I researched magnetic Field 75 HE just to ask— did NuPhy just create the greatest HE keyboard out there ?

Damian Cooper
15 min readSep 30, 2024

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You can hit with it!

NuPhy, a small Chinese company known for crafting some of the best low-profile keyboards on the market and offering an array of stunning accessories like keycaps, has built a strong reputation for quality and design. Now, this boutique brand has decided to take things to the next level by stepping into the Hall Effect (HE) space with its very first model — the NuPhy Field 75 HE. Given their track record of creating neat, functional, and visually striking peripherals, it’s no surprise that this bold venture into HE territory is already turning heads. Spoiler alert: the Field 75 HE is an absolute blast.

Specs

In the box

  • the Field 75 HE keyboard
  • dust cover
  • manual/poster
  • USB-A to C cable
  • spare keycaps for Mac
  • keycap/switch puller
  • plastic sleeve for the keyboard

Design

When you first lay eyes on the NuPhy Field 75 HE, one thing becomes immediately clear: this keyboard is unlike anything else on the market. Its design exudes a unique, almost steampunk aesthetic that transports you to a world where technology meets retro-futurism. In fact, if you’re a fan of the Fallout series, this keyboard might feel like a piece of tech you’d expect to find in a vault, right alongside your trusty Pip-Boy.

These colours are actually cool

The color scheme is a bold blend of grey, white, and orange keycaps that create an industrial yet modern look. These color accents, combined with the brushed aluminum frame, scream both rugged durability and sleek sophistication. At the heart of this aesthetic masterpiece is a stunning aluminum volume knob, perched proudly in the upper right corner. It’s not just a functional control; it’s a statement piece, evoking the tactile feel of turning dials on a vintage machine. Every twist of that knob reminds you that this keyboard was crafted with attention to both form and function.

Now, one of the most striking features of the NuPhy Field 75 HE is the set of macro keys on the left side and along the bottom. This unique layout takes some getting used to, especially if you’re used to more traditional keyboard designs. When I first started using it, the left-side macro keys constantly threw off my muscle memory. More than once, I found myself misplacing my hands, especially in the dark — WSAD? More like QAER, as my left hand wandered too far left. It’s a design that either hits or misses for users, but after a little adjustment, I grew to appreciate its distinct layout and the convenience those macro keys provided.

Steampunk, baby!

The keyboard also features a manual keyboard mode switch for your profiles: Gaming, Windows and Mac and also, a small light switch to change your RBG settings. Pretty cool.

Steel plate at the back and rubber feet

Another standout design element is the aluminum handle on the left side of the board. Yes, you heard that right — a handle on a keyboard! Not only does this add to the steampunk vibe, but it also serves as a practical feature, especially for LAN parties or transporting the keyboard from one place to another. And let’s be honest, it could also double as a weapon if things get heated during a gaming session. Imagine smacking someone with it mid-tournament — now that’s one way to assert dominance! (Not that I’d recommend it, of course… but, you know, just in case.)

In short, the NuPhy Field 75 HE’s design is undoubtedly one of a kind. Its mix of vintage-inspired elements, industrial color schemes, and bold design choices make it a keyboard that stands out in both looks and functionality. It may take some getting used to, but once you do, you’ll appreciate the care and creativity that went into crafting this steampunk-inspired beauty.

Build Quality

The build quality of the NuPhy Field 75 HE stands out, largely due to the company’s focus on delivering low latency and a superb typing feel. To achieve this, NuPhy had to forego popular design choices like the soft gasket mount and PC/POM plates. Instead, they went for a more constrained yet effective solution using an aluminum plate, premium ABS plastic, and a top-mount design.

Rather than relying on the softness of a gasket mount, the Field 75 HE uses silicone paddings and wraps at key contact points between the plate and frame. This setup helps create a consistent, gasket-like sound while avoiding the deformation errors typical of soft mounts. The board also features two Poron sheets sandwiching an aluminum plate, along with a silicone anechoic sheet to dampen unwanted noise. The result is a smooth, consistent typing sound and feel that holds up under both gaming and heavy typing sessions.

One of great technical solutions used by NuPhy

The stabilizers are fantastic, mounted directly onto the plate for a sturdy, noise-free experience. The unique solution to the “GhostBar” issue — silicone rubbers beneath the spacebar — ensures a soft, satisfying thud instead of the usual hollow clatter.

While the keyboard isn’t entirely made from aluminum, its internal construction and steel backplate give it a premium feel. Even with the use of high-quality ABS plastic for the outer case, the Field 75 HE manages to deliver a near-luxury typing experience that feels solid and refined.

