At a look
Knowledgeable’s Ranking
Execs
- Implausible value for a mech board
- Respectable switches, inside foam, gasket mounting
- VIA and QMK programming
Cons
- Solely crimson lighting
- USB-C cable is just a little stiff to plug in
Our Verdict
After conquering the excessive finish of the mechanical keyboard market, Keychron didn’t come to the finances phase to lose. With a mix of strong {hardware} and hard-to-find programming choices, the C3 Professional is a improbable alternative for these brief on money or hesitant to spend massive on a keyboard.
Value When Reviewed
$34.99
Greatest Costs At this time: Keychron C3 Professional keyboard
$36.99
Mechanical keyboards are my favourite little bit of PC accent tech, however I wouldn’t blame anybody for balking at a few of their costs. A “gaming” board from a significant model begins at about $100, and extra premium examples can stretch in direction of $300 or past. The sky’s the restrict for customized or boutique builds, however your choices for finances designs from dependable distributors are fairly restricted. Keychron is able to buck that development with the brand new C sequence.
The C3 Professional collects a smattering of Keychron’s finest options with a teeny-tiny value, simply $35. For that you simply get single-color backlighting, inside foam and a gasket mount, a alternative of linear or tactile switches, and maybe most crucially, programming choices with QMK and VIA. It’s a really completely different beast from the keyboards that Keychron has been making for the final couple of years, notably with a full plastic physique and ABS keycaps. However the mixture of options and high quality makes it the brand new finances board to beat.
Additional studying: See our roundup of the most effective mechanical keyboards to study competing merchandise.
A examine in compromise
The C3 Professional is a TKL board, which means “tenkeyless,” whereby the quantity part on the precise of a full-sized design is chopped off. Whereas eschewing the complete aluminum case and rainbow lighting of Keychron’s costlier designs, this board nonetheless presents a contact of aptitude with crimson Area, Enter, and Escape keys, matching the crimson backlighting. (Black alternates come within the field if you would like a extra button-down look.)
Michael Crider/Foundry
Although this isn’t a gaming keyboard particularly, you possibly can be forgiven for considering it’s, particularly with the crimson LED flare lights on either side. The crimson theme may be enhanced with the backlighting, which shines by way of the ABS keycaps. These are a bit smoother and cheaper than the PBT keycaps provided on many keyboards (even some cheaper ones). However they’re fairly respectable doubleshot plastic, which means the legends won’t ever put on down irrespective of what number of TPS reviews you full.
Look intently at these legends, and you may see a little bit of Keychron’s legacy as a Mac-first keyboard maker. Some white printing on the Operate row on the Win and Alt keys reveals their Mac keyboard equivalents — urgent Fn + Caps will swap to a Mac structure. Happily for us PC die-hards, the legends additionally double for the operate layer for many of those keys, together with media and quantity controls.
Michael Crider/Foundry
Lighting is available in any shade you need, as long as you need crimson. Once more, that is a suitable trade-off for the value, although I think about some customers would have most popular white. Fn + Q will cycle by way of 14 pre-programmed results, that are fairly respectable as this stuff go, particularly with the added aptitude of the aspect lights. Fn + Tab turns them off.
The flanged USB-C cable is just a little awkward.
Michael Crider/Foundry
The remainder of the board is pretty typical. Beneath is a set of two-stage ft, very useful for adjusting the typing angle, and a few much-appreciated routing for the removable USB-C cable. (It is a function that Keychron doesn’t have on its hefty Q sequence boards, by the way in which — presumably placing these grooves into aluminum could be rather more costly.) The cable isn’t braided, and it’s weirdly laborious to plug in with its flanged head, however upon getting it arrange you don’t want to consider it once more.
Typing and programming
The typing expertise on the C3 Professional is fairly good, and punching approach above its weight class by way of value. I’m guessing that the “Keychron branded” linear switches on my overview unit are in all probability re-badged finances switches from Kailh or Gateron, and so they’re positively not as easy as those on the pricier fashions. However due to high-quality stabilizers and just a little beneficiant give from the gasket mount, which suspends the primary deck in two layers of froth, typing is downright nice occasion for prolonged intervals. It’s just a little quieter than common, too, due to some additional inside foam.
The C3 Professional includes a deep, squishy gasket mounted deck, a uncommon sight at this value.
Michael Crider/Foundry
The keyboard’s structure is customary TKL, which implies you need to use the included keycap device to take away the caps and provide your individual, assured that they’ll all match accurately. Sadly, the switches are soldered in place, so that you received’t be changing them any time quickly. Once more that is pretty typical of boards at this value (or perhaps a a lot greater one), however not less than one instance has confirmed that it’s doable. The plastic case additionally has no uncovered screws, so this isn’t a design meant for heavy customization, both exterior or in.
However there’s a fairly enormous benefit that the C3 Professional has over a few of its finances competitors, and it’s why this design will get “Professional” within the identify. Like among the firm’s costlier fashions, it may be programmed with the favored QMK or VIA open-source instruments. Whereas that is much less instantly essential than it will be for, say, a 60% board, it’s nonetheless a premium function that you simply hardly ever see at this value degree (even with proprietary “gaming” software program). It’s a lot appreciated.
You should use the included keycap device to take away the caps and provide your individual, assured that they’ll all match accurately.
Michael Crider/Foundry
Truly getting the extra user-friendly VIA up and operating for the keyboard is just a little unintuitive, requiring you to load up the net interface, authorize the board, after which add a format file. As soon as in place, you get an ordinary and performance layer for each Home windows and Mac configurations, which must be greater than sufficient for everybody.
Is the Keychron C3 Professional a great deal?
The C3 Professional is, objectively, a improbable deal. Its mixture of options and {hardware} at this value could be unbeatable…if it weren’t for one different keyboard I’ve examined this 12 months. The G.Talent KM250, at simply $5 extra, is unquestionably going for a similar finances crown.
The G.Talent keyboard contains RGB lighting, PBT “pudding” keycaps, a rotary quantity dial, and hot-swap swap sockets that allow you to customise the texture of the board to a a lot higher diploma. Then again, it’s missing the VIA programming featured on Keychron’s keyboard, and with its extra compact dimension, it may actually use it. It additionally doesn’t have a gasket-mounted deck, making it just a little stiffer, although it does have a few of that very same sound-damping inside foam.
Michael Crider/Foundry
Truthfully, the most important distinction between these two boards is the obvious one: the scale. Keychron presents an ordinary TKL structure that’s simpler to get accustomed to, whereas G.Talent’s 65% is comparatively tiny, however requires a little bit of consumer adjustment. When you’re selecting between the 2 and it’s a toss-up, go together with the one which appeals based mostly on the structure.
Conclusion
Michael Crider/Foundry
Keychron has confirmed that it might compete within the high-end, triple-digit phase of the keyboard market, with tons of various designs and codecs. The C3 Professional demonstrates that the corporate can nonetheless make an amazing board on a finances. Whereas it’s missing the premium switches, PBT keycaps, and adaptability of fancier keyboards, it’s practically not possible to beat dollar-for-dollar. Until you completely want hot-swap switches (by which case, go for the G.Talent KM250), it’s a improbable alternative.
