Product Listing

Ducky DK-9008 Shine Mechanical Keyboard - Glow in the Dark Duck

By Ng Chong Seng - 1 Aug 2011
Launch SRP: S$169

Introduction

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.

Join HWZ's Telegram channel here and catch all the latest tech news!
9.0
  • Design 8
  • Features 9
  • Performance 9
  • Value 8
The Good
Cherry MX Black - gamer friendly
Good construction
Useful media and shortcut keys
Key rollover: 6 (USB), full (PS/2)
The Bad
Expensive
Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.