Review: Mchose GX87 Ultra

Getting into the mechanical keyboard world can be difficult. You need to know countless phrases, concepts, and details before trying to build the kinds of keyboards you see online. You know the kind—the ones with ASMR videos dedicated to their typing sound, and half-hour-long reviews detailing every detail of their assembly.

Luckily, as the keyboard scene has grown, readily available keyboards have slowly shifted closer to the bespoke custom-made keyboards. They feel better, sound better, and have adopted the same refined styling that was once limited to only the best keyboards. This is where the Mchose GX87 shines: It has a sound and typing feel that’s incredibly refined compared to a standard gaming keyboard, plus customization and modification is incredibly easy. It still maintains a low barrier of entry in both price and required knowledge too. The GX87 starts at $89, and the Ultra model I was sent, which has a premium coating on the case, upgraded switches, and a quick-disassembly system, retails for $139.

ASMR-Like Typing

Photograph: Henri Robbins

Typing on the GX87 feels great all around. The keyboard uses a silicone gasket-mount system with small, cylindrical gaskets placed into clips around the edges of the printed circuit board (PCB). These gaskets are then sandwiched between the top and bottom halves of the case to suspend the PCB and the rest of the keyboard’s internal assembly. This isolates the vibrations (and sounds) of the keyboard from the case, and creates a soft and “bouncy” typing feel as the silicone compresses.

This softness is further increased by the PCB itself. Each switch has “flex cuts” around it, which are holes in the PCB that allow the PCB and switch to bounce slightly when typing and absorb some of the force of a key press. The ones on the GX87 are in a “U” shape surrounding the hot-swap socket, and allow for about as much movement as possible when typing.

The Vintage White switches I was sent are standard linear switches, coming pre-lubed from the factory and having a spring which requires 45 grams of force to press down, comparable to Cherry MX Reds. They feel smooth out of the box, with a consistent key press and a slight scratchiness that can only be noticed when pressing the switch very slowly. However, if you don’t like these switches, they can easily be removed and replaced without any soldering thanks to the hot-swap sockets on the PCB.

Between the PCB and the plate, and in the bottom of the case, there are multiple layers of poron foam (a sound-dampening foam commonly used in custom keyboards) that work together to refine the sound of this keyboard. They don’t make it quieter but limit certain frequencies for a cleaner typing sound.

All of this combines to create a keyboard with a lively and “poppy” typing sound. It’s not particularly high-pitched, but it has a crispness to the sound that’s satisfying. If you’ve seen videos online of “satisfying” keyboard typing sounds, the GX87 fits the bill. My only real complaint is that this keyboard uses plate-mount stabilizers instead of PCB-mount. These will be slightly less stable and more prone to rattling over time, but the ones on this keyboard are already lubed and tuned to be nearly silent when typing, and lube can easily be reapplied if they start to rattle.

Simple and Solid Software

The LEDs on this keyboard can be customized using onboard key combinations. There are quite a few options for colors and animations, but they certainly don’t match manufacturers like Razer and Keychron. As a side note, the instructions for adjusting the RGB are not in English. Instead, I had to use digital copies of the user manual that were uploaded to Mchose's website.

I was impressed by how quickly this keyboard would reconnect to my device after sitting idle for a few minutes: While most keyboards I’ve tested will need a key press or two to reactivate, I found with the GX87 that it would consistently reconnect the moment I pressed a key.

Photograph: Henri Robbins

Overall, the wireless functionality is impressive. With a 1,000-Hz refresh rate, key presses feel responsive and immediate even in high-speed gaming situations. While the performance isn’t absolutely mind-blowing, it’s really impressive at this price along with the rest of the GX87’s features. During sessions with everything from Minecraft and Helldivers 2 to Marvel Rivals and Halo: MCC, I found this keyboard more than competent for any game I could throw at it.

The crux of this functionality is its full programmability. Instead of a proprietary customization software, the GX87 uses QMK, an open-source system for keyboards that allows for full customization of every key. These customizations are stored on the keyboard, meaning they will persist across multiple devices. In addition, the GX87 uses VIA, an in-browser system that allows for quick customization of your keyboard layout. The only downside of VIA is that a keyboard can’t be customized when connected wirelessly.

I occasionally ran into an issue where the keyboard would stop recognizing an input if I held certain keys (typically Shift+W when gaming) for too long (20+ seconds). However, this issue wasn’t constant, and I could release and re-press the key without fail. It only came up in fringe cases where I was moving in one direction or performing one action for an extended period.

There were a few instances where a key press would register multiple times, but those were few and far between in my testing, only happening two or three times across 10-plus hours of testing. That said, I worry this issue could become worse over time.

Quick-Access Customization

Photograph: Henri Robbins

Overall, the assembly and design of this keyboard is impressive. The standout feature is the quick disassembly system. This consists of four snap-release mechanisms with ball bearings and springs that allow the top and bottom case to come apart without any tools. This makes customization and modification of this keyboard incredibly easy.

The components used all feel high-quality and solid. Both the top and bottom case are made from aluminum, and the snap-release mechanisms are metal as well. The case doesn’t have any externally visible imperfections, and everything seems to be assembled well.

The largest downside of the metal case is the fixed typing angle. While most plastic keyboards have flip-out feet to adjust the keyboard's angle, the GX87 has a permanent 6-degree angle. This is a fairly standard angle (most keyboards sit between 5 and 7 degrees), so it shouldn’t create any issues for the average person when typing.

Photograph: Henri Robbins

There is a slight mismatch of colors between the key caps and the case on the all-white unit. The difference is just enough to bother me, but most people will probably ignore it. Or it can be fixed with aftermarket key caps, or avoided entirely by choosing a different color combination.

While the flex cuts in the PCB improve typing feel, they also make it harder to remove and reinstall switches, since the hot-swap socket will bend downward when trying to install a switch. This issue is alleviated by disassembling the keyboard, since you can support the bottom of the PCB when installing new switches, although this does make customization slightly more tedious.

Overall, for $140, you’re getting a fully built keyboard that feels good to type on, performs well, and is easy to customize. The switches feel good, the gasket-mount system is well engineered, and it's enjoyable to use. It isn’t necessarily the best at any one thing, but it's well balanced.