The Das Keyboard 4 Professional is a decent wired mechanical keyboard. It's a well-built, full-sized model with dedicated media controls, including a large volume wheel for easy access. Our 'Soft Tactile' model has Cherry MX Brown switches that provide a light and responsive typing experience with good tactile feedback. However, they're a bit on the louder side when it comes to typing noise, not the most ideal for quiet office environments. It comes with a 'footbar' that you can use as a ruler or as an incline setting, but it doesn't include a wrist rest. Unfortunately, it lacks backlighting, programmable keys, and software for customization. Lastly, its latency is relatively high for a wired keyboard, which shouldn't affect desktop use, but it might disappoint more serious gamers.
Our Verdict
The Das Keyboard 4 Professional is mediocre for gaming. Its Cherry MX Brown switches have a short pre-travel distance and light actuation force; however, latency is higher than most wired keyboards. Sadly, it doesn't have backlighting or programmable keys. The ergonomics are just okay; it only has one incline setting and doesn't include a wrist rest.
- Good typing quality.
- Well-built.
- Short pre-travel distance.
- No backlighting.
- No programmable keys.
- No software for customization.
- Mediocre ergonomics.
The Das Keyboard 4 is a wired-only keyboard and isn't suitable for use with mobile devices.
The Das Keyboard 4 Professional is decent for office use. Its Cherry MX Brown switches provide a light typing experience with good tactile feedback, but they might cause too much noise for a quiet office environment. It comes with a 'footbar' that attaches to the keyboard magnetically, giving you a 4-degree incline, and it can also be used as a ruler. It doesn't feel tiring to type on for long periods, but some people might need a wrist rest, and there isn't one included in the box. Compatibility is good with various operating systems, and there's also a dedicated macOS variant if you prefer.
- Good typing quality.
- Well-built.
- Good compatibility with various OS.
- No backlighting.
- No software for customization.
- Wired-only.
- Mediocre ergonomics.
The Das Keyboard 4 is mediocre for programming. It's well-built, has good compatibility with various operating systems, and provides a good typing experience. It doesn't feel fatiguing to type on, but some people might need a wrist rest, and it isn't included. Unfortunately, it lacks backlighting, programmable keys, and software for customization.
- Good typing quality.
- Well-built.
- Good compatibility with various OS.
- No backlighting.
- No programmable keys.
- No software for customization.
- Mediocre ergonomics.
The Das Keyboard 4 is bad for use with a home theater PC. It's a wired-only keyboard, and its large, full-size layout takes up a lot of space. It lacks backlighting, making it harder to see the keys when watching a movie or gaming in the dark. Also, it doesn't have a trackpad, which means you need a dedicated mouse to move the cursor.
- Good typing quality.
- Well-built.
- No backlighting.
- Wired-only.
- No trackpad.
- Mediocre ergonomics.
Changelog
- Updated Apr 26, 2024: We've added a link to the newly-reviewed REALFORCE R2 in the Keystrokes section of this review.
- Updated Feb 23, 2021: Review published.
- Updated Feb 18, 2021: Early access published.
- Updated Feb 15, 2021: Our testers have started testing this product.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Das Keyboard 4 Professional with Cherry MX Brown (Soft Tactile) switches, and it's also available with Cherry MX Blue (Clicky) switches. There are three other variants; you can see the differences between them in the table below.
| Model | Notes |
|---|---|
| 4 Professional | USB 3.0 hub |
| 4 Root | USB 2.0 hub |
| 4 Professional for Mac | Native macOS support and keycaps, USB 3.0 hub |
| 4 Ultimate | Blank keycaps, USB 3.0 hub |
You can see our unit's label here.
Popular Keyboard Comparisons
The Das Keyboard 4 is a decent mechanical keyboard. It provides a good typing experience, but it lacks many features that other similarly-priced keyboards have, like backlighting, programmable keys, and software for customization. For more options, you can check out our recommendations for the best mechanical keyboards, the best keyboards for programming, and the best keyboards for writers.
The Logitech G513 is much better than the Das Keyboard 4 Professional. The Logitech has backlighting, programmable keys, and software for customization. It also has much better ergonomics because it offers two incline settings and includes a wrist rest. The Logitech's Romer-G and the Das Keyboard's Cherry MX Brown are both switches that provide tactile feedback, but the Romer-G has a shorter pre-travel and a lighter actuation force. Also, the Logitech has significantly lower latency, making it better for gaming.
The Corsair K70 RAPIDFIRE is better than the Das Keyboard 4 Professional, mainly because it has many more features. The Corsair has backlighting, programmable keys, and software for customization. Its Cherry MX Speed switches have a shorter pre-travel distance and lighter actuation force than the Cherry MX Brown switches on the Das Keyboard, resulting in more responsiveness when gaming. However, the Speed switches might be overly sensitive for general typing and don't provide tactile feedback like the Cherry MX Browns. The Corsair has better ergonomics because it includes a wrist rest and provides two incline settings, but typing on it can be fatiguing after a while because key spacing is wider than most keyboards.
The Razer Huntsman is much better than the Das Keyboard 4 Professional for most uses. The Razer's optical switches have a shorter pre-travel distance and are easier to actuate, making them more responsive than the Das Keyboard's Cherry MX Browns. Also, the Razer has significantly lower latency. Both switch types provide tactile feedback, but the Razer's switches are much louder because they also give audio feedback. Feature-wise, it's a bit of a toss-up. The Razer has backlighting, programmable keys, and software support, while the Das Keyboard has USB passthroughs and dedicated media controls.
The Razer BlackWidow Elite is much better than the Das Keyboard 4 Professional for most uses. The Razer has better build quality, and its ergonomics are better because it offers more incline settings and includes a wrist rest. It has backlighting, programmable keys, and software for customization, all of which the Das Keyboard lacks. The Razer provides a better typing experience and has much lower latency than the Das Keyboard.
Test Results
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