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On April 08 2015 08:02 ThomasjServo wrote:Show nested quote +On April 08 2015 07:59 Thalandros wrote:On April 08 2015 07:58 ThomasjServo wrote:Poker II so tiny, glad you like it though. Sorry, updated my post. It is tiny and sometimes I wonder how much easier a full board would be again, but I really like it so far and I'm getting adjusted to it. It just looks so pretty. I have a Noppoo Choc Mini for work, and that is about as small as I can go, I use the function keys too much
Yeah I've come to realize the smallest my keyboard can be is TKL. Any fewer keys and my productivity is noticeably worse.
Found my ideal keys though, MX Greens feel perfect. Topres and Buckling Springs weren't as nice.
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Really? I've heard from a lot of people that Topres are amazing.
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On April 07 2015 07:46 Sovano wrote:I bought the Corsair K65 RGB at release and it's alright. However, if you don't have the time to go and make your own lighting profile there's only a limited number of K65 lighting profiles on the Corsair forum compared to the K70 and K95. Also welcome to TL missalaire. I loved some of the deals you posted on GH when I used to frequent forums
Thanks for the welcome! I'm glad that you enjoyed and made use of some of the deals that I posted
On April 09 2015 06:17 Thalandros wrote: Really? I've heard from a lot of people that Topres are amazing.
Topre like Cherry MX are personal preference. I've tried Topre and I tried really hard to like it, but I found the bottoming out to be rather harsh and was not so fond of them.
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Can someone recommend me a decent brown key thats not 10keyless? Also within budget so under 100? can do up to 125 though...
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On April 14 2015 06:17 Digitalis wrote: Can someone recommend me a decent brown key thats not 10keyless? Also within budget so under 100? can do up to 125 though...
Any CM Storm board fits that profile. Good, all round board, with wide selection of switches.
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I was looking to get my first mech keyboard and have no real idea what im doing... I have a friend with a Razer Blackwidow and was thinking about picking up one of those. I was wondering if anyone could help me out?
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On April 18 2015 01:25 grockey wrote: I was looking to get my first mech keyboard and have no real idea what im doing... I have a friend with a Razer Blackwidow and was thinking about picking up one of those. I was wondering if anyone could help me out?
Hey Grockey, I'll help out with what I can. I have had a total of 4 mechanical keyboards in the past which were the MX Red, Brown, Blue, and another Brown.
Before you start thinking of looking at the keyboards, make it easier on yourself and start with what you'd be using it for to narrow down your search.
The usual question is: What switch should I buy?
From my experience, they are usually categorized into the following:
Brown - In my opinion, I like to describe this switch as the "jack of all trades, master of none". It works similar to the blue in that it has a small "resistance bump" about mid-way through the key that lets you know you've activated the switch; calculated specifics are in the link below. It's loudness can be controlled with a soft touch, although bottoming out with these keys makes the usual "clack clack" noise, as opposed to the "click click" of the blue. You can youtube noises of these keys to find out which noise you prefer. The only "issue" with this switch is that it doesn't give as much personality as say a black or blue. It is similar to the typical rubber dome keys, but just has a more "cleaner" feel, and so the transition from a rubber dome keyboard to mechanical brown is less noticeable. I actually like this feel though, especially after having played around with all the other key switches.
TL;DR - Good Typing, Good Gaming, Decent Noise Control
Black - The MX Black if I remember correctly are highly regarded in FPS games. The way these switches work is by having a gradual resistance as you push down on the key, this is what they refer to as "linear travel". An additional personality of these keys are that it requires relatively more force to press down to actuate a key, which helps in avoiding "misclicks". Same clacky sound as the browns and easy to noise control due to the increasing resistance. The problem with this is that it feels clumsy and annoying to type on, and can get relatively "tiring" because you generally need to press down a bit more than the usual keys. When you're typing lets say an essay or on forums, other keys are more preferable.
