Glorious GMMK 3 keyboard review: Deep options, deep flaws

Best Prices Today: Glorious GMMK 3 Pro HE keyboard

So you’re looking for an “endgame” mechanical keyboard, the ultimate in luxury, performance, and customization. Then you should build one. 

Okay, that’s a bit elitist. Say you’re intimidated by the build process, and you’d prefer to just buy one. Then get a boutique keyboard from a small custom shop…and maybe a bank loan to go with it. 

The GMMK 3 has a trick that no other keyboard can pull off: hot-swap with MX and magnetic switches.

Alright, so you don’t want to build a keyboard, and you don’t want to spend a month’s rent on one. Then Glorious has a pitch for you with the GMMK 3. (That’s “Glorious Modular Mechanical Keyboard,” if you’re wondering.) It’s a fully modular, hot-swap keyboard, it has three different layout options, it comes with plenty of bling options in lighting and accessories, it offers wireless, and it has an online configurator that lets you customize every single part of the keyboard. 

Oh, and it has a trick that no other keyboard can pull off: hot-swap compatibility with both standard MX switches and magnetic adjustable actuation switches. 

That’s a huge amount of customization, some seriously premium parts, and tons and tons of options for a keyboard. It’s also a lot of money to pay. While the base wired model of the GMMK 3 costs $135 in 65 percent size, if you want all those options maxed out on a wireless, hot-swap board with adjustable actuation, you’re looking at a $370 keyboard. 

That makes the GMMK 3 Pro HE that I’m testing one of the most expensive keyboards I’ve ever reviewed, and the priciest gaming keyboard from a major vendor. And as amazing as its options and technical capabilities are, there are some definite low points in this design, like the wireless connection, battery life, and software support. 

So unfortunately a full-fat, all-the-trimmings GMMK 3 is almost impossible to recommend. Cheaper configurations might make more sense, especially if you don’t need wireless. But as the ultimate, no-compromises gaming keyboard that Glorious advertises, this package just doesn’t add up. 

A hot-swap first

First thing’s first: Glorious has managed a trick no other keyboard company has so far, combining the popular and very important hot-swap switch capability with adjustable actuation. 

To be clear, other keyboards have gotten close. Keychron offers hall-effect boards that can swap out switches, but only among a tiny selection of HE-modified options. The GMMK3 HE lets users choose between those limited hall-effect switches, and hundreds of different switch options using the standard MX format. 

Glorious told me that it has managed this by placing the magnetic sensor to the side of the switch under the PCB, instead of directly below it. I had to open it up to take a look for myself. As you can see, moving the sensor allows the board to preserve compatibility with standard two-pin switches and their electrically simple design. 

Also worth noting here: The GMMK 3 is crazy-easy to open, just pop off the four rubber feet (no glue!) and take out four screws. That’s it. A big boon for the small amount of people who want to buy a keyboard this expensive, then mod it further.

Hot swap plus hall effect is a huge deal for that middle of the Venn diagram which includes both dedicated PC gamers and premium keyboard fans. In addition to the usual approach of putting the same type of switch on every key, you could, for example, use only hall-effect switches on the WASD keys, the ones most crucial for analog-style game movement. The rest of the keys could be reserved for Holy Ice Cream Red Panda Deluxe Edition switches, or whatever the trendy one is at the moment. 

And you can make these adjustments at any time without needing to buy a new board, or even open up this one. If you care about this, it’s an incredible selling point for the HE variants of this keyboard. But if you care about this…you’ll also be very disappointed that the adjustable actuation feature is undercut by the Glorious software, which fails to take advantage of it in one key area. But I’m getting ahead of myself. 

Tons of features

The GMMK 3 in all its variants offers a ridiculous amount of both features and customization. Here’s what you’ll get in every version of the keyboard, at every size: 

• Hot-swap switch sockets 
• RGB lighting, including side RGB strips 
• Internal padding, including gasket mounting
• Rotary volume knob 
• Swappable switch plates (plastic by default) 
• Doubleshot PBT plastic keycaps
• 1,000Hz polling rate
• Switch between Mac and PC layouts 
• Detacheable USB-C cable 
• Glorious switches (various) 

The “Pro” version of the GMMK upgrades the base model with a full aluminum case, wireless in Bluetooth and 2.4GHz flavors, again with a dedicated switch. A “barebones” version of the Pro comes without switches or keycaps, and also omits wireless. 

