I have owned this keyboard for about a month. I have nothing but good things to say about it. As appearance goes it is rather plain looking. Although it's marketed as a gaming board it's not as flashy and lacks the LED's. It also lacks the macro functions and programmability that many gaming boards have. There is a basic software package that allows you to reassign some keys.

One of the things I like about this is the low profile keys. The key height is much shorter than most boards. The keys are also beveled, so the surface that your fingertips touch is a tad smaller, perhaps 1mm. If you have large fingers this is something to consider.

The case is made of plastic, but sturdy. It lacks the aluminum shell that the more expensive boards have. As far as noise goes, I got the board with MX Browns and the noise is acceptable. It is certainly less than most of the comparable boards I see on You Tube videos. If you type softly it is very quiet. If you are typing fast and pounding away it is louder. But in my opinion it is not any louder than the cheap Dell rubber dome keyboard at work. The cheap plastic rattles when you hit the keys and makes quite a racket. If you are buying a mechanical keyboard noise is not your chief concern. This is perfect board for someone looking to buy their first mechanical. It also has a place for a more advanced gamer or typist, if they are not looking for more feature.

My only regret is that it is a full size board. I knew this when I bought it, but now I wish it was more compact. This is why I am shopping for a new boardOh at first I thought the keys were too light, but now I love the MX Browns and all other keys feel too heavy. I suppose you can adjust to almost any key over time.

I purchased this keyboard to replace a Das Keyboard Model S that had Cherry MX Blue switches. The Blue switches have a 45g resistance, and they were just too light for me. I made too many typos. This keyboard has Cherry MX Green switches, which have an 80g resistance. It works much better for me.

There are media keys on the top row, and lots of programmable or otherwise automated features. One that has an "Oh, wow" factor is the way the LEDs under the keys will animate. With a keypress (Fn F10), you make make the keyboard "breathe" (LEDS glow and dim alternately), have the LEDS light up in a snake pattern, have the LEDS "ripple" across the keyboard, or have them blink in an expanding pattern from each key that is pressed. I don't find any of these especially useful, but they add to the coolness factor.

One of the features I did not like with the Das Keyboard is its glossy finish. It reflected my office lights and was hard on my eyes. This keyboard has a matte finish, and the lighted keys make them very easy to read.

I had to count how many keyboards I have gone through--I have nine in my closet. This one is a keeper. Customer service, incidentally, was excellent. I ordered on the evening of Thanksgiving Day, and had the keyboard the following Tuesday. I also had a brief email dialog with a Mechanical Keyboards rep regarding some pre-purchase questions. This was answered within 24 hours.

This keyboard is a no frills standard keyboard with the nice addition of the media keys on the top left. On default the keys are for (vol. down, vol. up, mute, home), using the cherry software you can change each to run shortcuts, open programs, key/text macros. This was pretty much one of the few low profile mechanical keyboards I could find. The height to press the switch is same as any mechanical keyboard, but the actual key caps are shorter. Pickup some O-rings to reduce noise if you happen to bottom out when typing.

The only con is that the cherry logo top center is lit up the entire time. Also this happens to come with free wrist rest now. Well I don't really care about using wrist rests, but it would be nice to have the option to use one.

I am thoroughly impressed with this keyboard! This is the first mechanical keyboard I've used since I was in elementary school some odd 20 years ago. I was apprehensive at first because I had never paid more than $35-40 for a keyboard before, but it would seem that this keyboard is well worth the money. The keys are slightly easier to actuate than my old slim/low-profile rubber dome keyboard. It has a very satisfying feel to type on since the keys are linear. The key layout is precisely as I like it. It lacks unnecessary frills like laser etched keys and full LED illumination. The only thing I don't like about this keyboard is the removable USB cable. I worry about the long-term durability of the plug and accidental disconnection. The removable cable does seem to sit very snugly in the plug, however. There was no information about compatibility with Linux for this keyboard, however I've been using it with Linux Mint 14 and so far it is working flawlessly straight out of the box. My only regret is that I spent so many years typing on rubber dome keyboards without realizing that things could be so much better.