Das Keyboard 4 Review: Sturdier And Sleeker Than Ever

[Shawn Knight]

Read the full article at:
[newwindow=https://www.techspot.com/review/817-das-keyboard-4-professional/]https://www.techspot.com/review/817-das-keyboard-4-professional/[/newwindow]

Please leave your feedback here.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

For $169 I would most definitely demand at least backlit keys and a wrist rest, the media controls and macro keys I can easily live without and the aluminium top surface, while adding a feel of quality is also unnecessary (especially in winter) and just adds to the already dumb price. As it stands this keyboard would've probably been worth a second glance if it sold for half the price.

 

[DDG4005]

For $169 I would most definitely demand at least backlit keys and a wrist rest, the media controls and macro keys I can easily live without and the aluminium top surface, while adding a feel of quality is also unnecessary (especially in winter) and just adds to the already dumb price. As it stands this keyboard would've probably been worth a second glance if it sold for half the price.

I agree, the price is too steep for a keyboard without any amenities such as a wrist rest.

 

[tipstir]

Logitech K350 does a lot of course it doesn't light up but sure works with all online gaming. Thus it under $60 bucks. I am not paying over $100 for keyboard yeah LED might add some cool features..

 

[Guest]

This is nothing more than an old keyboard with USB instead of PS2. The whole "Mechanical" side of over-priced keyboard does not appeal to me at all. The fact that they even have to say it "Lasts longer" is pulling the wool over your eyes. I've seen non-mechanical keyboards going 10+ years(Dell/HP/IBM)...and if you have the SAME keyboard for that long, it's probably a personal issue. Of course, the longevity statement is typically followed by the fact that you can "Type faster and more accurately" but then again if I tell you the gas I put in your car is rocket fuel, you'll mentally be telling yourself your driving faster...right?

This is a niche in the gaming market, which is renown for people over-paying for "Faster, long lasting, accurate products" when in reality the best tool you can bring to the table is experience tied with cognitive reaction. I highly doubt someone with a mechanical keyboard and a gaming mouse is going to be better at anything...unless they truly are better at it.

Save your money kids.

 

[thelatestmodel]

Looks great! The lack of a backlight isn't as bad as I thought actually. I pretty much know where the keys are and it might be distracting when gaming in the dark.

 

[Guest]

I just think every mechanical keyboard released today should offer a choice of all switches. I'd be tempted to pick up a DK4 if it offered cherry mx black switches. Cant deal with clacky blues or browns any more. Shame really because it looks like a brilliant keyboard.

 

[Guest]

If Aesthetics are your only concern then yeah perhaps a Chiclet KB but damn are they god awful to use! They're fine for any day to day tasks but in my experience they wear out quite quickly and they are in no way good for RSI. I doubt you'd ever find them in a serious professional's daily arsenal.

I use a scissor switch Logitech backlit wireless KB at the moment (K800) , I'd have preferred mechanical switches but to get wireless AND backlit, the price was quite horrendous. It's a fairly quiet typer (not that it matters as I have my own separate office where I do my image work) but when writing anything for more than a few hours I have to take a break regularly because my hands get a little cramped.

Only thing I like about the low profile scissor keys is the fact that I can glide easily between them when doing lots of keyboard shortcuts.

No source on it but I recall mech KB's are faster to type with, and I know they're definitely better in terms of comfort.

 

[Guest]

I'm a bit surprised by the opening line "Metadot is arguably responsible for pioneering the commercial mechanical keyboard market…" given that companies like ALPS, BTC, Cherry, FIC, IBM (Unicomp), KeyTronic, Northgate (Avant Stellar), PFU, etcetera have been making commercial mechanical keyboards, in some cases up to 25 years before Metadot was incorporated.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

 

[Julio Franco]

given that companies like ALPS, BTC, Cherry, FIC, IBM (Unicomp), KeyTronic, Northgate (Avant Stellar), PFU, etcetera have been making commercial mechanical keyboards, in some cases up to 25 years before Metadot was incorporated.

Quite possibly, but I agree that Metadot brought mechanical back to fashion or at least made it more evident to the new generations. If you recall their first keyboard (which reportedly was a modified KeyTronic model) didn't have any key labels, and that's how they brought a ton of attention to their product.

 

[Guest]

Glad to see the bezel is no longer glossy. Still disappointed to see that the cable is non-removable.

 

[Jad Chaar]

Awesome keyboard. too bad it is $170.

 

[Guest]

If they want to promote proper typing, they should do away with the antiquated staggered keys that cause injuries.
Check out the TypeMatrix.

 

[Guest]

No backlit keys makes it a useless keyboard.

 

[tipstir]

Transparent Keyboard would light up and won't have static keys since it's flat embedded.

 

[Iceshiver]

DONT BUY THIS, DO NOT BUY THIS. I've been using this keyboard for a little over a month now. It's RIDDLED with bugs. This keyboard offers exactly three features. Media keys, NKRO and a USB 3.0 hub (two outputs)...and...two of the three features are -broken-. Turning off/on the NKRO lands you in a blue screen 50% of the time unless you hold the NKRO on/off switch for a few seconds too long, thats a 100% guranteed blue screen. If you use the USB hub to transfer ANYTHING of appreciable size your keyboard slows down to the point of being inoperable. Also, if you transfer any files of any size using their hub you have a 50% chance of landing yourself in a blue screen. They admitted to having USB hub issues but require you to send back the keyboard. That's great, what if I threw away my old keyboard thinking this one would work? Now I have to pay to ship it back to them AND buy a 20 dollar cheap keyboard. This thing is getting more expensive by the minute. Their technical support team has thus far offered zero solutions and hasn't communicated anything about these issues other than acknolweding that they exist. What the crap. DONT BUY THIS, DO NOT BUY THIS.

 

[Guest]

Hello and thanks for the review!

I do have some reservations recommending this keyboard, even though it seems to be of a good quality build, out of three keyboards I couldn't get a single one without defect switches (very disappointing, and a first in my mechanical keyboard experience, well, a triple first now).

A pity considering the steep price, and the care that seems to have been brought to the overall design - even if the Ultimate version is a bit sad with black on black labels and I'd rather have the same as the Professional (I'm talking about the top right, 'daskeyboard' and media key labels). But that's just a personal taste and despite this I find the general impression the keyboard gives is noble and classy. The tactile and sound feedback of brown switches also seem better due to the strong, heavy case, and the keycaps give a pleasant feeling to the touch even though they are only ABS.

 

[Potato Judge]

I must've had this for 3 years now: http://www.dragonwar.jp/product-detail.php?id=11

It's clicky, backlit and compact.
@ $13, it compliments my potato really well.