Two-minute review
You might need time to adjust to its split-key design, but the Cherry KC 4500 Ergo is a cheap, well-made ergonomic keyboard. It’s very light and isn’t made with the most expensive materials, but being able to configure your keys, and rest your arms comfortably, makes it great value for money.
The Cherry KC 4500 Ergo keyboard is a sturdy, low cost ergonomic keyboard, which provides enhanced comfort with its palm rest and front end tilt legs.
It has a curved, split key-frame to provide full ergonomic support and improve posture; it’s black, looks professional and uses Cherry’s Cherry Keys software, which allows you to customize your keyboard settings to suit you.
The chiclet keys and rubber membrane are comfortable to touch and make a nice, soft thunk when pressed.
They aren’t the best offering from the mechanical key switch legends, but they’re good enough. They’re ok for gaming, but we’d advise sticking to low-paced or mouse-heavy games, TBS and some RTSes.
The keyboard’s wired, but the cable is quite long, at 180 cm. Wireless is always a good option, but the cable’s length makes up for that. The feet can tilt the keyboard up to 43 mm and have rubber grips to prevent slipping.
The Cherry KC 4500 Ergo keyboard is priced at a cool £36 (around $50, AU$65), and is available to purchase at ebuyer.com. It has a two-year statutory warranty, and a one-year extended warranty.
The full-sized keyboard measures 456 mm wide and 217 mm tall, and is very light at 750g. The familiar double-duty function and media keys – calculator, PC Lock, etc – are across the top row of the keyboard. From Cherry’s website you can download its free Cherry Keys software, which lets you rebind keys and record macros, designate single keys to immediately launch commonly-used programs, and more.
The keyboard is easy to set up: once plugged in, it’s ready to go and is compatible with any operating system, but the software only works on Windows 8 and 10.
Ergonomic peripherals are made to provide maximum comfort for short to long periods of use, and avoid typing-related ailments like Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), and palm supports are particularly important.
The one on the Cherry KC 4500 Ergo is made out of memory foam and PU leather. While it’s comfortable enough, it’s not as comfy as say, that of the Logitech ERGO K860 (however, that keyboard is over double the price of the KC 4500).
The Cherry KC 4500 Ergo’s palm rest is also not detachable. Our one criticism of non-detachable wrist or palm rests is that the size of your hands will influence how effective it is. If your hands are large then your palm will go well past the rest, defeating the whole point of its purported ergonomics.
If you have a read of the manual, you’ll find tips on setting up your workspace ergonomically. There’s also a digital copy available if required.
Although it’s great for personal use, the Cherry KC 4500 Ergo is really designed for the office, so it may not matter to you that it’s only available in black and has no RGB or backlighting.
Buy it if…
You want a cheap, but well-made ergonomic keyboard
The Cherry KC 4500 Ergo is not expensive, and it does what it should. It’s comfortable to use for long periods of time and well-suited to the office or home.
You want to stave off RSI
This keyboard is great if you want to avoid or reduce the effects of the condition on a budget. The manual provides helpful tips on how to set up your workspace for maximum ergonomic support.
You like to configure your keys
For such a low-priced ergonomic keyboard, it’s great that Cherry included the option to rebind keys, and record macros amongst other settings. Making it function exactly how you want it to.
Don’t buy it if…
You don’t like wired peripherals
Although its cable is 180 cm long, The Cherry KC 4500 Ergo still might be a turnoff if you prefer wireless keyboards; although, it’s likely that Cherry made it wired to keep its low price point.
You want backlit keys
There is no backlighting on the Cherry KC 4500 Ergo. A small section in the top right corner lights up red to its corresponding caps and num lock buttons, but that’s all the lighting you get.
You can’t warm up to its design
The Cherry KC 4500 Ergo is an ergonomic keyboard, yes, but there are other options out there, should you want a different design; but you might be hard-pressed to find one as cheap.
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