoming as well through another channel, I wonder if it will change my use of font size.


----------



## ripster

They are using the multiple keyboards being reported trick. Probably more like 18KRO.

Good for this WOW player since he uses his feet and hands.

__
Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content


----------



## fssbzz

their NKRO works from this thing







Quote:


> 实现U口全无冲也需要主控的支持，相当于键盘的大脑了！


----------



## fssbzz

bump..
will be updating the review pretty soon!
INSIDE This little beast.


----------



## kyle-reece

What does the switch lock do?


----------



## fssbzz

swap the position of CAPSLOCK and Left CTRL


----------



## Phaedrus2129

If this had doubleshots, a row of macro keys, and onboard flash memory for macros, then this would be my ideal keyboard.

I'm looking into ordering it.


----------



## fssbzz

i actually wonder if they can do 2 shot molded plastic with POM material.
but i really like the way they laser etched they POM key cap.
is laser infill but totally flat infill. i can't feel it with my nail at all.

oh ya, i need to update the review for key cap.


----------



## fssbzz

added this into OP.
Review are completed
Quote:


> *What's INSIDE?
> First thing i want to say is, i love to do review on this keyboard, because it doesn't have any warranty sticker on it to void your warranty away if you open up the keyboard.
> 2nd, This key board is totally SCREWLESS.
> is SNAP ON. VERY EASY TO OPEN.
> it might be a great thing for modder, it might be a bad thing for someone that need a good secure closed keyboard.
> The picture show where the snap are. total only 5 snap. and the shell of the keyboard can be open.
> The shell is OK. Not very soft, but it is Hard enough to protect the PCB.
> and Better then 1087, not that easy to break it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Looks Smaller without the shell.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Pretty Clean Soldering [No IONE issue]
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Is made by September 16, 2010 ? Very NEW product i guess
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Controller.
> Simple small little Chip that Provides NKRO.
> I have to say, they got a pretty good Engineer or who ever made this little tiny chip, you are Genius!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> USB connector.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Diodes who make NKRO work
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Metal Plate Mount
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *


----------



## webwit

*I'm gonna state the obvious, what's with the huge font size? If you encounter a moview review in this font size, would you take the reviewer seriously?*


----------



## Little Overclocker/Gamer

At first when I saw the picture of the empty box I was like, "Where's the keyboard?"


----------



## mrtn400

Wow, that USB NKRO is really cool. If I had any extra money I would definitely order one of those.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *webwit;11851153*
> *I'm gonna state the obvious, what's with the huge font size? If you encounter a moview review in this font size, would you take the reviewer seriously?*


I think it's easier to spot and read between big pictures.

Either way, why do you care?


----------



## webwit

*I don't care but just found an easier way to spot my comments between the noise.*


----------



## ripster

It's a controller chip. 99.9% of keyboards have simple 8 bit ones. I can't read the label of that one so have no idea what they are using. The label is about as low contrast as the BP Oil Slick keys.

Most keyboards are USB 1.1 to the controller (may have a USB 2.0 hub). Sidewinder X4 trivia. It is the only USB 2.0 keyboard I know of.


----------



## fssbzz

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mrtn400;11851197*
> I think it's easier to spot and read between big pictures.


thanks for explaining that.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *webwit;11851226*
> I don't care but just found an easier way to spot my comments between the noise.


i wont really change the font size unless majority of the people want me too.
sorry.
you cant press Ctrl and - together to zoom out your view, make it smaller for you.


----------



## BlankThis

Looks like a great board. Just wish it were full sized.


----------



## webwit

Quote:



Originally Posted by *fssbzz*


i wont really change the font size unless majority of the people want me too.


*
I didn't ask you to change it, nor for a vote.*


----------



## Wiremaster

Fzzbzz, approximately how much was this? Pick whatever currency you like. If it was less than two hundred USD, it's going on my wish list.

Edit: Fzzbzz, you should Google "Noppoo Choc Mini". The first two five hits are you.


----------



## Doober

according to a response on geekhack he said $125 USD

http://geekhack.org/showpost.php?p=270925&postcount=34

that is of course through taobao, but its not hard at all to order through OBOOK.

http://taobaofieldguide.com/taobao-b...k-taobao-agent

-doober

GL


----------



## Phaedrus2129

I got a quote from Obook, and it was $129 shipped to Louisiana (cheapest shipping, no insurance).


----------



## ripster

USPS has to take out Murder Insurance for their drivers in New Orleans.


----------



## Wiremaster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Phaedrus2129;11864428*
> I got a quote from Obook, and it was $129 shipped to Louisiana (cheapest shipping, no insurance).


Holy schnikes, Batman! Yes!

