I've used both mechanical (Zowie Celeritas MX Brown and Razer BlackWidow MX Blue) and membrane (standard HP keyboard and QSenn DT35) keyboards. The membrane ones are good but I've broken the "2" key on the HP keyboard after a year and had to turn to a cheap QSenn one. That was doing fine for a year or so before I switched to a Razer BlackWidow. The mechanical part was fine but I didn't like the loud clicky sound of the MX Blues so I sold it and switched to the Zowie. There's really not much I can say about the feel of the two types of keyboards, you'll adapt to both very easily. The mechanical ones are probably louder although if you get an MX Red or Brown, that might not be too big a deal. If you tend to play a lot of Starcraft where you have to tap each key very fast and very often, it's probably safer to go with a mechanical keyboard because you can easily replace the switches whereas the membrane keys you probably have to replace the whole keyboard (I could be completely wrong about this though).

]Skyline

Germany3 Posts

October 17 2013 07:47 GMT

#22

Personal Experience:
I went through many membrane keyboards from Logitech and my last one was an Apple Keyboard. Now I have got the Razer Blackwidow with MX Blues. Besides gaming I have to type alot (University etc.) so I didn't want to have blacks or reds and I really love to hear the keys, so I went for blues instead of browns.
At work I still have to work with Membrane Keyboards and I'm ALWAYS feeling better, when typing at home, because the feel and response is so much better. On a Membrane keyboard I kinda have the feeling to push the keys into a pillow and suddenly you grounded it. I am using so much more pressure on membrane keyboards than on my mechanical one. In SC my APM went from 70 to 100-120 just because my fingers do not get tired so fast. (Yes, I'm a terrible casual (= )

Hope this gives you some insight.

phar

United States1080 Posts

October 18 2013 01:07 GMT

#23

Buy a mechanical for work (or if your company is generous, expense one).

B_Type13X2

Canada122 Posts

October 19 2013 23:24 GMT

#24

I have owned 3 mechanical keyboards on my 4th now since my blackwidow ultimate seems to have had build quality issues. I have a Logitech G19 and I thought it would be my primary keyboard when I purchased it. But since I discovered mechanical I simply cannot bring myself to use it. There really is no comparison, when my last blackwidow had a broken D I was forced to use my G19 for a week and I'll tell you the past 7 days sucked. about an hour ago my new Steelseries arrived in the mail... and its been amazing to type with and play with. I am actually excited to put this thing through its paces. There's a reason for the hype about mechanical keyboards when you play with one you'll see why. I don't know what it is specifically? The tactile feed back when I press a key, the activation pressure, the audible feed back, the speed and ease of typing I can't really speculate which of these makes it so much better so I'll just say all of the above.

scott31337

United States2979 Posts

October 20 2013 02:24 GMT

#25

On October 17 2013 14:37 Mysticesper wrote:
The problem is.. you are looking at the up front cost instead of the cost over time. Keep cycling through cheap keyboards and you are already paying more than for a mechanical that will last you quite a long time.

I do enough beer spills and cigarette ashes when i am drinking to kill them, and if I killed a mechanical I would be sad

I have plenty of keyboards.

Ropid

Germany3557 Posts

October 20 2013 03:11 GMT

#26

On October 20 2013 11:24 scott31337 wrote:

Show nested quote +

I do enough beer spills and cigarette ashes when i am drinking to kill them, and if I killed a mechanical I would be sad

I have plenty of keyboards.

About that, I'm pretty sure I had seen keyboards with some sort of drain channels for exactly that a long time ago. The plastic part that had holes for each switch was built with a tiny wall covering the sides of each switch. The key caps were acting like an umbrella covering the switch against the drink spillage. The drink would then flow between the keys and would drain away through holes. If the spillage wouldn't be too severe this design probably worked well.

Found this about how the IBM Model M was built: http://www.flickr.com/photos/compleo/5414470454/in/photostream/

I wonder if that's what I'm remembering? That keyboard might shrug off some normal drink spillage despite being mechanical?

jiN9

United States20 Posts

October 20 2013 03:50 GMT

#27

On October 16 2013 19:47 herozour wrote:

Show nested quote +

But why is mechanical better? Did you actually tried both and the mechanical is easier to play/type with?

Honestly, it's personal preference. It is difficult to describe in words how different it feels to play/type on a mechanical keyboard to someone who has never touched one before. It's like describing color to a blind person, you have to experience it yourself to understand. I suggest that you visit any local computer parts store that has mechanical keyboards out on display and just get a feel for it. That being said, the vast majority of people who have tried a mechanical keyboard will say that it feels much nicer than a membrane, and that going back to membranes feels "mushy." From talking to my friends, the only ones that do not prefer mechanical keyboards are people who like low profile key switches, like those found on laptops or the ones that come with Macs.

requieml

Canada72 Posts

October 20 2013 05:47 GMT

#28

On October 20 2013 11:24 scott31337 wrote:

Show nested quote +

I do enough beer spills and cigarette ashes when i am drinking to kill them, and if I killed a mechanical I would be sad

I have plenty of keyboards.

you can wash your mechanical keyboards... just toss them in a bowl of water, rinse, and let it dry