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Howdy,
I've noticed that while typing and doing some light gaming, sometimes my keyboard doesn't actually register key presses and keys often get stuck (such as shift). I've tried cleaning my keyboard (removed all the keys,washed it down/dried, etc) with no luck. So I've decided I want to try out one of those fancy mechanical keyboards (I've always used cheap $10 keyboards from futureshop or something).I've read several posts/threads regarding the different types of keyboard/switches/yadda/yadda.
So yesterday on my way home from class, I checked out this computer store and inquired about a mechanical keyboard. The person working at the store looked at me like I was crazy. I tried to explain what I was looking for, but he said they don't exist and that all they sell were "computer" keyboards.
Having thought about it, I've never seen a mechanical keyboard at a retail store before. So I'm making this blog post to see what people can suggest for me. I'd personally like to try out and "feel" the keyboard before I make a purchase, but without seeing the various keyboards in person I think I'll just have to purchase one online.
So if you have a preference regarding one switch over the other, or if you can recommend a specific keyboard/brand let me know. Also, if anyone knows of any stores that actually carry mechanical keyboards in the Toronto area feel free to post that as well.
Cheers
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I'm personally planning on getting a DAS keyboard (http://www.daskeyboard.com/ the professional one) Check em out =)
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LOL dude why dont u just get a "computer keyboard" not those crazy mechanical ones =P
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I know quite a few stores carry Razer Blackwidows, not sure where tho near you.
I have it and they're nice 
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Depends what kind of keys you like. Personally, I'm currently using a Steelseries 6g which has full NKRO and cherry blacks. Cherry blacks are kind of nice, there's no noticeable click that you get when you push the key about halfway in like some other kind of switches, but you can definitely tell when you're bottoming the key out and it's quite nice.
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On April 07 2011 05:44 Antimage wrote:
LOL dude why dont u just get a "computer keyboard" not those crazy mechanical ones =P
haha yeah. I hope that fucker googled the keyboard after I left and was like damn.
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NCIX has Das Keyboard with Cherry Blues in stock at both of their Toronto locations, and they have the Das Silent with Browns in stock at their Toronto warehouse (not at retail locations though). Perhaps you can call and see if they would be willing to transfer a silent to one of the retail locations so you can try it out. The Steelseries 6Gv2 is in stock at both of their Toronto retail locations as well, and has Cherry Blacks. The Razer BlackWidow may be in stock at some locations, but they have apparently been a mixed bag quality control-wise, so I personally would avoid it.
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Hungary11305 Posts
I just want to point your attention to their being a ton of threads that help decide on the tech support forum. I for one am using a "das" with brown switches and I am very happy with it.
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Cragus, can someone just walk into NCIX and test out those keyboards? Like do they have them out on display/whatever ?
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On April 07 2011 05:46 prodiG wrote:
Depends what kind of keys you like. Personally, I'm currently using a Steelseries 6g which has full NKRO and cherry blacks. Cherry blacks are kind of nice, there's no noticeable click that you get when you push the key about halfway in like some other kind of switches, but you can definitely tell when you're bottoming the key out and it's quite nice.
I definitely agree with prodiG. I am using the 6g as well (just recently acquired it) and it is amazing. The one thing I recommend you research (if you haven't already) is what switch type you want (Black, blue etc.). Be prepared for some extra noise from typing if you get the Steelseries 6g. Another thing to look at as the key layout. There may be subtle key layout differences from what you are used too. For example, the right shift key is smaller and the \ key is in different spot on my 6g compared to my old keyboard.
Gl finding a new keyboard!
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I've been testing out the steelseries (with black switches I think) that I borrowed from a friend. I think it's too hard and it is really freaking tiring just to play for more than an hour.
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Blue = loud.
Just telling you. I love typing on my Blackwidow. It is loud, but I don't bother anyone with it as far as I know.
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i have das silent, and razer black widow. To be honest, I think the build quality is a quite similar. If you are alone in your computer room, I would lean towards the black widow just because it is cheaper. I bought the das silent because I work in an environment with other people close by.
Razer
Pros:
1. Has quite a few multimedia keys and macro-recording capabilities that are very useful.
2. Nice tactile and clicky Cherry Blue switches. Feels almost like a typewriter.
3. Solid braided cord that looks very durable.
4. Cheap for a mechanical keyboard.
cons:
1. USB ports are 1.1
2. Macro software isn't the greatest (logitech's software is much better)
3. Cherry Blues are very loud, and the clicking will eventually drive any roommate or officemate insane
4. Your first week or two with the keyboard will be very frustrating because of the macro keys on the left. You will think that the 5th macro key is "CTRL", and your hand will shift over one key to the left as a result. You get used to this though.