I now know what my next keyboard will be.

Now... what's Obook?


----------



## tombom

I can find a con: form factor.

For people that want a small for factor, this keyboard is perfect, but I prefer a larger keyboard. Just stating. No criticism. Looks like a great board! I wanna try browns sometime.


----------



## reaper~

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wiremaster;11865746*
> Now... what's Obook?


Obook. They're also recommended by GH (look here under "China").

Edit: Nice review, OP.


----------



## godofdeath

is there a full sized blue switch version

check the chinese site seems only brown and black


----------



## Wiremaster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *reaper~;11865868*
> Obook. They're also recommended by GH (look here under "China").


Danke schön.


----------



## reaper~

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Wiremaster;11866215*
> Danke schön.


Du bist willkommen.

^ From Google translation so if it translated wrong, please don't kill me. lol


----------



## Phaedrus2129

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ripster;11864987*
> USPS has to take out Murder Insurance for their drivers in New Orleans.


... You mean life insurance? Yeah, government life insurance plans are pretty grand, at least as long as you aren't planning to collect on them.


----------



## Vowels

Damn, this looks like it'll be my next keyboard. I'm still using an old membrane keyboard from Logitech and I've been looking for a nice compact Cherry Brown keyboard to replace it. Price seems a lot cheaper than other tenkeyless boards too which is nice.


----------



## fssbzz

this keyboard is currently only available in China. in Order to get it.
you must get it from Taobao ( China biggest shopping site ) tru an Agent.
like www.myobook.net


----------



## Doober

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *reaper~;11866464*
> Du bist willkommen.
> 
> ^ From Google translation so if it translated wrong, please don't kill me. lol


from what little Deutsch i took in 8th/9th grade i believe you would phrase it as

Sie sind not du bist, du is more of an informal you like bro lol

-doober


----------



## ripster

Deutschland.

Into Emoticons before the Internet.


----------



## webwit

I lived in a beach town when I was a small kid, and the first German words I learned were from my uncle if a German would ask for directions. Immer gerade aus. Point east. He thought it was pretty funny, took me a few years to understand.


----------



## Doober

@ ripster yes they were, but then this guy came around //:=|

@webwit I see you changed your duck, is that the Aflack one? well never know because it is all black, and that is pretty funny. I would assume then that the beach town was on the east coast?

-doober


----------



## Phaedrus2129

Unless he was in Schleswig then it would be on the north coast.


----------



## calavera

how do I know what switches they use? It's all in freaking chinese and I'm trying to order through taobao. Can I just specify that I want cherry blue switches?


----------



## ch_123

All I know is that Tea Axis is a brown switch, and that blues are often translated as greens due to Chinese having the one word for both.


----------



## Wiremaster

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *reaper~;11866464*
> Du bist willkommen.
> 
> ^ From Google translation so if it translated wrong, please don't kill me. lol


Right, I'm going to kill you for mistranslating a language I don't even know.








Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Doober;11868706*
> from what little Deutsch i took in 8th/9th grade i believe you would phrase it as
> 
> Sie sind not du bist, du is more of an informal you like bro lol
> 
> -doober


Most people in Germany just say "Bitte schön". It doesn't make sense to me, but whatever.


----------



## fssbzz

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *calavera;11872334*
> how do I know what switches they use? It's all in freaking chinese and I'm trying to order through taobao. Can I just specify that I want cherry blue switches?


http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Geekhack+WorldWide+Shopping+Links#China


----------



## fssbzz

edited OP, this keyboard is not MAC OS compatibility. works with Linux, windows.


----------



## ch_123

How is it not Mac OS compatible?

I'd assume the media keys may not work out of the box, but there should be some way to map them.


----------



## fssbzz

http://geekhack.org/showpost.php?p=272545&postcount=95


----------



## ch_123

That is very unusual. I'm inclined to suspect that there may be something else at play.


----------



## godofdeath

i dont think theres a blue for the noppoo boards


----------



## ch_123

Blue switches are not particularly popular amongst the Japanese/Chinese, and various reasons are hypothesized for this, including noise issues in densely populated areas, and some of the technical and reliability issues with them that we all know and love. Most of the fancy custom keyboards they churn out are brown or black switch'd. Filco only started churning out Blue Cherry models regularly almost purely because of demand from Geekhack through Elitekeyboards







(Beforehand, they were a special that were only made in limited numbers)


----------



## calavera

Hmm.. I think I found one with blue switches but I can't tell since the title literally translated says black/blue/brown switches. I can't tell if they're referring to three types of keyboards or if it's just one keyboard with all three switches.


----------



## fssbzz

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *godofdeath;11879548*
> i dont think theres a blue for the noppoo boards


paste noppoo 青轴 in your taobao.


