Whether you’re working on your laptop or gaming after hours, the one thing you might overlook is the keyboard you’re using. Very few people go for a basic laptop or a screen they’re not happy with, but all too often we settle for a very stock keyboard. But once you give a Glorious keyboard a try, you might find it hard to go back!

Released late last year, their Glorious GMMK 3 Pro Prebuilt 75% gaming keyboard is the latest in Glorious’ super customisable, premium keyboards. Available in 3 layouts (Compact, 75% and full-sized), there’s a size for everybody.

But what is it like to use? And could it really transform day-to-day work and evening gaming sessions alike? We put it through its paces.

A keyboard you can REALLY customise

What surprised us the most is how much choice you get with nearly every aspect of the keyboard. Glorious are known for their endlessly customisable keyboards. From changing keycaps and frame colours for the look, to replacing the sound-dampening foam and modular gaskets for the feel - the GMMK 3s are keyboards you can customise from the ground up.

And once you’ve made you choices, you can still programme each individual key, the media knob (for example from controlling volume to switching RGB light patterns) and a whole lot more.

There’s even a switch on the keyboard, that lets you change between Windows PC and Mac, meaning you can use the same keyboard no matter the operating system you’re on.

A Glorious unboxing

Our Glorious GMMK 3 Pro Prebuilt 75% gaming keyboard came in a very stylish box – a picnic hamper of tools and hardware. It was shipped to us with their standard black keys, but you can change all that. You get two tools. One puller to pop off the key caps and then a second one to lift out the switches underneath.

While both things are fairly simple to do, you have to tackle everything one keycap and one switch at a time. Lining up the new switches is easy enough, and then you have to apply gentle but firm pressure to pop the new switches in. It was a labour of love – but the results were more than worth the effort!

Switching the switches

Glorious do a great choice of switches, each suited to what you want your keyboard to do. The switches you pick are all about how you want your keyboard to feel and even the sound you want it to make.

We went for Glorious Panda spring-loaded mechanical switches. Since we spend about half the time writing and half the time gaming, they’re super versatile. The Glorious Panda is a tactile switch, which means it features a tactile bump when the switch activates. This subtle effect helps train the muscle memory of your fingers, so you know exactly when the key-press is registered. Smart stuff!

Putting on the keycaps

After the keys were swapped out, we then started popping on the translucent keycaps. They’re made of a thick polycarbonate material – which has a really nice, premium feel to it. And because they’re translucent, it means you can start to see the RGB lights working through them. Paired with the RGB lights of a gaming PC and a streaming microphone, your gaming set up will feel complete!

But gaming will have to wait. There’s work to do first…

Just the job!

For typing, the Panda switches are very satisfying to use. Glorious call the noise they make “rich, thocky acoustics” and they’re not wrong. They’re very tactile. With just the right amount of give and a cushioned feel when you push a key down, which then springs back smoothly. It’s the first time we’ve used lubricated switches and it’s one of those things we never knew we needed!

This typing experience might sound like a “nice to have” but when you’re inputting thousands and thousands of keystrokes every day, you really notice the difference. The keys are so responsive too. Whether you push down firmly or just lightly touch the keyboard, you’ll get a successful keystroke either way.

The robust but bouncy feeling of the keys really gives you a sense of momentum, or maybe it’s just the satisfying sound of the keyboard. Either way, typing became actually enjoyable. A day-to-day activity got elevated into something very special.

After a day writing with the Glorious GMMK 3 Pro, going back to a stock keyboard felt like changing into some really uncomfortable shoes!

Game on.

With its RGB lights, Glorious have nailed the gaming look. But we downloaded the Glorious CORE app to get more control over what kind of light show we were getting…and found a lot more besides!

And there were so many options. Some of our highlights:

Lighting is just a blast! There were three levels of lights in our Glorious keyboard, and we could control the blend of colours in all of them. Then you’ve got loads of presets to play with which control what kind of LED pattern you want. And once you’ve created your ideal look, you can save it as a preset and easily switch between them.

Because while Spiralling Wave might look cool when you’re gaming, do you really want it showing up on a work Teams call?

Input latency (measured in ms) lets you control how much time passes between the point at which a signal is detected and the action that follows. For gaming, being able to set latency as low as possible obviously has huge advantages for your reaction time. Whether you’re competing in an online arena or there’s a particularly tricky boss in Elden Ring, giving your reflexes an upgrade can make all the difference.

You can even change the Polling rate, telling your CPU how often to check for inputs. This is something a more powerful CPU (that you’d typically get in gaming PCs) has no trouble handling. And it could mean everything to your gaming performance.

Then there are all kinds of Key bindings to play with – letting you set macros, switch keyboard functions, create keyboard functions…. It’s mindboggling how much you can make this keyboard do just what you want it to do and just when you want it to happen.

Was it all Glorious?

The Glorious GMMK 3 Pro keyboard is a beast. Literally. At just over 1.3kg, it’s definitely the most substantial keyboard we’ve run into. But ours came with a very sturdy, very premium aluminium case. And (you’ve guessed it) you can swap that out for something lighter too.

The Glorious GMMK 3 Pro has features and customisation options that would make any gamer drool. But you could only use this Glorious GMMK 3 Pro as a regular keyboard, and it would still be a total game changer!