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
Quality Testing
In order to test the quality and consistency of a keyboard, we are using a texture analyser that is programmed to measure and display the actuation force of the standard keyboard keys. By measuring the actuation force of every key, the quality and consistency of the keyboard can be quantified. It can also reveal design issues, such as the larger keys being far softer to press than the main keys of the keyboard. The actuation force is measured in Centinewton (cN). Some companies use another figure, gram-force (gf). The conversion formula is 1 cN = 1.02 gf (i.e. they are about the same). A high quality keyboard should be as consistent as possible, with an average actuation force as near to the manufacturer's specs as possible and a disparity of less than ±10%. Greater differences are likely to be perceptible by users.
The machine we use for our testing is accurate enough to provide readings with a resolution of 0.1 cN. For wider keys (e.g. Enter, Space Bar, etc.), the measurement is taking place at the center of the key, right above the switch. Note that large keys generally have a lower actuation force even if the actuation point is at the dead center of the key. This is natural, as the size and weight of the keycap reduces the required actuation force. For this reason, we do display the force required to actuate every key but we only use the results of the typical sized keys for our consistency calculations. Still, very low figures on medium sized keys, such as the Shift and Enter keys reveal design issues and can easily be perceptible by the user.
The quality testing of the Cherry MX Board 6.0 gave us unnaturally good results, smiting every other mechanical keyboard that we have tested to this date - including those made with Cherry's own switches. Our instruments recorded an average force of 43.5 cN, with a disparity of just ±1.61% for the main keys. Even the force of the larger keys is abnormally close to that of the smaller keys, as their force figures are usually significantly lower due to the size of the keycap.
Although this is just an assumption on our part, we believe that these abnormal figures are a product of more than just the lack of variability in Cherry's mechanical switches. Our testing equipment is set to hold the force value once a key has been actuated, but it can only realize that it has actually been actuated once the keyboard sends a signal to a computer. Inherently, this process has a latency of a few milliseconds, during which the analyzer keeps increasing the force. Cherry claims that with the Realkey technology of this keyboard, it can signal the system every single millisecond. Again, this is a mere educational guess on our part, but it may be that Cherry effectively minimized the latency of the keyboard, which is now signaling our test system to stop more consistently. This could explain the abnormal consistency of the results, as a latency of even a few ms would increase every recorded value slightly.
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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.