With years of successful products behind them, Cherry is undoubtedly the most reputable manufacturer of computer keyboard mechanical switches. The company practically invented the mechanical keyboard switch, with their first products – under patent protection at the time – leaving assembly lines over three decades ago. At the same time, Cherry doesn't just manufacture keyboard switches, but myriads of items, ranging from basic electronic parts to complete retail products. During the recent market boom of mechanical keyboards, Cherry also released several retail keyboards of their own, such as the MX Board 6.0 that we reviewed last year.

Today we're taking a look at the Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent mechanical keyboard. This keyboard is an especially interesting item to review because rather than being a wholly new design, it's a new iteration on a classic design, following in the footsteps of the original iconic Cherry G80-3000 series keyboards that have been in circulation for decades. Unlike most of the keyboards that we usually review, the Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent is not a keyboard directly marketed towards gamers or even consumers in general – rather it is a keyboard that has been designed for workspaces, with an emphasis on office workers, public computers (kiosks, schools, etc.), and for applications where reliability is of the utmost importance (medical equipment, control systems, etc.).

Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent Mechanical Keyboard - Key features and specifications

• Mechanical Black or Red stem MX Silent keyswitches are rated at 50 million actuations to withstand harsh environments and ensure long product lifetime
• Patented noise reduction using an integrated 2-component stem minimizes noise at top and bottom-out
• N-Key rollover: Simultaneous operations of up to 14 keys without any ghosting effects
• Self-cleaning contacts, dust and dirt resistant
• Full QWERTY key layout in full-size 18.5″ form factor
• USB 2.0 Interface or PS/2 with adapter
• 104 Keys
• PC & MAC compatible over USB

Packaging and Bundle

Cherry supplies the G80-3494 MX Board Silent in a simple, no-frills, black cardboard box. With the exception of the company’s logo, there is virtually no artwork on the box, not even marketing hype. The box seems to have been designed solely to provide the keyboard with shipping protection. Cherry does not bundle anything along with this keyboard, only the keyboard itself can be found inside the box.

The Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent Mechanical Keyboard

A first look at the Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent reveals an oversized, tall keyboard with a plastic body, with the only thing visually separating it from common 80s keyboards being its black color. It takes a closer inspection by an advanced user to reveal that this is a high quality mechanical keyboard, or an experienced eye to recognize the legendary Cherry G80 design.

We received the US layout version of the Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent. It adheres fully to the 104 keys ANSI layout, without any extra keys or modifications. It has a 6.25× Spacebar and seven 1.25× bottom row keys. Cherry is using a classic font on the keycaps, with the letters identical to their first G80 keyboards from the early 90’s but with sharper punctuation marks. There are no extra keys, no keystroke combinations, not any kind of advanced functions.

The Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent is a relatively tall keyboard but not too tall, designed for maximum typing comfort. It is just tall enough to allow for comfortable typing without the user’s wrists touching the desk or the keyboard. For long typing sessions though, a proper wrist rest will most likely be a necessity to professionals.

Beneath the keyboard we find only two small tilt adjustment feet. The feet are made of clear plastic. Despite their size, they are surprisingly good at holding the large keyboard firmly in place.

Removing some of the keycaps reveals the new Cherry MX Silent switches. These switches are the new variant of the original Cherry MX linear switches that have been redesigned to limit their noise output, which can be a major problem in some applications. Last year we saw the first commercial keyboards featuring these switches when we reviewed the Corsair Strafe RGB. Our Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent sample features the black variant of the switch, which is a little stiffer.

Opening up the plastic body of the Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent is very easy, as there are hardly any screws to be found on the keyboard. Almost everything is held together with plastic locks and clips. A small screwdriver or other similar tool is more than enough to undo the clips and crack open the plastic body of the keyboard. Inside the keyboard we found a classic black PCB with the mechanical switches attached to it.

There is nothing advanced on this PCB; there are only the switches and a few passive components, with most of them being classic film resistors. A basic USB controller chip can be found on the small green PCB at the top right side of the keyboard, where the three indicator LEDs are. There is no onboard memory or advanced microcontrollers to be found here, as they would not serve any purpose and counter this keyboard’s intended design, which is based on maximizing its reliability.

As best as anyone at AnandTech can recall, this is the first mechanical keyboard that we have seen to not have a metal frame/support for the switches. Instead it relies entirely on the PCB for mechanical cohesion. It probably is not as resistant against heavy physical blows, yet it should be more than sufficiently sturdy for typical everyday use. What frustrated us is the extensive dead space inside the keyboard’s plastic body, which, in an example of just how far technology has progressed in the last couple of decades, is enough space to fit an entire modern low-power PC. Cherry obviously wanted to keep the keyboard’s frame unchanged as it has been out for decades but, on the other hand, that is a lot of space being wasted there.