Switches

My copy was equipped with Gateron Magnetic Jades, the more premium solution according to many. I haven’t tested Magnetic Whits on Field 75 HE so I can only describe Jades, however, having tested dual rail Gaterons on Boog75, I can guess they should be incredibly stable and provide zero wobble. Here a short comparison to the two types of switches used by NyPhy:

Choose your fighter!

The switches on the NuPhy Field 75 HE, dubbed Magnetic Jades, are nothing short of glorious. As someone who had never used them before, I can confidently say they pack a serious punch. For daily work, these switches feel as soft as marshmallows, delivering an incredibly smooth typing experience. Every keystroke feels light and effortless, making long typing sessions a breeze. However, do not forget that your typing experience may depend on your keycaps too, and I prefer lower keycaps to type with — maybe that’s why I made typos here and there?

South-facing switches and cherry caps. Check out the lube on switches and stabs.

But it’s not just for typing where the Magnetic Jades excel. In terms of gaming, they stand as one of the best options available today. Their responsiveness and quick actuation make them ideal for competitive play, where precision and speed are key. If I had to nitpick, I’d say I might prefer a slightly heavier spring for a bit more resistance, but that’s purely a matter of personal preference, and your experience may vary. Some might find the default weight to be perfect as it is.

Of course, these switches come pre-lubed straight out of the box, which has become fairly standard for quality boards nowadays. This ensures an even smoother press with minimal friction right from the start. But to be honest, not all keys sound the same, for example, in my copy some keys sound definitely worse and louder that others (for example, CapsLock and Shifts). All in all, the Magnetic Jades deliver a typing and gaming experience that’s good enough— however, there is still room to improve here as the great Boog75 hasn’t been beat in this category yet.

Keycaps

Designed in the legendary Cherry profile, they perfectly blend comfort, gaming functionality, and aesthetic appeal. The Cherry profile, known for its lower height and comfortable sculpt, is an ideal choice for both gaming and typing, ensuring that your fingers glide effortlessly across the keys.

One of spare caps for Mac, front…
… and back.

Crafted from PBT material, these keycaps are incredibly durable, with double-shot legends that keep the text crisp and vibrant. The texture feels great under your fingers, offering a grease and scratch-resistant surface that maintains its stunning look even after extensive use. However, there’s a small caveat — these keycaps are not shine-through, which posed a bit of a problem for me when gaming at night. Despite loving the feel and colors, I occasionally found myself wishing for more visibility in low-light conditions.

GhostBar sounds great

Luckily, NuPhy anticipated this need. They provided me with shine-through keycaps, and they’ve been really helpful. As the world’s second keyboard with south-facing shine-through keycaps — and the first magnetic one — the Field 75 HE sets a new standard for visibility in darker settings. Yet, the font choice might not appeal to everyone, but for those who like a bolder, disruptive aesthetic, it hits the mark.

The new look

Functionally, however, the shine-through keycaps are a bit more slippery compared to the stock PBT ones. It’s a small trade-off for increased visibility, but one worth noting depending on your personal preference.

One final standout feature on the Field 75 HE is the GhostBar, which is making its return in this model. The GhostBar uses NuPhy’s noise suppression and sound harmonization technology to deliver a quieter, more satisfying press.

Sound Test

The GhostBar I’ve mentioned above really improved the sound of the spacebar, probably one of the best sounding spacebars I’ve seen.

I love this solution by NuPhy

For a better comparison check this Magnetic Whites vs Magnetic Jades sound test:

You judge for yourself but to me it’s top, only behind Boog75.

Latency

While the Magnetic Jade switches on the NuPhy Field 75 HE are exceptional, they’re only part of the story when it comes to performance. To fully unleash the potential of these switches, every component in the signal’s pathway — from the moment a key is pressed to the moment it’s registered — must operate at an even higher speed. The result is a truly impressive level of responsiveness that few keyboards can match.

The hardware behind this performance is equally staggering. At the heart of the Field 75 HE is the Nu1 MCU, a powerhouse chip that’s clocked at 144MHz, enabling an incredible 8000Hz polling rate. This means the keyboard is able to send data to your PC 8,000 times per second, ensuring that every keystroke is detected with minimal delay. In real-world tests, this setup achieves an astonishing 0.5ms of total latency*, from the moment a key is activated to when it’s registered on your screen.

