[section_title title=”Performance and Testing”]
Performance and Testing
It’s not everyday I get to test out a new switch type, as typically Cherry are quite slow to produce new products, but ever since Corsair’s partnership with Cherry we have seen three new switch types in as many years. Whilst not entirely a new concept, the MX Speed switch has been designed to perform better than the competitor’s, all by decreasing the travel distance before the switch actuates, thus improving the response time.
The keyboard is usable straight out of the box, however to get the fancy lighting effects and macros then you need to spend a bit of time learning the CUE software and creating said macros, which is pretty straight forward.
Gaming
To kick things off, I fired up my usual favourites; CS:GO and Battlefield 4. Jumping straight into a game it was hard to tell at first as to whether switches were providing me with an advantage. Quickly switching back to my STRAFE RGB to compare, the minute changes were a lot more apparent – particularly in CS:GO which required faster reactions times. The linear movement and low actuation force, made it easy to press each key and resulted in minimal stress and discomfort.
Supreme Commander 2 and StarCraft 2 performed very similar to FPS, with the added advantage of using macros to aid in issuing commands and banter. The lighting helped during those late night sessions and the palm rest provided additional comfort.
RPG and MMO were as expected, the same as the above, again making full use of macros. I hate to keep things this short, but in reality the performance is admirable across the different genres.
General
One thing I really love about this keyboard is the dedicated media keys – particularly the volume wheel which feels great to use. It made video and audio playback great – no additional key presses required.
For typing, the softer switches and the wrist rest really helps reduce strain and discomfort over many hours of use. Having typed this entire review on it, I never once experienced strain in my hands or arms. For navigating my PC, I created various macros to launch programs and enter text strings to make my life easier and more productive – not something every keyboard can do easily.
