Use
I’ve been using the MX Board 3.0 continuously for the last month or so. In that time I’ve typed and gamed without a single mechanical or electrical issue. As mentioned laid flat, the way I prefer, feels very similar to a laptop. Personally I’ve always enjoyed the flat surface of my laptop. That’s not to say that I don’t also enjoy my MX Blue equipped gaming board. It’s mostly a matter of material; that is to say the medium that I’m working with. Currently banging out this review I’m loving the MX Board 3.0. My fingers fly across the keys with ease. The keys themselves are grippy and I feel confident in my typing. Each press is met with gentle resistance as the MX Browns have that slightly resistant but not mushy actuation. It’s the total mushy-ness that turns me away from MX Reds and you won’t find that here. Blues on the other hand have that wonderful clickity clack as the keys slam top to bottom but oh are they loud. Typing away all day you never tire of these keys but you won’t be driving those around you bonkers.
Gaming is another story. While the MX Board 3.0 is really not in the slightest marketed towards gamers, not everyone has the luxury or ability to have a couple of keyboards ready to go at all times. Most people I would say multi use their decks. While I don’t want to say the board itself adversely affected my ability to survive in Player Unknown’s Battle Grounds I kinda do. The short dish of the keys lets your fingers fly as you type, but while gaming you don’t do that. You are really using just clusters of keys and these don’t really hug your fingers as I would like. They also lack the definitive click that I really like while I’m running around fragging. Lastly the key layout is tight. It takes some getting used too and even once I felt adjusted I found myself multi pressing. Which I guess thanks to the wonderful N-Key rollover I didn’t miss a stroke even if I would have liked to.
Final Thoughts
The MX Board 3.0 is not your top shelf, key feature after key feature, RGB everything flagship keyboard. What it is is a solidly built, solid performer, and a workhorse. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it utilitarian, but it is certainly wandering down that path. I like this keyboard. That is, I like to type on this keyboard. It has everything that one who types professionally would want. It’s built like a brick, heavy enough, but not excessive. The rubber bits offer lots of surface grip while oddly you won’t find them installed from the factory. The key height and keycap shape to me is the perfect transition to bring you from your laptop to your desktop. And let’s not forget the MX Brown switches give you that beloved mechanical accuracy and speed while not drowning out everything in the room with the nearly typewriter loud clickity clack of an MX Blue switch. I also like the inclusion of the dedicated keys for volume and browser launch. Not necessary, but useful to be sure.
Nearly nothing is perfect, and the MX Board 3.0 is sadly no exception. In general I wouldn’t recommend taking this board to a LAN party. Sure you CAN game on it, but with so many better options for the activity, why force yourself to suffer? My other grip with this board is the packaging. Our sample arrived somewhat damaged and that’s not really acceptable.
The MX Board 3.0 is right around $80 USD on Amazon. I’m not putting this in either the pro or the con category. It’s a price that isn’t going to attract the value shopper, but is right around $20 cheaper than most entry level Cherry MX key equipped mechanical keyboards. Of course it is also of much higher quality than any value oriented boards.
Overall I would like to award the Cherry MX Board 3.0 with an 8 out of 10 score!
Pros:
– Solid Build Quality
– Fast and Silent typing if laptop keyboards are your thing
– Great for professional typing needs
– Price
Cons:
– Lack luster packaging could mean a damaged board upon arrival
– Not great for gaming
– Price