----------



## ripster

Green is Blue. It's kinda like that old song...


----------



## fssbzz

chinese consider cherry mx blue as green in their language.
because they saw the cherry mx blue
the cherry mx "sky blue" they call it as green-axis




































source.
http://www.pcwaishe.cn/thread-48799-1-1.html


----------



## rmp459

i was pretty desperate for something smaller and ive been dying to try mx browns so I ordered one through obook today... honestly cant wait... i just gotta stop spending $$ on keyboards and mice. Im hoping this one does it for me.


----------



## calavera

turns out cherry blues are cheaper than browns and blacks. I was quoted roughly 120 shipped for the browns, but was quoted 108 shipped for blues. I'm still debating whether I should buy this. It's extremely tempting.


----------



## twizzlefunk

So can you switch these keykaps with other ones, say the KBC ones?


----------



## fssbzz

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *twizzlefunk;11920379*
> So can you switch these keykaps with other ones, say the KBC ones?


you can. but the KBC one will be higher then the noppoo.
noppoo have Cherry Original Key cap profile.
their height.


----------



## calavera

oh good, I was wondering if the key caps were interchangeable because the noppoo key caps seemed narrower since they're so close together.


----------



## bloke226

Might be my future keyboard down the road. I am enjoying my first tenkeyless so if I have the urge to go smaller, I know where to look.


----------



## murderbymodem

fssbzz, how long did it take you to receive your keyboard? I completed my order via Obook on Feb 7th for a Cherry MX Black version of this keyboard, and I'm hoping it will be here by the end of the month (February 24th) so I can use it at a LAN I'm attending.

Oh yeah, for those wondering it came out to $117.82 shipped via EMS.


----------



## Crazy9000

EMS is pretty quick usually, you should have it in a week if it's shipped out.


----------



## mattlafleur

My Dads in China and picked me up one yesterday for 400 RMB. Too bad he won't be home for another two week anyway.


----------



## bloke226

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mattlafleur;12381449*
> My Dads in China and picked me up one yesterday for 400 RMB. Too bad he won't be home for another two week anyway.


Not bad, ~$61.00


----------



## murderbymodem

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *bloke226;12392839*
> Not bad, ~$61.00


Lucky...he should have had his Dad buy like 20 of them and sold them here or on Geekhack for $90 or so. He'd make a nice profit.


----------



## murderbymodem

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Crazy9000;12349256*
> EMS is pretty quick usually, you should have it in a week if it's shipped out.


Hm, turns out they shipped it via TNT instead. Not sure why, or if TNT is better or worse than EMS.

but the race is on. I got the email today that it was shipped. The LAN party is exactly 1 week from today, so I'm hoping it'll be here by then.


----------



## mattlafleur

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Redmist;12394809*
> Lucky...he should have had his Dad buy like 20 of them and sold them here or on Geekhack for $90 or so. He'd make a nice profit.


He's been spending every other month in Shangai and Chongqing. So if I like this one I may have him pickup a handful more.


----------



## ripster

Good deal.

Ebay Noppoo dude has raised prices to $100 and $25 shipping. Ebay Link.


----------



## freedumb

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ripster;12437757*
> Good deal.
> 
> Ebay Noppoo dude has raised prices to $100 and $25 shipping. Ebay Link.


can he get ones with blue or brown switches?


----------



## murderbymodem

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Redmist;12433944*
> Hm, turns out they shipped it via TNT instead. Not sure why, or if TNT is better or worse than EMS.












TNT dropped the board off at my house today! It was shipped Friday! That's insane!









by the way, TNT actually came to my house. I thought it would be like every other package I've received from China, where USPS would drop it off at my end, but not this time. That was my first time ever seeing a TNT truck.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mattlafleur;12435868*
> He's been spending every other month in Shangai and Chongqing. So if I like this one I may have him pickup a handful more.


Oh nice. As I just said, mine just came in today and I really like it. My only complaint is that the printing on the keys is a bit hard to read, but other than that it's a joy to use so far. The volume control keys work great, and I foresee them being very useful.
Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ripster;12437757*
> Good deal.
> 
> Ebay Noppoo dude has raised prices to $100 and $25 shipping. Ebay Link.


Mine was $117 shipped via Obook, and as I mentioned above that was with TNT shipping which got it here in a mere 3 days (over a weekend)!


----------



## Cancer

NKRO over USB???

Inconceivable!!!

Makes me want one just to support the innovativeness.


----------



## ripster




----------



## skuko

even though this is a necro thread, i must say thank you for this review, made me order this keyboard from qtan

i'm anxiously awaiting the delivery


----------

