keychron c2 pro 8k keyboard

Keychron C2 Pro 8K Review – Cheap Raw Performance

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Keychron’s C2 offers a full-size mechanical layout for those who don’t desire wireless connectivity at a great price. The C2 Pro 8K keeps the price reasonable but bumps the performance up, making it even better for gamers.

Before we dive in, I want to mention that Keychron did not send me the C2 Pro, I purchased it myself. I tested the C2 Pro 8K for a little over a week before writing my review. This article does contain affiliate links which help to support this site if you decide to purchase.

SPECS & FEATURES

  • Layout: 100% full-size layout
  • Connectivity: Wired USB-C connection
  • Polling Rate: Up to 8,000 Hz (can be adjusted)
  • Hot-swappable: Yes, supports both 3-pin and 5-pin MX mechanical switches
  • Keycaps: Double-shot PBT keycaps, OSA profile
  • Switch Options: Keychron Super mechanical switches (Red, Brown, or Banana plus silent options on amazon)
  • Backlight: South-facing RGB LED
  • Case Material: ABS plastic case
  • Plate Material: Steel
  • Stabilizers: Plate-mount stabilizers (lubed)
  • Mount: Tray-mount
  • Programmability: Keychron Launcher for custom key mapping and macros (QMK based)
  • Cable: USB-C to USB-C cable included (with USB-A adapter)
  • NKRO: N-key rollover with anti-ghosting
  • Typing Angle: 4.8º / 7.8º / 10.2º
  • Dimensions: 436.48 mm x 130.33 mm
  • Front Height: 19.58 mm  (without keycaps)
  • Rear Height: 27.87 mm (without keycaps)
  • Weight: 975g
  • Compatible OS: macOS and Windows (switchable with OS toggle)
  • keychron c2 pro 8k keyboard

PROS

  • Nice Build Quality – To start with, the build quality is good for this price point. Keyboards under $75 are commonly all-plastic, as the C2 Pro 8K is. But it’s not super-cheap feeling plastic, and thanks to all the internal components, it still has a nice weight. I didn’t find any rough edges or areas that had a low-quality appearance. That said, it doesn’t exactly scream “premium” either, but we can’t expect that for $65.
The construction of the C2 Pro 8K is very nice for the price.
  • 8K Performance – One of the main selling points of the C2 Pro 8K is the high polling rate, which helps to reduce overall latency. This is appealing especially to gamers, who want inputs transmitted to the computer as fast as possible. It certainly delivers in this department and although it still features mechanical switches (vs Hall Effect), the high polling rate and wired connection should deliver very good latency. While it won’t save battery life (since there is no battery), you can turn down the polling rate in Keychron Launcher if 8K just isn’t necessary for your needs.
  • Customization Options – Speaking of Launcher, this is a significant pro for a keyboard at this price. You get all the same customization options that are available in Keychron’s much more expensive keyboards, including full key remapping on a few layers, macro creation, a few advanced custom functions, lighting control, plus easy firmware updates all within the Launcher web app. It’s compatible with Win/Mac/Linux and is fairly straightforward to use.
  • Sound & Feel – This is where things get subjective, but as far as objective pros, the sound and feel of the C2 Pro 8K is what I can call overall “good”. I tested Keychron’s silent Banana and regular Red switches and neither had any issues with pingy sounds or excessive wobble. While there is a touch of hollow sound with the non-silent switches, it’s not severe. The stabilizers also don’t contribute any significant negative sounds that require fixing.
The general feel of the C2 Pro 8K is on the firm side.

NEUTRAL CONSIDERATIONS

  • Sound & Feel (continued) – Rounding out the sound & feel topic, I have to point out the feel is on the firmer side. It has a tray mount and a metal plate so that’s to be expected, but whether you like this type of feel is up to your preferences. The sound leans towards a poppy, louder sound with the regular switches and naturally much quieter with the silent switches. One thing about the silent Banana switches – while the regular ones don’t have this issue, the silent option has a little bit of a scratchy feel.
  • Layout & Appearance – A 100% layout keyboard technically “works” for everyone since it’s not missing any keys…it’s got them all. But whether it fits on your desk is another question. If you don’t have a regular use for the number pad, this layout does take up quite a bit of space…the 436mm length is just over 17 inches. If that’s you, Keychron offers these same features in the more compact C1 Pro. But if you do use the numpad on the regular, the C2 Pro has you covered.
  • South-Facing RGB – While the 8K polling makes this great for gaming, one feature that is also popular in gaming keyboards are keycaps with shine-through legends for easy visibility in low light. Not only does the C2 Pro 8K not come with shine-through keycaps, it also has south-facing backlighting which is not very good at illuminating most aftermarket shine-through keycaps available. So even if you swap them out, you likely won’t get great visibility of the legends. This one is neutral because not everyone wants or needs shine-through legends.
The hot-swappable PCB features south-facing RGB backlighting.

CONS

  • No Knob – Although the C2 Pro 8K is not missing any keys…it is missing a knob. With this size layout, Keychron had enough space to play with in the design that an encoder knob definitely could have been incorporated, and it would have been nice. This won’t matter to everyone but it would be a great feature, especially with customizable functions, so it’s a small bummer not to have it.
  • One Color Option – This con may matter to more people. Keychron has been known to offer limited color choices in all their keyboards, typically offering 2-3 colors in their more expensive keyboards and a single color in their less expensive models. The C2 Pro 8K at the time of writing is only available in the colorway that you could call tan, beige, or “retro white”, like the color of an Apple //e from the 80s (yes I used one as a kid).
This “retro” color theme is currently the only option.
  • Keycap Quality – This last con is a little nit-picky, mostly because this is a “value” keyboard at a reasonable price. But I still want to point out that the quality of Keychron’s OSA profile keycaps is one place where I do feel they could improve. The keycaps are double-shot, which provides nice crisp legends that won’t wear off. But the legend material is only a “dab” in the top of the keycap, it does not form a full layer on the inside. Because of this, the keycaps have a slightly light/thin feel to them and don’t produce as deep of a sound as a thick dye-sub keycap or a double-shot with a full double layer. I should point out that overall the keycaps are not poor quality, and this is likely more noticeable to me because I’ve tested so many keyboards over the last few years.
Keychron OSA keycaps from the C2 Pro 8K keyboard.
The double-shot for the legends is not a full layer inside the keycap.

CONCLUSION

It’s 2025, and $65 buys you a darn nice keyboard at this point. Keychron makes the C2 Pro 8K stand out by offering excellent gaming performance and customization options along with solid (but not premium) build quality.

  • 👍 Great gaming performance
  • 👍 Lots of customization options
  • 👍 Good overall typing feel and sound (on the firmer side)
  • 👎 Wish it had a knob and more color options

If you’re looking for a 100% layout and don’t need wireless connectivity, the C2 Pro 8K offers a lot to like at a reasonable price.

Check out the C2 Pro 8K

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