Mechanical Keyboard Suggestions

I posted another thread about the new PC I'll be building, if I had the extra money after I'll be looking to upgrade my kbm set up (will be doing it either way eventually)

So I've never really use or had a mechanical keyboard, but I hear they are the way to go, its my understanding that Red and Black switches are for gaming, this will be primarily what I'll be using it for. I've heard good things about Ducky Shines?

Anyway, some suggestions for the cheapest quality mechanical keyboard, and also something a little more mid range, gamer extras welcome but not necessary. I'll hopefully be getting one for myself, and the cheaper one would be for my partner.

Gaming mice recommendations welcome also

Get a key switch tester before buying anything, you'll thank yourself later.

There are tons of good keyboards, but what do you need from it?
Backlight? Macro keys? Full size, TKL, 60%? Budget?

I use two mechanical keyboards every day.
One is my Logitech G710+ with Brown keys that I've had for a few years at home. It's used for both typing and gaming, would highly recommend.
The second is my Ducky Shine 4 with Blue keys that I've had for about 6 months at work. It's used solely for typing, would also highly recommend.

Rosewill, Razer, Cooler Master, and corsair will be your "budget" brands. I have a couple CMs and like them (albeit, I haven't tried anything "nicer").

Das and Ducky are probably a step up quality and price-wise.

I would try to find a used cheaper one (read reviews to determine which brand to go with) just to make sure you like them.

Honestly, unless you type a lot (I'm a programmer), it might not be wise investment. I wouldn't take money away from another component in your build to get a keyboard.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/...ard-suggestions?highlight=Mechanical+keyboard
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/...-keyboard-today?highlight=Mechanical+keyboard
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/...oard-for-gaming?highlight=Mechanical+keyboard

Not my thing, but I searched "mechanical keyboard" here and came up with those. Someone will be around shortly for more personal help.

Thanks EarthDog Looking through those it seems Ducky Shines are pretty popular, as well as a few others, Corsair stands out.

As for features...

Full size.
Backlight would be nice but not essential (preferably changeable colour or white)
Macro Keys again would be nice, but overall quality of the board would be more important.
Budget... Around $150 AU would be nice, under $100AU for the second one if there is a quality one around that price.

I'll look into a switch tester, the only switch I've tested in real life is Cherry MX Clear...

And I don't think I'll be cutting into any of my component budget, I'll be upgrading my keyboard as this is a piece of crap, but if I have the extra money I'll go for the best one I can afford.

I'm not familiar with prices on mech keyboards or where to buy from in the down under, sorry.
Do you know of any sites that ship to Australia that we can recommend from?

At a minimum, get a tester with Red/Black/Blue/Brown.
Something like this would be even better:
http://www.amazon.com/Max-Keyboard-...sim_147_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=094DPGSSMXY9XFCDPBE6

As far as quality, Ducky tends to be a go-to, but as far as cheapest, that's another thing entirely. I highly recommend what ATM mentioned, a key switch sampler will help you find which CherryMX key you prefer.
http://www.maxkeyboard.com/max-keyboard-keycap-cherry-mx-switch-o-ring-sampler-tester-kit.html

That's a small sampler that should be more than enough as these are the most used switches.

I've had my corsair k70 RGB (endless lighting options)for awhile now bought it when they first came out, have used it daily since or almost daily. I use it both for gaming and work. Love it and would recommend to anyone.
My son has a ducky and swears by it as well, not sure what pricing is there but I think he actually bought his ducky for less than my corsair, going by memory here but I wanna say his ducky was like 10 bucks less 170 vs 160.

I picked up a thermaltake posieden z keyboard at a local bestbuy for $59 on sale. its a decent keyboard, I like my corsair k70 better but paid double for it

I have this, comes in all 4 major Cherry switches and either blue or red backlight. It's probably the best you can get at this price point.

Not trying to steal the thread but I'm also looking for a good quality mechanical keyboard, specifically one with Cherry MX Brown keys and the key caps are laser etched letters/symbols so they do not wear off. I'm not a gamer so I would prefer no funny colored keys. I really don't need a lit keyboard but if it had a soft white lighting, I could live with that. I looked at one which NewEgg is currently selling as a refurb and after reading some reviews, it just doesn't seem like it will last a long time. I'll keep looking and if I find something, I'll post it here.

Cheers

Still looking for a top-notch laser-etched that's wireless but gave up looking about a year ago..........

Anything changed since then?

JoeSchmuck said:

Not trying to steal the thread but I'm also looking for a good quality mechanical keyboard, specifically one with Cherry MX Brown keys and the key caps are laser etched letters/symbols so they do not wear off. I'm not a gamer so I would prefer no funny colored keys. I really don't need a lit keyboard but if it had a soft white lighting, I could live with that. I looked at one which NewEgg is currently selling as a refurb and after reading some reviews, it just doesn't seem like it will last a long time. I'll keep looking and if I find something, I'll post it here.

