REVIEW – I can’t stop reviewing mechanical keyboards. I have a grass-is-greener mentality, and I always wonder if the next keyboard that I review will be a mind-blowing experience that will make me dump my current favorite board in the trash. This time around, I’m looking at the SIKAKEYB Castle CK75 Magnetic Switch Mechanical Keyboard that the fine folks at Mechkeys sent me to do my thing. Let’s take a look.
What is it?
The SIKAKEYB Castle CK75 is a mechanical keyboard with magnetic switches marketed toward gamers. However, as a non-gamer, I can test the feel of magnetic switches and how this keyboard performs for everyday use. So here we go.
What’s included?
- SIKAKEYB Castle CK75 Magnetic Switch Mechanical Keyboard
- GATERON Magnetic Jade switches (pre-installed)
- Braided right angle USB-C to USB A cable
- Keycap and switch puller tool
- 2 Rubber plugs
- Instruction sheet
Design and features
First things first. I like the color styling of this keyboard. The SIKAKEYB Castle CK75 is available in the yellow version you see here and also in grey if you’re not as color adventurous.
This is a 83-key compact TKL mechanical keyboard. TKL stands for tenkeyless keyboard, which is a full-sized keyboard that doesn’t have a number pad. The number pad is the part of a keyboard on the right that has numbers and arrow keys.
The keyboard has a dedicated function key row at the top, along with arrow keys and other navigation keys around the right edge.
The SIKAKEYB Castle CK75 even has a knob that controls volume by default (and toggles mute when pressed). The location of the knob isn’t typical compared to most keyboards that locate it in the upper right corner, but just the fact that this keyboard has a knob is a plus in my opinion.
The bottom of the keyboard has five narrow rubber feet if you prefer to use the keyboard completely flat.
If you want to adjust the height – slightly, the keyboard also has two stage folding feet.
Stage one.
Stage two.
Here’s a side view showing the key profile, the USB-C port, and the backlight on/off switch. The location of the USB-C port is a bummer, in my opinion. I actually prefer to use my keyboards hardwired to my MacBook Pro instead of using Bluetooth or a 2.4 GHz dongle (this keyboard doesn’t have a wireless mode by the way). Having the cable coming out of the left side of the keyboard just seems wrong.
Another thing that I found critical about the SIKAKEYB Castle CK75 is that the whole thing is made of plastic. The case looks and feels cheap, which is definitely not acceptable, considering the price of this keyboard is $200!
But how does it type?
First of all, this keyboard doesn’t have a Mac mode. So as a Mac user, I had to go into the Mac settings and switch the Alt and Win keys in order to use them as Command and Option keys. It’s not a huge deal, but it’s worth mentioning for all my Mac peeps out there.
Note that you can also customize the keys by using HM Solution Driver software. This is a proprietary software that allows users to customize key bindings, create macros, and adjust RGB lighting effects. As far as I can tell, this keyboard will not work with Via or QMK.
I enjoyed the first few seconds of typing with this keyboard and then…
I found almost immediately that the key layout didn’t work for me. I’m a touch typist and am used to a more standard layout that does not have the |\ key next to the enter key.
The location of the |\ key on the home row puts an extra key between my pinky and the enter key that is normally not there on 99% of the keyboards that I use and test.
Every time I needed to press the enter key, I’d actually end up sending a \ character instead of getting a new line. As you can imagine, this became very annoying very quickly.
I’m too set in my ways to relearn that I have to stretch my pinky farther than normal to press the enter key. As a fast typist, slowing down to do that stretch has frustrated me. As a result, my most used key while reviewing this keyboard was the backspace key. Yes, I’m exaggerating, but not by much.
See and hear it in action
What I like about the SIKAKEYB Castle CK75 Magnetic Switch Mechanical Keyboard
- Typing sound and feel are nice
What needs to be improved?
- Build quality feels cheap as it’s all plastic
- Key layout might not be for everyone (|\ key and enter key location)
- Too expensive for a plastic keyboard
- I don’t like the USB port location (left side)
- No Mac mode
Final thoughts
Even though I don’t like the SIKAKEYB Castle CK75’s key layout or the fact that the keyboard is made of plastic, I do like the way it sounds and the feel of the magnetic switches. That said, I’d like it a whole lot more if it only cost about $80 or so! At $200, I can’t recommend it.
Price: $199.99
Where to buy: Mechkeys and Aliexpress
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Mechkeys. Mechkeys did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
