new mechanical keyboard

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Jokerle
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new mechanical keyboard

Post by Jokerle »

Currently I have a Microsoft sidewinder X4.
It is okay, but I am not really happy with it. Hearing a lot about how good mechanical keyboards are, any recommendations or tips?

Currently I am looking at the
- Razor Blackwidow Ultimate 2013 (would fit nicely to my razor mouse software-wise)
- Steelseries 6GV2 (minimalistic)
- Tesoro colada saint (never heard of these....)

a backlight would be a "nice to have" feature...
I am a bit confused about the Cherry MX options, though i found good explainations online about what kind of "color" fits which purposes.
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StarfisherEcho
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Re: new mechanical keyboard

Post by StarfisherEcho »

REAL men use a IBM Model M. I use this and it puts so much hair on my balls I look like snuffleupagus: http://www.pckeyboard.com/
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Re: new mechanical keyboard

Post by Jokerle »

If it wasnt for gaming I would pick up this:
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2013/0 ... board.html
http://www.codekeyboards.com/
(and I also would need to import it)

For work I use my laptop, so I basically need it just for gaming...


edit: I typed on an old (greasy) IBM keyboard at university for a while. Dont be the dude in the mutli-person office with THAT keyboard :lol:
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Re: new mechanical keyboard

Post by Robawillis »

I currently use a corsair k60 as my keyboard, not soo bad with cherry mx red switches but recently corsair released the k70 and you have the option for all 3 mx switches and each model describes the type of use its favored for.

http://www.corsair.com/us/gaming-periph ... oards.html
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undrt0w
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Re: new mechanical keyboard

Post by undrt0w »

Spoiler: show
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This is my Model M, courtesy of the repair center at work. Unfortunately, its made in '96 so its rubber dome rather than buckling spring. Nevertheless, it still weights 100 tons and has that tactile feel and high sound to wake the neighbors. It wasn't used for years so I had to clean it for 2 hours :)

Last month I was in Greece and found this: http://www.cmstorm.com/en/products/keyboards/trigger/ for 70 euros, which was cheaper than in Bulgaria. I snatched it even though it was with Black switches while I wanted Blue. Turns out Black are cool too, not tactile, but the sound is there. Here you have an article about the differences: http://www.daskeyboard.com/blog/mechani ... eyswitches. This is from Das Keyboard which is a praised German keyboard. Check their site, you can hear the difference between Blue and Brown. Also, here is a video with sound comparison:
phpBB [video]


I am fairly happy with my keyboard for the price. I like it because it has that extra arm rest which I find very comfy...although it falls out easily and gets smudges from my hands. I thought I would be able to use the five extra macro keyes for TS, but it turns out that as soon as you press one, you cant use the other keys, so if I try talking while moving in BF, I'd stop. It is quite stable on the desk and it wont move. The software is a bitch though. It has backlight but its red. If you are OCD about it you can check the QPAD. I don't mind my room looking like a night club:
http://imgur.com/lL7LG2s

Here are a few brands I was looking at when trying to decide what to get:

1) Das Keyoboard - http://www.daskeyboard.com
2) QPAD - http://www.qpad.com/products/keyboards/ - was going to get this before I found the deal for the CM Storm.
3) Unicomp - mentioned already
4) Ducky - http://www.duckychannel.com.tw/
5) Filco - http://www.filcokeyboards.co.uk/

Last two are more expensive though.
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Re: new mechanical keyboard

Post by o1oo1 »

i have http://www.cmstorm.com/en/products/keyb ... ickfiretk/ red switches and am happy with it , only bad thing is that when numlock is on , the side enter key doesnt work
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Re: new mechanical keyboard

Post by Jokerle »

So many manufactures I havent heard of. 8O

The quickfire TK from 01 can be ordered from my favorite shop, that is a big plus :-)

Make the switches (besides sound) really that much of a difference? Or is most of it just preference and habit?
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o1oo1
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Re: new mechanical keyboard

Post by o1oo1 »

well this is my first mechanical keyboard , so i really cant say. The sensitivity took some getting used to as did the high keys because i had used for ages
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Re: new mechanical keyboard

Post by CorranHorn »

I've got the das cherry browns. Only Cuz I code as well as game.

Go with the ducky shine 2 man. Have only heard great things from those. Its more available now then when I was buying my MK or else I would have gotten one.
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kidbagz
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Re: new mechanical keyboard

Post by kidbagz »

monoprice.com has some good mechanical keyboards for cheap as well:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subde ... id=1140102
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Re: new mechanical keyboard

Post by Chemical2 »

blackwidow all the way! Got the blackwidow ultimate and love it. only thing i dont use on the keyboard is the usb plug and i dont even know why i dont so. It has no downsides for me so far.
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Re: new mechanical keyboard

Post by BanzaiLang »

I used to use a sidewinder x4 as well. I'm using a Ducky Shine 3 with Cherry MX Browns now and I can't ever imagine going back. The backlight is fun and flashy but I don't find myself using it that much. It's nice to show off though.

phpBB [video]
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Re: new mechanical keyboard

Post by zorplex »

I've had the basic Blackwidow for over a year now and love it. The first generation had terrible key rollover and overall build quality, but the current generation (2013) is much better. My only complaint is that it takes up a huge amount of desk space.

I think it's much more important to decide which MX color you want first. I love typing on Blues but they are very loud and take some getting used to when gaming. Browns are quieter and there are "Stealth" versions of the Blackwidow which have rubber o-rings to help quiet the key presses. If you are only using it for gaming, I'd go with Reds or Blacks.

Once you've chosen which color switches you want, most brands I know of are worth buying. Unless you really want a backlight and/or macro keys, just find the best deal you can.
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Re: new mechanical keyboard

Post by matsif »

having refreshed my memory on the differences, I still don't understand the need for a mechanical keyboard. seems like you are spending more money for what amounts to a very small response time increase. I mean I play on a wireless keyboard and have yet to have ever feel that I was at a disadvantage because the distance between my "w" key triggering an electrical reaction is 1 millimeter longer than someone with a mechanical.

look deep within yourself and ask if it is really worth it, then buy an optimus maximus
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Re: new mechanical keyboard

Post by zorplex »

matsif wrote:having refreshed my memory on the differences, I still don't understand the need for a mechanical keyboard. seems like you are spending more money for what amounts to a very small response time increase.
If all you do is game, I don't know if it's really worth the money. But for anyone that types extensively, Blue/Brown mechanical keys are night and day when compared with traditional rubber dome. It's so much easier and more comfortable to type on these keys.

Plus mechanical switches will last much longer, but that doesn't seem to be most people's reason for buying them.
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