Keychron C3 Pro QMK/VIA Custom Gaming Keyboard, Programmable 87 Keys Compact TKL Layout Gasket Mount, Red LED Backlight Wired

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars | 731 ratings

Price: 24.99

Last update: 09-05-2024


About this item

QMK/VIA software support: QMK / VIA is open-source software for keyboards that allows anyone to program and remap each key easily and quickly. You can personalize your own keyboard layouts, shortcuts, backlight effects, and more.
Gasket mount design: The C3 Pro uses a gasket mount structure to reduce sound resonance while adding more typing flexibility. Along with the sound-absorbing foam and the case foam, it provides you with a quieter and smoother typing experience.
1000 Hz polling rate & NKRO: Empowered by the high- performance ARM architecture MCU with 256KB Flash, it provides a 1000 Hz polling rate for a fast and responsive typing speed in your working and gaming. The NKRO feature is convenient to help you enter multiple keypresses at a time.
Easy toggle between macOS and Windows: Press the key combo FN + CAPS to instantly change the keyboard working system to Mac / Win. And it accommodates universal keycaps compatible with both systems.
Shine-through double-shot ABS keycaps: Made through the ABS double-shot process, the keycaps are durable and wear-resistant. Meanwhile, the shine-through legends lit up by the north-facing LED present a glamorous look at your fingertips. And you can also switch from more than 14 types of red backlights.

Product information


Top reviews from the United States

Jess
5.0 out of 5 stars Quality at a great price, great first mechanical keyboard, can't stop typing in it!
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2023
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 35 dollars! The price to quality is insane, if you're thinking about getting one either for you or as a gift this one here is a serious contender.

I've never typed on a mechanical keyboard, I thought it wasn't worth paying a little or a lot extra for a mechanical one, I've always used membrane keyboards, the typical office mushy feeling typing experience and one kinda gets used to it. But there's a ton to like here!

-This brown switches are a dream to type on: Soft and quiet enough with a nice feeling that you'll be familiar with but new enough to keep you interested in using it.

-The keyboard in itself is hefty: I was expecting the typical cheap lightweight plastic but no, this keychron one is quite heavy for the size, feels like it's worth much more.

-The red LEDs are a nice touch: It has effects and you can turn it off completely, however the legends of they keys are not very visible with the LEDs turned off, if you want a stealthy keyboard then good!.You can decrease the brightness, so if you want a gamer look or just enough to see the letters it has you covered.

-You can customize it: You can program and remap the keys if you're into making this keyboard unique for you (I have yet to use this feature)

Okay so enough praise, the stuff that could improve, taken into account this is a cheap keyboard!

-The layout: It takes a bit getting used to it, I'm personally not a fan of the TKL layout, I sometimes need the full numpad, I think having a numpad version would improve the full size market, not a lot of good budget and quality 90% keyboards.

- The height of the keyboard itself: It's chonky if you're used to thinner low profile office style keyboards this one may result uncomfortable for a while, get a wrist rest that has some padding so it can elevate them for a more natural typing experience. Wished this one came with a detachable wrist rest.

-A wireless version of this keyboard would be amazing, sure at this budget price imposible but they really got something here if they choose to improve it.

-A white version with RGB! It would look amazing and not so gamery.

-A version with hot swappable switches, the modding community would really appreciate a keyboard this cheap and good with a gasket mount with a hot swap feature

This are more like suggestions if Keychron does decide to improve this keyboard. If you do choose to buy it you won't regret it, seriously is that good.

EDIT: Unfortunately the letter "G" it's now presenting some fails intermitently, can't change the switch without disasembling and soldering another one so that's unfortunate, hopefully it does't get worse over time.
Margaret T
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic for the price.
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2024
This mechanical keyboard is fantastic for the price! I had a Logitech G413 that was starting to jitter and repeat keypresses and I needed a decent replacement at a cheap price until I could get around to cleaning the contacts on my G413 switches. This keyboard turned out to be perfect for that. I love it so much more than the G413 and I paid nearly 3 times as much for that keyboard when I first bought it! Got it same-day delivery as well, thanks Amazon!

I bought the Red Switch version (doesn't refer to the color of the keyboard, but the kind of switches the keys have; all models are black and red keycaps). The red switch version is supposed to be the quieter version compared to the brown. I don't have the brown switch version to compare to so I can't speak for it, but if you prefer your keys have more of a "clickty-clack" sound and that they require a bit more pressure to push, then you should buy the brown switch version, so I'm told. I like the Red Switch version a lot and it's supposed to be quieter, but I will admit that the keys are super easy to press which makes accidental presses more likely. Probably makes typing a bit faster though.

The switches in the keyboard are not hot-swappable (board is fully soldered), but there should be no surprise there, given the price.

The keycaps are fine, the (only) red backlighting looks nice, and the build quality feels great. The backlighting has 14 different modes you can toggle, using Fn+Q or Fn+PauseBreak keys, or you can turn the back light off entirely with Fn+TAB.

I did get the VIA software working with this keyboard, but it does take extra work. This model keyboard hasn't been merged into VIA upstream yet, so you have to turn the "Design" tab on in VIA settings, download a json file from KeyChron's website, and load that into the VIA software in the Design tab on your browser tab. Once I did that, the keyboard was fully programmable. I programmed the right-hand side of the keyboard to function as a num-pad when layer 3 is on (which was nice because this keyboard is TKL, meaning no num-pad).

Keyboard Layers 0 and 1 are for Mac and Layers 2 and 3 are for windows. VIA takes some getting used to as I hadn't used it before, but after some experimenting, it worked and I was able to program macros, swap caps-lock for the control key, do the num-pad programming I mentioned, etc. I did get myself stuck one time and some Googling showed me that the keyboard could be reset by holding ESC down while plugging the keyboard in, releasing ESC, and unplugging and replugging the keyboard. That reset all of my keys to defaults. The manual also mentions using Fn+J+Z to reset, but I haven't tried that myself.

Having so much programmability in the keyboard is great! I just wish there were more indicators, like something which showed which layer was currently active. You can make your keyboard pretty unusable if you're not careful with the programming, so for novices it's probably best to watch a few YouTube videos. Of course, the programmability is completely optional. You can simply use it stock if you prefer.

For the price, it's practically impossible to go wrong, as the cost of so-called midrange mechanical keyboards is 3-4x the price of this. It's worth getting just to have a backup mechanical keyboard around the house. I think it's better than my G413 and that keyboard still goes for more than $90 last I checked!
Barnacle Wes
5.0 out of 5 stars Solid, great key feel, Keychain quality, and cheap!
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2024
Installed this on my casual gaming rig, so I could move my much-loved K3 permanently to my work machine. Unboxing it, I immediately liked the weight and how firm the chassis is.

Even with red switches, the keys have a solid feel and just a bit of "thock" at the bottom of the stroke. Since my computers share the bedroom where my wife is often asleep in early mornings, too much noise is a no-no. This is very good compromise between being positive feedback that you've hit the bottom of the switch and making a racket.

The solid-red backlighting is a big plus. The brightness control is easy to access and with the brightness turned down I can just leave the backlight on at a night. Yay for red leds that will not negatively affect sleep, especially important with something that will shine on your ceiling.

I'll report back with a photo and a long-term review when I've had it long enough to give you a real run-down. Kudos to Keychron for another hit, this one on the bargain end of the price scale.

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