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Review cover NuPhy Node100 Mechanical Keyboard GBAtemp review
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Product provided by NuPhy for the purpose of review.
Coming back to answer the question of whether bigger is better, we check out the full-sized Node100 mechanical keyboard!

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It wasn’t too long ago I covered the Node75, NuPhy’s latest 75% keyboard that’s available with both low and high profile switches to suit your preference. What wasn’t available at the time, however, was the option to just have more keys. For some people 75% of a keyboard is not enough, and for those people, I am happy to say that I might just have a great keyboard for you here. 

100% Keyboard

Now for what is probably years now I’ve gotten used to smaller keyboards. I don’t necessarily use a numpad much in my day to day life, and find that having arrow keys and a function row is usually the sweet spot. The previous Node75 did me plenty well, but obviously having the opportunity to look at more keyboards is never a bad thing. The Node100 is really everything that made the Node75 great plastered onto a larger body. That is to say it’s a great keyboard out of the box. 

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Outside of the keyboard itself you’re treated to a relatively standard assortment of accessories. This includes a USB C to C cable and USB A adapter for wired connectivity, a keycap and switch combo puller, and a small set of accent keys if you want to swap a couple out. In the body of the keyboard you also have a 2.4G USB dongle for one of your three connectivity options. There’s nothing particularly out of the ordinary here, but I also can’t really think of anything else I would want.

The star of the show is obviously going to be the keyboard, and my lord it is a titan for somebody who has been using 75% keyboards for so long. The Node100, as the name might suggest, is a 100% layout keyboard. This largely just means it has a numpad, as well as the cluster of keys that sit between your alphanumerics and said numpad. There is little in the way of bells and whistles, but I am impressed at just how much they’ve managed to squeeze into something that retails for $110. 

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Both the top and bottom pieces of the case are made of ABS plastic, with a polycarbonate plate and gasket mount for something of a softer typing experience. Pressing down hard in the middle of the board you get a good bit of flex. If you’re the type of person who enjoys more rigid typing, this one might not be for you. I am personally quite fond of this though, with it usually feeling comfier for longer typing sessions. The keycaps that come with the keyboard are double-shot, meaning the legends won’t fade over time, in an mSA profile. They feel great to the touch, and though you certainly can replace them with your own, I don’t see much of a reason to. I will note here that the keyboard makes use of north-facing RGB lighting, which means you might run into a few issues with Cherry profile keycaps if you do decide to get a little adventurous down the line. 

Going beyond the keycaps, the Node100 also supports hot-swappable switches too. The three options available, the silent “blush”, the linear reds, and tactile browns, will likely have most preferences covered, but if you do happen to have some nicer switches to hand, swapping them is as easy as pulling them out and popping some new ones in. Looking further into the keyboard does appear to be a little bit of a challenge though, with no obvious screws visible externally. Given the plastic construction I would assume the top and bottom parts are clipped together, but I’m not eager to pry at it to find out. 

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Shared with the Node75, the odd touch panel in the top-right of the board returns here, and just like with the Node75 I’m not its biggest fan. Giving you access to up to four gestures in swiping left and right, as well as double and triple taps, there might be something here if you feel 109 keys isn’t enough. In my mind though, making use of an additional function layer just makes more sense. It can thankfully be disabled without much effort, and blends into the dotted pattern across the top of the keyboard remarkably well. I do welcome experimentation in a market that can otherwise feel rather samey, but this one just isn’t for me. 

Tri-Mode Connectivity

Looking at the connectivity options here you’ll find yourself wanting for very little. Outside of the obvious wired USB connection, you also get the aforementioned 2.4G USB dongle that fits snugly inside the keyboard’s body, and also three Bluetooth configurations you can swap between on a whim. Each of these wireless modes are available by default by holding Fn and pressing 1 through 3 for the Bluetooth configurations, and 4 for the 2.4G USB dongle. I’ve not any issues with each of these modes, though it’s worth pointing out that the polling rate when using Bluetooth is significantly lower than the other options, at 125Hz vs the 1000Hz elsewhere. I typically use the Bluetooth mode for connecting to my work laptop while having the USB dongle in a different PC, and it works well. For things like gaming though you’re likely to appreciate the higher polling rates.

