Ducky DK-9008 Shine Mechanical Keyboard - Glow in the Dark Duck
If you want to be more efficient in typing or gaming, consider getting a mechanical keyboard. Here, we test out the Cherry MX Black switches-fitted, LED-backlit Ducky DK-9008 Shine gaming keyboard.
A Backlit Ducky
The IBM Model M and the Apple Extender Keyboard II are widely accepted to be the best keyboards ever made for the PC and Mac respectively. Introduced in the mid 1980s, many of them are still working perfectly today. Top-notch construction aside, other factors these mechanical keyboards have going for them are the tactile feel, and the unmistakable (to some, downright irritating) 'clicky' sound. Both are results of the use of mechanical key switches. In layman’s parlance, each key has its own independent mechanism to detect when a key is pressed.
Unfortunately, to reduce costs, most keyboards sold these days use rubber domes under their keys. So prevalent are these mushy keyboards that most people have never even heard of mechanical keyboards, much less experience them. Thankfully, the mechanical keyboard hasn’t gone the way of the dodo; there’s still a strong following, and of late, a resurgence among typists and gamers alike.
The Ducky DK-9008 Shine is a backlit mechanical keyboard that sports a 104+4-key US ASCII layout.
There are quite a number of mechanical keyboard brands in the market today; you might have heard of Ducky, Flico, Matias, SteelSeries and Topre. What we’ve here is the Ducky DK-9008 Shine that's fitted with the 50 million keystrokes-rated (that's per key, mind you) Cherry MX Black key-switches. For the uninitiated, there are several switch implementations out there, and the Cherry MX is just one (albeit a popular one) of them. And within the Cherry MX series, there exist different ‘colors’, with each having its own characteristics. The Cherry MX Black (60cN actuation force, 4mm full travel) key-switches' non-tactile (there’s no bump-like feedback when you press a key) and relatively higher actuation force characteristics (this helps to minimize accidental presses) make them the preferred switch type for many gamers.
Keyboard Elements
The DK-9008 Shine uses ABS plastic keycaps. Expectedly, the keycaps are translucent and coated in black. Laser is then used to etch the labels and the backlights would shine through.
The keyboard that we received uses the Cherry MX Black switches. For elongated keys such as the spacebar, Shift and Enter keys, proxy switches are used on either side of the real key-switch to stabilize the key. You can also see where the LED is inserted.
Just like the non-backlit version, beside the right of the Windows key, instead of a Menu key, sits the Function (Fn) key.
The keyboard accepts USB and PS/2 interfaces. The USB cable is detachable (comes with a simple velcro for cable management); cable channels under the keyboard lets you route the cable to either side.
Flip out the keyboard feet underneath if you wish to tilt the keyboard.
Lights On, Lights Off
One of the key selling points of the DK-9008 Shine is that the keys are backlit. There are a total of 108 keys on the keyboard, which means 108 tiny LEDs are used. The spacebar isn't spared either; it has an etched Ducky logo for the light to shine through.
Pressing Fn + F9 turns on the backlights; subsequent presses will cycle through the different modes. Fn + F10 and Fn + F11 decreases and increases the brightness levels respectively.
Here's how the keyboard looks like with the backlights off. Notice there are four additional keys on this keyboard (above the numeric keypad) and one of them is now lit. We'll explain more on these keys later.
Pressing Fn + F9 once turns on the backlights for the Escape, W, A, S, D, space, and arrow keys. This of course is useful for basic gaming needs.
The next press lights up the remaining keys except the numeric keypad on the right.
Another press and all the keys light up. Pressing Fn + F9 another time engages the pulse mode where the keys will glow from low to high intensity and pulsates rhythmically.
Instead of blue, the Caps Lock, Num Lock, and Scroll Lock keys have green backlights; and they're not affected by the Fn + F9 to F11 key presses. The green backlight only turns on when the key is activated (e.g. Caps Lock on/off).
There are five levels of brightness (excluding off). The left half of the image shows the brightness at level 2, the right half at level 5. Level 1 gives a pretty dim backlight that's barely detectable if the room lights are on. But level 2 is our favorite brightness level when room lights are off; it allows us to see the keys clearly without being too glaring.
