Mechanical Keyboards

[BETTEH]

I used to use mechanical keyboards giz, then I got a Razer Tarantula for my Birthday a few years ago. When I got my new computer I snagged a Sidewinder X4. I can't imagine gaming without it, being able to register 26 keystrokes simultaneously ensures that when i slam my face down on my keyboard all of my feelings are adequately transferred onto my screen.

[Mortis462]

... I can't imagine gaming without it, being able to register 26 keystrokes simultaneously ensures that when i slam my face down on my keyboard all of my feelings are adequately transferred onto my screen.

I think we all know that feeling

[Flash]

On the mechanical keyboard front, Cherry has new MX "green" key switches out now:
http://techreport.com/review/24461/a-fi ... y-switches

[Soltan]

I finally caved and got the Das Keyboard Professional (blue switches) for work (where I do most of my typing). I'm loving it so far.

[Gizanked]

sadly the one i had purchased was returned. the left shift key kept sticking funny so I wasn't about to try to live with something that cost so much.

[Dirty Dan]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6823839012

link for lazy people

Thank you. And yes, I am more willing to click reply than google the thing.

[SchruteFarms]

Here is an MX Brown Mechanical Keyboard on sale for $60 (normally $100) after instant and mail in rebates. Shipping is also free. I just purchased one, my current keyboard - a Steel Series Shift - is just not cutting it for me for a number of reasons, and so it is upgrade time. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... 5&csid=_61

Here is a review of the keyboard and all of its features:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFXsRKWLJnw
I checked a number of websites, and it has great reviews all around. People who posted complaints to Newegg usually received a follow up from Cooler Master customer service.

Does anyone have this keyboard, any thoughts?

[Cat Square]

hey schrute, I've got a CM Storm Rapid, which uses the MX Blues instead of the browns.
I think that's an amazing deal for any full sized mechanical KB, and the quietness of the browns is also a big plus. CM builds nice keyboards -- heavy, solid, good warranty, nice removable cable (at least on mine), and a macro to disable the windows key (on mine).

get it.

[Soltan]

I've been using the daskeyboard w/ blue switches at work for a while and love it. I just upgraded to the CM Storm Quickfire Ultimate w/ red switches at home (for gaming) and love it as well.

[Clay Pigeon]

I've finally reached the point in my life where I'm no longer willing to put up with keyboards that don't have NKRO support.

But, I'm very particular about the design of the cases of the keyboards I use. I won't use a keyboard if it has a wrist rest, or if the wrist rest isn't removable. Also I need the left edge of the case to be straight, as I rest my left pinky there while it is not needed during gaming (between shift, ctrl, and tab presses). All the keyboards I've used that I've liked the feel of have had approximately 15mm of space between the base of the leftmost keys and the edge of the case.

Additionally, I like the feel and quietness of rubberdome/standard keyboards. Since apparently it's impossible to find rubberdomes that have NKRO support, which type of mechanical switch is closest to them in feel and sound?



tl;dr: I'm picky as hell and looking for a keyboard with NKRO support.

[belak]

I've finally reached the point in my life where I'm no longer willing to put up with keyboards that don't have NKRO support.

But, I'm very particular about the design of the cases of the keyboards I use. I won't use a keyboard if it has a wrist rest, or if the wrist rest isn't removable. Also I need the left edge of the case to be straight, as I rest my left pinky there while it is not needed during gaming (between shift, ctrl, and tab presses). All the keyboards I've used that I've liked the feel of have had approximately 15mm of space between the base of the leftmost keys and the edge of the case.

Additionally, I like the feel and quietness of rubberdome/standard keyboards. Since apparently it's impossible to find rubberdomes that have NKRO support, which type of mechanical switch is closest to them in feel and sound?



tl;dr: I'm picky as hell and looking for a keyboard with NKRO support.

Interesting question... I often switch between my laptop and desktop, so I can at least talk about my preferences...

Firstly, it's worth noting that there's a huge difference between rubber domes and mechanical because you don't have to bottom out with a mechanical keyboard for the key to activate, where you do with a "standard" keyboard.

I have a Das Keyboard with MX Cherry Blues. These are supposedly one of the loudest (Blues are clicky) but are also really nice because you can easily feel when the key has pressed (Tactile).

If you have an option to try a few out, I'd say try Cherry Blue switches and Cherry Brown switches. Browns are very lightly tactile and if you don't end up bottoming out too much, they will be much quieter than the blues. However, if you do regularly bottom out, they will be very similar in volume. Even though they're both tactile switches, they have a very different feel.

As for actual keyboards (it depends if you want the extra 10 keys on the side), both the Das Keyboards and the CM Storm QuickFire Stealth lines are very good. I'm sure other people here can make other recommendations though. The CM line works with 12KRO over USB and NKRO over PS2. The Das model S line works with 6KRO over USB and NKRO over PS2. It says the new Das line has NKRO over USB, but I don't have experience with those... they're a bit pricy.

tl;dr: Try out a few switch types... Cherry Blue and Cherry Brown are my personal preferences. Once you have the switches picked out, you can pick an actual keyboard.

[Larry]

I myself have a Quickfire rapid with Cherry Reds. Not too loud, just right.

[Soltan]

I have Cherry Reds (Quickfire Ultimate) at home and Blues (daskeyboard) at work. Reds are great for gaming and blues for pure typing. I've never used blacks but would think they'd be similar to reds but with a bit more pressure required for activation.

[MateoTheBold!]

http://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeybo ... _overviews

[Larry]

I'm actually thinking about painting mine and getting colored keycaps, I can't decide which colors though.