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0 I’ve always known be quiet! as the company that makes some of the quietest PC components around. Whether it’s CPU coolers, cases or power supplies, they’ve built a reputation for making high-quality hardware that keeps noise to a minimum without compromising on performance. So, when I heard they were bringing that same philosophy to gaming peripherals with the Dark Mount keyboard and Dark Perk Ergo mouse, I was genuinely interested to see how they’d compare against the more established names in the market.
Mechanical keyboards and gaming mice aren’t exactly in short supply these days. Every manufacturer seems to have their own take on what makes the perfect setup, whether that’s ultra-lightweight designs, RGB lighting that could probably be seen from space or more programmable buttons than most people will ever use. Standing out isn’t easy anymore.
Thankfully, be quiet! hasn’t tried to copy everyone else. Instead, they’ve focused on making products that feel genuinely premium while adding a few clever ideas that actually make sense.
Join the Dark Side
The Dark Mount isn’t just another mechanical keyboard with fancy lighting. Its biggest selling point is the modular design, allowing you to completely change the layout depending on how you use your PC. The detachable numpad can be connected to either side of the keyboard, while the removable media dock can also be repositioned to suit your preference. It’s the sort of feature that sounds like a gimmick on paper, but after using it for a while, you start wondering why more manufacturers haven’t thought of doing the same thing.
Then there’s the Dark Perk Ergo mouse. Rather than chasing the lightest weight possible or covering every surface in RGB LEDs (one of my pet hates when you spend your time covering them with the palm of your hand), be quiet! has gone for something a little more sensible. It’s designed to be comfortable for long gaming sessions, incredibly accurate and, just like the company’s other products, surprisingly quiet.
After spending plenty of time using both together for work during the day and gaming in the evenings, it’s clear they’ve been designed to complement one another. Both share the same understated styling, premium build quality and attention to detail that be quiet! has become known for.
The Dark Mount keyboard is available in either a silent linear or a silent tactile form. For this review, I have been sent the silent linear version.
The big question is whether they’re worth their premium price tag of £259 for the keyboard and £69.99 for the mouse. Let’s find out.
Design
The first thing that struck me when taking the Dark Mount keyboard out of the box was just how solid it feels. This definitely isn’t one of those lightweight plastic gaming keyboards that slides all over your desk every time things get a bit frantic in-game. It has a reassuring weight to it, tipping the scales at around 1.4kg before you’ve even started adding the modular accessories. Once it’s sitting on your desk, it’s staying put.
The aluminium top plate immediately gives it that premium look, while the double-shot PBT keycaps feel fantastic under your fingertips. They have a slightly textured finish that offers plenty of grip without feeling rough, and unlike cheaper ABS keycaps, they shouldn’t develop that shiny worn look after months of use.
What really makes the Dark Mount stand out though is the modular design.
Accessories
The hot-swappable numpad is easily one of my favourite features. Instead of being permanently attached to the right-hand side like almost every full-sized keyboard on the market, it simply clips onto either side of the keyboard. If you’re left-handed or just prefer having your numpad on the opposite side, you can move it in seconds. If, like me, you spend a lot of time gaming, you can remove it altogether and instantly create a much more compact setup.
I actually found myself using it without the numpad most of the time. It gave me noticeably more room for my mouse, especially when playing first-person shooters, where bigger arm movements make a real difference. Then, when it came to editing spreadsheets or entering lots of numbers, clipping the numpad back on only took a few seconds. It’s one of those features that sounds simple but quickly becomes something you don’t want to live without.
Functionality
Above the numpad are eight programmable soft keys, each with a small display. These programmable buttons can be customised for almost anything. Whether you want quick shortcuts for launching applications, controlling music playback, activating macros or even stream controls, they’re incredibly versatile. If you regularly edit videos, stream on Twitch or simply like having quick access to everyday shortcuts, you’ll probably get a lot of use out of them.
The removable media dock deserves just as much praise.
Again, be quiet! could have just placed the media controls above the keyboard like everyone else does, but instead they’ve created a separate module that can also be attached to either side. Depending on your desk setup, you can position it wherever feels most comfortable.
The aluminium volume wheel feels especially nice to use, offering just the right amount of resistance as you turn it. It’s smooth, accurate and far more satisfying than repeatedly tapping volume keys. Beside it are the traditional media buttons to control your music, as well as a screen that can display the time, photos, and menus that can adjust your keyboard settings.
Shhhhhh
The keyboard itself uses be quiet!’s Silent Linear switches, and they’re exactly what you’d expect from a company with that name. They’re wonderfully smooth to press, with none of the scratchiness that cheaper linear switches sometimes suffer from. More importantly though, they’re impressively quiet. You still get that satisfying mechanical feel, but without the loud clacking that often fills a room when using traditional gaming keyboards.