The difference

Pulling off such high-speed performance requires serious engineering, and NuPhy’s team has certainly risen to the challenge. The Nu1 MCU’s combination of a 144MHz clock rate, USB 2.0 data transmission, and 256KB of flashallows it to handle the constant back-and-forth communication at 8000Hz with ease. According to NuPhy, it outperforms even the best competitors on the market by offering a 15% improvement in 8000Hz performance, cutting latency down to a fraction of a millisecond. When it comes to me, I know there is still room form improvement here as it comes down to polished software (some researchers report 5ms latency though) to achieve this 0.5ms total latency.

However, I repeat that every time: polling rate on keyboards is not that important as scanning rate. And here’s also something you might be interested in: 2500 Hz scanning rate. And that makes the difference (combined with the fast MCU at the core). I’ve reached out to the NuPhy team and they promised to deliver even 8k scanning rate with later software updates. That makes me stick to this keyboard, even if this whole “arms war” is something you can also call “diminishing returns” scenario these days as top of the boards are now very close to performance.

*Disclaimer: The latency tests are conducted with a CMSIS-DAP compliant hardware debug unit, by measuring the time difference between when the Enter key switch is closed, and the key press event is registered on the PC, and subtracting the instrument ‘s intrinsic delay (provided by the producer) from the measurement. The test results do not account for the pre-travel delays of the key switches, which varies for different types of switches, as the swtich circuits are closed electronically during the tests.

Software

No high-end keyboard is complete without powerful software to unlock its full potential, and the NuPhy Field 75 HE is no exception. In fact, the accompanying software for this keyboard is not just an afterthought — it’s the very heart of what makes the Field 75 HE such a standout performer. While the hardware itself is impressive, it’s this software that truly brings the Field 75 HE to life, and I can confidently say it’s a real powerhouse. In fact, it’s the first time I’ve encountered a platform that not only matches the functionality of Wootility (the gold standard for customizable keyboard software) but, in my opinion, surpasses it.

A taste of things to come from NuPhy

Now, I won’t sugarcoat it — there are still some growing pains. Like many early releases, the software has its share of bugs (like profiles management), and the need to recalibrate switches after updates can be frustrating. Additionally, there are parts of the UI that could benefit from a bit of rearrangement for better usability. These are valid points of improvement, and no one would argue that they need to be addressed. But these are typical challenges that come with great beginnings, and I’m confident NuPhy will iron them out with time. And also, add the analog mode which is also requested by the community.

So, what does NuPhy offer in the software department?

A sneak peak at the web software

NuPhy’s team has packed it with cutting-edge features that not only enhance the keyboard’s functionality but also give it a competitive edge over many other high-end options. Whether you’re gaming or typing, this software opens up a world of possibilities.

  1. SOCD (Simultaneous Opposite Cardinal Directions): For gamers, especially those playing fast-paced shooters like Valorant or Quake, this feature is a game-changer. SOCD enhances your strafing by allowing precise movement inputs, improving your control in-game. Although it’s banned in some games like CS2 due to the advantage it gives, in games where it’s allowed, it’s an absolute must for serious players.
  2. Rapid Shift (Rappy Snappy Equivalent): NuPhy’s software offers Rapid Shift, their equivalent of the popular Rappy Snappy feature. This feature allows for near-instantaneous key response changes, making it perfect for competitive gaming, where speed and precision are critical.
  3. Hyper Shift (Rapid Dual Trigger Equivalent): Perhaps the most impressive gaming feature is Hyper Shift, which is NuPhy’s answer to DrunkDeer’s Rapid Dual Trigger. Hyper Shift counter-strafes your key input, making it incredibly useful for games like CS where timing your movement is crucial. Frankly, it feels almost overpowered, giving you a serious advantage by perfecting your strafing in intense combat scenarios.
  4. 8K Polling Rate & 2500Hz Scan Rate: The software enables an impressive 8000Hz polling rate and a 2500Hz scan rate for the keyboard, something rarely seen among competitors. While many hype up the 8K polling rate, NuPhy’s development team is already working on an 8K scan rate, which is actually more critical for delivering faster input times than the polling rate. This shows NuPhy’s commitment to not just following trends, but genuinely improving the keyboard’s performance.
  5. Rapid Trigger and Actuation Point customization with 0.02mm accuracy: The software allows for Rapid Trigger and Actuation Point customization with a precision of 0.02mm, giving users unparalleled control over their key actuation points. This level of accuracy is perhaps even too precise for FPS gaming, but I am sure some will appreciate it. One small nitpick: it resets to default 0.02 mm even after I set it to 0.1 mm once I try to customize another key. A bit annoying, NuPhy, please fix it!
  6. Dead Zone configuration, switches recalibration (you might have to do this after a new update is released), DKS, Mod Tap, Toggle Key features. Uff….
  7. Tick rate (for games that may require it like CS2), anti-wobbliness switches level and gaming optimization — all to enhance your gaming experience and reduce errors and obstacles that may come in your way
  8. Comprehensive Customization: Of course, the software also includes all the standard customization options you’d expect from a high-end keyboard — key remapping, macro creation, RGB adjustments, and more. The ability to assign macros and remap keys is intuitive, allowing you to tailor your layout to suit your workflow or gaming style seamlessly.

