Cherry is the oldest keyboard manufacturer and no one doubts the quality of their products. Cherry MX key switches are used in many popular mechanical keyboards from different manufacturers around the world. In this article, let’s take a look at the new Cherry G80-3000 MX Board Silent Mechanical Keyboard (G80-3494LTCEU-2).
Unpacking and testing
Design and performance
The Cherry keyboard looks very basic and I can’t imagine it being such an expensive keyboard. It has a full-size layout with a number pad on the right side. Specifically, it measures 18.5 ″ x7.67 ″ x1.73 ″ and weighs 2 pounds. This is a wired keyboard and the cable is long enough to connect to your computer. Inside the box, you can only find the keyboard and a USB to PS2 adapter. The product is made in the Czech Republic, but it’s not really sturdy and feels like a cheap plastic keyboard. It flexes and makes a crunch when I press the sides. Also, I also hate that the top surface is a bit slanted even when I don’t open the 2 feet at the bottom, I prefer to type on a flat keyboard.
The MX Board Silent looks unappealing compared to most mechanical keyboards on the market. It has no extra buttons or controls, no extra features, no backlit keys, no RGB lighting, and no wrist rests. Those are not problems, but I don’t know why there are no physical hits on the F and J keys; This is quite convenient and sometimes I have to look at the keyboard to find the correct position for my index fingers.
The most interesting feature of the keyboard is, of course, the MX Silent Black switches. These are linear switches and have a high actuation force of 60 cN, so they are quite stiff compared to other Cherry MX switches. This is useful if you need to reduce accidental keystrokes. One downside is that you may find them tiring, especially when you use the keyboard for a few hours, you can easily feel the slightly higher resistance.
If you’ve tried black switches before, you might know that they don’t have haptic feedback or loud clicking noises. MX Silent Black switches are even quieter. They are even quieter and smoother than the keys on my Apple MacBook Pro laptop.
The keyboard is designed for offices or homes where loud noises can distract people. I am using it in my home office and now I don’t have to worry about waking up my family when I work at night. You can watch the test video at the top to see how quiet it is. I made a comparison between the Cherry and my old one Creative Sound BlasterX Vanguard K08 Keyboard and I discovered a big difference. However, the quiet switches somehow feel less satisfying, probably because they include internal damping components to reduce clicking sound.
Some other notable features of the keyboard are the 50 million keystroke life span and the N key replacement that supports 14 simultaneous keystrokes. However, you will need to use the PS2 adapter to get the full 14KRO; the USB port allows only 6KRO.
conclusion
Pros
Simple design quiet key switches
Cons
Average build quality Expensive
At press time, the Cherry MX Board Silent is priced at over $ 120. It’s so hard to justify the price as we can find more modern, better designed and built, and feature-rich keyboards at a lower price.
