Callaz GXT 834 Review: The Compact Mechanical Gaming Keyboard!

With a fairly nice Gaming range, the Trust brand continues to offer new products to suit all gamers. The latest addition to the collection, the GXT 834 Callaz gaming keyboard was designed with a very specific goal in mind: to offer players a compact, high-performance and pleasant gaming keyboard ! All for a very reasonable price! Indeed, this mechanical keyboard (red switch) cost less than 50 € on Amazon !

So, is the contract fulfilled? That's what we're going to see in this test!

Unpacking and getting started

In terms of packaging, Trust has decided to stick to the essentials. We can read on the back of the box that The packaging was designed to save resources with a reference to the sustainable part of the brand site. We also learn here that the brand has managed to reduce the use of plastic in its packaging by 37%. Great effort and a first good point for Trust!

So, in the cardboard packaging we only find the keyboard wrapped in foam paper, a pair of pliers to remove the keys, a brief manual, a paper with legal information. No frills and above all, no over-packaging!

Regarding getting started, it's very simple, just plug the keyboard into a USB port on your computer. The keyboard doesn't require any special software, it's real plug-and-play !

Design and finish

At first glance, this GXT 834 Callaz keyboard appears elegant and robust. The materials and colors chosen are sober and will highlight the colors of the backlight LEDs.

The keys are black and the body of the keyboard is made of dark gray plastic. The finish of the shell under the keys imitates brushed metal, which gives a really nice look to the whole thing. This nice look is also highlighted by the choice of a frameless design with the keys that seem to float above the keyboard.

The keys, there are 88 of them in its AZERTY version and the keyboard does not have a numeric keypad. However, it is equipped with 3 small status LEDs to indicate the status of the uppercase, lowercase, Scroll lock key and Windows key lock.

On the back of the keyboard, we will note the presence of 4 non-slip pads at the 4 corners of the chassis. This is essential to prevent the keyboard from moving around on your desk when you use it. Finally, two small retractable flaps allow you to raise the back of the keyboard to improve its comfort of use.

A compact and portable keyboard

As we saw above, one of Trust's main goals with the Callaz keyboard is to offer a compact and portable keyboard! And although it is a wired keyboard, the result is there! The GXT 834 keyboard is undoubtedly a compact keyboard that can easily slip into your bag when you travel.

This is firstly evident in its dimensions, since this keyboard is only 36 cm wide. The sacrifice of the numeric keypad really saves a lot of space.

Then, the compact side of the device is also found in its reduced weight. Indeed, this keyboard weighs only 659 g where more classic mechanical keyboards easily exceed a kilo!

Keyboard backlight

If you are looking for sobriety, move on! The GXT 834 Callaz keyboard is there to be seen and to dress up your desk without subtlety. Each of the keys on the keyboard is equipped with an LED among the 6 available colors with a rainbow effect. As a result, each key is only lit by a single color.

There are 20 predefined lighting modes that can be looped through using a dedicated key. This system is relatively inconvenient since it is not possible to go back and you will have to do a complete loop again if you have missed the mode that interests you. We will also regret the absence of software allowing you to control and customize the keyboard lighting… but at this price, it is difficult to be too demanding.

In addition to the 20 classic modes, this keyboard has 6 gaming modes accessible using the FN key + 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 (FN = function key).

Finally, there are 2 customizable modes accessible by combining the FN + 9 or 0 keys. These 2 modes are programmed by pressing FN + End, selecting the keys to light up and then pressing FN + End again to save the mode.

The FN + right or left arrow combination adjusts the speed of the lighting animations while the FN + up or down arrow combination adjusts the intensity of the LEDs.

Keys, mechanics and switches

As mentioned earlier, Trust opted for a frameless design, the keys seem to float above the keyboard, without penetrating the chassis. This is a trend that is increasingly found on gaming keyboards. It turns out that the keys appear particularly high, but in reality, this is no more the case than on a recessed keyboard.

The GXT 834 is a mechanical keyboard with Red switches from Outemu. These switches are therefore linear switches, meaning that the resistance of the key increases as you press (this remains very subtle however).

Regarding typing, it is clear that this keyboard, like mechanical keyboards, is noisy. Consequently, this keyboard may bother you if you want to use it for office work. Likewise for gaming, it will be better to play with headphones so that the noise of the keyboard does not spoil the fun. Be careful, this keyboard is not noisier than a classic mechanical keyboard.

On the other hand, these keys are very responsive with an activation force of 47 g, an activation distance of 4 mm and a response time of 8 ms. In practice, the keys are very efficient and I even find myself typing unwanted letters when my fingers are resting on the keys.

Finally, the switches are supposed to have a durability of 50 million keystrokes which leaves time to really get the most out of it!

And in practice? (comfort and ergonomics)

If we ignore the noise made by the keys (like any mechanical keyboard), the GXT 834 Callaz keyboard is very pleasant. Even if we can regret the absence of a wrist rest, its use is comfortable even over long periods. Moreover, this absence of a wrist rest is completely justified given the compact positioning of this keyboard!

I have a few complaints and regrets about this gaming keyboard, however.

First of all, on some keys (especially the number keys) the different characters that the key can produce and that are displayed on it are, in my opinion, too close together. It's not very aesthetic and not very readable for my taste.

Also, I'm not a fan of the choice to capitalize accented letters on the keyboard. I find it a bit ugly and less readable... maybe a question of habit.

But apart from these small details, the GXT 834 Callaz keyboard is truly a success and manages to perfectly combine a small size and very satisfactory user comfort!

Callaz GXT 834 Keyboard Datasheet

To conclude…

The GXT 834 Callaz keyboard is really a nice surprise in its price range. For only €50, this mechanical gaming keyboard has many advantages. In addition to its very successful design, this very compact keyboard is ideal for nomadic players or those with limited space. But this small size does not sacrifice performance thanks to efficient red Outemu switches and well-thought-out ergonomics.

In short, Trust offers a very good product that will delight inveterate gamers and LED fans!

Buy the Callaz GXT 834 keyboard for €49.99 on Amazon.

Article updated on May 7, 2025 by Byothe