The Cherry MX Board 6.0 Mechanical Keyboard Review
by E. Fylladitakis on January 27, 2016 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Keyboard
- Cherry MX
- Mechanical Keyboards
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. Cherry's use of MX Red switches on the MX Board 6.0 is odd, as it is being marketed as a professional keyboard and the MX Blue and MX Brown switches are generally the preferred switches for typing. Despite the use of MX Red switches, which are not my personal favorite for typing either, the MX Board 6.0 was remarkably responsive and comfortable for long typing sessions. The large wrist rest helped as well, maintaining the palms of my hands at a comfortable position over the length of the typing session.
For gaming, the MX Board 6.0 leaves us with mixed feelings. The Realkey technology is supposed to minimize the latency of the keyboard and provides true N-Key rollover, which is nice for gamers, and the keyboard itself is very comfortable for prolonged use. However, it also lacks any form of programmability, macro keys or even just the capability to run macros (without the use of third-party remapping software). For me, since my gaming style frequently relies on macros, the MX Board 6.0 was impractical during my gaming sessions. Nonetheless, those who do not use macros and/or remap their keyboard for gaming will not have any issue using the MX Board 6.0.
The Cherry MX Board 6.0 is undoubtedly a very high quality keyboard, designed to be virtually indestructible and very comfortable for advanced professional users. However, we found Cherry's design confounding. MX Blue/Brown switches are far more popular with typists than MX Red switches, so it is strange that the company decided to offer such a keyboard only with MX Red switches. It is also strange that Cherry included the Realkey technology into this model, as it would be a feature appreciated by gamers, but professionals are unlikely to be swayed by it. Furthermore, the MX Board 6.0 lacks any programmability, a feature that is almost a necessity for gamers nowadays, but also very helpful for many professionals as well.
In conclusion, we feel that the Cherry MX Board 6.0 is aimed towards a very small, specific target group - those who want a top quality keyboard and do not care about advanced features, such as a programmable layout or macro capabilities. It would be an excellent choice for anyone who wants to buy one (and only one) keyboard for years to come, even for gamers if they are certain that they will not need any advanced features.
However with that said, the MX Board 6.0 solid quality comes with one significant drawback, and that's price. The MX Board 6.0 currently retails at the very steep price of $198 plus shipping, which greatly limits its market potential. Professionals can find very good mechanical keyboard retailing for nearly half the price. The very best gaming keyboards using Cherry's own MX switches, such as the Corsair Vengeance K95 RGB and the Cougar 700K, retail for less than Cherry's own implementation, and those keyboards feature programmability, RGB lighting, and macro key functionality that the Cherry does not. As a result, while the Cherry MX Board 6.0 is a product of excellent quality and design, it's misplaced in the market due to a lack of competitive pricing - and that's a significant problem when that competition is based around Cherry's own switches as well.
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Murloc - Thursday, January 28, 2016 - link
I can do it but I need to look and aim to do that.Tab + P is a stretch.
erple2 - Sunday, January 31, 2016 - link
I never understood wasd at all. Why not the more natural esdf?Beaver M. - Saturday, February 6, 2016 - link
With rdfg you have even more keys available to the left.I went from arrow keys to wasd to esdf and have been using rdfg for 15 years now. Everything other than it is inferior. Except maybe if you have giant hands, then maybe tfgh would be even better.
CrazyElf - Wednesday, January 27, 2016 - link
You can get a very similar keyboard for less - the Ducky Legend has a solid aluminum construction, and is available in Brown, Blue, or Red switches.I personally bought one and replaced the keycaps with black Vortex PBT Doubleshot Backlit keycaps, which gives it a very nice feel. The thicker keycaps make the MX Blue a bit more lower pitched in noise, although still as loud.
It makes typing great.
Dream keyboard:
- Thick aluminum housing (like Ducky Legend only completely aluminum - including on the bottom)
- Topre 55g switches
- Double shot PBT-POM dye subbed key caps
- I would prefer LEDs (RGB not needed but I do sometimes type in the dark)
Sigh ... one can only dream I'm afraid, although this MX Blue is as close as I've gotten.
Murloc - Thursday, January 28, 2016 - link
what's the point of typing in the total dark?Also anybody who's been typing for years does not even need to look at the keyboard.
Nfarce - Wednesday, January 27, 2016 - link
I've had several mechanical keyboards dating all the way back to a 1990s IBM Model M which I still have. As someone who appreciates them and can type upwards of 80WPM, here is no way in I'd pay $200 for this keyboard. I love the small footprint and quality, but there's just no way I'd ever justify paying a good chunk of my PC upgrade budget set aside every few years for a $200 keyboard.erple2 - Sunday, January 31, 2016 - link
Yeah, but you don't have to upgrade a quality keyboard. My unicomp USB keyboard has lasted for over 10 years. As has my monitor. In that context, spending an extra hundred or so dollars means little when I'm replacing the gura,of my computer every two years or so. Keyboard, monitor and mouse are the three things that you always use every day in all situations, and are this not worth skimping on. CPU? I don't always run at full tilt. GPU? While reading or watching YouTube, I'm not appreciably using the capabilities of a 200w GPU. 16 gigs high speed ram? Chrome doesn't care, and doesn't consume THAT much memory. Same is true for SSD and motherboards. There are times when I don't need the capabilities of high performance parts. But I ALWAYS need a good quality screen, a good, quality keyboard, and to a lesser extent a quality mouse. So a few more dollars spent on monitor, keyboard and mouse are always money well spent.SteelRing - Thursday, January 28, 2016 - link
Just before they close out this comment:Worst ever keyboard: The new apple MacBook butterfly switch thing.
Best rubberdome keys: any older model Thinkpad T-series laptop (T{2-digit}), Logitech diNovo for Notebooks (discontinued) is surprisingly pleasant for me too.
Best mechanical keys: Das Keyboard, but I returned mine, twice, because somehow they keep having this rattling "loose" key noise and feel when hitting the big keys.
Best bang for the buck mechanical keys: Rosewill/Cooler Master, for less than half the price of Das, Code, or whatever else in that super elite ($100+) league (including this one I guess) but definitely upwards much higher than half the experience.
as for the {color} flavor of the switch I guess to each his own. you got to find what's best for your use and style and feel. Brown is my flavor, Clear I despise, but Red might be intriguing, we'll see.
Synomenon - Thursday, January 28, 2016 - link
No PS/2 version? I need to be able to turn my PC on by pressing Ctrl+Esc.bigboxes - Sunday, January 31, 2016 - link
I always leave my PC on full time. Now, if there's a power outage and my UPS runs low on the juice then yes I have to use that ol' nasty big silver button on the front of my PC case.