The hobbyist scene round mechanical keyboards has been wild to witness flourish with an abundance of customized builds, aftermarket keycaps, and non-traditional layouts. And we have seen the same old suspects like Corsair, Logitech, and Razer lean a bit extra into that fanatic house, branching barely out from the standard gaming-style keyboards (and I’d say most have finished away with the extravagant options and gaudy branding of yore). Cherry’s new wi-fi MX-LP 2.1 is a mirrored image of how the keyboard area of interest has developed, as a result of out of the field, it seems like the precise sort of compact keyboard I’d’ve outfitted myself.Cherry has been a pioneer in mechanical switches with the likes of the linear MX Reds and clicky MX Blues, and every little thing in between–if you have used a mechanical keyboard, likelihood is that they had Cherry switches in them. The firm additionally has its personal line of keyboards, certainly one of which we lately reviewed: the wi-fi Cherry KW X ULP. But whereas that was an ultra-low-profile and super-thin tackle a mechanical keyboard, it did not precisely fare effectively for gaming. With the MX-LP 2.1, nevertheless, now we have a low-profile keyboard that excels in nearly each respect whether or not or not it’s for typing within the workspace or aggressive gaming, all packed within the bite-sized 65% type issue.The Cherry MX-LP 2.1 mechanical keyboard.The core of what makes the MX-LP 2.1 so nice out of the field is the MX Speed Silver switches. These are clean, linear-style switches much like the MX Red however with a shorter actuation level and complete journey distance–1.2mm and 3.4mm, respectively. This permits the keyboard itself to keep up a thinner profile with out sacrificing the precision and really feel of a correct mechanical swap. It additionally provides you that satisfying “thock” sound with every keystroke whereas additionally being noticeably quieter than my Keychron K4 and Razer Huntsman, even when hammering away and bottoming out. The buttery clean really feel and responsiveness made me a bit extra excited to simply kind. But if I’m dropping $130 USD on a keyboard, it’s going to be put to work in gaming.As with any of the earlier PC peripherals I’ve reviewed, I put the MX-LP 2.1 via its paces within the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV and a aggressive shooter–Valorant on this case–to get a really feel for gaming efficiency. My principal concern with enjoying FFXIV on a compact keyboard shouldn’t be having the additional keys to map actions or the quantity pad for punching in values available on the market board, however admittedly that is not essentially an issue distinctive to the MX-LP 2.1. That simply comes with the territory with any keyboard of this type. That mentioned, the slick really feel of the MX Speed Silver switches made lengthy raid classes straightforward on my fingers and fulfilling to mash on my assault rotation. Despite the brief actuation level, I not often made errant inputs as I received used to spacing between keycaps and the firmness of the keys themselves.When it got here to Valorant, I had no points with the MX-LP 2.1. In reality, the shorter actuation level and journey distance of the MX Speed Silver switches allowed me to quick-strafe and peek corners swiftly, or hit crouch or any of my Agent skills with ease. It could not have improved my private efficiency (that is on me), however at the least I do know my keyboard was pretty much as good because it could possibly be within the warmth of ranked matches. And having the additional actual property on my desk mat was a pleasant perk for after I wanted wider mouse swipes since I play on a comparatively low sensitivity.A better have a look at the Cherry MX Speed Silver mechanical swap.What rounds out the smooth design of the MX-LP 2.1 are its skinny, low-profile ABS keycaps. Regardless of which coloration scheme you get, it comes with three tones of keycaps–I obtained the white model with mild blue and vivid purple accented caps. This type of mimics the pattern of keyboard fans outfitting their customized planks with multi-color schemes to visually group sure key-types collectively, like highlighting WASD, the house bar, or capabilities. The inventory keycaps come out simply if you wish to swap them out or if you’ll want to get within the board itself to wash it. While I do not plan on changing the inventory keycaps, it is price noting that it’s kind of harder to search out aftermarket low-profile keycaps, so customizing the MX-LP 2.1 in a approach that is according to its unique design is likely to be a problem.What’s neat about these caps is that the lettering is clear, letting the RGB lighting shine via the cap itself and never simply as an ambient impact between keys. And the simple Cherry software program enables you to customise the RGB impact extensively with varied patterns, reactions, and particular person key colours. It’s right here the place you’ll be able to program macros and remap key capabilities as effectively. It’s additionally the one strategy to monitor battery life.The MX-LP 2.1 can be utilized wirelessly via the packaged 2.4GHz dongle, which I used throughout my time enjoying FFXIV, so I can attest to the 1ms rated response time being on level. There’s Bluetooth connectivity so as to add versatility, although I are likely to keep away from Bluetooth for input-based gadgets, particularly for gaming. Of course, the keyboard can be utilized wired by way of USB-C as effectively, which can be the way you cost its 650 mAh battery. Through roughly 20 hours of utilizing the MX-LP 2.1 wirelessly for work and gaming with full RGB brightness, the battery can be drained to about 20%. Plugging in a desktop keyboard to recharge is not that large of a difficulty, however comparatively talking, this may place it on the lower-end of battery life for wi-fi keyboards.It might not be ultra-thin, however the MX-LP 2.1 leaves a small footprint and rocks low-profile keycaps.By advantage of the truncated structure, the MX-LP 2.1, you sacrifice a number of the ease-of-use like a quantity pad, particular person perform keys, and a devoted house row. You can entry the F1 via F12 keys by holding the FN key and utilizing the quantity row, and issues like media management or swapping completely different keyboard capabilities, which takes time getting used to. But personally, that trade-off for having a cute little keyboard that leaves a small footprint for extra desk house (and at the least nonetheless has all the mandatory capabilities) is one I can settle for. The solely different factor I want it had was keyboard legs for a steeper angle, however the reversible rubber ft on backside of the bottom work simply high quality.While bodily customization is on the coronary heart of the fanatic keyboard house, the Cherry MX LP 2.1 is designed to supply that sort of expertise out of the field. So a lot of discovering the fitting mechanical keyboard comes right down to choice, and for me, the MX LP 2.1 ticks most boxes–especially concerning mechanical switches, total design, and gaming efficiency. I’m nonetheless keen on the 96% structure, like my Keychron K4, because it has the performance and flexibility I want for varied conditions. But the Cherry MX-LP 2.1 is likely one of the finest keyboards I’ve utilized in latest reminiscence, and should have satisfied me to completely embrace the compact 65% type.
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