be quiet! Light Mount and Dark Mount Keyboard Review

Introduction and Technical Specifications

Introduction

There is no denying that be quiet! live up to their name. Should you have been involved with PCs as long as we have, you’ll remember how loudness never used to be a consideration. be quiet! were one of the first companies to point their Teutonic designers towards shutting up our computers, and it is a task they performed admirably. In fact, as you’ll know from our many reviews of their products, one they continue to do. It’s their 25th anniversary next year, a testament to how successful they have been. What constantly surprises us is their ability to find improvements. You’d imagine that a quiet fan ten years ago is a quiet fan today, but their Silent Wings 4 push more air at lower volumes than those that have come before.

This ceaseless quest for excellence makes them stand out from many other companies that have tried and failed through the years.

Having established themselves as a premier manufacturer of system elements, it is no surprise that they’ve turn their attentions towards peripherals. There are some mice forthcoming, but today we’re concentrating upon two new keyboards in their armoury. If you want a keyboard whose design is comforting and familiar, they offer the Light Mount. If, on the other hand, you want a keyboard which redefines what a keyboard can be, boasting a customisable screen and 8 buttons which can be be best described as a mini Stream Deck, then the Dark Mount is for you.

A Tale of Two Keyboards

Usually when a company first dips its toes into a world that is new to them, they err on the side of conservatism. We’ve seen so many keyboards that are a bunch of Cherry MX switches with a different brand at the top that be quiet! could be forgiven for taking this route. Not so. Instead they’ve designed their own switches, built their own sound-proofing and committed to the thing that has brought them such fame. Silence.

Firstly today we are going to be looking at the Light Mount. This is the more affordable of the two, and the one that looks more familiar. It has tricks of its own, but at a glance it sits in a well known sphere. Then, should you have spent umpteen years hoping for a keyboard that left you wanting for nothing, we’ll be covering the be quiet! flagship Dark Mount keyboard. This has everything you could think of, and a few things that we’d never have dreamt of. It’s so fully featured that the word “flagship” seems inadequate. A 320×240 resolution Media Dock and 140×140 Display Keys ensure you can customise it exactly to your desires.

Ready?

Technical Specifications

Light Mount :

Factory-lubricated mechanical be quiet! Orange Silent Linear Switches with 45g actuation force provide smooth, fast, and precise keystrokes with a linear actuation, while the be quiet! Black Tactile Switches with 55g actuation force deliver the same speed and accuracy but with a distinct, noticeable tactile actuation point.
Stabilizers are optimized for maximum noise reduction
3 layers of foam for extra silent keystrokes
High-quality PBT double-shot keycaps with translucent legends
Aluminium 3D Media Wheel and 5 macro or multimedia keys
Arched ARGB diffuser on each switch for bright and even per-key illumination
Customizable ARGB LED bars at the top and on both sides for atmospheric lighting effects
Support for hot-swappable 5-pin MX style switches
Brushed aluminium top plate
Folding feet with three angled positions and modular magnetic Palm Rest for best ergonomics
Detachable, braided USB-A-to-C cable
Full-size standard key layout
Reprogram keys, create macros, configure the lighting and more with the be quiet! IO Centre software

Dark Mount :

Unparalleled modularity with hot-swappable Numpad and Media Dock
8 customizable Display Keys, supporting animated GIF, JPG, PNG and other common image formats
Factory-lubricated mechanical be quiet! Orange Silent Linear Switches with 45g actuation force provide smooth, fast, and precise keystrokes with a linear actuation, while the be quiet! Black Tactile Switches with 55g actuation force deliver the same speed and accuracy but with a distinct, noticeable tactile actuation point.
Stabilizers are optimized for maximum noise reduction
3 layers of sound-proofing with silicone and foam for extra silent keystrokes
High-quality PBT double-shot keycaps with translucent legends that will never fade or wear off
Customizable ARGB lighting around the edges for atmospheric effects
Arched ARGB diffuser on each switch for bright and even per-key illumination
Support for hot-swappable 5-pin MX-style switches
Brushed aluminium top plate
Stackable, magnetic Riser Feet and two-part magnetic Palm Rest for ergonomic use and reduced
fatigue
Reprogram keys, create macros, configure the lighting and more with the be quiet! IO Centre software
or web application