Usage & Performance
If you’re new to mechanical keyboards, one thing you’d notice when you take out the Ducky DK-9008 Shine from the box is its heft; it weighs a good 1.2kg. There’s no extraneous space around its frame, so this is about as small as you can get for a full-sized keyboard. Construction is solid too, with little to no flex. The 1.5m USB cable is detachable, which makes the keyboard that little bit easier to bring out and about. The smooth matte finish of the keys is fairly resistant to fingerprints; but if your fingers were oily, they would still collect a shiny sheen, though that’s easily remedied with a wipe using a damp cloth.
Despite having several media control keys, backlight function keys and program shortcut keys, there’s no software to install; it’s solely a plug-and-play affair. The blue LEDs have five levels of brightness, though we seldom needed to go beyond level 2. The Caps Lock, Num Lock and Scroll Lock keys use green LEDs and their brightness cannot be adjusted. You also can’t adjust the intensity of the blue LEDs for the four shortcut keys above the numeric keypad (not that there’s a need to).
You can control certain media functions using a combination of the Fn key and any of the F1 to F7 keys. Fn + F1 controls the mute function; Fn + F2 or F3 toggles the volume down or up; Fn + F4 plays or pauses the track; Fn + F5 stops it; and Fn + F6 or F7 jumps to the previous or next track.
The four extra keys above the numeric keypad are shortcut keys for launching certain Windows programs and functions. The first one brings up Windows calculator, the second My Computer window, the third the default email client and the fourth the default Internet browser. In addition, pressing Fn together with anyone of these keys changes the repeat rate (1x to 4x).
Four slide-style DIP switches under the keyboard turn on or off special functions. The first switch locks the two Windows keys, the second swaps the functions of the Caps Lock and left Control keys, and the third swaps the functions of the Windows and Alt keys. The fourth switch currently does nothing. Having the ability to lock the Windows keys during a game is quite a boon in comparison to some other gaming-grade keyboards that don't include the Windows keys altogether.
Key rollover is the ability of the keyboard to recognize multiple key presses at once. Over USB, the DK-9008 Shine supports 6-key rollover (6KRO) plus modifier keys such as the Shift, Ctrl, Win and Alt keys. Full n-key rollover (NKRO) – this means you can press as many keys as you like and they’d all register – is achieved using a PS/2 adapter. That being said, I find 6KRO to be sufficient most of the time, since I rarely air-strafe, activate the comms, check the scores, toss a grenade and...(you get the idea) all at once.
While many professional gamers swear by their Cherry MX Black switches-fitted keyboards, I'm not going on record to say that this is the best switch type for gaming. It really boils down to individual preference. The kind of games you play should be taken into consideration as well. While many FPS (first-person shooter) players prefer the linear Black switches for their stiffness and lack of a tactile bump, many RTS (real-time strategy) players instead find the lighter Brown switches less stressful on the fingers during a prolonged gameplay and more assuring due to the tactile response.
Coming from a keyboard that uses Blue switches (widely accepted to be ideal for typing), I perceived improved gaming performance when switching to the DK-9008 Shine. At the very least, I was able to double tap much faster. On the other hand, since I’m so used to the tactile feedback of the Blue switches, I always feel awkward typing on any keyboard using Black switches. In addition, I don’t find the DK-9008 Shine with the Black switches to sound loud in use, though it certainly is louder than keyboards using rubber domes. Be warned though, using a mechanical keyboard in the office can irritate your nearby colleagues to no end; using it at home or at a LAN party is another matter.
6KRO via USB and NKRO via PS/2. (Tested with the excellent Aqua's KeyTest freeware.)
Conclusion
All in all, the Ducky DK-9008 is a well thought-out, nicely constructed, and performing mechanical keyboard that justifies its S$169 price tag. It’s slated to arrive in Singapore at the end of August. Hydra Distribution is the sole official distributor here for the Ducky keyboards; Bell Systems Electronics in Sim Lim Square is the exclusive retailer. And don’t worry if you’re not a fan of the Cherry MX Black switches, we're told that DK-9008 Shine with Brown and Blue switches are coming too. In October/November, there would also be a version with Red switches. Quack, quack!
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