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Finally got this in the mail today, liking it so far but will take a little bit of time to get used to it but big improvement over my terrible laptop keyboard.
EDIT: After a little while longer using it I don't think I will ever be able to go back to a normal keyboard, typing feels so good on this.
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On August 01 2012 07:27 Djzapz wrote:
Hello everyone, so I'm in the market for a mechanical keyboard even though I currently own a Razer BlackWidow. I think it's alright except that I've had the spacebar key pop out twice for no reason, which strikes me as unreliable. Plus, it's loud - and even though I knew what I was getting myself into when I bought it, my gf's eventually going to gut me if I don't get something at least a little bit quieter.
I recently got my hands on a friend's Corsair K60 with cherry MX red switches and I really liked it, and the rubber keys are a nice addition. However I was thinking about getting something fancier - and the Corsair's casing is made out of brushed aluminum so it would probably get all disgusting in weeks because my hands get all swampy when I game.
Right now my biggest contenders were the Das Keyboard Silent for $135 and Filco Majestouch 2, 104 keys for $150, both of which use brown switches.
Filco's keyboard are essentially "no bullshit" which is great, and from my understanding the build quality is excellent - but can you actually feel the difference in quality between a $80 Razer BlackWidow and $150 Filco, assuming they both use the same switches?
The difference is there and very noticeable. The Filco just feels much more solid and of higher quality. The BlackWidow's glossy surface and plastic feels very cheap. Going deeper into the board, Razer somewhat skimped out on the stabilizers to save on costs. Just because the BlackWidow "feels" hefty, there are better options out there for the price. And when you consider the only Razer brown-switched model at this time is only $15 less than a Filco, there's no reason to go with an inferior product. If backlighting is what you're looking for, the Ducky Shine would be a better option.
You can feel the difference between an $60 BW and a $65 Rosewill RK-9000 too. The RK-9000 is pretty much a Filco clone, minus the ridiculous logo, the red backplate, and the USB connector that isn't fully connected to the board which is why some people have complained about issues. If you're not going to be moving your keyboard all over the place, the Rosewill RK-9000 boards arguably have the best price-to-performance value of all full-sized boards out there.
The K60 is okay, but the rubber dome keys and their location are bad; what's the point of having a hybrid board? Rubber domes offer no significant performance increase vs. mechanical switches outside of being quieter and domes can also be inconsistent with keypresses.
The Das is good, but the gloss turns me off. For something that you'll be touching and using every day, it will get dirty and smudged real quickly. If that doesn't bother you, the Das is cheaper than the Filco if that's the route that you want to go.
I will always recommend a Filco board; I have three of them, and they're the best keyboards that I've ever used. If you're looking for something cheaper, yet with very good quality, the RK-9000 is where I'd point you to.
Both are great keyboards. The Leopold boards were designed by the same guy who designed the Filco boards. The difference between the two are found in the stabilizers. The Leopold keyboard uses Cherry stabilizers, whereas the Filco boards use Costar stabilizers. I personally find Costar stabilizers to suit my preference better; they feel a lot more solid and not mushy, like the Cherry stabilizers are.
A couple of things that the Leopold have over the Filco is one, a cheaper price, and two, PBT keycaps if you go with the FC700 series. PBT keycaps feel a lot better than ABS caps and are also more resistant to wear.
I'll throw in an alternative choice for you: CM Storm QuickFire Rapid. It comes in all four major switch types and comes at a lower price than both the Leopold and the Filco. It also has Costar stabilizers. The only downside to it is the ridiculous branding everywhere on the keyboard. Otherwise, it's probably the best TKL board for your money.
On August 02 2012 02:49 sjschmidt93 wrote:
I lost my "key popper"... what's the best alternative?
Buy a new one.
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On August 02 2012 02:49 sjschmidt93 wrote:
I lost my "key popper"... what's the best alternative?
I've never had any issues with my trusty butter knife 
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@sawedust-- thanks for the great info. I've looked at the CM boards and the one thing that I cannot stand about that is the font of the lettering. Otherwise I'd buy it immediately :/
I might just go for the Filco... although I dunno, I haven't been able to find the Leopold FC700, is that even out yet? The Filco is just so damn expensive is the problem. $140 for a TKL keyboard is STEEP.
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On August 02 2012 06:16 DG.Zeya wrote:
@sawedust-- thanks for the great info. I've looked at the CM boards and the one thing that I cannot stand about that is the font of the lettering. Otherwise I'd buy it immediately :/
I might just go for the Filco... although I dunno, I haven't been able to find the Leopold FC700, is that even out yet? The Filco is just so damn expensive is the problem. $140 for a TKL keyboard is STEEP.
You can always get separate keycaps, PBT would be my preference. Swapping the keycaps can be painless if you know how to do it. If you need assistance with that, I posted a guide on it several pages back. The price of a CM Storm QFR and a separate set of keycaps will still be less than a Filco if that's the route you want to go.
