Verdict
The Das Keyboard 4 Ultimate is an extremely fashionable and smooth keyboard that provides an unparalleled typing expertise
Pros
Satisfying tactile really feel to keys
Sleek, minimalist design
2 USB 3.0 ports
Cons
Touch typing requirement could alienate some customers
Key Specifications
Review Price: £139.99
Cherry MX Switches
2 x USB 3.0 Ports
European Key Layout
Words by Jamie Wallace
What is the Das Keyboard 4 Ultimate?
The world of mechanical keyboards is an enormous one, so that you’d be forgiven for not immediately realizing the ‘Das’ model of keyboards. The firm launched all the best way again in 2005 with a spread of basic-but-effective mechanical keyboards which have grown an increasing number of feature-heavy and fascinating over time.
The Das Keyboard 4 Ultimate is a minimalist keyboard that goals to supply customers a easy, satisfying typing expertise in wanting board blissfully free flashy lights and superfluous attachments you’ll discover on many gaming keyboards.
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Das Keyboard 4 Ultimate – Design and construct
There is an actual magnificence in how easy this board is, design-wise. At its very core, the Das Keyboard 4 Ultimate is a full-size mechanical keyboard geared up with a set of media keys and a quantity dial on its far right-hand facet, alongside two USB 3.0 ports. The complete board is weighty to carry (2.9lbs) and feels virtually unbreakable. The prime plate is aluminium coated in a matt black lacquer paint, which helps to spotlight the boldest design alternative this board affords – a full set of fully clean keycaps.
The all-black keys, missing any form of markings or key legend, actually set the Das Keyboard 4 Ultimate other than virtually every other gaming keyboard available on the market proper now and affords a smooth, minimalistic look that’s laborious to rival. Plus, you’ll get all of the bragging rights about your contact typing expertise if that’s your factor.
As you may anticipate from a completely clean keyboard, being a contact typist is virtually a requirement. The home-row keys nonetheless function ridges on the F and J keys, however by way of navigation, that’s all of the hand holding you get.
One additional little function that units the Das Keyboard 4 Ultimate other than different boards on the market – as a substitute of getting height-adjustable toes or kickstands, underneath the body, you’ll discover a magnetic footbar that spans the whole size of the board. Curiously, this footbar additionally features as a ruler, simply in case you end up in want of 1. There is, sadly, no removable cable on the board itself – as a substitute, solely a reasonably thick single cable hardwired into the again.
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Das Keyboard 4 Ultimate – Performance
The Das Keyboard 4 Ultimate comes geared up with the nonetheless trade commonplace Cherry MX Brown or Blue switches – the mannequin examined got here with Browns – which make the entire thing an actual deal with to kind with. Each key feels weighted and responsive, with not one of the key wobble or sway that you just may discover with cheaper boards.
Choosing Brown switches over Blue ones provides you with a tactile clack once you hit keys, versus the sharp ‘click’ sound discovered with Blue switches. Each keystroke on the Das Keyboard 4 sees the important thing snapping again into place with a satisfying velocity, permitting for an enormous quantity of momentum to be constructed when on a typing spree.
For gaming, the very good really feel and responsiveness of the Das Keyboard 4 Ultimate’s keys carry over to create a completely satisfying expertise. Through my testing, I took this board into quite a lot of sport sorts, from Dishonored 2 and XCOM 2 to Forza Horizon 4 and Two Point Hospital. While this keyboard isn’t trying to achieve any additional brownie factors with players essentially, it’s such a pleasure to make use of, with each keystroke feeling immediate and snappy, it’s definitely not one to scoff at.
For what it’s value, Das Keyboard is fast to level out that this mannequin additionally options NKRO over USB, which signifies that each keypress can be appropriately detected regardless of what number of different keys are pressed down at a time. As properly as letting you kind extra shortly and with larger accuracy, this additionally makes positive that players gained’t run into any issues when scrambling by totally different key combos in an try and survive.
The Das Keyboard 4 Ultimate boasts two full-speed USB 3.0 ports on its prime facet, which is much extra handy than I assumed it could be after I first found it, and I’ve been making good use of each ports just about from day one among testing.
The media keys over on the far proper of the board are comprised of ‘Back’, ‘Play’, ‘Forward’ and ‘Mute’ keys, alongside a quantity curler wheel and a devoted ‘Sleep’ key to immediately put your system into hibernation mode. These keys proceed the all-black motif of the board as an entire however operate precisely as you’d need them to. Somehow, the outsized quantity wheel doesn’t look misplaced, both, regardless of internet hosting the one and solely little bit of color on this board in its crimson trim.
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Why purchase the Das Keyboard Ultimate?
The Das Keyboard 4 Ultimate is an absolute dream for contact typists, not solely within the responsiveness of the keys however in its construct and general really feel. This is completely a keyboard for people who respect the minimalist design it affords and has maybe grown uninterested in all that RGB lighting and edgy color schemes present in gaming boards lately.
If you’ve occurred to love every thing about this board to date apart from the all-black keycaps, Das Keyboard additionally affords a ‘Professional’ variant of this board which is equivalent in all methods apart from the keys, which function the markings you’d anticipate on any common board.
Verdict
An important wanting mechanical keyboard perfect for gaming and typing alike.
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