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Peripherals Mechanical Keyboards

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Raptor77, 27 Dec 2011.

  1. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    I have a set of the white vortex caps.

    link
     
  2. pete*

    pete* Something witty here.

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    Nice! As I said, I'm awaiting its arrival so once I have it I'll let you know? Is that ok?
     
  3. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    Something else to think about, pete - the layout of your K70.

    The Corsair boards have non-standard keys on the bottom row, so some of the caps for the modifiers won't fit.

    Also bear in mind that the Vortex keycap sets are currently only available in ANSI layout so, if you have an ISO layout, the return and left shift keys won't fit. Finally, if your ISO layout is UK too, you're going to run into other issues. i.e. the position of some of the symbol keys and no £ sign.

    I'm not trying to discourage you, but you need to know these things before buying. For many people this isn't an issue, but I think some choose to accept poor keycap compatibility when they buy a board.

    I bought the vortex caps because I was using a US ANSI layout board as my daily driver at the time, and figured it was still worth it to use the alpha sets on other boards if required.
     
  4. MeddlE

    MeddlE Norwegian Blue

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    Vortex do ISO sets also Spreadie. Admittedly not in the backlit area but I am using a Vortex UK ISO PBT keycap set on my Ducky G2Pro.
     
  5. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    Yes, you're correct, they do - I was talking specifically about the backlit caps.
     
  6. pete*

    pete* Something witty here.

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    Yeah, I know about compatibility issues with most gaming keyboards.

    I have a Qpad MK85 which is ISO UK layout and I have custom caps on it for some keys, including the bottom row.

    I mainly wanted the whites for the middle section (letters/etc), which should be ok with those. :)
    And maybe the F-row.

    Thanks for the heads up.
    I know I should get a proper mech keyboard for better caps and compatibility, but, flashy lights. lol

    I am still definitely interested, it might be a week before I confirm. It arrives tomorrow
    and will play about and decide on whether to change them (and I need to gather the money together anyhow). If that is ok?
     
  7. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    I think I sold you that MK85 - it's a nice board.

    I'm in no rush to sell the caps, mate. I'll hang on to them for a week or so for you. :)
     
  8. pete*

    pete* Something witty here.

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    Wow, yeah you did. I can't believe I forgot that. Swapped the 6GV2 for it.

    For some reason had it in my head that was Parge. :/ My memory is appalling.

    The MK85 is very nice. Still using it, Corsair is for laptop set up. Although a bit of an impulse buy. Woops.
     
  9. Yslen

    Yslen Lord of the Twenty-Seventh Circle

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    I picked up a K65 RGB this weekend, as it happens. It's actually great, it's a real shame they haven't figured out their layout sucks, as it'd be a great board if I could use whatever keycaps on it. That said, the point of the board is the lighting, and that's only really effective with translucent legends.

    Would be really good to have some nicer caps, but these aren't as bad as I was expecting. They're considerably nicer than those on the KBT Race, for example. Similar to the old Ducky I used to have.

    Otherwise, it looks and feels really nice. Guess you have to like reds, but I don't think I'd have a problem recommending this board to someone, especially if they weren't the type to want to buy third party keycaps.

    EDIT: added a photo :)

    EDIT EDIT: photo isn't working! :(

    EDIT EDIT EDIT: hooray!

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: 25 Oct 2015
  10. pete*

    pete* Something witty here.

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    Yeah, I have some almost completely trans-keycaps, and some trans-legend caps (portal and some weird faces) on this MK85. But I think they were cheapo because two have broken after a year of use.
    I don't know what sort of use I should expect from a keycap, but i'd have thought more than a year and a half.


    I thought about the K65 but I use the numpad way too much to do without. And having a whole seperate thing on my desk, muh nah. Got enough crap as it is.
     
  11. Yslen

    Yslen Lord of the Twenty-Seventh Circle

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    I never use the numpad for gaming, which is what this board is for. Actually this is a step up for me in size as I was using a Poker. Having the mouse further over to the left is far more comfortable, I find, and worth having a smaller keyboard for.

    I notice there are a few places which offer to 3d print keycaps, including 6.5x spacebars that will fit Corsair boards. Wonder if it's possible to get something made in cherry profile... hmmm...
     
  12. LennyRhys

    LennyRhys Fan Fan

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    I've been using my K65 for a couple of weeks now and it's already grown on me...strangely, so have MX Reds, especially for gaming. Also really like the TKL footprint.
     
  13. phinix

    phinix RIP Waynio...

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    Guys, do you remember, aaaages ago we had those transparent plastic covers for keyboards.
    Where on earth can I get one for TKL like that?

    [​IMG]
     
  14. Yslen

    Yslen Lord of the Twenty-Seventh Circle

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    Not sure. The only ones I've had came with keyboards, so I don't know if you can purchase them separately from anywhere.
     
  15. phinix

    phinix RIP Waynio...

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    Which keyboard was it?

    Do you have maybe one spare for sale?
     
  16. fuus

    fuus Misses Rep Bombs

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  17. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    If you can't find one, make one! I wrote a piece a while back on an ultra-cheap vacuum-forming table for home use, and that'd work perfectly for your needs. Better still: you could churn 'em out and flog 'em to other keyboard enthusiasts.

    Assuming that you don't want your mostly-plastic keyboard in the oven, you'd: cover the keyboard in clingfilm, make an inverse plaster mould of the keyboard, make a plaster casting of the keyboard from the inverse mould, sand down any unpleasant seams and creases from the clingfilm, and then vacuum-form the plastic around that. Added bonus over a shop-bought version: instead of thin, blister-pack style plastic you could use a thick sheet in any colour you like for a proper bulletproof dust-cover.

    Yes, it's a lot of effort. Still reckon it'd be a fun project, though...
     
    Last edited: 27 Oct 2015
  18. Yslen

    Yslen Lord of the Twenty-Seventh Circle

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    I've only got one, on my filco, which is in use sorry. My ducky came (and went) with one too.

    Sent from my XT1092 using Tapatalk
     
  19. phinix

    phinix RIP Waynio...

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    churn.. flog... you lost me:D

    It looks cool, but like you said, it's a lot of effort and I thought you could simply buy one, like 20 years ago, those covers were sold for pennies...
    Pity they don't sell them separately.. maybe I should ask them...
     
  20. noizdaemon666

    noizdaemon666 I'm Od, Therefore I Pwn

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    So I have finally, after many years of ignoring this thread thinking you were all mental for spending many many pennies on keyboards, bought a mechanical keyboard (CoolerMaster Quick Fire TK). It is primarily for work and my God it is a wonder to type on. I can type a bit quicker and my fingers get far less tired than they did before.

    So basically, thanks Bit-Tech for (eventually) showing me the light :D
     

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