The FC700 series boards are out, but they're not readily available in the US yet. Supposedly EK will carry the FC700R, which is why they were selling the FC200 on discount to clear space for the new boards.
While I do agree the price for a Filco is steep, I've been very satisfied with my three boards. Absolutely love them and I think they're very much worth the price that I paid for them. In the end, however, determining what's the best value for you is your own choice.
Hope this helped!
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Yeah, like I said in other posts. I just got my QFR with Red Switches and so far am loving it. And like the guy above me said if you don't like the key style just get a seperate set.
Typing on this keyboard is so much better than anything I have typed on in the past few years of my life.
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On August 01 2012 21:02 kuruptt wrote:
Hey guys, a couple months ago I got rid of my steelseries 6gv2 and CM quickfire rapid in blues because they both didn't feel right for me for gaming. The steelseries I had had a lot of things wrong with it that supposedly a lot of other people had problems with as well (sticky space bar and keys coming off very easily) The quick fire rapid was terrible for me because I double tap a lot and we all know blues are terrible for that.
Anyways, I'm in the market again but this time I researched a lot and came to the conclusion that brown switches are the best for me. Can you guys recommend me some good boards? It must have media keys (volume up and down)
I'm leaning towards the Zowie Celeritas at the moment. It has everything I need plus a hand rest. The RTR technology seems pretty cool for MMORPG games as well when you need to spam those keys as fast as possible. Anyone have any input on this board? I can't seem to find much people using it. I also heard the space bar problem can be easily fixed if you call them and ask for a replacement.
Anyone?
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I'm in the market for my first mechanical keyboard and have settled on a tenkeyless cherry black (mostly because it seems quieter than the browns and blues, and not as sensitive as the reds. Please feel free to disabuse me of this notion if it is wrong. I initially thought browns were quieter, but after listening to some youtube videos it seems blacks and reds have the edge.)
Anyway, filcos are the preferred high end-ish ones, right? Like this one from amazon
I'm a little concerned about the varying actuation pressure of the keys though, is that an issue? Some reviews said it felt weird, others loved it, and I have nowhere to try this out before buying.
I'm tempted by the much cheaper CM Storm quickfire here from newegg. But I think it looks kind of ugly with the combo black/grey. The ads don't bother me so much as the color scheme. I guess I could get grey keycaps?
Any advice would be appreciated. Also, if anyone knows of any rubber dome tenkeyless keyboards, I'd be interested in that as well, as my main concern is noise rather than the quality/longevity of the keyboard. I need a tenkeyless to fit on a keyboard tray I got. But my desk is set up in our bedroom and if I wake up early, not waking up the wife while I'm on the computer is a priority.
Thanks!
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On August 02 2012 10:30 kuruptt wrote:Show nested quote +On August 01 2012 21:02 kuruptt wrote:
Hey guys, a couple months ago I got rid of my steelseries 6gv2 and CM quickfire rapid in blues because they both didn't feel right for me for gaming. The steelseries I had had a lot of things wrong with it that supposedly a lot of other people had problems with as well (sticky space bar and keys coming off very easily) The quick fire rapid was terrible for me because I double tap a lot and we all know blues are terrible for that.
Anyways, I'm in the market again but this time I researched a lot and came to the conclusion that brown switches are the best for me. Can you guys recommend me some good boards? It must have media keys (volume up and down)
I'm leaning towards the Zowie Celeritas at the moment. It has everything I need plus a hand rest. The RTR technology seems pretty cool for MMORPG games as well when you need to spam those keys as fast as possible. Anyone have any input on this board? I can't seem to find much people using it. I also heard the space bar problem can be easily fixed if you call them and ask for a replacement. Anyone?
I have a couple of friends with the Zowie Celeritas, and they enjoy it. The only knock they have on the board is the large enter key, which is non-traditional States-side. Typical full-size, brown-switched keyboard. To me, the RTR technology is just marketing; if you max out repeat rate in Windows, that kind of makes the RTR technology useless as do you really need a single key to register 50 times in less than a second?
If you want the board, go for it!
On August 02 2012 12:13 alQahira wrote:I'm in the market for my first mechanical keyboard and have settled on a tenkeyless cherry black (mostly because it seems quieter than the browns and blues, and not as sensitive as the reds. Please feel free to disabuse me of this notion if it is wrong. I initially thought browns were quieter, but after listening to some youtube videos it seems blacks and reds have the edge.) Anyway, filcos are the preferred high end-ish ones, right? Like this one from amazonI'm a little concerned about the varying actuation pressure of the keys though, is that an issue? Some reviews said it felt weird, others loved it, and I have nowhere to try this out before buying. I'm tempted by the much cheaper CM Storm quickfire here from newegg. But I think it looks kind of ugly with the combo black/grey. The ads don't bother me so much as the color scheme. I guess I could get grey keycaps? Any advice would be appreciated. Also, if anyone knows of any rubber dome tenkeyless keyboards, I'd be interested in that as well, as my main concern is noise rather than the quality/longevity of the keyboard. I need a tenkeyless to fit on a keyboard tray I got. But my desk is set up in our bedroom and if I wake up early, not waking up the wife while I'm on the computer is a priority. Thanks!
