Pros: Build quality, Cherry MX Blues, backlight illumination
Cons: Lack of accessories, no included software, no adjustable backlight, lack of media keys, cannot change repeat rate/delay, no wrist wrest, loud keyboard (due to MX Blues)

Build Quality: 8/10
Design & Look: 7/10
Value: 8/10
Performance: 10/10
My final Rating: 8/10

Purchase Date: February 2015
Purchase Price: £80

First of all I would like to thank Perixx for sending me the keyboard for review. The keyboard can be found on AmazonUK for £80 and AmazonUSA for $100. The keyboard can be found in both UK and US layouts. After having previously reviewed the Perixx PX-5000, which utilised Cherry MX Black switches, I was intrigued to see how the PX-5200 that utilised Cherry MX Blues compared.

 

Before getting into my written review, here’s my video review of the PX-5000:

Now let’s get into this written review!

Full specification and a description of the keyboard can be found on Perixx’s website.

Build quality

First off, what you get in the box – well, unlike the Perixx PX-5000, where I found the lack of extra buttons, a key puller and extra rubber bits for the longevity of the keyboard, I found the lack of accessories in the PX-5200 extremely disappointing, especially considering it’s a newer and more expensive keyboard. All you get with the PX-5200 is a PS/2 to USB adapter, which is needed for its N-key rollover (NKRO). I would have at least like to have seen the similar accessories that were included in the PX-5000 or even more.

Moving on to its build quality, which I found extremely good. To start us off, we have a removable braided USB cable, which is excellent. The cable was also long enough to go around my desk, to my PC (this might be a given, but you’ll be surprised sometimes!).

The keyboard itself is very well built – extremely stable and strong. It is built out of a tough plastic and didn’t flex at all when put under great strain. It is impressively built and I really like this aspect of the keyboard, as it denotes quality. This is also shown via the keys themselves, where they aren’t super light keys, as found on the Logitech G710+. They aren’t quite as good as the PBT quality found on my CM XT, but with that said, for typing, I prefer a lighter key caps.

The PX-5200, just like the PX-5000 has nice flip up height adjustments, which have a rubber bit at the end of them, in order to avoid the keyboard slipping whilst being used. This might seem like something simple, however it’s a feature that’s not often used by many manufacturers, so it’s nice to see it being utilised again in the PX-5200.

If it wasn’t already obvious, the keyboard is illuminated. The illumination can be cycled through 4 modes – full keyboard, WASD, arrow keys and off. This is a great inclusion by Perixx, however I feel that they’ve overlooked something fundamental – and that’s brightness control. Even my mother who is currently using the keyboard wanted the lights to be a little less bright as it distracted her whilst typing. I have no idea why Perixx didn’t include it. I realise this keyboard has no software, but even the PX-5000 had brightness controls via the FN+Scroll lock key. This surely couldn’t have been hard to implement on the PX-5200! It’s something that I really would have expected, either via software or hardware – something to adjust the backlight.
I really do like the backlit keys, but would have preferred more control over them.

As you’ll be also able to see the keyboard has 8 Macro keys at the top left side of the keyboard. This is great, although as there is no software included, it means that you cannot program any files and folders to open with the macro buttons. Of course, there is the use of 3rd p;arty program that could be used, but it’s not something I take into account with a review, as I’m reviewing a product, with its things included, not 3rd party apps and software. Thus, it’s a shame that these keys can’t do more. I feel that people who use their keyboards for media usage, would have really benefited from having these keys do a little more than register keystrokes. RTS gamers however will be pleased to know it can macro record 300 keys per key.

Finally, the keyboard wouldn’t be complete without the inclusion of Cherry MX Blues. The Cherry switches are one of the best switches in the market and there’s a reason behind it – the feel and accuracy of them is exceptional. The Cherry MX Blues have an actuation force of 50 cN, which means they’re very light keys to press whilst typing. Furthermore, as they’re not linear switches, unlike the MX Black it is faster and easier to type on – of course this can be slightly subjective.
The MX Blues are really designed for typists and this is emphasised from the sound the MX Blues have. They are loud, clicky sounding switches, which really give you a healthy “click-clack” sound when being used. Therefore, if you’re looking for a silent keyboard or one that won’t annoy your friends, you should look elsewhere. These keys are loud and they’re proud of it. Personally, I don’t use MX Blues as a daily driver, as I find them too loud – I feel that MX Blues would drive me insane at the amount of typing I do, both at work or at home. This is of course personal preference, but it should be noted nevertheless.
I should also note about gaming on MX Blues – I personally didn’t find it a problem as I’m an FPS gamer – however, if you’re an RTS gamer, you might actually like the MX Blues as you can audibly hear the clicks. As an FPS gamer, I found them to be nice, albeit loud when speaking on Skype and/or VOIP.

Overall, the build quality is very good and I was impressed with it, however there are a few flaws that I felt could have been improved.

Design

The design and looks very much blend with the build quality, but there are a few things here that I should also mention.
First of all, there’s no wrist wrest, be it integrated (Like the Perixx PX-5200) or as an add-on (like the Logitech G710+) – which is something that I found disappointing, yet again in comparison to the older PX-5000.
Emphasising the point of having a lack of backlight control, I also disliked that there was no media function keys – there are three keys on the right-hand side, for mute, vol +/- but there’s no play/pause, prev/next and stop buttons. I use my keyboard for media functionalities too and was disappointed not to find them here – again because they were also included in the previous PX-5000.
To add to that, there was no USB input nor audio output on the keyboard, which were again two features I liked in the previous PX-5000. This was great, as people could plug-in their USB or headsets straight into the keyboard. Again, not sure why Perixx didn’t include it as there’s no real excuses for it not to be included.

Other than the above, the design of the keyboard is well-thought out, from the cable management, to rubber bits on the height adjustments, to the inclusion of a backlight.
Overall, the design and looks are decent, again very good for its price-point, but I would have liked to see the same features, if not more (such as a volume wheel) in the PX-5200 over the PX-5000 model.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the PX-5200 is a great keyboard, however it’s not a go-to recommendation, as it was with the PX-5000. At its higher price-tag and supposedly more functions, I would have like dot see more included or at least some of the features and accessories from the PX-5000 carried over to the PX-5200. It wouldn’t ahve been hard for Perixx to include and feel that they have cheaped out a little in a few areas. So despite it being a good keyboard, mainly due to the inclusion of Cherry MX Blues and not knock-off mechanical switches, I would have liked to see more effort being put in by Perixx. It’s almost the PX-5200 should be a PX-4800, a step-back not step-forward for Perixx. I feel a lot of the problems could have been solved via a dedicated Fn key and a bundled software – hopefully Perixx improve on this in the future!

Other than that, this keyboard is nice to type on and definitely recommended for typists who don’t mind a loud clicky-clack keyboard. I should note that the sound can be damned via Rubber Black O-Rings. This is an additional £10 cost, however it’s something I’ve invested in for all my mechanical keyboards and would highly suggest them to reduce the noise of the keys – if of course, that’s something you’re looking for.

Hope you enjoyed my review!
–TotallydubbedHD