Cheers

Click to expand...

If you aren't looking to spend much, I've been happy with the CM QuickFire series and they have the features you're after. I see them on sale regularly for $70-90.

There aren't many wireless mechanicals, RT, and none from a company I'd trust with $200+

RollingThunder said:

Still looking for a top-notch laser-etched that's wireless but gave up looking about a year ago..........

Anything changed since then?

Click to expand...

That's not setting the bar very high asking for wireless, soooooo, I give to you,
http://www.amazon.com/Rapoo-Multimedia-Wireless-Mechanical-Backlight/dp/B00NITL8B0

ninjacore said:

If you aren't looking to spend much, I've been happy with the CM QuickFire series and they have the features you're after. I see them on sale regularly for $70-90.

Click to expand...

Now that hits the spot! I'm currently looking at the XT model with the numeric keypad, I use it allot so I know I'd hate myself if I didn't get it. Tweak Town gave it a very high rating. It's got laser printed keys, also right up my alley. I can't believe how much a mechanical keyboard costs these days. I owned one decades ago, it was heavy and reliable, lasted for many years. It only cost about $50. Okay, I guess with inflation, yea, cost is similar. I'm old.

EDIT: I pulled the trigger and purchased the XT model. There is no back lighting but that is okay. It does have the MX Brown keys and laser etches caps. Reviews are actually very good even though you do fine an occasional miss. The only thing that concerned me was the fact you needed to use the PS2 adapter to get the n-key rollover and anti-ghosting features, but most motherboards still have a PS2 connection so I'm actually fine with it.

I'd recommend going to a local electronics/pc store to try out some of the switch types they have there. It's more of a "real world test" than ordering a switch tester, and you can probably save a few bucks that way. I lucked out, as i have two co-workers who own mx brown keyboards, and my girlfriend owns an mx red keyboard. Being able to try those after doing some research on the different switch types allowed me to pick a switch i knew i would like.

Check out mechanicalkeyboards.com, they have a better selection than most of the other etailers i have found. Lots of different models and switch types. I bought my kbp 60% keyboard on there with red/blue leds and MX brown switches, very satisfied. Massdrop also has an entire section dedicated to mechanical keyboards. Although massdrop takes a long time to ship things out, some of their drops allow for customization or features that you flat out can't find anywhere else (custom color keycaps, choose switches, custom usb cables, colored keyboard cases, cool stuff like that).

On a final note, reds/blacks being a gaming only switch is kind of a misconception. Some people actually prefer the typing experience of reds over browns or blues. You can game and type on any switch, and it will probably be more satisfying than what you're working with now. It all comes down to personal preference.

I got my keyboard a few hours ago and overall I'm very pleased. I still hate myself for paying so much and not having some basic features most rubber dome keyboards have. The keys will take a little getting use to but my typing has improved already so I know the purchase wasn't a waste of my money. I could write up a review on this keyboard but it would take a bit of time because I'm an engineer and I pay attention to all the aspects of the machine, I'm very critical I guess. In general it is what was described. Out of curiosity, what would someone expect from the USB cable if it was advertised to be in a nylon braid? I would personally expect that the cable would be a nice durable and flexible cable. It is not and is my only real complaint. It's a normal USB A to USB A plastic cable with a plastic braid which looks to be heat shrinked tight to the cable sheath. It is a very stiff cable. Thankfully it will remain in place on my computer desk but if I was to make it a portable keyboard, I'd buy a replacement USB cable. The keys bottoming out and making a sharp sound is a little irritating (I expected this to be a possible issue) but I'm noticing that I'm not pressing as hard on the keys also over the past few hours making it overall not as harsh. I may resort to purchasing a few 0-rings to soften the stop. I can't believe how much people want to charge for an o-ring, well just over 100 o-rings. Thanks for the link above. Although I won't be replacing my keyboard anytime soon I hope, I can purchase the o-rings from that site for $12 delivered (SKU: MK130-40A).

I wish I had a place to test out mechanical keyboards but there is nothing in my neck of the woods that I'm aware of.

I really like the weight of this keyboard and I wish I could take it to work. Well I could take it to work but honestly I'm not spending my money to use on a company computer.

I'd liek to thank all the folks here for the advice they gave. It was valuable to me.

FYI you can buy generic o-rings on Amazon for much cheaper than you can buy a set marketed for a keyboard.

I purchased o-rings for the keyboard I use at work (also an XT with browns). I was bottoming out a lot as well and didn't want to annoy the neighbors. I will find the link for the ones I purchased, but agree that they seemed expensive for a set of o-rings.


EDIT: Here are the rings I bought. Yea, I probably paid more than I should have haha

Any 008 size o-ring will work. Look for something between 50A and 70A hardness.