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In terms of battery life, the Node100 is something of a powerhouse. Packing a 4000mAh battery, it’s advertised to last between 60 and 100 hours when using the RGB lighting, and up to 1000 hours with no lights. Falling into the latter camp, especially on such a delightfully beige keyboard, I find the claim of up to 1000 hours absolutely wild. That’s just over 40 days of continual usage. Obviously I’m not able to test such an extreme, but I can at least say I’ve not needed to charge it at all since receiving it a little over a week ago, with maybe ten hours of usage per day between work and post-work meandering. 

Solid Software

Supporting the Node100 is NuPhyIO, NuPhy’s in-house key binding and lighting customisation software. It is worth mentioning that all the lighting customisation can be configured on the keyboard itself through a number of shortcuts, but using an app to just get it setup how you want it once is the much better approach. To cut to the chase, NuPhyIO is a really good app. It’s software you can choose to install, with a web version also available, with all changes made being saved directly to the keyboard itself. This includes things like running macros. 

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The options available cover pretty much everything I would want from companion software. Setting key bindings is probably what most people will be using this for, and with four blank keys, as well as F13 and usually useless keys like Scroll Lock and Pause, you’ve actually got a lot to work with here if you need a place to put something non-standard. On top of this, you also have not one, but three additional function layers on top of the base layout. If I had to pull a small criticism, it’s that there’s no way to customise the behaviour of the numpad when Num Lock is disabled, but I’m not sure if that’s an issue with the keyboard of just how Windows itself sees the numpad keys. As always I was able to easily set Fn+Z to be my Non-US Backslash (NUBS if you ever find yourself looking for its shorthand), which is a must for me when a keyboard is only available in the more US-friendly ANSI layout. 

Macros are easy to both record and assign, with you able to make use of either a set interval between keys or the actual timing of your inputs. Once recorded you can assign the macro to any number of keys across however many layers you feel like. A small shame is that I was unable to loop a macro, requiring me to press the key repeatedly for multiple run throughs, but outside of that it’s hard to complain.

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For those who prefer wireless input, NuPhyIO does also allow you to customise the auto sleep of the Node100. Beyong just enabling and disabling auto sleep, you can customise how long it takes to go into Level 1 Sleep, which disables the lighting, and Level 2 Sleep, which will basically turn the keyboard off. 

Terrific Typing

As out of the box typing experiences go, I really do put NuPhy up there with the best. For what they charge for their keyboards I find myself continually impressed by just how much I enjoy using them. I don’t feel like I have to rip off the keycaps and lube the switches, or stuff foam into wherever it’ll fit. They just sound and feel good. Obviously this is a point of entirely subjective taste, but if nothing else I can at least provide you a short typing test for you to get an idea of how the Red Max switches sound in this particular setting. 

A Keyboard for the Numpad Enjoyers

At $110 there really is nothing stopping me from recommending it to anybody looking for a great keyboard with a numpad. Having the “Lunar White” model to hand this time around I absolutely adore the retro off-white aesthetic. Paired with some great keycaps, solid connectivity options, and a fantastic out of box typing experience, it more than punches above its price point for a 100% layout keyboard. Being just $10 more than the 75% model, it’s a no brainer if you for some reason look at keyboards for their key to dollar value. 

Verdict

What We Liked ...
  • Great typing experience out of the box
  • Full 109 key layout
  • Well priced at $110
  • Fantastic battery life
  • Solid software support
What We Didn't Like ...
  • Only available in ANSI layout
  • North-facing RGBs may cause issues for people wanting to put Cherry profile keycaps onto it
8
out of 10

Overall

The Node100 is a fantastic keyboard. With no tinkering it sounds great and feels great to type on; if you're looking for a keyboard and need that numpad, this is a remarkably solid choice.
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AlexMCS
Let me know if you can find any good wireless mechanical KB with an embedded, hard palm rest, that can actually last.
The best is still the Logitech G613, but it's made to last under a year.

This looks nice, but the lack of a palm/wrist rest takes it off the table.
 
E1ite007
I really dig 100% keyboards, they're so great for Excel use and Python coding. Wish it was a far more common size nowadays.
 
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