In recent years we’ve seen gaming keyboards with extremely high polling rates, but what good is a faster response time if people type (or shoot) at the same speed? This need for speed is why many gamers are turning to lightweight switches, which theoretically allow you to hit the keys faster.
Enter MSI’s Vigor GK71 Sonic, a full-size RGB gaming keyboard that uses the company’s custom “Sonic Red” mechanical switches for the first time, boasting an extremely light actuating force of 35 grams, the industry’s lowest. At a suggested retail price of $110, this keyboard doesn’t have (or really needs) fast polling, but it does offer a comfortable gel wrist rest, software that lets you control the lighting with your voice and media controls.
In our testing, however, the keyswitches didn’t feel as smooth or “fast” as we’d like, the keys didn’t impress, and the volume wheel felt weak. There are much better options in this price range.
Specifications for MSI Vigor GK71 Sonic
| Switches | MSI Sonic Red |
| Relief | addressable |
| Storage on board | 3 profiles |
| media keys | Yes |
| Connectivity | USB Type-A |
| Cable | 1.80 meters, braided, not detachable |
| Additional ports | N/A |
| to test | Double-shot PBT |
| Software | MSI Center |
| Dimensions (LxWxH) | 442.5 x 138 x 41mm |
| Weight | 1.88 pounds |
Design by MSI Vigor GK71 Sonic
The MSI Vigor GK71 Sonic is a full-size mechanical keyboard with per-key RGB, dedicated media keys, a memory foam palm rest, and extremely light 35g custom “Sonic Red” linear mechanical switches for $110.
The main selling point of these features is the Sonic Red switches, which come with a spring weight of just 35g, 10g lighter than the usual Cherry MX Red switch. Made in collaboration with Kailh, a highly respected mechanical switch company, these switches deliver deep acoustics as you type. However, this begs the question of how truly “in-house” the switches are, as Kailh already has his own 35g red switchesI On the plus side, the Sonic Reds have a cross shape, while Kailh’s 35g switches are box style.
On top of the lightweight switches are MSI’s ClearCaps, ABS keycaps with a slightly tinted but transparent layer, similar to pudding keycaps. Since these keycaps are not diffused like pudding keycaps, they shine brighter than most – almost too much, in my opinion. But with RGB disabled on the board, the GK71 looks cheap because of the transparent keycaps.
At the top right of the MSI keyboard are dedicated media keys and a notched volume wheel. I Love volume wheels, as they are very useful especially if you are playing games and the audio is not mixed well during cutscenes. The wheel is accessed via both a button on top of the keyboard and a cutout on the side; you can turn both to adjust the volume.
Unfortunately, the speaker icon on the handlebars looks silly because it rotates with the handlebars and doesn’t stay centered. The poor attention to detail by MSI here annoys me, as I liked how the wheel felt, but almost didn’t want to use it because the icon looks so odd when turned. MSI calls this entire cluster, including the steering wheel and media keys, the “Smart Dual Touch Volume and Media Control”, but the steering wheel orientation looks anything but intelligent.
The switch plate MSI has chosen here is composed of aircraft-grade aluminum, which surprisingly has no spring loading. The finish on the top plate looks fantastic, especially with “MSI” printed in stylized text above the arrow key cluster.
Like many full-size gaming keyboards released recently, the GK71 comes with a palm rest. But instead of feeling like an afterthought, this is definitely the best-packaged wrist rest I’ve reviewed yet.
MSI’s wrist rest is made of memory foam that reminds me of the vaunted HyperX wrist restI It even has “MSI” printed on it, along with the company’s logo. The wrist rest really impressed me, because while I was expecting a piece of plastic with a thin layer of foam wrapped in leatherette, it’s premium enough to even use it as my main wrist rest.
Under the board we get the usual folding feet and X-shaped cable routing channels. The Vigor GK71 Sonic isn’t just light on switches – it’s extremely light overall for a full-sized keyboard, weighing in at just under two pounds. But thanks to the rubber pads, it won’t go anywhere you don’t want it on your desk. The aluminum plate and the ABS plastic bottom are sturdy enough and it seems that it can take a beating.
Typing experience on the MSI Vigor GK71 Sonic Review
The biggest question here is, “How does the lighter switch feel?” When it comes to standard usage, the switches feel too light for my taste, less satisfying than even a 45g keystroke. It got to the point where I felt like I was using a cheap “gaming keyboard” with no name.
