G.Skill launches $20 keycaps to allow your RGB keyboard to shine even brighter

With all due respect to Coolio and his love of West coast parties, there ain't no party like an RGB party because...well, I'm not sure why it's become such a popular staple of PC gaming hardware. But it has, and G.Skill's new Crystal Crown keycaps are ready to crash the party.

The keycaps sport a dual-layer design with a black or white coating on the top half with a bold sans serif font, and a transparent bottom half to "enhance the luminosity" of RGB and regular LED backlights on mechanical keyboards.

"Compatible with mechanical key switches with cross-shaped MX style stems and designed with a carefully selected font lettering for high legibility, the Crystal Crown keycap set upgrades the experience and feel of a professional mechanical keyboard," G.Skill says.

Many mechanical keyboards employ cross-shaped stems, like Cherry MX and various alternative brands. For example, my daily typer is a Razer BlackWidow Ultimate (2014) that employs Razer's own Green switches, which also stick with the cross-shaped stem form factor.

The bigger question I have is what type of plastic is G.Skill using, and initially I thought it might be double-shot PBT, as they appear somewhat similar to HyperX's Pudding keycaps, as found on its Alloy Elite 2 keyboard (and offered as a standalone upgrade kit). But after reaching out to G.Skill, I was told "the up-side is ABS, while the transparent layer is PC [polycarbonate]." Apparently polycarbonate is the go-to plastic for clear keycaps, or so Google tells me.

In any event, G.Skill's Crystal Crown keycaps are relatively affordable for what they are—Amazon has both the black and white versions listed for $20, which is around $5 less than the standalone Pudding keycaps.

We've got a set paired up with G.Skill's affordable, and impossibly bright white LED-lit KM360 board, and now we have to wear shades while we type.