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Introduction

The Cherry MX 6.0 keyboard is an enthusiast grade gaming keyboard that is really pushing the bounds of what a retail keyboard can be. The keyboard both looks and feels fantastic, with the sleek metal top case really adding a premium feel to keyboard. I spent a lot of time with this keyboard, and tested it as a daily driver for typing and programming, as well as logging quite a few hours on Battlefield 4 and Rocket League with it. The keyboard isn’t perfect though, and did have a few aspects I would have changed. How does it stack up in the end? Read on to find out!

On a quick tangent, Agent Cooper was alarmingly interested in this keyboard, usually he doesn’t seem to care when a new keyboard arrives. Cat approval is at 100%.

Typing Test

Packaging, Unboxing, and Contents

Cherry nailed the packaging, I can say that without hesitation. A lot of gaming keyboards come in extremely gaudy boxes with all kinds of crazy colors/pictures/stats, for an overall presentation that doesn’t always give the best first impression. The MX 6.0 came in an elegant black box with a very clean looking front, and just the right combination of information and a single picture on the back. The black box opens from the side and presents another red box that slides out. The box is completely plain except for a glossy clear cherry logo on the front. Apart from the Novatouch, this is the best packaging I have seen on a keyboard to date.

Inside the box

Once you get inside of the final box, everything is tucked very neatly away. The keyboard is in the nicest microfiber sleeve that I’ve ever gotten with a keyboard, and does actually feel like it would last for a long time, even if you use it to put over the keyboard when not in use on a daily basis. The only things inside the box were the manual, the magnetic wrist rest, and keyboard.

External Build

Case

The case is easily one of the strongest aspects of this keyboard. The 6.0 has an Aluminum top housing with a sanded finish and grease resistant coating. It feels extremely smooth to the touch and looks absolutely fantastic. I really like the styling of the case as well, it has the angular lines to make it stand out, but at the same time it manages to maintain a very elegant appearance unlike many gaming keyboards. During my “office test,” which involves me bringing in a new keyboard to work for a week to test, quite a few people commented on how good this keyboard looked, which is all the proof I need to say that it will be appropriate for home and office use. The case has no torsional flexing at all. Zero. As far as retail keyboards go, this easily takes the cake for the best case I’ve tested yet.

Reverse side (rubber pads, feet, etc.)

The first thing I noticed when turning the keyboard over was how the back feet flipped out to the side, instead of straight back like most keyboards. Though this is a small detail, it really does show the attention that went into designing this keyboard. With the side flipping feet, there is no way for them to accidentally fold down during an intense gaming session. On that note, the keyboard never moved around on any surface I tested it on, so all good marks for the rubber feet.

The keyboards top and bottom cases are held together by 16 screws (with one under the classy holographic Cherry Sticker) instead of clips like most keyboards. Personally, as someone opening up a new keyboard on a weekly basis, I am a huge fan of this. Not only does it make the case slightly sturdier, but it also involves much less risk of damaging anything when taking a keyboard apart. Unless you have a reason to take it apart, I would leave it together in this case and preserve that nice looking sticker on the back.

The cable is attached, and as normal I wish it was detachable. This would make it easier to carry around and means that you can easily replace the cable should the included one ever break. Regardless, the cable is a very nice braided cable and was secured very well to the case. There was 3 routing options (left, center, right) for the cable as well.

Keycaps

The keycaps are laser removed ABS, and actually fared quite well during my testing. They aren’t the thickest stock caps I’ve ever seen, but they are higher quality than most. They showed no obvious signs of shine by the end of my 3 weeks of testing, though with ABS that will inevitably happen over time. The profile is quite interesting as well, but I honestly found it to be quite comfortable. The keys are relatively low profile, but are still sculpted, meaning they are different heights for each row to make it slightly easier and more comfortable to use. The low profile definitely does make cater to the gaming crowd, but as a typist I enjoyed them quite a bit as well. Overall I was pleased with the keycaps, and while there are better quality sets out there, I saw no reason to rush out and replace the stock keycaps.

Internal Build

Upon opening the keyboard up, the quality was apparent immediately. The whole interior was exceptionally clean looking, and the soldering was immaculate. I saw no indication that the internal build quality would ever be the cause of issues down the line. The LEDS and switches were all soldered very cleanly into place, and the PCB was secured nicely to the top of the case. You can also see just how thick the aluminum case actually is when you open it up as well.

Switches

The MX 6.0 obviously uses genuine Cherry MX switches, meaning longevity of the switches is not something I would worry about. Cherry MX Reds are ideal for gaming, as they are light (45g) linear switches. This makes them excel at gaming, but not the most comfortable typing switch. A lot of typist prefer having a tactile bump, but at the end of the day that all comes down to personal preference.

Layout and Function Keys

The Cherry MX 6.0 has a standard ANSI layout, so if you ever feel like changing the keycaps around, the sizes are are completely normal. Unlike many gaming keyboards with wonky sized bottom rows, it is refreshing to see a gaming keyboard with a standard bottom row. The FN layer handles all of the backlighting, as seen in the chart below. There are also dedicated media keys above the numpad, as well as a “Cherry” key that locks/unlocks the Windows key for gaming.

FUNCTION KEY COMBINATION NOTES FN+F5 Backlighting 1% dimmer FN+F6 Backlighting 1% brighter FN+F7 Backlighting 10% dimmer FN+F8 Backlighting 10% brighter FN+F9 Backlighting on/off Keys turn back on to most recent lighting setting

Summary & Conclusion

Overall the Cherry MX 6.0 is a fantastic, if not a slightly confused keyboard. Quality is as good as you will ever see in a retail keyboard. Everything from the case, switches, cable, and packaging are very high quality, giving the buyer a premium experience. On the other hand, since it is Cherry’s flagship keyboard, I would have assumed RGB lighting would be a no-brainer. I also would have liked to see the new Silent MX switches in this keyboard (I know Corsair has them exclusively for the time being). Still with these two additions, and a removable cable, this would truly be a game changing keyboard. As it stands, it is still an incredibly good keyboard, but the lack of lighting/switch options and high price really make the market quite small for this keyboard, which is unfortunate. At the end of the day the Pros still strongly outweigh the cons, and if you are in the market for a high quality workhorse gaming keyboard the 6.0 is definitely worth considering.

Pros

Enthusiast grade build quality and attention to detail

Magnetic wrist rest feels great, works well

Genuine Cherry MX switches

Red LED’s

Good keycaps

Excellent for gaming

Standard ANSI layout

100% anti-ghosting / no input errors

Full N-Key rollover

RealKey technology – fully analog signal processing registers key strokes exceptionally fast



Cons

Non removable cable

Very expensive

Only red LED’s available currently

Not many switch options

Final score:8.1/10

Full Gallery

Where to Buy

Cherry MX 6.0 on Amazon

Disclaimer: The same keyboard was provided courtesy of Cherry, and is in no way a paid review/advertisement.