But NuPhy’s software implementation has one standout feature that might just give it an edge over the competition: its SOCD handling is unique. I tested several HE keyboards at home, including the Wooting 60HE, DrunkDeer G75, and Boog75, all of which were detected by the servers’ anti-SOCD software. However, the Field 75 HE managed to bypass detection. What does this suggest? Either NuPhy’s developers are exceptionally clever and put small delays there, or their software behaves unpredictably. Regardless, it’s a feature that I’m sure many gamers will be eager to explore — I know I am!

Let me know if this works for you!

Gaming Performance

The Field 75 HE’s raw performance in games is nothing short of exceptional. Equipped with an 8kHz polling rate, a 2500Hz scan rate, and high tick rates, it delivers responsiveness that’s hard to match. These features work together to ensure fast data transmission and input recognition, making the keyboard feel incredibly reactive during intense gameplay. One particularly impressive aspect is the keyboard’s ability to offset potential construction imperfections, further enhancing its overall performance.

The switches are silky smooth, and their lightning-fast response time contributes to the board’s remarkable low latency. In fact, it’s possibly the lowest I’ve ever experienced in a gaming keyboard. Whether I’m in the middle of fast-paced FPS sessions or navigating complex strategy games, the Field 75 HE never misses a beat. It consistently keeps up with my every input, leaving me confident in its ability to stay ahead of the competition for months, if not years. And with future updates like the 8k scan rate on the horizon, its potential is only set to grow. This keyboard will improve your gameplay, period.

Closing Thoughts

Her name is NuPhy and she plays with Field 75HE

At first glance, I was a bit stunned by the design of the NuPhy Field 75, and the unconventional layout felt strange. But once I dove into gaming and started exploring the NuPhyIO software, it became clear that there was a new sheriff in town. While the software still needs some polishing and fine-tuning, it already shows flashes of brilliance, posing a real challenge to Wootility’s dominance. The build quality, responsive switches, and premium keycaps, combined with the overall performance, make the Field 75 HE probably the best keyboard you can get at this price point. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy it — the future of this board looks incredibly bright. And with NuPhy already working on a low-profile magnetic switch keyboard, something many have always dreamed of, it’s clear they know exactly what they’re doing.

NuPhy Field 75 HE joins my TOP 3 now, which makes it officially TOP 4: Field 75 HE, DrunkDeer G75, Boog75 and Wooting 60HE.

Bullet Points

This gun is Field 75 HE, did you know?
  • incredible performance
  • very low latency
  • very good build quality, high quality plastic and some metal plates
  • hot-swappable
  • top specs, very fast MCU and 8k polling rate
  • good unboxing experience
  • great switches
  • very good PBT textured keycaps (not shine-through though)
  • very unique, steampunk design
  • a handle you can hit with when attending a LAN party :E
  • very potent and powerful NuPhyIO software that still has some bugs and…
  • … lacks the analog mode and macros (but it’s coming)
  • …just like 8k scan rate
  • various types of SOCD features that go undetected by servers software
  • some keys could use more lubing as the typing experience on some keys is inconsistent
  • useful mechanical knobs and handles mounted on the board to make your life easier

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Disclaimer: this review is not a paid endorsement. I want to ensure transparency and let you know that I am not receiving any compensation, monetary or otherwise, for evaluating or discussing this tech product.

The views and opinions expressed in this review are solely based on my experiences and observations with the product. While I strive to provide accurate and unbiased information, it’s essential to keep in mind that individual experiences may vary.

My goal is to offer you an honest and impartial assessment to assist you in making informed decisions about the product in question. If you have any concerns or questions about the review process, feel free to reach out for further clarification.

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Damian Cooper
Damian Cooper

Written by Damian Cooper

+25 years of gaming exp | Gaming Peripheral Reviewer | Mice | Mousepads | Keyboards | IEMS I DACs I Monitors I FPS Gaming Current games: QuakeWorld/Battlefiedl.

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