Fnatic recently announced an updated version of its best-selling keyboard, the Fnatic Ministreak. This new model emphasizes speed with low actuation force switches, combined with a tenkeyless design, to provide a keyboard more suited for competitive gaming.

I was given the Ministreak RGB Tenkeyless with Speed Silver switches to try and could confirm that the build quality of this board is excellent. First impressions were strong, with no deck deflection at all. The keycaps are great and slightly angled toward the center, but after a few days of use, a thin layer of somewhat squeaky material has worn off. At least it wasn't permanent.

Like most other competitive gaming kits, the Ministreak has a compact design. That is, it has no numeric keypad. This gives the mouse a surprising amount of room to move, making it ideal for games such as Call of Duty: Warzone and Valorant, where a lower DPI is more advantageous.

Ministreak's Kailh Speed Silver switches also help your competitive gaming prowess. They are capable of 70 million presses, 20 million more than their standard Cherry MX counterparts. They are also linear in style, so you won't feel any tactile response, and they can be activated quickly with only 40 grams of force. This is advantageous for games because the response from key press to recognition is very fast. However, this also has its drawbacks. Many times I have had my hand on this keyboard and not realized that I was actually typing on the discord chat. Oops.

Overall, this switch should last a long time. Especially if, like me, you normally use switches that require more actuation force, such as the Cherry MX Brown, though, you may press the keys without noticing.

One notable feature not found on the new Ministreak model is the wrist rest. There are two gaps on the underside of the keyboard where a wrist rest could be added, but a wrist rest is not included. The wrist rest is not currently available separately from the Fnatic store, but I am told that it will be available soon for use with this model.

I am using from a Corsair K70 keyboard that comes with a wrist rest, and I really miss the wrist rest when I use a keyboard without one. When playing games, this omission is not a problem because I generally keep my left hand in place. When writing, however, the lack of a wrist rest makes for a very uncomfortable typing experience. I often had to stand tall to hit a key or move my wrist to hit the top row. Unfortunately, I spend most of my day writing, so this keyboard can be uncomfortable. If anything, it's more for gamers who are forced to be purely strained.

Another drawback of this keyboard is the software. Fortunately, however, this is something that Fnatic can change later.

The software is currently in an early access phase, so there is a lot of potential for change. At the time of writing this review, it is pretty bare bones. Up to four different profiles can be created, each with custom key bindings and lighting effects that can be switched using predetermined macros. This software is automatically loaded each time the PC is turned on. Not a big deal, but a little tedious, as it needs to be sent to the tray every day.

RGB lighting can be set to a rainbow of colors, presets that can change the speed and direction of the animation, or a single solid color for the LEDs using a color picker or RGB values.

There is also an option to change key bindings. When you select a key on the on-screen keyboard, you can choose to remap that key to a different button or launch a specific application, among several other actions. Standard, but still appreciated.

Ministreak has basic media controls - pause, skip, back, etc. - but these are not separate keys; they can be accessed by pressing ctrl and then pressing the function key associated with the icon on the keycap. In the upper right corner of the keyboard are the microphone mute, versus mode, and volume mute buttons. The microphone mute button is a great idea, but unfortunately I could not get it to work in Discord in my testing. My other complaint with these buttons is that due to the height of the keyboard, the buttons are not visible from a normal typing position. This means that until I learn where the buttons are located, I have to regularly lean over to use them.

This keyboard costs $109.99 (£100) at the Fnatic store. This is a price that falls in the middle of the most popular tenkeyless keyboards available today, and while it is competitively priced, it does not represent an incredible savings.

Overall, the Fnatic Ministreak is a solid keyboard, but don't be afraid to overlook certain features. It's fairly reasonably priced and sturdily built, so it won't break anytime soon; it enters the tenkeyless market as a strong contender to the Razers and Corsairs, and its fast-activating keys will definitely will appeal to them.

This form factor means there is a surprising amount of room for a mouse. However, I personally did not find this keyboard to be the most comfortable to type on. When I tried to reach the top row, my wrists would float. I do a lot of typing and gaming, and I need a keyboard that is comfortable for both. If you are not a typist like me and only game on a PC, the Fnatic Ministreak offers an alternative to the usual name and face keyboard.