Mechanical Cherry MX
Mechanical Cherry Keys
Cherry is a company that was established in 1953 in the US, but Headquarters were moved to Germany in 1979. It has four divisions, and the one that is the most interesting in relation with this review is that they are responsible for the mechanical switches. Cherry MX was marketed around 1985. They are mainly referenced by the color of the key stem.
|
Switch type |
Clicky |
Tactile |
Linear |
Actuation force |
|
Cherry MX Red |
No |
No |
Yes |
0.45 N |
|
Cherry MX Silent Red |
No |
No |
Yes |
0.45 N |
|
Cherry MX Speed Silver |
No |
No |
Yes |
0.45 N |
|
Cherry MX Nature White |
No |
No |
Yes |
0.55 N |
|
Cherry MX Black |
No |
No |
Yes |
0.60 N |
|
Cherry MX Silent Black |
No |
No |
Yes |
0.60 N |
|
Cherry MX Linear Grey |
No |
No |
Yes |
0.80 N |
|
Cherry MX Brown |
No |
Yes |
No |
0.45 N |
|
Cherry MX Clear |
No |
Yes |
No |
0.55 N |
|
Cherry MX Tactile Grey |
No |
Yes |
No |
0.80 N |
|
Cherry MX Blue |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
0.50 N |
|
Cherry MX White |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
0.50 N / 0.70 N |
|
Cherry MX Green |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
0.70 N |
|
Cherry MX Viola |
No |
No |
CrossLinear |
0.45 N/ 0.75 N |
Cherry MX switches are the most popular ones on the market. Mechanical switches give you a more perceptible feel compared to the rubber membrane used in most cheaper keyboards. Mechanical keyboards are gaining an increasing share of the gaming peripherals market very fast. The performance is good, and the reliability is outstanding, so what more can you ask for? Aaah, yes – full key rollover (but can you actually push more than 10 buttons at once?) and anti-ghosting. MX Reds (another option available with Corsair’s RGB PLATINUM XT) are possibly the best choice for first-time buyers. Why’s that? Well, 45 g of actuation force, linear response, and quite rapid bounce back are the crucial features here. The MX Viola looks quite similar in theory. If you spend some time using a keyboard like that, you get used to typing faster without bottoming out the keys. Still, there are some switches that work better for writing, e.g. MX Browns or Blues.
No MTBF figures have been provided for Cherry MX Viola, so we don’t know how many presses they should last for (on average). But you’ve got the warranty if something breaks, right? The keycaps are made from ABS (luckily there’s a PBT version for 10 USD more), and the per-key RGB backlighting is enhanced by amplified underglow.