TL;DR - Hard to type on, Good FPS Gaming, Decent Noise Control
Blue - I think MX blues really helped distinguish mechanical keyboards from your generic 10$ one, because there is an audible click near the "actuation point" on these keys. They work similar to the brown, in that you feel a small tactile bump before you actuate a key press which lets you "feel" the registration of a key press, but then also adds a "click" noise to wrap it up. It is a very preferential one though. From personal experience, getting an mx blue switch was a great introduction because it felt very new. The click sound however, gets very tiring after a while and is very loud, especially at night when you may need to keep things quiet. It's definitely not a place to bring around for example, or type in a room full of people who want peace and quiet. It is however, a little annoying to play FPS games on, or particularly games where you are pressing down a key to move, and are holding that key down and then letting go and pushing back down. The whole actuation system on this can get a bit cumbersome.
TL;DR - Great to type on, Good RTS gaming, Fair FPS gaming, No Noise Control.
Red - The red is simply a black switch, but with a reduced linear force during the whole travel. Because of this, it feels very light and you'll feel people often say it feels like typing on a cloud. However, if you're gaming, or doing anything, it is very easy to "bottom out", and thus you'll feel the thuds a bit more when you start off. The noise control thus is a bit more difficult but its easy to adjust to.
TL;DR - Like the blacks, but lighter, Difficult Noise Control
More specific technical detail if you're interested is here: http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/official-mechanical-keyboard-guide#user_heading2
Use that link if you're interested in the more scientific aspects of how they work, but my general description above should be enough for a beginner.
Okay, so you have an idea now of the general switches. The next is: Do you want TKL or the Full 104 keyboard?
TKL refers to tenkeyless, which is simply a missing numberpad. This is a great space-saving keyboard, but if you do number crunching often, it's understandable that you find it annoying it lacks one. I personally love tenkeyless, and I'd prefer to use it for games all the time, but sometimes it's nice to know I have a keyboard with the numberpad in case I need it. Other times, it just looks nice to have a numberpad. In any case, if you plan to travel often with it, get the tenkeyless, it's so much easier.
On that note, if you use a laptop, just get a tenkeyless. Because you'll still have the numberpad on the laptop anyways, and it's just much easier to carry.
Another thing you want to think about is the stabilizer of the switches. Most larger keys such as the shift key, space bar, and sometimes the enter and backspace will have stabilizers which are generally categorized into the following:
Cherry Stabilizer vs. Wire Stabilizer
This is another very preferential thing. I personally prefer the wire stabilizer because I like the loud noise it makes, but it brings with it more difficult cleaning, and sometimes results in 'pinging' which is a noise that mechanical switches make sometimes when you bottom out. Some people find pinging annoying, others don't. If you get wire stabilizers, expect to have pinging.
Cherry stabilizers are more robust, but with it, comes this 'muddy' feeling you'll see people complain about when they first get a keyboard such as the Leopold. I have personally grown to like it, but again, I prefer the pingy wire stabilizers because I dislike the change in resistance with a cherry stabilizer. It feels much more different than the regular MX brown switches on my Leopold. I'd have preferred if cherry stabilizers were designed with a much lighter resistance, but they are not.
Finally: N-Key rollover. Not all keyboards come with N-KEY rollover. What does this mean? It simply refers to how many switches you can press at once, and have actuated. In other words, if you press ALL your keys at once, you'll notice your rubber dome will not register all of them. That's because it has a limit to how many it will register and so it comes out very weird. I prefer N-Key rollover, but this is more of a collectors pet peeve. ___________________________
So this wraps up the bulk of it. When it comes down to this point, it's really about looks and what you like. Some keyboards come with unpluggable wires which are incredibly convenient. Others have all the gaming lights, which I absolutely abhor but to each his own . Do you like glossy look? Do you like the way they printed their keycaps?
Is the blackwidow good? I'm sure it is, but I hate the way it looks. I believe the blackwidow has a much more compressed chassis, from what I remember. What I mean by that is they reduced the spacing inbetween the keys and so it is a bit more compressed. Don't quote me on this, but it was hard for me to adjust and I disliked it. I had a friend buy it and he liked it though.