It’s not silent in the literal sense, but compared to most mechanical keyboards I’ve used over the years, it’s noticeably quieter. If you regularly game late into the evening or share your workspace with other people, it’s a feature you’ll appreciate more than you might think.
Another welcome addition is that every switch is hot-swappable. If you ever decide you’d rather try tactile switches or simply need to replace a worn-out key, you don’t need to get the soldering iron out. Just pull the switch out and pop a new one in. It’s a brilliant feature that gives the keyboard a much longer lifespan and opens the door to plenty of future customisation.
Make it Yours
Speaking of customisation, the RGB lighting is excellent. Every key features individually addressable lighting, while subtle light bars around the edges of the keyboard provide an attractive underglow. Thankfully, be quiet! hasn’t gone overboard here. Even with the brightness turned up, the lighting feels classy rather than distracting, and there are plenty of effects to choose from if you enjoy personalising your setup.
Everything can be controlled through the be quiet! IO Centre software, which is straightforward to navigate and doesn’t bury important settings behind endless menus. From here, you can customise lighting effects, remap keys, assign macros, configure the programmable media dock buttons and create multiple profiles depending on whether you’re working or gaming. It’s refreshingly easy to use, and more importantly, it all works without any unnecessary fuss.
With all of the gadgetry, it is very understandable why this keyboard is wired and not wireless.
The Full Package
Alongside the keyboard sits the wireless Dark Perk Ergo mouse, and visually, the two make a great pair. It follows the same understated design language, avoiding flashy RGB lighting in favour of a much cleaner, more professional look.
Weighing in at just 55 grams, it’s incredibly light without feeling cheap. The shell feels rigid, the textured side grips provide plenty of confidence during fast movements and the ergonomic shape sits comfortably in the hand for hours at a time.
Straight away, both products give the impression that they’ve been designed with long-term comfort and quality in mind rather than simply trying to tick marketing boxes. It’s a refreshing approach, and one that really helps them stand out in an increasingly crowded market.
Performance
After spending time with the Dark Mount keyboard and Dark Perk Ergo mouse, the thing that impressed me most was how well they perform across different types of use. A lot of gaming peripherals are designed with one specific audience in mind, but this combination feels just as comfortable being used for everyday work as it does for gaming.
Starting with the Dark Mount keyboard, typing on it is a genuinely enjoyable experience. The Silent Linear switches are easily one of the highlights. I’ve used plenty of mechanical keyboards over the years, and while I love the satisfying feel they provide, the noise can sometimes become a problem, especially when working around other people or using the keyboard late at night. The Dark Mount manages to keep the mechanical feel while reducing that loud, hollow sound that many keyboards produce.
Each keypress feels smooth and consistent, with a nice amount of travel and a satisfying response without feeling too heavy. Whether writing documents, replying to emails or spending hours gaming, the switches never became tiring. The fact that be quiet! has managed to create a keyboard that feels premium while also being practical for shared environments is a big achievement.
The internal dampening also deserves credit here. Many mechanical keyboards have a noticeable ping or echo when typing, especially when pressing keys firmly. The Dark Mount avoids much of this thanks to its layered construction, resulting in a much deeper and more refined sound profile.
In Action
For gaming, the keyboard performs exactly as you’d expect from a premium mechanical board. It features full N-key rollover and anti-ghosting, ensuring that every keypress registers accurately even during fast-paced gameplay. Whether you’re playing competitive shooters, strategy games or MMOs with multiple key combinations, the keyboard keeps up without any noticeable delay.
The 1,000Hz polling rate also ensures quick response times, although in reality, most users are unlikely to notice a huge difference compared with other high-quality gaming keyboards. What matters more is the consistency, and the Dark Mount delivers that perfectly.
The modular design also becomes surprisingly useful when gaming.
As I mentioned earlier, removing the numpad creates much more space for mouse movement. This might not sound like a big deal, but if you play games that require larger sweeping movements, having that extra desk space makes the setup feel much more comfortable. The fact that you can simply reconnect the numpad afterwards when you need it makes the whole idea feel much more practical.
The media dock is another feature that I found myself using more often than expected. Being able to quickly adjust volume and pause music is incredibly convenient, as well as being able to switch between applications without reaching for shortcuts via the programmable buttons above the numpad.
Tinker Time
Using the be quiet! IO Centre software, these buttons can be assigned to almost anything. I found them particularly useful for launching frequently used programs and creating shortcuts for tasks I perform regularly. Gamers can use them for macros, streamers can assign controls for broadcasting software, and productivity users can create shortcuts for everyday applications. Having small screens for each button is perfect for truly customising the keyboard.
