EPTLots of keyboard posts floating around the forums these days, most threads asking for buying advice. So ill make this one a bit different and post a review of my mechanical keyboard, some buying advice, and ill also discuss some simple mods that you can do to your keyboard.
The Keyboard
http://elitekeyboards.com/products.php?sub=leopold,tenkeyless&pid=fc200rtab
The Leopold Tenkeyless keybaord isn't a fancy keyboard in terms of bells and whistles like some other keyboards are. It's just a really solid well build keyboard that features several practical features that aren't found on other keyboards. The keyboard can be purchased with several different cherry switch types, clear, black, blue, brown, and red. Other brands, esp the gaming keyboards often only come in one switch type, ie Razer blackwidow- blue, Steelseries 7g black. This is a very important aspect of the keyboard as the switch has a huge effect on the keyboard, which ill get into later. The keyboard also features a detachable usb cable which makes it that much easier to tavel with, Id go to LANs and just throw my keyboard, mouse, and heaset all into backpack and when Id get there I would think to myself, fuccck cables. Some of you however, may have made the wise investment and gotten a LAN bag. Another nice feature is that there is cable routing placed into the back of the keyboard, so you can route your cable to the left, you can route your cable to the right, you can route you cable down the middle, alright! I also made the decision to get the tenkeyless version instead of the full sized model. Now look I know, I know i can't hit alt 3 and make fancy hearts ♥. However, I have much more room to position my keyboard on my desk, and it also fits perfectly in my backpack (^_^) wooo. A few other things to note is that my keyboard features cherry mx brown switches and full N key rollover.
Buying a keyboard
So I know what you are thinking, I am a gamer, I need a gaming keyboard, so I can game on my keyboard... no.
To game on a keyboard, unless you are playing MMOs and need all the extra macros, you don't actually need a gaming keyboard. You really just need one with anti-ghosting or N-key rollover. What those terms mean is that you can hit as many keys as you want on your keyboard, and your keyboard will register all of them. Now most standard keyboards have 6 key rollover, which means that you can hit 6 keys at once and all of them will register without any blockage. Then there is N key rollover which mean you can hit all the keys on your keyboard at once and all of them will register. Note this can only be achieved by using a PS/2 adapter in conjunction with a keyboard that supports it.
Now anyone who has thought about buying a mechanical keyboard has undoubtedly thought about which switch types to get. So to put it bluntly, it doesn't really matter which switch types you get from the perspective of gaming, just get which ever one you want. But to go further in depth, there are 2 types of cherry switches (the most common mechanical switch), tactile and linear. The tactile switches have either a tactile click when you press down or a tactile bump, which signifies that you have activated the key. This allows the user to either hear or feel when the key has been activated since for tactile keys you do not have to press the all the way down, only about half way down to activate. The most popular tactile switches are the blue, the tactile click or loud switch, or brown, the tactile bump switch or the "silent" switch, Then on to the linear switches, linear switches are just switches that you pretty much just press down and that's it. No bump, no click, just consistent force from start to finish. The linear switches only differ in the amount of force required to push them down, some are heavier some are lighter.
So to wrap that up, the switch that you end up deciding on should just be a matter of preference, there is no perfect gaming switch. However, over the years some switches have become associate for different traits. The red switch has been claimed to be more suited for gaming, the blue for typing, the brown sits in between, but it really doesn't matter just get what ever you like.
Therefore the keyboard you end up buying should have good quality, not all keyboards are made the same, and if you are already going to invest in one there is no reason to buy a cheap one. Also be sure to buy one that feature N key rollover, its pretty important for playing games like Brood War, hell, you might even need it for sc2. Then be sure to get which ever switch you feel comfortable with.
The Mods
Keycap mods
You see quite a few pros now a days adding flair to their keyboards, and to be quite honest, I like to view it as nerd fashion. Instead of designer jeans and sports coats, we have shiny gaming peripherals like mice and keyboards. Artosis is even known for for his checkered keyboards, and many players try to emulate his style, cus you know Artosis has sick nerd baller style. However, instead of having to buy two keyboards and pulling all the keys off like Artosis, you can either buy them off ebay or head over to wasd keyboards and order a custom set.
Also here is where I got the cartoon keycaps from
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http://www.ebay.com/itm/PBT-custom-Key-caps-any-MX-Cherry-Switches-Filco-Noppoo-PLU-R4-hight-/300596798694?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item45fcf724e6#ht_2325wt_1220
Silence mod
As most of you probably know, and if you watch destiny's stream you deffinitly know, mechanical keyboards are loud. Even if you get the silent ones, you might end up really bothering the people around you. So there is a solution, which is installing the silence mod... which is actually just a bunch of rubber o-rings but silence mod sounds 1337, so we'll go with that. The mod works by removing the keys and underneath them sliding the rubber o ring onto the shafty thing (-_-). So to demonstrate here is a pic showcasing the mod.
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/80W3U.jpg)
SlayersTaeja
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/PiLKN.jpg)
JulyZerg
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/QMVSs.jpg)
Pics
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/vakIg.jpg)
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/6LpLZ.jpg)
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/W8JoJ.jpg)
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/VO7Vr.jpg)
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/JBCpN.jpg)
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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/fKIDK.jpg)
Thanks for reading!
