Meet the Be Quiet! Dark Mount and Light Mount. After years of concentrating on producing silence-focused cases, coolers, and power supplies for PCs, Be Quiet! has jumped into the world of PC peripherals, and in a big way. It’s today launching two gaming keyboards, one of which is a refresh of my long-time personal favorite keyboard, the Mountain Everest.
The Dark Mount is the keyboard in question and its predecessor remains one of the best gaming keyboard options we’ve ever tested. Its secret sauce is a clever modular system that lets you switch the keyboard from a full-size layout to a TKL configuration. Mountain came up with the original idea but the company was bought up by Be Quiet! a few years ago and gamers like myself have been left waiting for a spiritual successor to finally arrive.
Spiritual really is the word here, though, as Be Quiet! has heavily overhauled the design of the keyboard from a rounded-corner look to a much more squared-off design. Getting hands on with the product ahead of its launch, I wasn’t immediately won over by this change, as I was always rather fond of the way Everest Max (to give it its full name) embraced the modularity in its design – its rounded corners weren’t trying to hide that it can be pulled apart. But, I’m sure the new design will grow on me.
Otherwise, the core of the keyboard remains the same. Its main piece consists of a TKL keyboard, which is one without the number pad section on the right side. To this section you can then attach the included numpad, via the clever USB-C connection that is the keyboard’s signature.
This system uses a combination of magnets and a USB-C plug that protrude from the numpad to connect to the main board, with what proved to be a reliable yet easy to dismantle connection on the Everest Max. The connections are even on both sides of the numpad so you can connect the numpad to either side of the keyboard. A sliding mechanism on its back controls which side the connections protrude from.
The whole idea is that the keyboard opens up several layout options. You can mount the numpad on the left for if you’re left-handed or just want the numpad out the way. You can also mount it on the right but remove it when gaming to free up space for your choice of the best gaming mouse, which is how I use the Everest. You can even have it mounted on the right then switch it to the left for certain games or apps.
Above the numpad keys is an array of eight programmable buttons with OLED displays inside them. These can be programmed to perform multiple functions using Be Quiet!’s IO Center software and work in a similar manner to the best stream deck interfaces.
Along with the modular numpad, the keyboard comes with a removable media dock that includes a screen, playback controls, and multi-function dial. This part can be connected to the top edge of the keyboard on either the left or right sides and provides the ability to adjust the keyboard’s illumination, switch profiles, and more.
Also included with the Dark Mount is a cushioned wrist rest that magnetically attaches to the front of the board, and an upgrade on the older board is that there’s also an extra little piece of wrist rest for attaching to the numpad section. Meanwhile, magnetic feet can be attached to the back of the board to raise and lower its height and magnetic covers protect the modular sections of the board not in use.
Along with a simpler, squarer design than the older Mountain Everest keyboard, the other big change with the Be Quiet! Dark Mount is its push for silence. Be Quiet! has equipped the board with a choice of its own switches, which are available in linear (45g) or tactile (55g) configurations.
These switches come pre-lubed – including the large-key stabilizers – for a smooth actuation and these are then combined with three layers of sound-absorbing material. One layer is between the switches and the PCB, one is under the PCB, and one fills the bottom housing. Although the demonstration area where we tried the boards for the first time was quite noisy, it was still easy to tell that this was indeed a very quiet board.
We’ll be back in a few weeks with a full Be Quiet! Dark Mount review to provide a full picture of just how well its new design, silent operation, and other features combine.
The Be Quiet! Dark Mount price is set at $254.90 / £239.90 / €259.90, making it an expensive keyboard but it does include a lot of extra features for its price. Sadly, Be Quiet! hasn’t yet announced that it will be making the individual parts of this board available to buy, as Mountain did with the Everest, so you won’t be able to start with just the TKL board and upgrade to the extra bits later. The Be Quiet! Dark Mount release date is April 29 2025.
Also announced alongside the Dark Mount is the Light Mount keyboard (above and below). This is a much simpler offering available in a fixed full-size board, but it still includes the three layers of sound absorption and switches as the Dark Mount while adding dedicated gaming keys on its left edge and a prominent RGB light bar along its top edge. It’s priced at $169.90 / £169.90 / €169.90 and has the same release date.
While you wait for our full review of the Dark Mount and Light Mount keyboards, you can check out our current picks for the best RGB keyboard – a title the Light Mount will be vying for – and best mini keyboard, which Dark Mount might just about qualify for in its TKL mode.
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