The software itself is well designed. Thankfully, be quiet! hasn’t created one of those complicated control panels that take longer to understand than the product itself. Everything is clearly laid out, and adjusting settings is simple.
You can create different profiles, customise RGB lighting, remap keys, adjust macros and change button functions depending on what you’re doing. For example, you could have one profile for gaming with performance-focused settings and another for work with productivity shortcuts. Switching between them is quick and easy.
Unleash the Mouse
Moving over to the Dark Perk Ergo mouse, this is another area where be quiet! has done a fantastic job.
The first thing you’ll notice is the weight. At only 55g, it feels incredibly agile. Lightweight gaming mice have become increasingly popular, but there is always a concern that reducing weight too much can make a product feel flimsy. Thankfully, that isn’t the case here. I am personally accustomed to weighted mice; however, I adjusted well to the lighter weight and quickly began reclaiming the leaderboards in Call of Duty.
The Dark Perk Ergo feels solid in the hand, with no unwanted movement or creaking from the chassis. It strikes a good balance between being lightweight and still feeling like a premium product.
The ergonomic shape is also very comfortable. It naturally supports your hand rather than forcing your fingers into an awkward position, making it ideal for longer gaming sessions. I found it worked particularly well with a palm grip, but it also suited a relaxed claw grip. The textured side panels provide additional grip, especially during fast movements, while the PTFE feet allow the mouse to glide smoothly across the desk. Combined with the lightweight design, moving the mouse feels effortless.
No Escape from my Cross Hairs
Inside, the Dark Perk Ergo features a high-performance optical sensor with up to 32,000 DPI sensitivity. While most people will never need anywhere near that level of sensitivity, having the option is useful for those who like fine-tuning their setup.
Tracking performance is excellent. Movements are accurate and consistent, with no noticeable acceleration or unwanted jumps. Whether making small adjustments when aiming or quickly moving across a large monitor setup, the mouse responds exactly how you expect it to. The optical switches also provide a great experience. They feel crisp and responsive, while still maintaining the quieter approach that be quiet! has focused on with these products. The clicks aren’t overly loud, which again makes it a great choice for shared spaces.
There are also several programmable buttons available, all of which can be customised through the IO Centre software. This allows you to create shortcuts, adjust DPI settings, assign macros or control media functions directly from the mouse.
Power Saving
Battery life is another strong point. The wireless connection remains stable during use, and the 110-hour-long battery life means you’re not constantly having to think about charging it. When it does need power, USB-C charging makes topping it up quick and convenient.
One thing worth mentioning is that the mouse doesn’t feature RGB lighting. Some gamers might see this as a downside, especially if they enjoy matching every component of their setup, but personally, I think it suits the be quiet! approach perfectly. The clean design looks professional and doesn’t distract from the rest of your desk.
Conclusion
The be quiet! Dark Mount Silent Linear keyboard and Dark Perk Ergo mouse are a fantastic example of how gaming peripherals don’t need to rely on excessive lighting or unnecessary features to stand out.
The Dark Mount is easily the more unique of the two products. The detachable hot-swappable numpad, removable media dock, programmable buttons and silent linear switches combine to create one of the most flexible keyboards I’ve used. It works brilliantly for gaming, but it also makes just as much sense for productivity, especially for anyone who spends long periods working at their desk.
Multi-Tasking
The ability to change the layout depending on what you’re doing is something I didn’t expect to appreciate as much as I did. Being able to remove the numpad for gaming and quickly add it back when needed genuinely improves the experience.
The Silent Linear switches are another highlight. They offer the satisfying feel of a mechanical keyboard without the usual noise, making this a much more practical option for shared offices or home environments.
The Dark Perk Ergo mouse follows the same philosophy. It’s lightweight, comfortable, accurate and packed with enough customisation options to suit both gamers and everyday users. The sensor performance is excellent, the ergonomic design makes it comfortable for long sessions and the lack of unnecessary extras keeps the focus where it should be.
Final Thoughts
There are a couple of things to consider. The premium design and modular features do come at a higher price compared with more traditional keyboards and mice. The mouse also skips RGB lighting, which some users may miss. However, these feel more like personal preferences rather than genuine drawbacks.
What be quiet! has created here is a setup that feels refined. It doesn’t try to be the loudest or most attention-grabbing product on the market. Instead, it focuses on quality, flexibility and creating a better overall user experience.
For anyone looking for a premium keyboard and mouse combination that can handle gaming, work and everything in between, the Dark Mount Silent Linear keyboard and Dark Perk Ergo mouse are both excellent choices. They prove that sometimes the best features are the ones that make your everyday experience just that little bit better.
I give the be quiet! Dark Mount Silent Linear keyboard and Dark Perk Ergo mouse the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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