What mechanical keyboard?!

Discussion in 'General Hardware' started by head, May 4, 2013.

  1. head

    head Guest

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    Hi,

    I am currently using a Logitech G11 and its getting old, so I'm looking for a new keyboard. Some friends told me that I should buy a mechanical keyboard because they are "better".

    I am from belgium, that means that I am using AZERTY and not QWERTY.

    Thermaltake Tt eSports Meka G1 - Black switch
    Logitech G710+ - Brown switch
    SteelSeries 7G - Black switch
    SteelSeries 6GV2 - Black switch
    Logitech Gaming Keyboard G510
    Cooler Master CM Storm QuickFire Pro - Brown switch
    Cooler Master Storm Trigger - Brown switch
    Rosewill Mechanical Keyboard - Red Switch
    Razer BlackWidow Ultimate - Blue switch

    I already made a short list of keyboards that are an option, do any of you have a favorite / what keyboard would you recommend?

    kind regards,
    head
     
  2. eclap

    eclap Banned

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    Depends on what you want. I wanted a wrist rest, backlight, macro keys, volume control, Brown switches. Ordered a Logitech g710+ last night.
     
  3. yasamoka

    yasamoka Ancient Guru

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    If possible, you need to try the switches before you buy a mechanical keyboard. Switches are too different.

    I was this close to buying a Brown, then I went for a Blue, and I'm glad I did (for my uses, loudness doesn't matter much).

    I have to ship keyboards here, so I wasn't able to try them out. I recently got a sampler kit from WASDKeyboards and tried out Black, Red, Blue, Brown. You really should if you get the chance.

    eclap opened a topic asking a similar question recently. It was a pretty nice helpful topic and everyone had good questions and suggestions.

    http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=377835

    I wrote a brief description of mechanical keyboards there and some tips, you might find it helpful.
     
    Last edited: May 4, 2013
  4. head

    head Guest

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    Sorry for the late reply.

    I use the keyboard for typing + gaming. I don't care about the noise since im wearing my headset.

    I don't need macro keys
    I don't need volume control or anything like that

    I always used a wrist rest, no idea if i can live without :p
    Backlight would be nice

    I can't go out and touch the buttons myself, would be great if that was an option but it isn't.

    I did some reading and most sites say that black is the way to go if you mainly use it for gaming.
    The problem is that the black keyboards in my list are not really my top choise.

    SteelSeries 7G - Black switch --> has a very long wristrest, maybe to long?
    SteelSeries 6GV2 - Black switch --> does not have a wristrest at all.

    The Logitech g710+ looks really nice and looks a lot like my current G11 but I am not sure about the brown keys.

    @eclap: Did you recieve the keyboard?
    @yasamoka: thanks for the great post.

    I don't think red / blue is my kinda "cherry", so I am left with black/brown. I am leaning towards black because most sites say its great for gaming.

    Are there any other AZERTY keyboards out there with black/brown keys?
     

  5. mikeysg

    mikeysg Ancient Guru

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    Black are linear (non-tactile) and non-clicky, and requires 60g force to actuate, so it'd feel a little 'heavy'. I have three Reds, and a Blue, and yes, the Blue is quite clicky, but fun to use. I'll be getting a DK9087G2 Pro TKL KB with black base and white PBT keycaps, it has Cherry Black switches. I prefer Reds, but am willing to try out the various switches as I'm quite adaptable when it comes to KBs.

    Not a fan of Razer, so in your list, I'd seriously consider either the Logitech G710+ or the CM Storm Trigger. I personally have the Storm Trigger Cherry Red and it is pretty solidly built, I'm sure the G710+ would be a good buy as well. I've shortlisted these two since they both have Brown switches, and that's one of the switches you've said you are interested in. Here's a link about the various switches and how they work, and the opinion of the writer whom is quite well versed when it comes to mech KB:
    http://forums.vr-zone.com/hardware-...al-keyboard-club-guide-discussion-thread.html

    Since Blacks are supposed to be better for gaming, I'll be getting a Ducky TKL model to try out.....will let you know what I think of it. With that in hand, I'd have Red, Blue and Black mech KBs. Technically, my 78 Version has 8 different switches, so I guess I have all my bases covered....
     
