How About an "Official" Mechanical Keyboard Thread

[Tyerker]

A couple years ago, I had a FILCO Majestouch Otaku Tenkeyless with Cherry MX Blues.



Then I sold it because I was super short on cash.

Now, finally, today I received my new Cooler Master Quickfire XT, also with Cherry MX Blues. And my goodness, I swear I will never go back to rubber domes again. This keystroke, the feedback, everything about this keyboard is incredible. The only way I will upgrade keyboards is if I go to a backlit model, probably a Ducky Shine.

Anyway, let's all chime in with our love for mechanical keyboards. Post your opinions of different switch types. Your favorite keyboard. Pictures of your desktop. Whatever. But I think there are enough of us who appreciate the nuance of a mechanical keyboard, that heck, we can just use this thread as a an excuse to type something.

Fire away!

 

[hollywood96]

well in honor of this what do you believe the best brands for mechanicals are.

 

[Tyerker]

Unfortunately, Filco no longer exists, but that keyboard was absolutely fantastic in every regard.

This Cooler Master feels and appears to be built in much the same vein, with excellent build quality (little to no flex, detachable sleeved USB cable, etc) and I can't complain for the price.

My experience is more or less limited to that, so I'd rather not speak out of turn. I do know that Corsair has a good reputation for their K70 model. Deck has been doing backlit mechanical for YEARS now, so they must be doing something right. And as I said, Ducky Shine has a great reputation for backlit mechanical keyboards, as well. But, all of that, from my point of view, is nothing more than regurgitating reputation, so I don't want to go to far.

 

[Neostarwcc]

I know people disagree with me, but I'm addicted to my Black Widow.

Thread Done.

 

[Pepi93]

I just bought the Roccat Ryos MK Pro (brown switches) and I love it. I also have the Kone XTD mouse...I like the construction, solid feel of the keyboard, the m keys are nice as are the thumbster keys and the per key illumination is really good.

Some say it's too much money but if you look at what you get it's not that bad...I was looking into the ducky shine 3 9008 but decided on having a Roccat mouse/keyboard combo instead. Their tech support is also really good although they lack in a thorough manual for their features.

I was choosing between the ducky, corsair k95 I think? but when those were $130-$160, I spent $170 and got this one. All other keyboards to me looked cheaply built aside from Razer but I didn't find a mechanical that suited my needs. I did need blue LED's.

 

[hollywood96]

how is das keyboards.

 

[Automata]

how is das keyboards.

I have two on my desk. They are good, but I wouldn't claim they are the best out there. The keyboard seems to attract dust like no other and it sticks to the side of the keys. This is annoying if you like keeping it clean.

As for feel, both MX Browns and MX Blues work great. They keyboard is built very solidly (and heavy). I'd suggest the board if you can get one on sale.

 

[sobe]

Das Keyboard are amazing boards indeed! But, as far as Filco not existing? Wut....
http://www.diatec.co.jp/en/

Diatec (Filco parent company) did encounter issues in 2010 with supply shortage and money thus the dropping from Elite Keyboards, but they are definitely out of that hole now, and Filco products are being brought to the US via TheKeyboardCompany on Amazon.

Anywho, my personal preference goes to Ducky, but the Leopolds are also very good along with the Max Nighthawk (customizable via their website).

I can't recommend Razer though, their aspect of "quality" proves to me they don't deserve my business(If buying new, stick with the higher quality mechanical keyboard companies). On the flip side, Razer's customer service is pretty damn good and will send you out a new product pretty quick. So at the very least, you will have a product incoming if yours goes bad.

 

[ninjacore]

The keyboard seems to attract dust like no other and it sticks to the side of the keys. This is annoying if you like keeping it clean.

That's why I love my Quickfire Pro (Browns). Came with a nice keyboard cover to keep the bunnies out

 

[Tyerker]

Das Keyboard are amazing boards indeed! But, as far as Filco not existing? Wut....
http://www.diatec.co.jp/en/

Diatec (Filco parent company) did encounter issues in 2010 with supply shortage and money thus the dropping from Elite Keyboards, but they are definitely out of that hole now, and Filco products are being brought to the US via TheKeyboardCompany on Amazon.

