Cherry G80-3800 Brown Switch MX-BOARD 2.0 104 Key Mechanical Keyboard Black

Comment:
OK, so these Cherry 3800 keyboards don't exactly exude quality like some of the more expensive offerings (eg, Das) due to their all-ABS plastic construction and lack of heft. Furthermore they don't have any extras that their more expensive counterparts do (ie, no USB hub/macro keys/backlighting/etc).However, comfort wise and typing functionality wise, they are every bit as good as any mechanical keyboard I've tried (ie, Das, Razer Blackwidow). The key spacing seems to be ever so slightly more cramped than some of the competition - but this turned out to be very minor and did not impede typing or take any time to adjust to to speak of. When I was in store, there were Filco and Das keyboards on display with Cherry browns and this keyboard, particularly the key presses themselves, feels every bit as good.Bottom line, if you can score one of these on sale for less than $60, it's a solid buy. At the regular price of $80, you're getting into competition with potentially higher quality (at least insofar as how solid the chassis) options from Razer, Steelseries, CoolerMaster worth considering that have more bells and whistles. However, as a daily typer (and maybe gamer - I don't use mine for this), this is as good as any other keyboard I've used, even mechanical ones that cost over $100.This review was modfied by poster u 05-17-13 12:35 PM This review was modfied by poster m 05-17-13 12:22 PM This review was modfied by poster @ 05-17-13 12:34 PM

Comment:
I took my first step back into mechanical keyboard territory with the steelseries 7G and its MX Black keyswitches. There's a link to the reviews of that at the end of this one. I decided to pick up two of these Cherry MX-Board 2.0 models in a recent sale, one with blue switches and one with brown.First, I can confirm that the bodies of these Cherry keyboards are extremely flexible along their width, but luckily I can also say that this does not affect typing in the slightest. The reason for the flex is that there is no metal plate in these boards - the keyswitches used are the PCB-mounted models. I don't notice much difference, except that the keys on the Cherry boards feel more "individual" - likely because the metal plate transmits the movement from each keypress to the rest of the board more noticeably. Another side-effect of PCB-mounting is that the LED indicators can be mounted in the keys instead of the status area, which is perfectly acceptable but takes a bit of getting used to.There are two small rubber pads under the front of the keyboard, but both the case itself and the extendible feet at the rear of the board lack any sort of friction enhancers. This is odd, considering there are two huge indentations on the bottom of the board made specifically to accept Cherry's rubber pads (see bright orange triangle in the image linked below). While the front ones should suffice on most surfaces, I'm not sure how well they'll grip during a fast-paced game.The Cherry keycaps are all of a single top angle, which slants away from the user rather than towards them as the steelseries caps do. Another big difference is their height, they are only half as tall as the latter, giving them an almost laptop-like feel. They are also laser-etched, which means they will be legible pretty much indefinitely.The layout of the MX Boards is not one I am fond of, unfortunately. Although it is not a ten-key-less design (i.e. it has a numerical pad), it is not a full-sized layout. Compare the pictures with the G80-3000 model NCIX carries and you will see what I mean: the spacing between the key groups (function keys, alphanumerical section, directional arrows, etc.) has been decreased to almost nothing. While this hasn't made me any more likely to activate neighbouring keys unintentionally, it has resulted in pressing entirely incorrect keys as it's harder to know where your fingers are.Specific to the MX Brown keyswitches, they did not really match my expectations. I thought I would like them more than the Blue switches because the activation and reset points are almost identical, but this advantage is diminished by both the activation point's distance from the tactile bump, combined with the very light springs used. Pushing a single key feels great, but when actually typing, the springs' lack of resistance makes it much more difficult to feel when the key has actually been pressed. If I just bottom out every key like I would with a rubber-dome (or MX Black/Red) keyboard my accuracy does improve, but that negates the point of having a tactile bump in the first place... The feet that aren't included (orange-red triangle far right):http://img03.taobaocdn.com/imgextra/i3/21982277/T22lfyXXxbXXXXXXXX_!!21982277.jpgSteelseries 7G (MX Black) for comparison:http://www.ncix.com/products/?mode=productreviewread&product_id=27398&reviewid=125047 This review was modfied by poster @ 05-11-13 08:16 PM

Comment:
I like the keyboard overall but the construction of the chassis is lacking. For example grab both ends of the keyboard and one can easily deflect the chassis by gently twisting. Other than that it is a simply keyboard and that was what I was after.

Comment:
This is my first mechanical keyboard and I love it. Well worth the money if you do any amount of typing. Feels like the old white/beige IBM keyboards from back in the day.

Comment:
Love these brown switches. not as loud as the blues, but still feel great