G80-3494 (Black with Silent Reds) for $65 shipped

[Rayndalf]

Not a terrible deal, supposedly NKRO and the switches are decent. The caps look to be laser etched POM with infill so they are dirt magnets, but the rollover and silent switches with a standard layout make this a great 'first board' gift for friends and family.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/CHERRY-DESKTOP-G80-3494LWCEU-2-104KEY-USB-PS2-MX-BOARD-SILENT/123805605501?

Edit: posted this with the wrong link the first time

[martink]

I just received one of these. The keyboard was BNIB sealed and has a silent red model number, but the actual switches were plain reds, not silent red.

I haven't talked to the seller yet.

It does have diodes in the switches so should be NKRO. The controller PCB is attached to the switch matrix with a 28 pin ribbon cable (!?) plus ground. Might be able to convert to QMK with a Teensy++

[Rayndalf]

Thanks for the heads up. I know some models of the G80-34XX have silent switches, but I bought a G80-11900 a while back that should have had silent blacks judging by the article number, but had normal blacks instead, so Cherry seems to treat them as suggestions at this point.

Are the diodes wired up in such a way that opening the switches is possible?

[Sup]

I just received one of these. The keyboard was BNIB sealed and has a silent red model number, but the actual switches were plain reds, not silent red.

I haven't talked to the seller yet.

It does have diodes in the switches so should be NKRO. The controller PCB is attached to the switch matrix with a 28 pin ribbon cable (!?) plus ground. Might be able to convert to QMK with a Teensy++

They say silent because linear is not a clicky switch. Like Razer says that Linear is silent, Tactile is silent with a bump, Clicky is loud/tactile. Yeah marketing 

[martink]

Thanks for the heads up. I know some models of the G80-34XX have silent switches, but I bought a G80-11900 a while back that should have had silent blacks judging by the article number, but had normal blacks instead, so Cherry seems to treat them as suggestions at this point.

Are the diodes wired up in such a way that opening the switches is possible?

Yep, you can open the switches, no problem.

[Rayndalf]

I just received one of these. The keyboard was BNIB sealed and has a silent red model number, but the actual switches were plain reds, not silent red.

I haven't talked to the seller yet.

It does have diodes in the switches so should be NKRO. The controller PCB is attached to the switch matrix with a 28 pin ribbon cable (!?) plus ground. Might be able to convert to QMK with a Teensy++

They say silent because linear is not a clicky switch. Like Razer says that Linear is silent, Tactile is silent with a bump, Clicky is loud/tactile. Yeah marketing 

Its especially weird since Cherry "invented" silent switches (adapted the design of dampened Alps to MX) and similarly branded models of the G80-3494 feature or claim to feature them by name.

Converting one to QMK is probably a good idea, PCBs designed to fit the G80-3000 case usually require soldering diodes or using proprietary programs to flash them. If only the 3000 got as much love as its smaller sibling, the 1800.

Thanks for the heads up. I know some models of the G80-34XX have silent switches, but I bought a G80-11900 a while back that should have had silent blacks judging by the article number, but had normal blacks instead, so Cherry seems to treat them as suggestions at this point.

Are the diodes wired up in such a way that opening the switches is possible?

Yep, you can open the switches, no problem.

Glad they are using diodes the right way now, using the LED slots for jumperwires or diodes makes older boards remarkably hard to service (harder than normal plate-mounted boards if you plan on cleaning all the switches)

[audax989]

I was able to purchase one of these and had the seller check for the switches. He did confirm some of them were not silent.

I will be posting pics here soon.