Anywho, my personal preference goes to Ducky, but the Leopolds are also very good along with the Max Nighthawk (customizable via their website).

I can't recommend Razer though, their aspect of "quality" proves to me they don't deserve my business(If buying new, stick with the higher quality mechanical keyboard companies). On the flip side, Razer's customer service is pretty damn good and will send you out a new product pretty quick. So at the very least, you will have a product incoming if yours goes bad.

Ah, once I didn't see Filco on Elite Keyboards I guessed they were defunct or something. Nice to see they still exist.

 

[sobe]

If you didn't notice at the time, EK also started working more with Leopolds, so they were slowly phasing out Filco :/ Nothing but good memories for those Majestouch boards.

 

[Pepi93]

so no one but me likes Roccat keyboards? I've looked at all the keyboards out there excluding ducky because they never have those physically in stock to look at.

Roccat Mechanical keyboards are top notch in all aspects. Customer support/tech support is also top notch. It's a newer company, these guys care about their customers.

I had some issues with my mouse, the guy was ready to send me a new one...I told him I'd try a few more things, turned out to be a windows error, so the mouse is actually fine.

 

[hollywood96]

so no one but me likes Roccat keyboards? I've looked at all the keyboards out there excluding ducky because they never have those physically in stock to look at.

Roccat Mechanical keyboards are top notch in all aspects. Customer support/tech support is also top notch. It's a newer company, these guys care about their customers.

I had some issues with my mouse, the guy was ready to send me a new one...I told him I'd try a few more things, turned out to be a windows error, so the mouse is actually fine.

I'm actually getting one btu soon I'm glad to heat this as it reaffirms my choice.

 

[Pepi93]

Yeah I contemplated about it for a while but in all honesty I'm very happy with my choice...and it's nice to have a matching set and despite what anyone says a wrist rest is important...sure you can buy a separate one but what for?

The one thing this keyboard is not is portable...that's about it.

 

[sobe]

Yeah I contemplated about it for a while but in all honesty I'm very happy with my choice...

Really that is all that matters when you get right down to it.

 

[Tyerker]

Especially with keyboard and mouse, individual taste is everything. Everyone in the world LOVES the MX518, I honestly can't stand it.

 

[hollywood96]

Yeah I contemplated about it for a while but in all honesty I'm very happy with my choice...and it's nice to have a matching set and despite what anyone says a wrist rest is important...sure you can buy a separate one but what for?

The one thing this keyboard is not is portable...that's about it.

heavy? and i apologize for my typing i was on my "not-so-smartsphone"

 

[GamerDude]

I'm a collector of mechanical keyboards, and in my collection I have Ducky, Filco, Keycool, Leopold, Topre, HHKB, Cooler Master, and a Lexmark Model M circa 1993. I've MX Red, Blue, Brown, Black, Green and Clear, as well as Topre and a Buckling spring keyboard. I like both backlit and non-lED keyboards, as long as they share a common simple design.......I dislike keyboards which have all sort of gizmo and gadgets.

BTW, I'm NOT all about clinical looking keyboards......recently got some colored LED covers to spruce up the white LED on my DS3 YOTS. I like the looks of it, so much so I'm now using it as my daily driver for my main rig.

 

[sobe]

You may like this info then,
http://www.legitreviews.com/cherry-mx-rgb-mechanical-keyboard-switches-coming-2014_130085

With its “MX RGB switch,” CHERRY is presenting the next evolutionary stage of its billion-fold proven mechanical keyswitches of the “MX” series. Cherry has now enhanced its leading product with RGB technology. Directly mounted on the circuit board, SMD LEDs (SMD = “Surface Mount Devices”) illuminate key symbols in specially designed keycaps using the MX RGB switch in the entire RGB color spectrum – all 16.7 million RGB colors.

 

[Pepi93]

heavy? and i apologize for my typing i was on my "not-so-smartsphone"

Heavy...well it's solid built but for LAN gaming you don't want to lug around a full size keyboard. There's smaller keyboards without number pads which are much better for LAN type situations.

I wouldn't say it weighs more than the average full size mechanical keyboard.