Cherry G80-3800 Mechanical Keyboard Quality?

[Hyde]

Hello I was at NCIX earlier today and I saw these on the shelf.  I'd say it's pretty cheap for full size 104 key mechanical keyboards also it has all the switches color available.

I'm just wondering if anyone has used these before?  Are they worth the money?

MX Blue - $69.99
http://ncix.ca/products/?sku=75697&vpn=G80-3800LSBEU-2&manufacture=Cherry

MX Black - $69.99
http://ncix.ca/products/?sku=75698&vpn=G80-3800LUBEU-2&manufacture=Cherry

MX Brown - $79.99
http://ncix.ca/products/?sku=75700&vpn=G80-3800LXBEU-2&manufacture=Cherry

MX Red - $79.99
http://ncix.ca/products/?sku=75699&vpn=G80-3800LYBEU-2&manufacture=Cherry

[G.C.W.]

Build quality is baaad. You can bend it so easily and when you type on it you can feel the unsturdiness. For that price I would go for the CM QuickFire if I'd live in the US and A.

[bounce]

while i have to admit about them bending easily they feel better while typing than my SteelSeries 7G at least for
mx blacks, tho this might be due to pcb mounted vs plate mount.

[IvanIvanovich]

Build quality is not as good as G80-3000. Though it is not easy to find 3000 in anything but blue or black, it's a better buy in my opinion if you want a Cherry brand board. If you look around you can usually find 3000lsceu for similar price around $75.

[G.C.W.]

Yes, typing feel is very nice in its own way. I prefer PCB over plate. Love typing on my Raptor K1.

[IvanIvanovich]

I agree, also you could consider 1800 models. They are almost as small as some tenkeyless, but have it all. Very nice boards too. If you have some luck you might even be able to get a Dolch or Finisar 1813HFU for not much more. I only paid $80 for mine and it was as good as new.

[IvanIvanovich]

Nah, surely the 5000 and just not have the split. Closest Cherry ever came to what has become standard tenkeyless with MX board. Really I am surprised they don't re-introduce the 5000 as sought after as it is, I guess they don't see them going for $400 on ebay.

[bounce]

i somehow dont understand the hype about TKL... whats so special about it? i rly like having a numpad and arrow keys..

[bounce]

well i didnt mean TKL only but the smaller sized keyboards / less key keyboards in general.
sure some ppl might not need the numpad but why pay more to get less in some examples ?

[IvanIvanovich]

I love my 60% boards. They are way more comfortable for me. I can have my mouse several cm closer and have both arms almost straight out in front at all time instead of off to drastic angle. Also I practially never have to leave home position while typing and can still access every key.
The only con for me not having a numpad is lack of easy way to enter less used ascii stuff, but I have a custom keymap layout with all of the ones I am likely to use even occasionally as my work around, just need the alt shift type the key and switch back. In many ways that is a lot better actually. Not having a numpad dosen't even bother me at work and I enter in IP address quite a lot.
Lack of dedicated function and nav keys is a total non issue for me as I hardly ever used those anyway.

[samwisekoi]

Build quality is not as good as G80-3000. Though it is not easy to find 3000 in anything but blue or black, it's a better buy in my opinion if you want a Cherry brand board. If you look around you can usually find 3000lsceu for similar price around $75.

They are indeed available with Blue switches, but according to the (hard to be certain of understanding) Cherry website and product docs, G803000LSCEU2 is an "EU" layout.

http://www.cherrycorp.com/english/keyboards/Office/G80_3000_MX/index.htm
and...
http://www.cherrycorp.com/english/keyboards/pdf/G80-3000_MX.pdf
Page 1: Inscription layout: EU
Page 2: Product photo

A US model is shown on Page 1, with the inscription "Models may vary from the image shown".

Does the EU in the model number actually signify EU legends?  Or is that just a US layout plus the Euro on the 5 key?


http://www.cherrycorp.com/english/keyboards/Office/images/G80-3000_MX.jpg

Thanks in advance!

 - Ron | samwisekoi

p.s.  Am I reverse engineering properly to look for an "X" instead of an "S"  if I want Brown switches?  e.g. G803000LXCEU2

[Hak Foo]

I used a 3000LSCRC (blue switches, US layout plus Bopomofo elements on letter keys) for a while.  It is very flimsy and cheap feeling, but on the other hand, it's extremely servicable -- all held together with easily-popped clips, the switches can be opened without major effort.

Still, all else equal, I'd buy a Ducky 1008 for the same price plus or minus, in that you'll get the stiffer construction of a plate-mount, and a smaller, more modern body.

[cytoSiN]

All of the boards in the OP appear to be discounted until 11/30 at NCIX.  Down to $55CA for blue and black, and $60CA for brown and red.  Not bad for 104-key, despite the build quality...

[samwisekoi]

I used a 3000LSCRC (blue switches, US layout plus Bopomofo elements on letter keys) for a while.  It is very flimsy and cheap feeling, but on the other hand, it's extremely servicable -- all held together with easily-popped clips, the switches can be opened without major effort.

Still, all else equal, I'd buy a Ducky 1008 for the same price plus or minus, in that you'll get the stiffer construction of a plate-mount, and a smaller, more modern body.

Thanks.

The appeal to me is after purchasing so many boards with Cherry switches and then adding Cherry-replica keycaps, it would be nice to add an actual Cherry keyboard to my collection.

To be fair, I have not used an actual Cherry-made keyboard for 20+ years, and I imagine quality and manufacturing location has changed dramatically!

 - Ron | samwisekoi

[davkol]

Does the EU in the model number actually signify EU legends?  Or is that just a US layout plus the Euro on the 5 key?

G80-3000*EU have ANSI layout, if it helps.

[samwisekoi]

Does the EU in the model number actually signify EU legends?  Or is that just a US layout plus the Euro on the 5 key?

G80-3000*EU have ANSI layout, if it helps.

It does, thanks.

 - Ron | samwisekoi

[pitashen]

Cherry brand boards are nice in their own way because not having a metal plate gives a different typing feel than others that are plate mounted.

[samwisekoi]

Found an image on eBay that makes it look as if the G80-3000 has OEM profile keycaps instead of the lovely Cherry-profile keycaps I was hoping for.  Is this true, or do my eyes deceive me?


http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Cherry-G80-3000-Standard-Keyboard-G80-3000LSCEU-2-/110981198102

I'm hoping my eyes are deceiving me.

 - Ron | samwisekoi