25 January, 2021 Unlike the real deal, it looks like the artisan keycap is finally in stock. Hurry, though, as it won’t last long.
That is one huge keyboard, right? Nope, it’s a custom keycap from Holyoops, with the design of a miniature Nvidia RTX 3080 graphics card. And no, it doesn’t give you a boost in games while pressing shift to run. If you’re one of the many people who’ve not been able to get their hands on one of the best graphics cards on the market, then you could always pick one of these up – then stare longingly at your new shift key, just imagining…
When you mention the latest RTX 30 series graphics cards, it’s impossible not to mention the stock issues that plagued both Nvidia and AMD throughout 2020 and 2021. It seems that this item, funnily enough, has suffered from stock issues of its own, but currently has 16 available at the time of writing.
If you miss the boat, you’ll be able to join a waiting list to be notified when you can get your hands on one, but you could be waiting a while given the stock situation originally mirrored real life pretty accurately. It’s just a shame the company hasn’t made an RTX or Radeon-inspired F5 key option – for all that refreshing you’ll be doing while trying to secure the real deal.
At a $32 price tag, it’s a bit expensive for a single keycap, veering into the prices of the budget board on our best gaming keyboard guide. But, this is run of the mill for a bespoke artisan keycap – particularly one that’s made out of metal – and provides neat packaging for that ceremonious opening you deserve should you get your hands on one. And let’s face it, we’d still love one for the novelty.
If you find yourself joining the waiting list, just make sure to keep in mind compatibility. This is designed with Cherry MX switches and their equivalents in mind, making it unsuitable for lower profiles or those that fit a different stem. Even if you’re running a compatible switch, Holyoops has designed the RTX 3080 keycap with the ANSI layout in mind, meaning it’ll only fit the right shift key on ISO alternatives as the one to the left is notably shorter.