I Have Decided to Go Mechanical... But Which One?

After searching for keyboards for the last week I have decided to go all out and get a mechanical. I can't decide, however, which one. I will be doing a lot of typing and a good bit of gaming as well.

Things I value:

Look (I'd like it to look more modern than a standard black qwerty, plus I tend to value backlighting)

Sound (I don't want to make my roommates want to kill me)

Audio (If possible, I'd like it to come with an audio jack)

Size (I don't want it to be too big... I don't have too much room on my desk. Plus I never use the numpad)

Cheap (I won't be spending more than $100)

Feel (I have no experience with mechanical boards so I don't really know how to judge this)


Boards I've been looking at:

The Cooler Master Storm Quickfire Rapid

The Steel Series 6GV2

The Razer Blackwidow Ultimate

Oh, and on the cheap (is their any disadvantage to one of these or these?)

Also, I have to admit, the Razer Nostromo is quite tempting.


Any advice is greatly appreciated.

missread... sorry

Ok, I will try to go through each one.

The Cooler Master uses MX Blue switches so it is going to be on the louder side of keyboards.

The Steel Series uses MX Black switches so it will be on the quieter side (definitely no click like the MX Blue switches).

The razer blackwidow uses Blue switches also so the same things apply as the Cooler Master. If you like the razer series, then you may want to check out the Stealth Edition of the Ultimate.

This should help explain the different key types that are commonly used.

Right now I am using a crappy oem dell keyboard so I am also searching for a new keyboard. Also, I tend to stay away from stuff like the Nostromo for gaming since I think it just complicates things. It all comes down to personal preference I guess.

Hmm, I'll have to ask my roommate how much click he can handle....
I found a $80 das s pro for new on ebay and jumped on it. Still not sure whether I want the thing though. Haven't payed yet. I feel like I'm leaning toward the razer blackwidow now =p. Ugh, I hate making choices. What do you guys think?