Hey guys As the title suggests, I'm in the market for a new keyboard as my beloved Saitek Eclipse II has taken some beer to the keys and is sticking awfully to the point it's barely useable. Before the suggestion is made, I've made every attempt to clean the keyboard out but for some reason the keys still stick. My budget is around £40 although lower is always appreciated. Really I'd just love another Saitek but unfortunately they no longer make them and the Mad Catz equivalents look far to garish and cheesy. I rarely play games these days so thats not a must. My only real requirements are Media keys (play, stop, back, forward etc.) and perhaps some macro capable ones as I'm a music production student and having to press CTRL+SHFT+N every time I want a new channel in pro tools is a pain. Thanks everyone ED: Found this and unless anyone has any suggestions or bad reviews, I'm thinking this is the one. http://www.scan.co.uk/products/corsair-raptor-k30-rubber-dome-backlit-gaming-keyboard
I sold a nearly new mech for £45 delivered earlier in the year. And it was backlit. And it had macro buttons. And it had media controls. There are bargains abound for those tempted to join the master race.
I'm very happy to join the "master race" but sadly, they are far to expensive new and I'm not savy or lucky enough to strike gold as far as deals go.
That's a rubber dome sadly, look for G80 models (or at a push G81, although they are an inferior switch type). Mind you, Cherry and gaming don't necessarily go hand in hand, in terms of functionality or design. Great typing boards though.
OPs my bad. Your comment on cherry not for gaming is quite amusing seeing all MX boards are cherry switches ...... Razor us them on their gaming boards..... even logitech has gaming boards with MX cherry switches.... I guess you mean that a standard layout MX board doesnt have G keys, its not good for gaming. Seeing as I gamed quite well even with cherry blues in FPS games (old Razor Ultimate) I think gaming abilities has much more to do with reflexes then switch type. Though my clan mates are very happy I switched to reds/brows as my TS sounds less like my machine gun in-game
It's not so much the switch type as the build quality on Cherry boards - they are inherently bendy and rattly which doesn't usually suit heavy-handed gamers. Keyboards with plate mounted switches are generally considered to be better suited to gaming since they are inherently rigid. The more you spend the more solid they get as a very general rule. As always though, it's perfectly possible to game on a £5 rubber-dome, it's all about tastes and preferences. Cherry GXX-3000 keyboards are also enormous, so best avoided if you value desk space! As for switch types, there is no substitute for trying before you buy, but browns are a great entry level switch. All that aside, a good quality rubber dome is equally as awesome as a good mech, and many prefer the quieter, softer keystroke over the harsher dynamics of the mechanical switch. I still maintain that my old rubber dome Logitech G11 was one of the easiest boards I've ever typed on, and it had a plethora of extras including everything the OP is looking for and backlighting too.
There was a HHKB lite on here recently for under £40. Thats a very good rubber dome board. I have one and its pretty agreeable. Once you get used to the weird control/caps positioning
I dunno if you can hang on till they come into stock or are willing to take a punt but scan have some refurb k60's coming in soon at around £51.. http://www.scan.co.uk/products/cors...ry-refurbished-fps-mechanical-gaming-keyboard Cant comment on the keyboard other than I really like the look of one and am hovering over the purchase button myself.
It makes a great upgrade for a first time mech user, and it's a steal at that price. Purists bemoan the non-mechanical F-keys, but for those of us who inhabit the real world it's a fairly easy compromise to get used to. Looks nice too (for a gaming board).
My Cherry G80-1192 is built like a tank, has a massive piece of steel in the bottom. I could probably throw it at someone and cause them some real damage. AND Its NKRO, perfect gaming board Except it doesn't have anything on it except the 102 keys you would find in a winkeyless ISO board. You're weird Lance. That's the best place for it ;D
I should qualify my statement by saying that I only have experience of the 3000 series and you can basically tie them in a knot they're so bendy! Other Cherry options are clearly more robust...
oh mines vintage - I don't think they make new ones like mine Well, these days people put plates above the pcb rather than below haha.
I love my G80-3000. If you like the look, have plenty of desk space and don't tend to pound on your keyboard they're a bargain. £55 on Amazon at the moment (MX Blue) or £65 on thekeyboardco (MX Red). Otherwise, looking for a second hand mech board in the forums would be my advice. It's not worth spending more than £10 on a rubber dome board, in my opinion.
