Das Keyboard 6 Professional review: great for gaming, productivity and more

If you're in the market for one of the best keyboards you can buy right now, the Das Keyboard 6 Professional is likely to be part of the conversation: it's from a well-trusted brand, it works with Windows and macOS, and it brings with it some interesting features.

Those features include a USB-C hub and a dedicated volume dial, as well as white LED backlighting. The Cherry MX switches qualify the keyboard for our guide to the best gaming keyboards as well, though serious gamers might want more customisation.

If you're looking for even more suggestions to get the perfect computer setup installed, we'd also like to direct you to our guides to the best gaming mouse and the best standing desk, where you'll find lots of excellent ideas for your potential next tech purchase.

Das Keyboard 6 Professional review: price and availability

The Das Keyboard 6 Professional keyboard is available now in the UK and the US, with localised layouts for each country. You're going to pay around £180 for it in the UK, whether it's on sale from retailers such as Amazon and Overclockers, and around $200 for it in the US. Check the widgets embedded on this page for the latest online pricing.

Das Keyboard 6 Professional review: design and setup

There's no doubt about the build quality of the Das Keyboard 6 Professional: it has a solid feel and an aluminium finish on the top that marks this out as a premium peripheral. Plug the keyboard into a computer, and you get a subtle white LED lighting effect that adds even more style to the overall aesthetic – you can turn this off and adjust its brightness using a dedicated key, but there's no option to modify the colour.

You'll want to know the dimensions of the keyboard, which are 444.5 mm x 135.5 mm x 29.8 mm. That's a little on the large side, so make sure you've got enough room for this before spending your money on it. If you want the keyboard raised, you get two screw-on feet included in the box, which lifts the height of the keyboard to 35.7 mm – it's far more convenient just to have the feet built into the unit, but we suppose if you're not going to use them, you'll appreciate the cleaner lines.

The keyboard weighs in at 1,310 grams, so it's relatively heavy as well as relatively large – not that it matters much if it just sits on your desk. The connecting is done via an integrated USB-C cable, which is a generous length, and there's a USB-C to USB-A adapter included with the keyboard if you need to fit it to a USB-A port. There isn't a wireless option though, so you don't get that flexibility.

Up in the top right corner of the keyboard you've got a large volume dial, media playback controls, and a shortcut key for shutting down your computer or putting it into sleep mode, which is a little unusual (but welcome enough). This all works perfectly well as soon as you plug the keyboard in, whether that's on Windows or macOS, so we've got no complaints at all when it comes to the ease with which you can set up the keyboard.

Das Keyboard 6 Professional review: features and performance

You can get the Das Keyboard 6 Professional keyboard with either brown (soft) or blue (clicky) Cherry MX switches – it was the former that we had on our review unit. As to be expected from this particular manufacturer, key travel is solid and satisfying, and after a bit of adjustment you can soon get up to a high speed in terms of typing rate. The keys are also nicely spaced, minimising the risk of accidental presses.

There's full n-key rollover (NKRO), which means every single keypress is registered – which will be of interest to both gamers and productivity enthusiasts. If you want to know the technical specs in detail, there's 2 mm of pre-travel and 4 mm of full travel, and Das Keyboard says that the keys are good for 100 million actuations (that's a lot of typing). As we say, we found it a pleasure to use, though it's partially a subjective call for a keyboard.

We tried out the keyboard for a variety of tasks, including word processing and gaming, and it came through with flying colours every time. The debate around this keyboard is really whether or not it gives you the features that you need, rather than whether or not it's a quality keyboard experience. There's no sign of flexing when you're tapping away on it, and the volume dial is just as solid and premium-feeling as the keys.

One of the neat features included here that's worth mentioning is the compact USB-C hub on the back of the keyboard, two USB-C ports that you can use to charge up your phone or connect up other devices. It's another feature that's very simple but very useful, adding to the overall appeal of the keyboard in terms of comparing it against its competitors.

Das Keyboard 6 Professional review: verdict

If you're looking for a good-quality, premium-level mechanical keyboard then the Das Keyboard 6 Professional fits the bill. As with previous keyboards from this company, the responsiveness and the feel of the typing experience is first rate, and with the Cherry MX switches and the full-NKRO support, this is going to appeal to those who want a bit extra from their keyboard. However, it's not going to be for everyone.

First of all you're going to need to decide if you like the spared down, black design – and we're fans of the look of the device. From the laser-etched ABS keycaps to the volume dial to the backlighting, it's a quality bit of kit, and you can tell where your money is going. The key switches feel superb and built to last as well, and with the option of either brown or blue switches you get some control over the typing experience.

If we were to be critical, we could say that this is quite a lot of money to spend on a keyboard that doesn't have a huge list of features – no wireless option, no customisation options in terms of the lighting, no bundled software. It's the sort of device where you need to make sure that it has everything that you want and that you're going to make full use of the features it does offer.

The features that are here are definitely useful, including the sleep or shutdown button, and the volume dial. Setup couldn't be easier, and the same could be said for operating the keyboard. We're not sure if it's the best value gaming keyboard or the best value mechanical keyboard out there at the moment, but it's certainly got enough about it to appeal to plenty of users.

Das Keyboard 6 Professional review: also consider

There are a few aspects to the Das Keyboard 6 Professional that will make it appeal to gamers, though there are plenty of keyboards more focused on gaming. The Razer Huntsman V2 is a fantastic choice in this department – it's about the same price as the Das Keyboard model we've reviewed here, but you get more customisation options for the lighting, and there's even a wrist rest included.

We suspect that the Das Keyboard 6 Professional might actually appeal more to creatives than gamers – though it's great for anything really – and if you want an alternative in this direction then the Logitech G413 TKL SE is absolutely worth a look. It's significantly smaller than this Das Keyboard model, and it's much more affordable, while still covering all of the basics very well.