The Varmilo Muse65 HE keyboard is stunning in both design and capabilities, with its quick-trigger functionality, Hall sensors and magnetic switches.
The Muse65’s design is hard to ignore. The 65% full-size gaming keyboard comes in a range of designs based on “natural elements.” There are five available in total, each one as stunning as the next.
But it’s what’s under the hood that counts. Varmilo has equipped the 65% HE board with Hall effect switches and rapid-trigger functionality, all wrapped up in an aesthetically stunning and intricately designed bow.
I put the Muse65 HE keyboard through its paces, to see if there was more to it than meets the eye, or if the keyboard was just another in a sea of warm-looking gaming accessories.
Main features
- Switch type: Gateron Magnetic White
- Keys: PBT sublimation
- Connectivity: Cable
- Form factor: ANSI 65% layout
- Lighting: RGB
- Dimensions: 14.1 x 6.6 x 2.7 inches
- Weight: 4.07 lbs (approx. 184 g)
- Features: Hall effect switches, quick-trigger functionality, dynamic keystrokes, CNC aluminum chassis, RGB backlit keys, 0.2 low latency connection,
- Price: $159
Design
For this review, I chose the “Ariel” design, which features a gorgeous mermaid theme dripping from every inch of the board.
Growing up as a huge fan of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, this design seemed like an obvious choice and I’m glad I did. The aluminum-based keyboard comes in a stunning light blue metallic colorway, with white and blue PBT keycaps featuring mermaid-inspired icons.
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Cute little blue jellyfish icons have replaced the boring directional arrows, while both Shift keys are adorned with mermaid silhouettes. The piece de resistance is undoubtedly the space bar, which features an incredibly detailed piece of mermaid art that extends to the keys surrounding it.
Even the back of the metal chassis features a UV glass back panel, adorned with an illustration of a ghostly white mermaid surrounded by fish. The aesthetic looks like it’s straight out of the movie “What if Studio Ghibli made gaming keyboards?”
While 65% keyboards aren’t for everyone, the compact nature of the Muse65 makes it ideal for those short on space, which includes me. Its small form factor leaves more room to rotate your gaming mouse when playing games like Sea of Thieves.
However, with only a wired connection available, you’ll still be at the mercy of the dreaded cable management issues.
Not only is the HE keyboard compact, it also features an aluminum plate and tray. This is designed to “preserve sound quality” and is sandwiched between a silicone sheet, which produces a pleasant clicky sound.
Even with my hard typing, which usually moves from room to room, the HE keyboard’s padding produced a condensed, almost ASMR-like clicking sound.
Features
The Muse65 HE comes with a USB-C cable, which is required for its wired connection only, and a keycap puller. Unlike the Ducky Zero 6109 keyboard, there are no extra keycaps to try out. However, with the Ariel design’s impeccable theme and available colorways, I wasn’t in a hurry to change them out anytime soon.
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The keyboard’s dual-rail Gateron white magnetic switches worked flawlessly right out of the box, with every press feeling smooth to the touch. Better yet, its 0.2ms low-latency connection was on full display.
When using the HE card, no lag was experienced and writing with the utmost precision was easily achievable, especially with the perfect amount of bounce with each press.
However, Varmilo himself recommends running the HE driver software as being “essential” to the overall magnetic keyboard experience. You can change the actuation point of each individual key there, which is great for games like Dead by Daylight, where quickly triggering the space bar is vital in any frantic QTE moment.
Software
With Varmilo’s HE driver software, you can also easily add shortcuts to each function key, which is important when you’re not dealing with a full-size card.
As with many PC gaming software, running the HE driver was difficult. There were multiple installation pages from which to run the program, and I had to go through them several times before my Windows PC actually registered the keyboard’s existence.
Once launched, I was surprised by the inclusion of themes based on keyboard designs. To match the “Ariel” design, my version of the software used the Ariel theme, which is a level of detail I haven’t seen on other devices.
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The HE driver software also introduces a level of customization for RGB lighting. There are 22 lighting modes to choose from, with the software revealing a detailed preview for each one. With the color wheel at your disposal, you can individually select the color of each key.
It’s worth noting that with the keys fully opaque, the RGB lighting isn’t very illuminating. Additionally, with the heavy theme and pale blue and white colorway, finding a lighting effect that complements the “Ariel” design can be tricky.
Gaming Performance
On the surface, the stunning Ariel version of the Muse65 HE keyboard doesn’t mesh well with Dead by Daylight’s dark, horror aesthetic. However, the magnetic white switches paired well with escaping the clutches of the game’s vast array of terrifying killers.
With the previously mentioned HE driver software installed, I was able to adjust the spacebar actuation and sensitivity exactly to my liking.
With this set in place, I only had to worry about my attention span, as I was able to complete a multitude of skill checks when repairing generators in the game. Something I otherwise find difficult on a keyboard, as I’m used to the PS5 Dualsense or Steam Deck controls when playing the asymmetrical horror online.
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Should you buy it?
With such an unusual and stunning design, the Muse65 HE seems somewhat justified at a price of $159. While this is only a 65% motherboard with no wireless connection in sight, that price tag encompasses the Hall Effect switches and multiple levels of customization.
If you’re looking for a 65% keyboard that pulls out all the stops for the theme, right down to the beautifully printed keycaps and glass-backed back art piece, the Muse65 HE is a no-brainer.
This HE board also doesn’t skimp on the features you’d expect from a modern gaming keyboard, thanks to its lightning-fast Hall Effect switches, but also has the added bonus of looking as good as it looks.
Verdict – 4/5
The Varmilo muse65 stands out in the sea of smaller gaming keyboards not only for its stunning looks, but also for its integration with Hall Effect switches, fast triggering, and all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a modern gaming board.