Both the standard and pro GMMK 3 come in “HE” upgraded versions to add compatibility with adjustable actuation switches (again, preserving backwards compatibility with older MX switches). Notably, the Pro HE model only comes in a wired version if you go barebones. 

And finally, most of these variants are offered in three sizes: 65 percent (no function keys or number pad), 75 percent (no number pad), or full 100 percent. The Pro HE does not come in 100 percent size, and the Pro HE Barebones is 75 percent only. 

Whew, that’s a lot of keyboard variations. Glorious will sell all of these as standard boxed packages in black or white/silver color options, but if you want the full, customized experience, you can use the Glorious online store to pick what you want at every step. Notably, this includes tons of options for color variations in the case and keycaps, plus extras like the braided cable or even the removable, magnetic badge that covers the status LED. 

And, naturally, you can choose from a wide selection of Glorious-branded switches with choices for linear, tactile, clicky, and “silent” switches with interior foam. There are even hall-effect switches that are tactile — that’s a combination that doesn’t really make sense in terms of gaming optimization, but Glorious wanted people to have the choice anyway. You can also pick your plate materials: plastic, metal, or “limited edition” brass. 

I was invited to use a sneak-peek version of the Glorious online customization tool before this review. The one I picked out uses a blue anodized aluminum case, some swanky blue gradient keycaps, and a matching upgraded USB cable. The badge I kept yellow (if only so it’s easy to see in photos), but that’s a customization option too. Since I’d be testing out the adjustable actuation switches I went with the Lynx HE option, which happily gels with the aesthetic choices I picked. 

The online configurator is pretty darn good — it reminds me of endlessly “designing” Timbuk2 bags back in high school. It walks you through all the options and upsells, explaining the differences where necessary. If you’re a keyboard fan, go check it out. As is typical with this sort of thing, you can try out all the different choices without buying anything. 

With the blue metal case, Lynx HE silent switches, themed keycaps, and premium matching cable, the total for this configuration is an eye-watering $499.99. That’s not as much as the most expensive boutique design I’ve ever seen…but it’s in the same time zone.

Inside the very fancy box, the GMMK 3 Pro HE came with both a metal switch puller and plastic keycap puller, a pretty decent little screwdriver, alternate gaskets for mounting, and some sample switches for other HE variants. I was informed that unlike some gaming keyboards I could mention, the GMMK 3’s two-year warranty will not be voided merely for the case being opened. 

I also got the extra keycaps for a 100 percent layout, in the same box as the fancy upgraded USB-C cable. I don’t know if that will be a standard inclusion for regular buyers or not. 

Typing and gaming 

As you might expect with all those high-priced components, the GMMK 3 Pro HE is great to type on. But it’s a surprise to me exactly how nice it felt, since as I said, I’m using the HE switches. Due to their linear nature and complex construction, hall-effect and similar optical switches are known to be a bit loud and chattery. 

Not so with these Lynx HE “silent” switches. I think that, thanks to the expanded plastic housing that extends further below the PCB, they have a more mellow feel and sound. Between that and the internal foam that reduces the noise (not completely silent but far quieter than any other hall-effect switch I’ve used), they’re far smoother and quieter than other HE keyboards I’ve used. 

That might be due to some of the internal sound and vibration absorbing materials, too — less elaborate gaming keyboards aren’t as interested in the “feel” or sound of the switches, with a few exceptions like Razer’s BlackWidow V4 75%. I can say that this keyboard with these switches is the best for typing that I’ve used in the small but growing adjustable actuation market. 

Gaming was also a highlight, as it was even easier to adjust to my Fortnite setup since I’d been using the board for hours of work already. While I prefer stiffer switches with stronger springs, that’s an option thanks to the hot-swap capability. Of course, if you go with anything outside of the six HE switches offered by Glorious, you’re back to standard single-point actuation. 

Since adjustable actuation is highly reliant on software support, let’s talk about that next.

Software 

The Glorious Core software package is serviceable for most tasks, but notably lacking in a few others. The layout is nice and straightforward, eschewing a lot of the “gamer” flourishes that other companies can’t resist. You can pretty quickly get to the sections for custom binding, adjusting lighting settings, changing up the polling rate, et cetera. 

Adjustable actuation includes per-key or global settings in 01mm increments, and “rapid trigger” mode, a desirable feature for gamers. You can set up to four individual actions for each key at different actuation points, though actually setting this up is a lot more cumbersome than in other gaming boards.

But there are deficiencies here that are going to grate on some users, especially the high-end gamer market that Glorious is explicitly courting. Easy binding for analog, controller-style movement inputs wasn’t included. There’s also no “snap tap” mode. Although this is a controversial feature, if I was Glorious, I’d put that choice on gamers and developers and definitely include it. 