Das Silent Professional
Pros:
1. It is definitely a lot quieter.
2. USB 2.0 hub
3. No macro/media keys (pro or con depending on your view)
4. Lettering looks a lot more professional.
5. Some say that the browns are better for gaming, especially for double taps. The Blues have this weird thing where the click doesn't actually correspond to the point where the key actuates.
Cons
1. The Cherry Brown switches seem a little less fun to type on though, and have a bit less tactile feedback. I've only had it for a few days, but I seem to bottom out more.
2. Requires two USB ports
3. A bit more expensive (can use student discount though to lessen the price)
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On April 07 2011 05:52 Antimage wrote:
Cragus, can someone just walk into NCIX and test out those keyboards? Like do they have them out on display/whatever ?
I am not sure, but in my experience, NCIX is very good about trying to accommodate the customer, so it is worth a shot (or phone call at least). If all else fails, I recommend getting a board with browns, blues (due to the noise) and blacks (due to the general feel) are both love it or hate it sort of things.
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wow, so many responses so quickly.
Thanks for all the input guys. The Das Silent Professional is looking pretty appealing.
I'll check out NCIX next weekend and I'll update if they'll let me open a few boxes :p
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i personally think steelseries keyboards are better than razer's.
i myself have a steelseries 6gv2 (same as incontrol and idra's) and fuckin love it. check it out.
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I'm not sure about all the different brands of mech keyboards since I bought a steelseries 6gv2 by recommendation by friends.I've found it to be an amazing keyboard and a huge improvement on my old g15. Definitely would recommend - steelseries seems to make pretty good products
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I recently got myself a Razer BlackWidow mechanical keyboard and I'm troughoutly impressed with it. Its as mentioned above a mechanical keyboard, which makes the "clicky" noice when pressed. (You will annoy the crap out of your lan buddies but thats maybe a + in my book haha!) The only complaint I have about it is that it does not have anti ghosting, which enables all the keys to be pressed at the same time and still get registerd on your screen. But its not a big deal, since I tend to press max 2 buttons at once while gaming SC2. (But CS and other FPSs its a bigger problem than so.) I really like razer product and not yet has any of mine failed on me, and they are very sturdy and built to last. Pick one up if you get the chance, its a over all nice keyboard, and better (in my opinion) than the Steelseries G series of keyboards. (Sorry for any type'os above)
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United States22883 Posts
There's descriptions aplenty around the internet about the different mechanical switches, but you're really not going to fully understand them until you try at least one out as a reference point. I agree with the person who said to go to NCIX and see what they have. My guess is they'll have a BlackWidow (Cherry Blue) and possibly a Steelseries 7g/6gv2 (Cherry black), and those are a pretty good starting point to figure out what you might like.
I do like my 6gv2 quite a bit but it did take time to get used to the different layout. Steelseries, Razer and Das keyboards all have weird little quirks like that, so pay attention. On top of that, keep checking for sales on keyboards at Newegg, Amazon and Slickdeals and use geekhack.org to look for reviews.
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check out elitekeyboards.com That's where I got my Filco with brown cherry switches. I prefer them to all others. They don't click like Das so they are not annoying. Also they are easier to push down than black cherries in the SteelSeries which means you can be faster. Mechanical keyboards are 100% worth it!!
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P.S. With Filco you can get a 87 key version without the numpad like I have since the numpad is useless for most games. Also I recently found out Liquid Tyler uses a Filco with browns.
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NCIX is a great store for any of your computer necessities! They carry a few mechanical keyboards including the Razer Blackwidow, Steelseries 7G and 6Gv2, and Das keyboards. You can check out what they have on their website.
Good luck with your search for a new keyboard
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I think stick to a Steelseries 6GV2 or 7G (Black switches). They are the least different to standard rubberdome keyboards while still doing away with all the disadvantages of the dome ones.
