I have been looking to get a mechanical keyboard for quite a while now. Unfortunately, I am literally incapable of locating a retail outlet that has a Steelseries G7 available. Newegg, Best Buy.com, Xoxide, Tiger Direct, Amazon, none of them have any.

I am leery of buying the G6v2 as it does not have a hand rest. Do any of you TL'ers have any recommendations for alternatives to the G7? I have seen the Razer equivalent, but I have been skeptical, seeing my past Razer experience has been pretty miserable with defective products and the like. Price isn't really a concern, as long as it isn't astronomically expensive.

Any advice/input would be appreciated.

mardi

United States1164 Posts

January 14 2011 16:45 GMT

As long as you get a Mechanical Keyboard, you won't have any problems with the keyboard or whatever. They are all pretty much durable with some having some bells and whistles attached. Also, isn't the 6gv2 the same as the 7g minus all the ports and the wrist wrest? There are plenty of good mechanical keyboards. I use a filco with cherry brown switches. The Zowie Celeritas looks interesting though... maybe cus Flash uses it lol.

turamn

United States1374 Posts

January 14 2011 16:53 GMT

Regarding the 6gv2 - I believe so, but the rest is a killer for me. Need to have that :X

theriv

United States149 Posts

January 14 2011 17:27 GMT

http://cgi.ebay.com/Kensington-22801-Wrist-Pillow-Keyboard-Wrist-Rest-/250723683136?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a604bcb40

save yourself the money if you dont need the jacks or ports.

Xanbatou

United States805 Posts

January 14 2011 17:48 GMT

I wouldn't get the 6v2. In fact, I have no idea how people can stand to use that keyboard. Switch preference is one thing, but I cannot tolerate any keyboards that have small backspace keys.

I would actually highly recommend the Razer BlackWidow. I don't know why everyone is so afraid of Razer. I have had two other Razer products besides the BlackWidow (Carcharias headset and DeathAdder mouse) and I haven't had any problems with them. I mean, sure they price gouge a bit but it's not THAT bad..

turamn

United States1374 Posts

January 14 2011 17:53 GMT

I bought one of their keyboards once. I returned it 3 times and never had a functional unit.

theriv

United States149 Posts

January 14 2011 17:57 GMT

On January 15 2011 02:48 Xanbatou wrote:
I wouldn't get the 6v2. In fact, I have no idea how people can stand to use that keyboard. Switch preference is one thing, but I cannot tolerate any keyboards that have small backspace keys.

I would actually highly recommend the Razer BlackWidow. I don't know why everyone is so afraid of Razer. I have had two other Razer products besides the BlackWidow (Carcharias headset and DeathAdder mouse) and I haven't had any problems with them. I mean, sure they price gouge a bit but it's not THAT bad..

7g has the small backspace. not the 6gv2

znitch

Sweden29 Posts

January 14 2011 18:24 GMT

razer blackwidow = pure awsomeness

miL.

Canada93 Posts

January 14 2011 18:28 GMT

I just got my 6gv2 yesterday in the mail, and I'm loving it. I'd highly recommend it (although the only other mechanical keyboard that I've ever tried is the blackwidow, and the F key placement on it is a major pain). If a hand rest is that important to you can't you buy that kind of thing separately?

Also, I have no idea what Xanbatou is talking about, the backspace key is just as big as my old keyboard. The only irritating thing to me is the placement of the \ key... I'm used to the enter key being smaller and \ being placed above it.

Fishraper

United States69 Posts

January 14 2011 18:51 GMT

#10

There are a lot more mechanical keyboards than just steel series and razer as well.

Also steel series uses black cherry switches, there are other switches. The more popular ones being; blue and brown. There are also clear and red, but are harder to find/get.

Filco, Das, Ducky, Realforce, Leopold, Cherry, just to name a few. Filcos and Duckys will have to be imported.

http://www.keyboardco.com/ is based in the UK and is where I got mine.

http://www.elitekeyboards.com/ will have Leopolds and have realforce boards.

http://www.daskeyboard.com/ has the Das keyboards.

http://geekhack.org/ is a great forum for keyboards and everything related. Tons of reviews on multiple different boards on there. A lot of people on there own hundreds of keyboards too.

Twitches

Canada365 Posts

January 14 2011 18:58 GMT

#11

NCIX.com has a 7g in stock, you might wanna look there.

de7dv

Sweden8 Posts

January 14 2011 19:05 GMT

#12

I bought a blackwidow last week. I'm usally not a fan of razer's, but blackwidow isn't like their normal gaming products. If you buy the cheap version it almost look like a normal keyboard (read not very 1337ish with pulsing leds everywhere). There's one led at the razer symbol (that can be turned off) and the 5 macro buttons are hardly noticable if not used.

I've had it for like two weeks and so far I'm happy with it, mechanical keyboards really are better!

(Disclaimer: I have not tested any other mecanichal keyboard, so can't compare bw to other mecanical keyboards)

turamn

United States1374 Posts

January 14 2011 23:12 GMT

#13

Well guys, thanks for your help! I reached out to Steelseries on Twitter, where their customer support said that they may not be available in most retailers until April, so it looks like I am going to look for something other than the g7. I appreciate the input and it certainly gave me a bunch of stuff to think about while making my decision

I basically forgot entirely that you can buy hand rests individually...haha. So, I am open to all avenues of keyboards at this point. G6v2 is my favorite right now, but I am going to look into everything posted here before I buy.

NewbieOne

Poland560 Posts

January 14 2011 23:59 GMT

#14

I would scout flea markets if you have the time, or even E-Bay if you find a vendor close to you. Some of the old mech keyboards are going strong and selling cheap (there people who type on 25 years old keyboards and I have a working 17 I initially played SC2 on).

Dakk

Sweden572 Posts

January 15 2011 00:20 GMT

#15

i just got my blackwidow yesterday and i love it. Go for it.

Kogut

United States147 Posts

January 15 2011 00:25 GMT

#16

Do some research before deciding on that SS board. They use the black switches, and you have to be sure that those are what you want. I know that iNcontrol uses one, and he loves it. I have a Filco Majestouch 'Otaku' with the MX Cherry Blue switches, and I don't believe I will ever be able to own another type of keyboard (not that this one is going to go anywhere for 10+ years). The new Razer boards employ the same switches, but the construction quality is slightly lower than the Filco. DasKeyboard is another well-recommended brand, and they are usually readily available.

D3ath3nat0r

United States163 Posts

January 15 2011 00:30 GMT

#17

I have the steelseries 6gv2, its a great keyboard, but this is the first keyboard that is not "tactile", and i dont really like it, i am going to return it and get a brown/blue, and can you test a blackwidow razer keyboard at best buy?

echO [W]

United States1495 Posts

January 15 2011 00:41 GMT

#18

This is a great intro to mechanical keyboards.

http://www.overclock.net/keyboards/491752-mechanical-keyboard-guide.html

snow2.0

Germany2073 Posts

January 19 2011 01:24 GMT

#19

On January 15 2011 09:30 D3ath3nat0r wrote:
I have the steelseries 6gv2, its a great keyboard, but this is the first keyboard that is not "tactile", and i dont really like it, i am going to return it and get a brown/blue, and can you test a blackwidow razer keyboard at best buy?

their website says it's got tactile feedback - whats up?

D3ath3nat0r

United States163 Posts

January 19 2011 01:28 GMT

#20

huh, its not tactile, and the overclock.net mech keyboard guide says it not even tactile