Perhaps most damning for the Core software is its complete lack of per-game profiles, which activate a specific layout when the relevant game launches. I’ve dinged Keychron/Lemokey for this more than once when advertising a keyboard specifically for gaming. On a design that starts above $100 and goes way, way up, it’s an inexcusable omission. 

It looks like at least some Glorious customers have been asking for this feature for a long time, and combined with the new and far more complex adjustable actuation customizations in this version of the software, its absence is felt deeply. 

You can set up to three profiles to switch between manually, more if you use the cloud sync function. And you can do some of the heavy lifting that Glorious Core can’t within a game’s settings menu. But to be blunt, not being able to load up a custom layout and actuation for each game will probably be a deal-breaker for gamers relying upon this feature, especially for adjustable actuation. They’ll go to brands like Razer or Corsair instead, even without the far deeper options for customizing the keyboard’s physical parts. 

Lighting customization is decent, with more than a dozen pre-programmed animations available, but no option to create your own animated pattern beyond simple key colors and brightness. I found the layout editor to be missing some specific options that are important to me: I couldn’t bind the Print Screen function to a custom key, instead being forced to stick with the Fn+F12 default, since the 75 percent layout doesn’t include it. Since Print Screen is a pretty crucial tool for my job, I brought up this issue with Glorious, but it was still unaddressed when I finished up my review. 

You could get around this by snubbing the Glorious software and using QMK, which I appreciate. And I’d encourage you to do so if you need that custom binding…but QMK can’t handle the per-game profiles either since it isn’t gaming software, and it doesn’t make up for the missing adjustable actuation software features. 

Put plainly, Glorious is way behind the competition when it comes to software. The layout gaffes are personally irksome, but I know gamers will find the basic adjustable actuation choices and lack of per-game profiles particular sticking points, especially considering the premium price of those models. 

Wireless woes 

I’m a huge fan of wireless keyboards. All of the ones I buy for myself (too many) are wireless, so I was glad to see the option here, where many boutique vendors assume you’ll be sticking to USB. Sadly this is another area where the GMMK 3 isn’t living up to its high price tag. 

Wireless performance using the 2.4GHz dongle was fine…until it wasn’t. At regular intervals the keyboard would simply lose signal or just turn off entirely. And that’s when the battery wasn’t dying. 

I got a maximum of three days of battery life in wireless mode, which is in line with Glorious’ official estimates. Unfortunately, those estimates are with the LED lighting enabled. And I always turn the lights off, whether I’m working or gaming. That should give me weeks of performance on even the most power-hungry keyboard. 

I suspect that the hall-effect sensors are sucking down that battery at a rapid pace, but even that doesn’t account for such a brief lifespan unless there’s something very wrong with the software. And given the connection issues I’ve experienced, that seems like a definite possibility. At several points I had to disconnect and reconnect more than once in an eight-hour workday. Sorry if this sounds like a broken record, but that’s not acceptable in a keyboard this pricey. 

Both the connection and stability issues disappear when you plug the keyboard in, so it’s nice that that’s an option. But given my experience, I would recommend that anyone interested in this keyboard avoid the wireless upgrade, especially if you want the HE variant with its magnetic switches. The wireless fan in me hates to do it, but needs must. 

Is the Glorious GMMK 3 worth it? 

A lot of the problems I’ve outlined with this keyboard can be ignored if you’re not interested in software customization or wireless. The hardware is great, and the high price doesn’t bother me as much as it would without all those customization options. On paper, and without changing anything when you plug it in, the GMMK 3 is pretty darn good. 

Anyone looking for value needs to look somewhere less glorious.

And it’s also true that some of these issues might be fixed in the future, with a firmware update or a lot of work put into the Glorious Core software. But as always, I can only review what I’ve got in front of me right now. A device can’t get points for what it might be in the future. 

The GMMK 3 might make sense in an extremely specific situation. If you want a completely customized keyboard, you don’t care about adjustable actuation or wireless, you don’t need individual game profiles, you’re okay with using QMK for full layout customization, it fits the bill…if you’re okay with paying a considerable premium, too.

That’s a whole lot of caveats for what’s marketed as an endgame keyboard. Anyone looking for value, or hoping to get the most out of that adjustable actuation feature, needs to look somewhere less glorious. 

Best Prices Today: Glorious GMMK 3 Pro HE keyboard

Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld