When comparing Das Keyboard 4 Professional vs CODE Keyboard, the Slant community recommends CODE Keyboard for most people. In the question“What are the best keyboards for programming?” CODE Keyboard is ranked 1st while Das Keyboard 4 Professional is ranked 11th. The most important reason people chose CODE Keyboard is:
The CODE keyboard uses Cherry MX mechanical key switches, regarded as top-quality switches. They have impressive levels of durability and consistently pass, with high marks, all the performance tests they are subjected to. There are 4 kinds to choose from: Blue, Brown, Green or Clear. The MX Blues are the most common kind. They are responsive, but soft, and quite noisy. The MX Browns feel similar to the Blues, but slightly less noisy. The MX Greens are often described as heavy Blue switches. They still make the click sound and offer tactile feedback, however the activation force is 80g (for the Blue switches, it's 50g). The MX Clear switches have medium stiffness and a tactile response but are non-clicky (similar to Brown switches but heavier and with a greater tactile feedback). It's characteristics make it fantastic for general typing in office environments.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Reliable and long-lasting mechanical switches
Das 4 Pro keyboards feature Cherry MX switches, know for their established reputation. They have excellent durability and outstanding performance. Users can choose between the Cherry MX Blue and Cherry MX Brown switches. The main difference is that the first ones are clicky and the second ones are quiet.
Pro Conveniently located two-port USB 3.0 hub
The location of the hub, on the top right side, makes adding a mouse very convenient.
Pro Solid, durable construction
The Das uses the best materials available to create a stable, durable board. Some parts are made of aluminum which prevents any flexing and others of resistant textured plastic, making this a keyboard that withstands damage very well. And the switches are genuine Cherry MX switches, which are durable and reliable. The keycaps text is laser etched, meaning it withstands the test of time pretty well.
Pro Beautiful design
The Das 4 Pro keyboard has a beautiful nearly-minimalist design. The volume wheel and slight protrusion on the top right help it stand out from the crowd. The front is covered with a matte aluminium finish that resists fingerprints.
Pro Ultimate version looks very slick
The Ultimate version of the keyboard looks badass with its blank keycaps.
Pro Top panel resists fingerprints and provides rigidness
It has an aluminum top panel which not only feels great, but also resists fingerprints and prevents any flexing.
Pro Comes with dedicated media controls and an oversized volume knob
There are three rectangular media keys: previous, play/pause, and next. Just above the next key there's a circular mute button, and on the right of all the other media keys is a volume knob that can be spun to adjust the volume.
Pro Very thin
Das claims that this keyboard is the thinnest mechanical keyboard available on the market.
Pro Each key has the perfect stabilizer for its size
This keyboard uses an innovative mix of Cherry and Costar stabilizers. Costar stabilizers have many advantages, but they don't work very well on large keys, like spacebars. To get the best of both options, Das uses Costar stabilizers on all keys, except on the space bar, where it uses Cherry stabilizers.
Pro Available with 4 different kinds of Cherry MX switches
The CODE keyboard uses Cherry MX mechanical key switches, regarded as top-quality switches. They have impressive levels of durability and consistently pass, with high marks, all the performance tests they are subjected to.
There are 4 kinds to choose from: Blue, Brown, Green or Clear. The MX Blues are the most common kind. They are responsive, but soft, and quite noisy. The MX Browns feel similar to the Blues, but slightly less noisy. The MX Greens are often described as heavy Blue switches. They still make the click sound and offer tactile feedback, however the activation force is 80g (for the Blue switches, it's 50g). The MX Clear switches have medium stiffness and a tactile response but are non-clicky (similar to Brown switches but heavier and with a greater tactile feedback). It's characteristics make it fantastic for general typing in office environments.
Pro Solid construction
This keyboard is built solidly, using sturdy parts made of robust materials. It's mounted on a solid steel backplate, weighs over 2 pounds and has a dual layer PCB board. In this aspect, it’s comparable to other keyboards renowned for their build quality, such as those from the Ducky series.
Pro Full white backlighting
The CODE keyboard comes with backlighting that feels similar to the one found on Apple products. You can pick from seven brightness levels and the onboard memory saves your lighting preferences. They also have gone to a lot of trouble getting the backlighting even by painting the backplate white and positioning the key symbols just right.
Pro Minimalistic design
The CODE keyboard has a textured finish that resists fingerprints and scratches. It has no stickers or logos and the back-lighting is very clean and elegant.
Pro Media control
Even though there aren't any dedicated media keys, the navigation cluster has secondary media control functions. To access these functions, the keys should be pressed in combination with the Fn key.
Pro Removable/replaceable USB cable
Many keyboards come with a permanently attached cable, meaning that if it gets damaged, you need to get it fixed or replace the whole board. CODE keyboards come with removable cables, which means they're easy to replace if broken. This also has the added benefit of allowing for more customization options: braided cables, different coloured cables, or longer/shorter cables for different setups without having excess cables hanging around.
Pro Highly configurable
DIP-switches on the back of the keyboard can be used to disable the Windows key, switch Caps Lock with Ctrl, swap Alt with Command (if you're on macOS), and change to QWERTY, Dvorak, or Colemak layouts.
Pro Available with or without a numeric keypad
Users can choose between versions that have and don't have a numeric keypad.
Pro Consistent design
FN labels are on the front of the keycaps (i.e. media labels). This improves the user experience.
A consistent design is an outstanding aspect in this keyboard.
Pro Saves time with complex key combos
Key combos can be configured, supporting combinations of up to six keys. However, Ctrl, Alt and Shift don't count to this total. As a result, using these keys actually increases the combo key limit to nine.
Pro Very portable
This keyboard’s detachable cable, dimensions, and weight make it extremely easy to carry around.
Cons
Con Has numeric keypad
If you are an accountant, a numeric keypad might be an advantage. But to those of us who want to use a mouse, it's a definite con. Moving the mouse further right opens the shoulder joint and is just bad ergonomically.
Con Not suitable for use in the dark
The Das 4 Pro keyboard doesn't have any backlighting. This means you will probably find it a bit hard to use on a dark environment.
Con Potentially uncomfortable to use, depending on your wrist placement
The edges of the keyboard are not rounded, so it can be painful if you rest your wrists on them.
Con No calculator button
There's no calculator shortcut button.
Con Not very portable
The Das 4 Pro keyboard has external dimensions of 18'' x 6.8'' x 0.8'' ( 457 x 173 x 20 mm ) and weight of 2.9 pounds (1.3 kg). Hence, it’s not an easy keyboard to carry around. This makes the fact that it’s the slimmest mechanical keyboard on the market loose value.
Con Expensive
This keyboard is quite expensive, especially if compared, in terms of extra features, to similarly priced keyboards made by other brands. It notably misses features like USB passthrough or RGB lighting, which is surprising for a keyboard with a retail price of $169.
Con Expensive
Compared to alternatives which offer RGB lighting, USB passthrough or other features, this keyboard is pretty expensive.
Con MX Blues are extremely loud
Not suitable in a space with other people.
Con Sculpted keys make switching to Dvorak difficult
Dvorak is a keyboard layout that's an alternative to the commonly used QWERTY layout. While QWERTY was designed in the early days of typing, Dvorak is a more comfortable, modern layout which is technically superior. It is designed to have more flow than QWERTY, where the left hand does most of the work. Here, keys are strategically placed to spread the typing out more evenly. This creates better flow (left hand types a letter, then the right hand, then back to left and so on). In this keyboad, the keycaps are sculpted for the QWERTY layout, which means that, when you switch the keys around, each of the keys is at a slightly different angle than the one next to it.
Con No wireless connection
CODE keyboards connect via USB. No Bluetooth or any other form of wireless connection is available.
Con Spare parts and keycap sets can only be obtained from third parties
The manufacturer doesn’t sell spare parts or keycap sets, so if users want to change the layout, they have to get these components from a third party.
Con Too small for some, particularly those with big hands
This keyboard's small size may prove difficult for some people to get accustomed to.
Con Lacks numpad
This is a tenkeyless keyboard which means that it doesn't have the numpad.
Con It's hard to source the MX Clear version
The version of the CODE keyboard that comes with the MX Clear switches is constantly out of stock.