  6. scoter man1

    scoter man1 Ancient Guru

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    I have a razer lycosa and I love it... but the drivers are horrible. From my experience, when I used razer's drivers to have macros and stuff, the keyboard would slowly stop responding to keys until I shut down and did a cold boot. Maybe I'm the only one in the world that has this happen, but I just have to put it out there because it did piss me off.
     
  7. eclap

    eclap Banned

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    It's being delivered today. Don't buy the g710+ if you don't need all the fancy stuff it comes with, you can buy cheaper keyboards that will do what the 710+ does, minus the extras. You don't want red switches, yet they're pretty much a softer black switch. I went for Brown, wanted tactile feedback and less noise than blue.
     
  8. eclap

    eclap Banned

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    Lycosa is not a mechanical keyboard.
     
  9. yasamoka

    yasamoka Ancient Guru

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    @OP: Black might not be a good idea for typing. They might be fatiguing.

    If you're a touch typist, reds are nice. If you're not, then you would want tactile feedback. Blue and Brown are the choice here. Blue are clicky, so many people like them for typing. Actually, I have read somewhere that the majority of switches used in keyboards that are sold are Blue. So if noise isn't a concern, and you want a good typing experience, I vote Blue. Browns should offer a bump if you don't want the Blue's noise and / or you find the click annoying for double tapping / you don't like how Blue feels.

    Don't you have a Razer BlackWidow somewhere in a retail store close to you? They have the arrow keys exposed; this gives you a chance to try out Blue.
     
  10. Veteran

    Veteran Ancient Guru

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    So brown are the quietest out of the lot?
     

  11. eclap

    eclap Banned

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    The g710+ is brown and comes with o rings and it seems pretty quiet. Louder than the g15 but not by much.
     
  12. scoter man1

    scoter man1 Ancient Guru

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    true, I'm just referring to Razer drivers. I'm assuming it would be the same way.
     
  13. deltatux

    deltatux Guest

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  14. Punisher64

    Punisher64 Guest

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    I have a Das Ultimate that you can get in either blue or brown switches. I have the brown and will never own another keyboard. The keys are blank, so you can use whatever keyboard layout you want (as long as you know where they keys are) it also helps you really know where the keys are, increasing your typing speed :banana:
     
  15. yasamoka

    yasamoka Ancient Guru

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    I believe the soft Reds are quieter (due to touch typing and soft keypresses), then the Black (both are linear), then Brown (bump), then Blue (click). You could clump the first three together in terms of noise, I guess, as they are all not clicky. With rubber O-Rings, they all can be more quiet, and bottoming-out noise is greatly reduced, but with Blues you still hear the "click" (not loud TBH).
     

  16. Veteran

    Veteran Ancient Guru

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    Yeah i think if i go for one i want the quietest possible. So its brown and soft reds then!
     
  17. yasamoka

    yasamoka Ancient Guru

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    Suggest you try the switches first! :D You might also love the Blues and find they don't make as much noise as you thought they did, you never know :)
     
  18. Lycronis

    Lycronis Maha Guru

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    I love my Corsair K90 with the Cherry MX Reds! I tried a Coolermaster CM Storm Trigger with Cherry MX Browns, and while it was pretty nice, I feel that the K90 is far superior to it and I prefer the Reds over the Browns. I'll be getting the Corsair K95 as soon as it's available (Amazon says 1-3 months.) If you don't need the extra keys, I'd suggest checking out the Corsair K70 keyboards. They come with Cherry MX Reds and either red (with black, brushed aluminium surface) backlighting or blue (with silver, brushed aluminium surface) backlighting.
     
  19. eclap

    eclap Banned

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    I was looking at the K90, but for my liking it had too many macro keys making it too wide and another thing I didn't like was the fact that macro keys and some of the other keys were not mechanical. Also wasn't sold on the red switches. the K95 does look good though, but again, too many macros I would never use.
     
  20. Veteran

    Veteran Ancient Guru

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    Its hard to try them as not all shops that you can go into in person has all the keyboards i would like to try.
     

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