Skip to main content

Cherry MX Board Silent is a super quiet mechanical keyboard

cherry mx silent board ces 2017 cherrysilent
Cherry
Cherry is best known for its MX mechanical switches and while it does have a new one of those at CES this year, it also debuted a new keyboard. Known as the MX Board Silent, it has quieter mechanical switches under the hood, so it shouldn’t annoy those around you quite as much as you tap away.

Working in an office, the tapping of keyboard keys is never far away. While some of us may love mechanical boards though, there is no denying that they are a lot noisier than their rubber-dome counterparts — there’s a reason blue switches are the keyboard equivalent of being persona non grata.

So the idea that we could have the best of both worlds is rather exciting, and perhaps the best company to take a stab at making that a reality is Cherry. The developer of many of the world’s favorite mechanical switches for several decades, Cherry has now built a board that uses its own Cherry MX Silent switches, which in turn use a mix of rubber pads and a different switch stem to reduce noise on the down and upward stroke.

Depending on your preference of switch actuation strength, you can opt for a Cherry MX Red Silent or Black Silent, with their respective required forces relating to their corresponding Red/Black namesakes: 45 and 60 centinewtons, respectively.

The board also features 14-key N-key rollover, which lets you press more at the same time than you will ever need — though it is handy for hotseating two players on the same keyboard. There are no dedicated macro switches and the look of the board is quite bare-bones, but that will be a style that appeals to some, no doubt.

It’s certainly a far cry from the usual gaming keyboards we see, with all of their RGB LEDs and extra keys. The Cherry price doesn’t necessarily reflect that though, as this board will set you back $150 when it becomes available in the near future.

Editors' Recommendations

Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale is the Evergreen Coordinator for Computing, overseeing a team of writers addressing all the latest how to…
The best MacBook to buy in 2024
Apple MacBook Pro 16 downward view showing keyboard and speaker.

Now that Apple has started outfitting its laptops with its M3 generation of chips, it's time to take another look at which is the best MacBook to buy in 2024. That’s not always easy, though, as buying the newest MacBook isn’t always the right decision. Apple has several tiers of performance, as well as various sizes, which can further complicate the matter.

What’s more, you can also still get M1 and M2 MacBooks, some from Apple’s own website and some from third-party retailers. But are they still worth your money? Our guide should help you decide.

Read more
9 best laptops of 2024: tested and reviewed
The MacBook Air on a white table.

To earn the crown as the best laptop in 2024, a device needs to have it all: gorgeous design, killer performance, a productive keyboard, long-lasting battery life, and much more.

Each of the laptops below has been vetted thoroughly by Digital Trends. Whether it's an affordable Chromebook or a top-of-the-line gaming laptop, they've all been subjected to real-world testing, as well as benchmark and battery tests, to collect enough data to objectively pit them against each other.

Read more
All the ways Intel Macs are still better than Apple Silicon Macs
cheap macbook deals

MacBooks are pretty amazing these days. Thanks to the efficiency of Apple Silicon, you get all-day battery life, as well as the ability to edit videos when unplugged from power. The new MacBook Air with the M3 chip is even good enough for gaming.

All of that is in contrast to the Intel Macs of the past.

Read more