Ultimately, some people try to go by weight to see how "heavy" and protected it is, but honestly to me, it is all collectors niche from that point. In the end, you want the keyboard for the switches, and unless you're doing some Pure Pwnage keyboard sword fights, you're not gonna need a crazy build quality for the housing.
Also, the way the keycaps are printed... Well, don't really expect the print to last on all the keys. No matter what they advertise, those keycaps are gonna lose the print from the constant usage and sweat and what not. Unless it's a doubleshot keycap, which is expensive and never sold together, don't expect super longevity on the way the keycaps look so don't believe all that advertisement hype.
Hope I helped, ask any questions if you'd like.
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On April 18 2015 01:25 grockey wrote: I was looking to get my first mech keyboard and have no real idea what im doing... I have a friend with a Razer Blackwidow and was thinking about picking up one of those. I was wondering if anyone could help me out?
First figure out which switch you want. This guide covers the different switch types among other things: http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/official-mechanical-keyboard-guide. Once you've decided on a switch and any other features (i.e. numberpad, backlit, macro keys, etc) along with a budget, I can help you more easily.
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On April 14 2015 06:17 Digitalis wrote: Can someone recommend me a decent brown key thats not 10keyless? Also within budget so under 100? can do up to 125 though...
If you're aiming for a cheap/budget keyboard look into Leopold's on elitekeyboards or take a stab at the Rosewill Mechanical keyboards. From my experience with the rosewill, I didn't think anything bad of them at all.
EDIT: Wow, I just realized they stopped selling the full sized ones for Leopolds...
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This may not relate to mechanical keyboards but I think its the most appropriate thread to ask. Are wireless keyboards/mouses less accurate than typical keyboard/mouses that are connected via PS/2 or USB? I know that PS/2 is the most accurate, followed by USB. My cousin has a wireless keyboard but I didn't notice any significant differences in accuracy/responsiveness. Does anyone know much about this?
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Wireless keyboards are less reliable and may be slightly less responsive though negligible at best for your typical person.
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On April 22 2015 11:06 skyR wrote: Wireless keyboards are less reliable and may be slightly less responsive though negligible at best for your typical person.
Thanks. So for FPS gaming, a wireless keyboard/mouse would still be alright?
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On April 22 2015 11:34 Apotek wrote:Show nested quote +On April 22 2015 11:06 skyR wrote: Wireless keyboards are less reliable and may be slightly less responsive though negligible at best for your typical person. Thanks. So for FPS gaming, a wireless keyboard/mouse would still be alright?
It's a really subjective question you're asking. I find FPS games are a lot more reaction sensitive so it might be better to have a wired board especially if you're playing semi-competitively. A big problem with any wireless equipment is the battery replacement which is a big no for me. I doubt the non-competitive gamer cares, and it shouldn't affect performance all that much in the end
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Just get the wireless keyboard as close to the wireless receiver as you can and pretty much eliminates most issues outside of possible battery ones(which isn't as much of an issue with keyboards).
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On April 24 2015 10:45 semantics wrote: Just get the wireless keyboard as close to the wireless receiver as you can and pretty much eliminates most issues outside of possible battery ones(which isn't as much of an issue with keyboards).
How long do the batteries last on wireless mouse/keyboards? I actually don't mind wired keyboards... might stick to that. Might actually go for a Thermaltake mechanical keyboard in the end.
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United Kingdom20269 Posts
On April 24 2015 13:21 Apotek wrote:Show nested quote +On April 24 2015 10:45 semantics wrote: Just get the wireless keyboard as close to the wireless receiver as you can and pretty much eliminates most issues outside of possible battery ones(which isn't as much of an issue with keyboards). How long do the batteries last on wireless mouse/keyboards? I actually don't mind wired keyboards... might stick to that. Might actually go for a Thermaltake mechanical keyboard in the end.
