Cherry KC 200 MX mechanical keyboard assessment: Office warrior

Mechanical keyboards are technically superior to the common membrane boards on retailer cabinets or the built-in keyboard in most of our favourite Chromebooks. Mechanical choices are constructed to serve you numerous longer than rubber dome and scissor switches in notebooks, and the longevity of the previous isn’t tied to different parts, which makes laptops really feel dated after a few years.

Most of our favourite mechanical keyboards are outfitted with switches that may final many, a few years of intensive on a regular basis use. Nonetheless, one of many family names within the trade, German model Cherry (with roots within the US), has turned longevity as much as eleven with the brand new KC 200 MX keyboard and its MX2A switches, that are rated for as much as 100 million actuations. That’s twice as a lot as most switches are rated for and in addition a compelling sufficient motive for us to take a look at the board firsthand.

Pricing and availability

Large bucks for what’s on provide

Proper off the bat, the Cherry KC 200 MX mechanical keyboard is capturing for one of many largest chunks of mechanical keyboard consumers outdoors the fanatic group — the enterprise buyer. That is evident from a number of peculiarities we observed within the keyboard’s construct, however extra on that later.

This new keyboard carries a $90 sticker worth and is available on Amazon. This explicit mannequin will get a devoted product web page on the Cherry Americas web site, however you can not purchase the keyboard from there immediately. Nevertheless, the board is available on Amazon.

Cherry provides this mechanical keyboard in a bunch of variations for various languages, like French and German, and in addition a UK format with the large enter key. Nevertheless, at $90, the marketplace for lovers is teeming with engaging choices for aluminum-bodied compact keyboards from the likes of Keychron. The KC 200MX instructions its sticker worth for the marketed reliability alone, and there is little competitors from the common customized mechanical keyboard maker in that division.

What’s good concerning the Cherry KC 200 MX mechanical keyboard?

Join it and overlook it

You could acknowledge Cherry because the model that developed the Cherry MX mechanical keyboard change design, which has since spawned an entire trade of comparable switches from manufacturers like Gateron, Outemu, and Kailh, usually known as clones, regardless of their immense recognition. Effectively, Cherry additionally makes a bunch of mechanical keyboards below its personal model, and the KC 200 MX is without doubt one of the newest additions to its catalog.

The board comes with a copper coloration plate and black keycaps or white caps with a silver coloration plate. You should buy the keyboard with the brand new MX2A Brown switches or MX2A Silent Purple, with the previous providing a tactile typing expertise and the latter delivering quieter keystrokes. I examined out the black model with brown switches assured to outlive a minimum of 100 million actuations like the unique MX Brown, however you need to know that Cherry charges the silent purple switches just for 50 million keystrokes. In the meantime, the corporate is aggressively selling the sturdiness of the switches on its packaging, though its rated life matches the standard MX Browns, so there is not a lot to boast about.

The brand new Cherry KC 200 MX keyboard with MX2A switches

Of the unique Cherry switches, the mechanical keyboard fanatic group broadly regards the MX Brown as the usual for tactility, a lot in order that the colour is now synonymous with tactile switches inside keyboard circles. Like the unique, I used to be delighted to find that Cherry’s new MX2A switches protect the delightfully gentle tactile expertise halfway via the keystroke regardless of that includes a redesigned stem, spring, and housing.

I’d name it a “ticklish” tactile change, however the brand new design feels rather a lot smoother out of the field than the common MX Brown, maybe as a result of it’s factory-lubed with the group’s trusty Krytox 205 grade 0 lubricant. The MX2A Browns nonetheless sound scratchy and aren’t similar to broken-in switches, however the efficiency is uniform throughout the board and never as batch-dependent as the unique Browns.

Indicator lights shine crisp and clear

The typing expertise is bog-standard — the brand new stem design retains the keycap wobble to a minimal, key legends are crisp and straightforward to learn, not like equally priced gamer-y boards, and the Scroll Lock, Num Lock, and Caps Lock keys get their particular person indicator lights which shine via mentioned keycaps. Even the spacebar comes with a novel design on the longer edge going through you, that includes a rounded edge within the center and sharper corners on the perimeters. The stabilizers on the bigger keys carry out nicely and do not rattle or wobble noticeably. You get useful shortcut keys for the calculator and quantity controls simply above the numpad. N-key rollover permits a number of simultaneous key presses to register with out a problem, and the board’s anti-ghosting characteristic ensures error-free typing with no missed inputs.

The spacebar has a uniquely rounded edge

Nevertheless, the sturdy switches are the KC 200 MX’s USP. To place it into perspective, a typist constantly typing five-letter phrases at 100 phrases per minute for eight hours daily on 5 days each week would get a whopping 16 years of use from the brand new KC 200 MX earlier than the switches begin to give out. This parameter alone helps Cherry’s KC 200 MX attraction to a really particular purchaser — companies in search of inexpensive, no-nonsense workhorse peripherals to cut back related substitute and upkeep prices.

What’s unhealthy about Cherry KC 200 MX mechanical keyboard?

Keycaps so skinny they compete with the paper the keyboard comes wrapped in

You see, the KC 200 MX is in no way an enthusiast-tier mechanical keyboard. Its typing expertise and reliability are the one elements to shout about, and the person expertise has been pitifully uncared for in each different manner, maybe in hopes of Cherry’s model sufficing as an excuse. It begins with the unboxing expertise, the place the keyboard comes wrapped in skinny black paper accompanied by a guide and nothing else. The cable is non-detachable; you miss out on wi-fi connectivity choices, customization by way of software program, assist for macOS, and per-key backlighting, and it is the primary time we have seen a retro yellow PCB in a very long time.

A better have a look at the keycaps

Most of those lacking options may be ignored, contemplating the KC 200 MX is an workplace keyboard, however its low-cost keycaps despatched me over the sting. The ABS keycaps provide laser-etched legends which can be worryingly skinny, and it does the sound profile no favors. Extra importantly, ABS plastic is susceptible to abrasion, and the keycap legends shall be polished to a shiny smudge earlier than the switches begin to fail. Though this keyboard is appropriate with most aftermarket keycap units, we doubt companies will go that route. On the very least, it could’ve been good to see double-shot injection molded ABS or dye-sublimated PBT keycaps at this worth level.

Do you have to purchase the Cherry KC 200 MX mechanical keyboard?

Redesigned switches don’t warrant the change

There isn’t any denying the Cherry KC 200 MX belongs in an workplace, chattering away for years, however I would not level a mechanical keyboard aficionado its manner. When you’re available in the market for a keyboard promising years of worry-free utilization, certain, this keyboard ticks all the best bins. It is also an excellent keyboard when you simply wish to get a really feel for Cherry’s new MX2A switches with out introducing a slew of different variables from the customized keyboard scene.

Nevertheless, if the brand new MX2A Brown switches are all you search, they’re bought in packs of 110 models or 35, with the previous promising higher worth at simply $45 — half as a lot as a KC 200 MX prices. As a lot as we adore it for its simplicity and understated design, the $90 sticker worth left a nasty style in my mouth. The prices of crafting a brand new mechanical key change definitely add up, however there are a number of sub-$100 mechanical keyboards with for much longer characteristic lists, and the KC 200 MX merely is not in the identical league.

When you’re in search of a extra compact keyboard with extra options however are held again by sturdiness issues, I recommend selecting up any keyboard with hot-swappable switches so you’ll be able to exchange the switches if they begin dying on you. This feature would not make a lot sense in a office both, however the Cherry KC 200 MX is not definitely worth the cash in my e book until you are the particular type of Workplace Supervisor this board targets.