Per-Key Quality Testing

In order to test the quality and consistency of a keyboard, we are using a texture analyser that is programmed to measure and display the actuation force of the standard keyboard keys. By measuring the actuation force of every key, the quality and consistency of the keyboard can be quantified. It can also reveal design issues, such as the larger keys being far softer to press than the main keys of the keyboard. The actuation force is measured in Centinewton (cN). Some companies use another figure, gram-force (gf). The conversion formula is 1 cN = 1.02 gf (i.e. they are about the same). A high-quality keyboard should be as consistent as possible, with an average actuation force as near to the manufacturer's specs as possible and a disparity of less than ±10%. Greater differences are likely to be perceptible by users. It is worth noting that there is typically variance among keyboards, although most keyboard companies will try and maintain consistency - as with other reviews, we're testing our sample only.

The machine we use for our testing is accurate enough to provide readings with a resolution of 0.1 cN. For wider keys (e.g. Enter, Space Bar, etc.), the measurement is taking place at the center of the key, right above the switch. Note that large keys generally have a lower actuation force even if the actuation point is at the dead center of the key. This is natural, as the size and weight of the keycap reduce the required actuation force. For this reason, we do display the force required to actuate every key but we only use the results of the typically sized keys for our consistency calculations. Still, very low figures on medium sized keys, such as the Shift and Enter keys reveal design issues and can easily be perceptible by the user.

The consistency of the Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent is remarkable, even for a keyboard with Cherry MX switches. With a disparity of only ± 1.93% across the main keys, the Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent likely is the most consistent keyboard that we have ever tested and is a testament to Cherry’s quality control. The average actuation force is 58.5 cN, slightly lower than the 60 cN rating of the switches. This behavior is natural for linear switches such as these, where the operating force increases smoothly up to the actuation point, as even the weight of the keycap itself slightly lowers the switch’s specified operating force.

Hands-on Testing

I always try to use every keyboard that we review as my personal keyboard for at least a week. My typical weekly usage includes a lot of typing (about 100-150 pages), a few hours of gaming and some casual usage, such as internet browsing and messaging. I personally prefer Cherry MX Brown or similar (tactile) switches for such tasks. The MX Black switches that the Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent is using are, in theory, the exact opposite of my preference - stiff and linear, with no tactile feedback at all. However, I personally found the Cherry MX Black Silent switches very comfortable to work with, as they are stiff enough to avoid the mushy feeling of the Cherry MX Red switch, yet not so stiff as to sacrifice long-term comfort. The Silent variant was especially helpful when I needed to work without bothering someone else in the vicinity. I should, however, stress that you should not expect miracles here - the Cherry MX Black Silent switch is much quieter than its regular variant but that alone cannot make any keyboard entirely silent. The Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent is much quieter than typical mechanical keyboards but it will still be audible.

For gaming, the Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent works fine for gamers who aren't after advanced features such as macros. Gamers that usually stick with single-player action and adventure games are likely to be content with it. However, without any advanced features whatsoever, the Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent is unsuitable for modern gaming, especially for MMO gamers that will sooner or later require advanced gameplay commands. As for me, with my favorite games being MMO RPGs, I quickly had to switch to my regular keyboard in order to avoid frustration.

Final Words

The Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent is the latest iteration of the legendary Cherry G80-3000 keyboard that was initially released back in the late 1980s. Despite the decades that have passed since then, Cherry has changed virtually nothing except the color of the keyboard. If we do not take the more recently introduced Windows keys or modern USB connectivity into account, the new Cherry MX Black Silent switches are practically the only upgrade that our reviewed model has over the 80s version. Otherwise G80models that are using the classic Cherry MX Blue or other switches are virtually identical to the keyboards that were released years before the first Intel Pentium processor ever hit the store shelves.

Why is Cherry still placing so much faith on such an old design? The answer is simple: proven reliability. For professional applications, that usually is a very important, if not the only selection factor. Especially for applications where reliability is of utmost importance, such as machinery controls and medical equipment, a simple and proven device – and one that long-time users will be incredibly familiar with – outweighs the entirety of the competition with ease.

The inclusion of the new Cherry MX Black Silent switches makes the Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent the perfect keyboard for the busy workplace. It is great for professional typists and the noteworthy noise reduction greatly increases the comfort of both the user and everyone else in the immediate vicinity. The low noise output makes it particularly useful for people who work over the phone, minimizing the clicking noise that often disturbs the people on the other side of the line.

The flipside of that however is that because the Cherry G80-3494 is so similar to its classic forefather, it doesn't do anything to break outside of the classic office role it was originally designed for. Consequently, for casual and advanced gamers alike, the Cherry G80 offers little more than a cheap office keyboard. Not that Cherry has claimed any differently, but gamers looking for a retro or no-frills mechanical keyboard may be surprised by just how retro it is.

Otherwise, with a price tag of over $100, pricing is clearly the Achilles’ heel of the Cherry G80-3494 MX Board Silent. $100 places it towards the high-end of the market and well above a number of other mechanical keyboards, and it's a price that cannot be justified by such a simple design. The Cherry G80-3000 design has stood the test of time for a reason – it is a reliable, comfortable mechanical keyboard – but in 2017 it's also clearly one that's aimed at a niche audience. If you fall into that niche, be it because you're after a proven keyboard or are a long time Cherry G80 user that simply wants a quieter version, then the G80-3494 MX Board Silent fits that role nicely. Otherwise, users who are looking to buy a reliable keyboard for everyday use will most likely want to look at another model, as more modern keyboards equipped with the same Cherry switches can be found for less.