The DrunkDeer A75 is a nice gaming keyboard, but it is also the most typical example of when software and hardware are incompatible. And which of the pair ends up dragging the other down, it is always the software. [That's why the biggest hardware companies spend so much money on software developers. Without the right driver package, even the most powerful chip has little value in the silicon on which it is printed.

And it's a shame, because the impression that this otherwise beautifully textured keyboard gives off is one of absolute quality. The typing experience is, dare I say it, a bit extravagant. It's all due to the smooth switches, rock-hard stabilizers, and sound deadening materials used.

The keyboard is buttery smooth to the touch, with a solid, reassuring clack, and none of the fumbling you might expect from an inexpensive mechanical-switch keyboard. [This is because the DrunkDeer A75 is one of the few keyboards that uses magnetic Hall effect switches. This is the same one used in our two current favorite gaming keyboards, the Wooting Two HE and the Wooting 60HE. In other words, the switch itself has no actual mechanism, no leaves, pins, or even optics found on other analog switches.

Basically, there is no "switch."

What there is is a magnet. And the keyboard is equipped with a Hall effect sensor that measures the magnetic force and uses that data to measure the actuation point of the switch. This allows the keyboard's actuation point to be selected between 0.4 mm and 3.6 mm, a very noticeable difference.

If it is too light, the keystrokes will stop just by blowing on the keyboard. And that is unwelcome, even in a sparsely populated office. As ever, moderation is the safest space for general use.

There are countless ways to configure a gaming keyboard, and there should be a variety of ways to enhance the PC gaming experience. But that is where software comes in, and Wootility's utility far outstrips DrunkDeer's place on the Wooting board.

DrunkDeer is focused on hardware, and it shows. The switch is versatile and should provide an unparalleled level of game responsiveness.

But it is all buried under a layer of ugly, almost unusable software. The Keyboard OEM Driver application (yes, that's the name) used to configure this keyboard is terrible and either hides the extension from the user or makes it unavailable.

It should also be possible to add secondary functionality to the keypress, given the secondary actuation points that can be enabled by individual switches. However, while there appears to be an option to enable secondary sensitivity, and an option to enable quick reset, there is no indication of how to add a secondary function or even what that secondary sensitivity does.

And what about the physical dial switch? The standard controls the system volume, but it has the ability to press a button, which does not always work. It should be able to pause and play media, but sometimes it does not.

This is a shame, because the beauty of analog hall effect switches is their versatility. It is not that this keyboard cannot function without software, but that the key combo can be used to manually change the actuation points and RGB lighting.

In other words, it's not a super expensive board to provide that nice typing experience, and it's relatively affordable for a magnetic board, but it has a lot more potential that's just not easily accessible right now, which seems like a terrible waste.