Cherry MX Board 3.0 & G80-3000LSC - Oh my God!!!

[Cherry1990]

This will be a "strange" review... You are warned!

I just bought two Cherry keyboards: Cherry MX Board 3.0 (P/N: G80-3850LXB) with MX Brown and a Cherry G80 (P/N: G80-3000LSC) with MX Blue.
I bought my previous Cherry board more around 10 years ago and that even earlier around 15 years ago. My first keyboard was bought in the 1990: 24 years ago.

I have only one word: an abyss...

Cherry MX Board 3.0 is made in China, the two plastic shells are a bit warped, plastica quality is very low and the keycaps... Oh! My God!!! They are made of soft plastic (ABS?!?) and legends are painted in relief: will not last one month!!!
The PCB is very simple, I have under my hands the Ducky DK9008P (Shine) PCB and it is another world: SMD diodes vs discrete Cherry diodes inside every switch. All the keyboard is cheep and seems also cheep.
Honestly I don't see any reason to buy this keyboard than my reason: unsolder the MX Brown switches...
Price in Europe, for the most common version (ISO German) is around 65€. QPAD MK-50 costs 79.99€ and, after using it for some months, I can tell to myself that it is far better... Is not a great keyboard, but has a better quality/price ratio.
Yes, the Cherry has a (thin) steel plate but you can warp it like the PCB mounted G80-3000... The MK-50 can warped but is a lot less easyto do and the feel you get from the same MX Brown keys is better.

The G80-3000 with MX Blue keys, made in Czech Republic: cheap... Cheap! Cheap! Cheap!
Also the sound from these keycaps is cheap, not "clicky", not nice. My old and (in)famous G80-3000 with (62g Korean) Ergo Clear - and Cherry original thin PBT keycaps, sounds a lot better!
I bought this board to have a black chassis and MX Blue (springs). Also the chassis is thin like a paper sheet...

I remember my first Cherry keyboard: a ROCK!!!

I am deeply disappointed...

Never, never, never again a (new) Cherry keyboard.

[Findecanor]

The MX-board 3.0 is sought after for its keycaps being low profile. In-switch diodes are not bad: older tech, but not bad.

Lots of people like the POM keys on the black G80-3000. I don't. But at least they are thick.
There is still contention on whether vintage Cherry switches are smoother than new switches, or if new switches just need to be broken in before they feel good.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

I like the direction that the G80-3850 is going in, but there's something not quite right about the styling. It's like a disharmonious blend of office and gaming, that fails to be either.

What's more curious is that Cherry did not introduce a tenkeyless version of it. I am not sure who the target market is for the G80-3850 is. It's not targeted towards keyboard enthusiasts considering how much they value TKL and smaller, and how much they value product quality. It's also pretty bland compared to gamer keyboards, but it's not going to be targeted towards offices as everyone now expects keyboards to make as little noise as possible.

It seems to be a product looking for a market, sitting miserable in a corner wondering why Cherry couldn't have given it a beefy metal plate like the other keyboards, and keycaps that will last.

What puts me off buying one to try is simply the size: if Cherry offered it in TKL or 75% I'd be far more interested. Of course, the slimline keycaps are of little advantage when they're going to be prone to wear, and you can't buy doubleshot keycaps from anyone else in that profile!

[Daniel Beardsmore]

There is still contention on whether vintage Cherry switches are smoother than new switches, or if new switches just need to be broken in before they feel good.

Why do many keycaps get a cellulite surface texture as they wear? Surely they'd wear smoother, not rougher?

[Cherry1990]

Lots of people like the POM keys on the black G80-3000. I don't. But at least they are thick.

Mmm... I don't like them... But the BIGGER problem are the legends: not etched, not lasered, not dyesub... They won't last... The whole keyboards is like a toy, not a work tool...

[seebart]

I have read similar things about these keyboards elsewhere. Seems that Cherry is reducing quality build further to cut production cost. Good thing you are posting this here. This needs to be known. Cherry is still a good brand name but if they continue like this.... anyway quality wise Ducky always impressed me. My Ducky Zero is built like a tank. But it's also a little more expensive.
This is not a strange review its a good honest review!

[Cherry1990]

Thank you seebart!
It is strange for me because I was used to think Cherry equal to high quality... But, now, is not true!

It is true that I paid my Ducky two times the Cherry, but the difference is bigger than two times... The QPAD Mk-50 costs 15€ more but is a lot better, not like a Ducky, but far better than a Cherry.

I don't know Filco, but if they are Made in China, more expensive than Ducky and with crap keycaps...

But, here, we are speaking about Cherry keyboards... I think that a BIG company like Cherry can make, if they want, a GOOD keyboard, better than a Filco or a Ducky or anything else and for a better price!
Also the idea to sell the molds to GMK, a company many times smaller... It is without any (quality) logic. Probably Cherry can make its own business very well, but with numbers, not with Quality...

The Cherry MX Board 3.0 PCB is very simple, the diodes are discrete and not SMD, they are put inside every switch, the tin quality is very high, the soldering easy to remove and well done... The Ducky PCB is a lot more modern, with SMD diodes, many layouts, but tin is harder to desolder and very deep inside the holes. Anyway the quality is also very high.
I mean, the INSIDE Cherry quality is probably high, but from outside you get the idea of a cheap product...

From an ergonomic point of view, I think the Cherry G80 keyboards are the best around and still among the bests. But plastic is too thin and seems crappy...