A long time on keyboards i think. Wireless mice are very bad though. Even if performance is unaffected (which is rare) the battery adds weight in a very undesirable way because they're very dense. They usually move the center of mass and/or the sensor position too in a bad way. I can't explicitly name any good wireless mice with decent sensors either - only some with the inconsistent tracking speed laser sensors
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On April 18 2015 01:25 grockey wrote: I was looking to get my first mech keyboard and have no real idea what im doing... I have a friend with a Razer Blackwidow and was thinking about picking up one of those. I was wondering if anyone could help me out?
it really depends on the price, dont overspend on your first mech keyboard (pick a switch, a good brand/models and look around for bargains!). im personally a big fan of the cmstorm boards (quickfire/rapidfire). im currently using a 50$ cm storm keyboard instead of my realforce, majestouch etc . its a really solid gaming keyboard.
edit: never tried the new i models tho, i stocked up on the older models at a sale :D. on top of them being well built i love their design aswell, theyre very ergonomically friendly.
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United Kingdom20269 Posts
My mech board (wasd v1) keeps sticking keys, like they will stay registering as pressed down after i release them. The key doesn't seem to stick in hardware
i thought at first maybe i wore down/stuck a switch or two, but after rebinding my osu keys (i can put like 10k++ keystrokes in a day on those with way too high force sometimes) it still happens on the new keys. I also noticed it during playing other games, when moving with WASD for example my D could stick and character would strafe sideways until i pressed the key again to release it.
since it doesn't seem to be specific to one key i'm not sure what the problem would be or how to troubleshoot it, any ideas?
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On April 26 2015 09:51 Cyro wrote: My mech board (wasd v1) keeps sticking keys, like they will stay registering as pressed down after i release them. The key doesn't seem to stick in hardware
i thought at first maybe i wore down/stuck a switch or two, but after rebinding my osu keys (i can put like 10k++ keystrokes in a day on those with way too high force sometimes) it still happens on the new keys. I also noticed it during playing other games, when moving with WASD for example my D could stick and character would strafe sideways until i pressed the key again to release it.
since it doesn't seem to be specific to one key i'm not sure what the problem would be or how to troubleshoot it, any ideas?
Hey man sounds like a pretty shitty issue. Did you spill anything over recently? Maybe there's water or some liquid causing issues with the PCB?
I know there are some downloadable diagnostic programs that help figure out if its an electrical board issue or if it's just something mechanical:
http://www.passmark.com/products/keytest.htm
https://elitekeyboards.com/switchhitter.php
To name a couple. Maybe start there and see if the keyboard has problems there.
If it's something you spilled maybe you can just open up the housing and just try to clean it out. You've already said it's not a mechanical issue, but I don't know from there. Hope I can help.
EDIT:
Does this describe your problem accurately? :
EDIT 2 (From EK Website)
Detecting Key Switch Chatter
Key switch "chattering" aka "contact bouncing" is a natural occurrence in mechanical switches that can cause one switch press to be detected as multiple presses. Digital electronics in a keyboard normally filter out chatter and can handle a small deviation in chatter in a properly performing key switch, however, in the case that a switch is damaged or defective, the amount of chatter can become too large to be filtered. The result is a repetition of key input seen on your computer screen for only one intended key press.
For a typical Cherry MX based keyboard, the chatter filtering is set to 5-10 milliseconds, but this is not a value that is typically disclosed by keyboard manufacturers. Since input speed capability is a marketable specification, many manufacturers understandably push their luck in this regard. This means that switches must be of excellent performing condition in order to avoid chattering. Unfortunately, environmental contaminants and keyboard build quality can affect how quickly a key switch departs from an acceptable chattering range, and most Cherry MX keyboard owners will see some chattering at some time in their keyboard's lifetime. Fortunately, the amount of chattering is often not frequent enough to cause noticeable issues for most users. However, if you think you may have a chattering issue, Switch Hitter can help diagnose just how bad it is and whether a repair is justifiable.
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