Cherry MX Board 6.0

[testman78]

Introduction

The name Cherry is synonymous with mechanical keyboards, their switches are used in a vast amount of mechanical keyboard from pretty much all major manufacturers such as Cooler Master, Corsair and Logitech to name but a few, and they have been using MX switches for many years now. With so many brands using their switches, it's more than likely that most of our readers have owned a Cherry MX switch keyboard.Mechanical switches are well-known for their durability, long life span and tactile feedback. The only downside of the switches is that their quality often comes with a big increase in price compared to membrane switch keyboards.



Featuring its latest, most refined switches, this keyboard features what the company calls RealKey Technology.In addition to 100% N-key rollover, the RealKey technology relies on high bandwidth provided by USB 3.0, to reduce latency, making the key presses register quicker. The keyboard itself is aimed at professional typists, software devs, and gamers. With a standard 109-keyset, with macros and red key illumination, the MX Board 6.0 features an ingot-shaped metal body, to which an included palm-rest can be magnetically attached.




Packaging & Contents

The package itself leaves no doubt that the Board MX 6.0 is a premium product.It is matte black with nothing but the Cherry logo and the name of the board on the front.



At the back we get an image of the product with information about its features.



Inside, there is another box, this one entirely red with just a Cherry indented logo to break up the flat colour.



The keyboard is stored in a black velvet pouch made of elastic fabric with a stylish print on top. Rubber wrist rest is packed in a separate bag below it.



The Cherry MX Board 6.0 is bundled only with a manual.A driver CD can't be found in the package, because the keyboard dont requires software.




Closer Examination

The keyboard is heavy (1350 grams / wrist rest is 257 grams), made out of a plastic base with brushed aluminum on top of it.



The board has all 109 keys backlit with red LEDs which also give the user the ability to adjust the brightness to complement room lighting conditions.



The sides of the keyboard show how the chassis is not shaped with sharp lines.



For those that are unfamiliar with red switches, they are linear types with no click or tactile feedback, with an incredibly light touch of 45n (effectively 45 grams).



Above the numpad are three media keys which should control most desktop applications such as Windows Media Player and VLC Media Player.



The back of the keyboard is classic.There are several stickers with specifications and technical characteristics of the product.



There is also a nice space running across the top here to allow you to manage the cable and get it sticking out the correct side of the keyboard for your desk setup.



There are two little feet, with rubber finish, which are used to adjust the angle of the keyboard.



As I said,the Cherry MX Board 6.0 bundle comes with a comfortable wrist rest.



Here is The large wrist rest.



The frame is plastic but there is a soft rubberised surface which has enough squishiness to it to feel great.



It attaches to the main keyboard through the power of magic-netism.



The keyboard is equipped with a braided fabric coated cable with a length of 2m and gold-plated connector with details of the brand name on the plastic cover.




Performance

A keyboard like the Cherry MX Board 6.0 has two clear use cases – obviously, it’s designed to be a high-quality gaming controller that’s sufficiently responsive for top-notch FPS play alongside other, less-stressful genres. Alongside gaming, a full-sized, mechanical keyboard should also be ideal for bashing out that novel we all have within us (apparently).



On the gaming side, I found the Cherry MX Board 6.0 to be first-class. Rubber pads on the underside of the keyboard – as well as the aforementioned weight – ensures it doesn’t move around during gameplay. The keys are solid to the touch, responsive with a quick return, making repeated key presses a cinch.



The Brown switches are a blast to type on. Typing fatigue is minimal, and the feedback is excellent for keeping your typing efficiency up at all times. The standard layout of the Cherry MX Board 6.0 makes it quick to learn on should you be making the switch from a normal keyboard.



The low-profile ABS keycaps themselves are good, a somewhat big clear font is used and that works out well.



The red LEDs used on the MX Board 6.0 – and the 100 levels of brightness – are impressive and work well, ensuring you’ll always find a suitable level. I like the colour of these too, which seems a little warmer than most red LEDs I’ve seen.



The backlighting can be changed in either 1% increments or 10% and you are also given a key to turn it off and on. The 1% increments are very subtle and quite hard to notice. I almost didn't think it was doing anything the first time I was using it. Although trivial, the on and off switch has a nice effect where the light fades out. Anything lower than 100% and you will not see the bottom legend on each keycap fully illuminated. Due to the LED positioning this will always happen.From the gfy's you can see the backlighting is all red apart from win Fn and Num. Fn is only blue when locked. The win key is unlocked when blue. Backspace also goes blue when on but I do not see this a lot.




Conclusion

So many keyboards come and go, but very few of them are memorable. Fortunately for Cherry, the MX Board 6.0 is far from forgettable. The first thing that really stands out about this keyboard is the build quality. Of course, anyone who’s handled a Cherry mechanical keyboard in the past will know their build quality is always durable, so I’m happy to see the MX Board 6.0 doesn’t disappoint in this respect.The design is pretty much what you would expect, for the most part, it’s a full-size keyboard and that’s what you get. Of course, minor refinements are what set each product and brand apart and I love the slim chassis around the edge of the keyboard.The MX Board 6.0 features red LED back-lighting with dual-colour LEDs for Caps Lock, Scroll Lock and Num Lock, plus Windows and the Win Lock key.The wrist rest was another good inclusion, making typing for long periods more comfortable. The rubber coating feels a little sticky and is hard to clean, but it does look good if you can keep it spick and span.



Performance is exactly what you would expect, this is a premium grade mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX switches, if you’ve used the same switches before, you know exactly what you’re going to get, flawless performance and uniform actuation and response from every key for years to come. Gaming, working, typing, playing QWOP, it just doesn’t matter, the keyboard puts a big smile on your face and feels great under your fingertips.Overall, the Cherry MX Board 6.0 is a robust, high-quality peripheral that gamers are going to love. At 149€, it’s certainly an investment, but as soon as you pick up the keyboard, or spend any time using it, you’ll feel the kind of quality and robustness that’ll reassure you it’ll be around for some time.The price is high, but other than your own personal budget, I see no issues with paying for premium quality.

[StyM]

nice... keep it up..