Michael Higham
Pulsar made a great impression with the Xboard QS, which featured expansive physical customization and a build quality strong enough to be classified as a weapon. Along with some of my favorite mechanical switches, Pulsar proved to be a real player in the boutique (and expensive) keyboard space. The PCMK 2 HE, however, takes on a different design philosophy with a lighter, slimmer build and makes the move to magnetic switches to stand among some of the best gaming keyboards recently released. It costs a pretty penny at a base price of $160, especially considering its wired-only connectivity limits versatility, but everything else around it is fantastic and shows that Pulsar isn’t just a one-hit wonder.
Pulsar PCMK 2 HE – Design and Features
The PCMK 2 HE rocks a simple design, and it’s a clean and attractive aesthetic with the black and white color scheme that contrasts really well. The QWER, ASDF, Escape, and Enter keys come in the opposite color of the rest of the keycaps (depending on which primary color you choose to buy), and the backlit Pulsar logo above the arrow keys shines brightly. That logo is also a magnetic tab that you can remove, and even get customized for a little extra. The legend on it indicates whether or not Caps Lock, Scroll Lock, or Game Mode is active via the backlighting as well.
The exposed keycaps on the aluminum top plate lets them pop and the RGB backlighting flow nicely across the board. These double-shot PBT keycaps don’t have transparent lettering so the lighting doesn’t help with visibility, but there’s a decent brightness that helps the customizable colors still jump out. The dampeners and foam layer make up the rest of the keyboard, however, the keystrokes aren’t exactly soft or quiet. I’m fine with it since the keys have a light and bouncy feel that works well for gaming and long-term typing, although it does sound more “clacky” than most other magnetic keyboards. The bottom is encased in a transparent plastic so it’s not a fully aluminum chassis and doesn’t feel quite as sturdy as it could have been, but the see-through look is pretty sweet.
Pulsar collaborated with Gateron for its magnetic switches, which have a really smooth linear feel – at just 30g +/- 7 on the initial actuation force, it’s one of the lightest switches I’ve used. In moving to magnetic Hall Effect switches, it affords the keyboard another layer customization that you just can’t get from mechanical keyboards. Popular manufacturers like Logitech and Razer are jumping onto it now, and Pulsar is up there with the big names not just with how well the switches themselves perform, but because of how easy it is to get the most out of them.
Pulsar PCMK 2 HE – Software and Customization
As with other boutique-style keyboard makers, Pulsar uses a web-based configurator instead of a downloadable software suite to customize the keyboard’s settings. It’s called Bibimbap and makes tweaking things a breeze, similar to what Keychron offers as I saw with the K4 HE that I also reviewed. You just go to the Pulsar software URL (it’ll say “download” but it doesn’t actually download a client) and select the keyboard from the Connect menu. From there, you can mess with things like the customizable actuation point, RGB lighting profile, key assignments, macros, and much more.
Almost every feature included is configurable on a per-key basis, and while RGB isn’t going to necessarily shine through the keycaps, the degree to which you tweak the color spectrum, effects, and indicator lights on the magnetic tab is extensive. Having adjustable actuation points, thanks to the magnetic switches, comes in clutch as well, and that’s simply done in the Performance tab in the software – it can be as short as 0.1mm or as deep as 4.0mm and anywhere in between in 0.1mm increments.
Because this is a magnetic keyboard with features like Rapid Trigger and Quick Tap, I do need to address the ever-present elephant in the room. Quick Tap, being the name for SOCD (simultaneous opposite cardinal direction) input in this case, is a contentious feature that allows immediate input recognition even with the opposing direction still being held. In a shooter, holding A to strafe left while tapping D to strafe right without letting go of A creates a jiggle-strafing movement that is physically impossible otherwise. And this technique makes you an extremely tough target to hit. While every magnetic keyboard has some form of SOCD now, it doesn’t mean you’re safe to use it – you will get kicked from Counter-Strike 2 matches, for example, so be mindful of that. Rapid Trigger isn’t as problematic, it just recognizes any upward movement as a reset point, making repeated tapping faster.
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Despite not being as physically sophisticated as the Xboard QS, there is still some onboard customization you can do with the PCMK 2 HE, like swapping out the switches. If you want to change things up and ditch the Gateron x Pulsar magnetic switches, you can do that easily so long as you’re putting in N-Pole or S-Pole switches.
Pulsar PCMK 2 HE – Performance
To cut to the chase, gaming performance on the PCMK 2 HE is stellar. That’s largely due to the super-light touch to the Gateron x Pulsar magnetic switches and the adjustable actuation points. Even without using Quick Tap, my skill ceiling in Counter-Strike 2 is a bit higher on account of being able to do quicker keystrokes and have those inputs recognized switfly. While I love the K4 HE that I mentioned earlier, I give the slight edge for gaming to something like the PCMK 2 HE since its switches make these kinds of techniques easier to execute for competitive scenarios. Whether I’m quick-strafing to peak corners, switching weapons on a dime, or crouch-jumping through a window, the PCMK 2 HE let me pull these moves off effortlessly.
While I like having a super short actuation point for a competitive shooter, setting my keys to a deeper point works wonders for making sure I don’t accidently set off the wrong action in my attack rotation for Final Fantasy XIV. As someone who spent hours-on-end raiding, I definitely felt my fingers wearing out the longer the raid went on, too, and the switches on the PCMK 2 HE helps mitigate that kind of exhaustion by virtue of the light actuation force. It’s those sorts of capabilities that may seem minor on paper, but make noticeable differences in practice.
While much of these perks are due to the magnetic switches, the keyboard is a pleasure to use even if it’s louder than most of its contemporaries. That bounciness I mentioned earlier feels great when I’m typing all throughout the work day, making for a comfortable experience outside of gaming.
It’s worth noting that the PCMK 2 HE features a 8000Hz polling rate, which I’ve talked about extensively as it pertains to high-end gaming mice. With regards to keyboards, the benefits are much more limited, and I would go as far to say negligible. Where the continuous and miniscule movements of a mouse swipe come out smoother with a high polling rate, the binary nature of keyboard inputs just don’t really need that. If anything, it’s to give you piece of mind that you’re getting the best performance that’s technically possible (but let’s be real, putting 8,000Hz polling rate on a box is also a marketing move).
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