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The safest bet would be brown switches. I have both a SteelSeries 6Gv2 (black switches) and das professional silent (brown) and I can't really think of a reason why I'd ever choose a black over brown. That's not to say black switches are bad, but brown switches have been more comfortable for everything I've done so far (typing for lengthy periods of time, playing sc2). I'd say that browns are a safer choice than blues as well, just because you or others around you may not like the loud clicky noise that blues make. That said, bottoming out (pushing the keys all the way down) on any mechanical keyboard is still louder than your standard rubber dome, or "computer keyboard" as you called it. There isn't much to say because you haven't told us much of what you're looking for in the keyboard. You did mention that your current one has problems registering keys, so it may want to look into keyboards that support at least 6-KRO (up to 6 simultaneous key presses will register) or full N-KRO (any amount of simultaneous key presses will register).
Quick rundown of switch types (Cherry) you'll find in popular mechanical keyboards:
Brown: low force required to push down keys (to activate them), tactile (small bump so you can feel when the key's been actuated), low sound
Blue: low force (around same as brown or a bit higher), tactile, loud sound (it's personal taste whether or not your enjoy the loud click)
Black: high force (a bit harder to push down keys), non-tactile (linear; there is no tactile bump), low sound - people over exaggerate the force requirement of black keys; they feel quite nice once you get used to them
Red: low force (around same as brown or lower), non-tactile, low sound
On April 07 2011 05:55 Michaelj wrote:
2. Requires two USB ports
afaik, this is only if you want to use the extra usb ports on the keyboard.
I found out everything there is to know about mechanical keyboards from the geekhack website, so I'd definitely recommend you check it out if you decide to purchase one.
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On April 08 2011 15:20 Dhalphir wrote:
I think stick to a Steelseries 6GV2 or 7G (Black switches). They are the least different to standard rubberdome keyboards while still doing away with all the disadvantages of the dome ones.
If anything, blacks are probably the most different to standard rubberdome keyboards because blacks have no tactile feedback and have a high force requirement, while rubberdomes have tactile bumps and generally much lower force requirements than blacks.
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If it's of any relevance, I use a Steelseries 6gv2 and love the shit out of it.
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On April 08 2011 06:06 MachuPicchu wrote:
check out elitekeyboards.com That's where I got my Filco with brown cherry switches. I prefer them to all others. They don't click like Das so they are not annoying. Also they are easier to push down than black cherries in the SteelSeries which means you can be faster. Mechanical keyboards are 100% worth it!!
They don't carry Filcos any more. They carry Leopolds, which were designed by the same person. Other than rounded edges that some people don't like as much as the regular straight ones, it's technically better than the Filco (the average person would probably just think they're basically the same, but I'm going on what I've read from the folks at GeekHack and such).
A massive benefit of the Leopold is the price: $100 as compared to the $130 that the Tenkeyless Filco was when EliteKeyboards was selling it (they only sell Tenkeyless Leopolds at the moment).
If it helps in any way, I've done massive amounts of research about this over many months and have concluded that browns are (either) safer and/or better than the other switches: you're most likely to enjoy them and you won't run into a noise problem (helpful for me since I share a wall with my roommate; and, in general, less noise is usually good) (browns are also held to be the best switch type for RTS players). My research has also shown that the Filco was far and away the best choice, meaning that, when you're in North America, the Leopold is the clear winner now (EliteKeyboards does extra testing and quality control meaning that it's nice to get it from them). I just bought parts to build myself a new computer and believe that I'm finally going to take the plunge and buy one myself, and, as someone who never makes decisions like this lightly (as you can probably tell by now), I feel confident in telling you that this would be one of your very best options.
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Ah, I haven't been to EliteKeyboards.com in a while. I was heavily involved in the GeekHack site/community a couple years ago, but after I found the keyboards I like, I stopped checking in. So, that's why I didn't know about the Leopolds. Thanks for the info!
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On April 08 2011 21:29 MachuPicchu wrote:Ah, I haven't been to EliteKeyboards.com in a while. I was heavily involved in the GeekHack site/community a couple years ago, but after I found the keyboards I like, I stopped checking in. So, that's why I didn't know about the Leopolds. Thanks for the info!
My pleasure!
I do have a question for anyone who is reading. In a thread I just made I mentioned that I want to buy a Leopold ASAP and just didn't know if they were shipping right now (from what I see I would say yes, but I haven't gotten a concrete statement of it anywhere, much less EliteKeyboards's site). Does anyone know?
Edit: Check that thread to hear the analysis of when everything is shipping. My tl;dr is that I expect it to take maybe a week at most in contrast to their regular shipping time of 1-2 days. I'm going to order one right now!
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EPT
