The Nixeus Moda Pro Review: A Professional Mechanical Keyboard for $55

Final Words & Conclusion

I always try to use every keyboard that we review as my personal keyboard for at least a week. My typical weekly usage includes a lot of typing (about 100-150 pages), a few hours of gaming and some casual usage, such as internet browsing and messaging. The Nixeus Moda Pro has spent nearly a month attached to my work system, as I found it to be an excellent product for the regular typing of documents and emails. The Brown switches are comfortable both in terms of acoustics and muscle fatigue, making them well suited for professional use. One factor that professionals should take into account though is that this keyboard is not programmable. Many professionals use the programming ability of advanced keyboards to quickly execute specific functions, such as the insertion of code, CAD commands and other keystroke combinations. Such functions are beyond the capabilities of the Moda Pro.

As for gaming, I am afraid that the Moda Pro did not last more than half an hour on my desktop. My favorite types of games are RPG and Strategy titles, so I normally use programmed macros for several in-game functions. Since the Moda Pro is not programmable, I skipped my couple of favorite games because I found the inability to quickly swap equipment/skills to be too inconvenient and tried my luck with a relatively simple FPS shooter, a game that I would not use complex keystroke combinations anyhow. After a relatively short gaming session that lasted about half an hour, I found myself forced to stop because the height of the keyboard and the lack of a palm rest were putting a significant amount of strain on my arm. A dedicated gamer will most likely find the use of a cushion or aftermarket palm rest to be necessary.

The elegant minimalistic design and white color probably are the primary selling points of the Moda Pro as a mechanical keyboard, which is strongly trying to become visually appealing for Mac users. There are very few white mechanical keyboards available, let alone models designed with Mac users in mind. Of course the keyboard would work with a Mac without swapping the keycaps, they are just an aesthetic and psychological improvement for Mac users, who now are not forced to be using a mechanical keyboard with Windows-specific keycaps on it. Its metallic body and design make it perfect for a system in a modern workspace when aesthetics are important.

Nixeus has a clear target group for the Moda Pro and that is professionals and casual home users who do not need programmable keys or other advanced functions. Such users would not easily justify the cost of an advanced mechanical keyboard, which may be up to ten times more expensive than a typical $10 electronic keyboard. The Moda Pro however combines excellent aesthetics with a very alluring retail price ($55 shipped at the time of this review) that can easily convince many users to try the experience of a mechanical keyboard, either as an upgrade over a mediocre membrane-based model or as a stepping stone towards a future upgrade to a more advanced model.