These switches are also: not smooth, nor are they lubricated, and the lightness of the springs makes it more noticeable in a way. The lack of smoothness disappoints me, especially as MSI was trying to make a new switch. When I reviewed Asus’ Falchion NX, there was a significant difference between the NX Blues and Cherry MX Blues in terms of smoothness and weight. But MSI’s switch appears to be Kailh’s 35g red switch, but with a cross shape and a lighter spring.
When you propose something new, you want to try to show it as well as possible. With switches as light as these, the lack of lubrication only increases friction, hampering the switch’s full potential and makes me wonder why MSI even bothered to go with custom switches for this board.
Fortunately, there was no pinging from the housing or the switches, which is surprising given the aluminum top plate of the housing and the lack of lubrication on the switches. That said, given everything else going on here, that doesn’t mean this board was more fun to type on than a pingy board with otherwise better parts and features.
I did a typing test in MonkeyType, and despite this board’s lighter spring weight, I couldn’t recall a faster score without making a lot of typos, leaving me with my usual 85 WPM.
The media cluster on the Vigor GK71 Sonic is pretty good overall; the keys have a satisfying click, but the volume wheel has issues. As I mentioned earlier, the media logo on the handlebars doesn’t stay centered, so turning the knob makes it look ridiculous. The wheel also vibrates very much, which made me think it might fall apart one day.
The keycaps aren’t the usual dye-sub, double-shot, or anything else that looks or feels premium. It’s just two pieces of plastic. The top is ABS plastic and the bottom smokey plastic which doesn’t look good at all. And while they feel good enough to type on, the keycaps use a font that can be hard to read on certain keys. The printscreen key looks like it has “Patreon” on it and the arrow keys are blown up by the keyboard’s RGB settings.
Overall, I’m not impressed with the typing experience on the MSI Vigor GK71 Sonic, as it doesn’t do anything unique like many mechanical gaming keyboards do now, and the keycap design is too aggressive (and gaudy) for my taste.
Game experience on the MSI Vigor GK71 Sonic Review
For better or worse, the MSI Vigor GK71 Sonic doesn’t slip into modern trendy features like quick polling or variable control; it only has its lighter switches to set it apart.
That said I wanted to go back and play a bit Call of Duty: Vanguard on this board to see what’s going on. While the Zombies mode replay in this game is still a disgusting mess, I played a few rounds of Der Anfang, and while I did a fine job, can’t say that the lighter feather weight felt any different in practice than what I’ve had. was used to a Cherry MX Red, which has a 10g heavier, 45g feather weight. It just feels like an MX Red clone with a lighter spring.
While the switches are rough when it comes to typing, I don’t really notice the scratch when gaming. I also didn’t have any problems with the crowded keys during gameplay, as I don’t look down on my keyboard while gaming. The feel of the keycaps while gaming was good enough but PBT would have been a better option as it has a better grip.
Software for MSI Vigor GK71 Sonic
The Vigor GK71 uses MSI Center for its software, which is surprisingly minimal in design. It looks a lot more professional than the keyboard itself, which screams “for gamers only”.
That said, you won’t have much to do with MSI Center when it comes to configurations. Setting macros and adjusting the RGB is about the limit here.
However, there is one… interesting feature here: voice control. Go to “Mystic Light Settings” and click on “voice command” and you can talk to the GK71.
As a nod to the virtual assistants that have crept into our lives, the Vigor GK71 lets you say “Hey Lucky” and then choose which RGB setting you want from the list. When you say, “Hey Lucky, Mystic Light Rainbow”, the RGB on the board goes into rainbow mode.
I give MSI credit for this feature because it’s cute, but I wish the company had spent more time making more comprehensive keyboard software. MSI is clearly trying to introduce its own version of Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri, but Lucky isn’t that smart – it can’t even dim the RGB on the board.
Bottom Line
MSI has been in the PC hardware industry since the age of dragons – or at least Dragon’s Lair† But while the company makes impressive hardware elsewhere, the Vigor GK71 Sonic fails to impress.
For a full-size board, it’s somewhat cheap, sitting at $110. But I’d rather spend a little more and get a little more premium. The MSI Vigor GK71 Sonic has a number of good features, such as the supplied wrist rest and aluminum plate. But it doesn’t really stand out because there are so many other boards that are relatively affordable and packed with more features.
If you’re looking for something simple, you can save a few bucks by going for HyperX’s Alloy Origins instead. this MSI option.