From someone who's tried all major switch types, you are correct in that the linear switches are quieter than the tactile ones. Browns are significantly quieter than blues as they don't have that "click," but they're still very loud, especially if you bottom out.
Linear keys take a little while to get used to. Because there's no tactile bump, you don't really know when the key has hit its actuation point so you bottom out anyway. I went from tactile to linear and can confirm there's a little adjustment period to the linear switches. Now I use and am used to both, so it doesn't bother me at all.
Black switches are noticeably stiffer than red switches, but otherwise they feel and sound the same. I could not see myself typing or using black switches for an extended period of time; they were just too stiff for my liking. With O-Rings and a solid set of keycaps, the sound of a linear board can be very, very quiet. Not to mention that a great setup of linear switches feels amazing to the fingers.
The red-switched variation of the CM QFR comes with black casing with black caps and a red backplate. I like that look much better than the black on gray, but that's just my opinion.
Not sure about any TKL rubber dome keyboards, but having used a mechanical keyboard for quite some time now, quality/longevity are two words that I won't use to describe a dome keyboard ever again. That belongs to the mechanical variety.
From personal experience, I can say that the reds haven't caused any friction among my wife, baby, and I as my workstation is also in the bedroom. Using the blues and the browns are a different story, even with O-Rings.
TL:DR; If you're concerned about noise, linear is the way to go. The CM QFR has a black/red design for the red switches. I personally prefer the reds, but it's your choice.
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Hey thanks for the reply! Yeah I just did the math and for me to get the Zowie Celeritas is going to cost me about 140$ with shipping and handling so I thought I might as well go for a Filco since it's in stock near my local computer store.
I really wanted media keys though so I was looking at the Ducky DK9008G2 and it seems like this will be my keyboard of choice! Theres not many reviews of this keyboard however and the one with abs keycaps are out of stock everywhere! Do you know when it will restock again? I really don't want to pay 20-30$ more for the PBT ones.
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On August 02 2012 13:42 kuruptt wrote:
Hey thanks for the reply! Yeah I just did the math and for me to get the Zowie Celeritas is going to cost me about 140$ with shipping and handling so I thought I might as well go for a Filco since it's in stock near my local computer store.
I really wanted media keys though so I was looking at the Ducky DK9008G2 and it seems like this will be my keyboard of choice! Theres not many reviews of this keyboard however and the one with abs keycaps are out of stock everywhere! Do you know when it will restock again? I really don't want to pay 20-30$ more for the PBT ones.
You could always get the Multicam Filcos. Those have media functions, but have the ugly (in my opinion) camo print on them. Same amazing Filco quality.
The newest Ducky boards don't have the quality control issues that plagued earlier boards and gave them the reputation of "Sucky Ducky." Many who've purchased the newer boards are quite satisfied with them. I haven't used them, so I can't give any personal feedback but the general consensus has been that Ducky boards are acceptable again.
Coming from someone who has both ABS and PBT caps, it's worth the extra cash for the PBT caps. They feel better, won't wear out as quickly and are much quieter. Every little bit helps as these boards can be really, really loud.
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On August 02 2012 13:42 kuruptt wrote:
Hey thanks for the reply! Yeah I just did the math and for me to get the Zowie Celeritas is going to cost me about 140$ with shipping and handling so I thought I might as well go for a Filco since it's in stock near my local computer store.
I really wanted media keys though so I was looking at the Ducky DK9008G2 and it seems like this will be my keyboard of choice! Theres not many reviews of this keyboard however and the one with abs keycaps are out of stock everywhere! Do you know when it will restock again? I really don't want to pay 20-30$ more for the PBT ones.
Send an email to one of the stores with Ducky, decent stores should give you a vague eta on when they will restock and that should help your decision.
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I just bought the Ducky DK9008G2 with ABS caps from Tigerimport. I hope I didn't make a wrong choice!
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On August 02 2012 16:16 kuruptt wrote:
I just bought the Ducky DK9008G2 with ABS caps from Tigerimport. I hope I didn't make a wrong choice!
What switches?
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I used a pretty strange method to pop out my keys.
I used the tip of a "bag closer". Dunno what it's called in english. I forced the tip of it down under my keys and popped them out. No danger of harming the keys/switches eihter.
Not the best or most practical way of doing it though.
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On August 02 2012 16:16 kuruptt wrote:
I just bought the Ducky DK9008G2 with ABS caps from Tigerimport. I hope I didn't make a wrong choice!
Hehehe, you didn't make the wrong choice. Ducky's of the 9000series are well made with good materials. You'll not be disappointed.
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Does anybody know if there is a mechanical keyboard that is water resistant?
Much appreciated!
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On August 04 2012 05:51 Deckkie wrote:
Does anybody know if there is a mechanical keyboard that is water resistant?
Much appreciated!
Im almost 100% sure there isn't.
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