Peripherals Mechanical Keyboards

You're all going to tell me I'm an idiot and some obscure Asian brand is better but I bit the bullet and got the Corsair K60. So far I'm loving it. Took me about 2mins to start hating my old keyboard.
Going to play some games with the special WASD keys now

 

What do you people think of Ducky keyboards?

 

Most people will say they're decent, but not as good as a filco/leopold (with the filco being the better of those)
I am typing on one now, and I love it, I ended up going for it as I found one 2nd hand, and the price tag was easier to swallow
I'll take some pictures tomorrow of it in it's current state

 

Obscure from your perspective. To a keyboard enthusiast they're commonplace and Corsair is the newcomer. This is a complaint I have for a lot of what computer hardware companies have been doing. RAM, PSUs, SSDs, all-in-one watercooling, cases, headsets, keyboads, mice, flash drives... it gets worrying, people let their guards down and start following the brand simply because they recognize the name from a completely unrelated product.

That said, even the K60 is likely to get praise here! At least you came over to the glorious mechanical master race rather than getting something like a Logitech G19 with a leet haxor mini-display.

 

cheers ficky, enjoying typing this

easy enough to sell yours on deskthority and get a tenkeyless topre i reckon, might lose out on a bit of money.


And k60 is a nice keyboard IMO, I'm sure you'll enjoy it !

 

Ducky are good, but now $93 from most source. Only cheap ones are the 1008, and the 1087 ones with XM Alps switch. Might as well get a Leopold instead, almost same price. For 104key the Rosewill are a really good buy too. Save hassle of import from Taiwan too.

I also dislike hardware company diversifying. What tends to happen is loose focus on their specialty and end up with a lot of mediocre to poor products instead of a few good ones.

edit: I forgot Ducky has new US distributor, and are actually cheaper than PCHome Taiwan.

 

its a problem for some companies definitely, but look at OCZ now with the SSD's, they'completely stopped selling ram. OCZ ram was some of the best at one time, now they have some of the most popular SSD's so it can work for others.

i dont think the k60 wasn't a disasterous start for corsair but there were too many niggles to me for the price. i did consider buying one for a bit though

 

Shame the designer screwed up the F and del, home etc. keys but still very happy with my purchase.
I think ignorance is bliss with keyboards, I was happy with my old wireless MS one until I tried this mechanical one, but now I'll never go back.

 

I was lucky enough to get a black widow ultimate for christmas. People say there not the best mechanical keyboards in the world but I love it personally.

Joy to type on, dont want to go back to work and use my horrible membrane keyboard

 

I have a Filco UK layout with blue cherries and I am happy with it.

Before I bought the Filco I had a couple of IBM Model M buckling spring keyboards in UK layout that I did the full clean job on. I removed the keys, keycaps, took case apart etc to get out all the gunge etc. They do clean up a treat the old IBM Model M's and are built to last but I think they are an acquired taste, buckling springs are not everyones cup of tea?

 

i am thinking about getting a mechanical keyboard also.

can anyone tell me how you convinced yourself it was a worthy purchase? i have never used one in my life, but you are all saying how good they are, nicer to type on etc. but £100+ is a lot of money for just a keyboard

is it really THAT good?

i am considering the Majestouch-2 tenkeyless btw

 

I currently have all the Qpad-models around and really like these. To be fair I don't have much to compare these to, but the build quality is extremely solid, and the flat black finish looks delicious.

I just can't decide whether I like the MK-80 with the clicky switches or the MK-85 with smooth ones. The tactile feedback is nice and everything, but drives me up the wall when I'm not wearing headphones or using speakers.


AND about the price: Sure, £100 is a LOT for a keyboard, but then again, you use the damn thing for hours every day and if you don't spill anything on it or ruin it otherwise then you don't have to worry about keyboards for years to come. For me the same applies to mice, 80 € for a mouse is a LOT, but when I sit on my computer for hours, I really don't want to use anything but the best...

 

I know it seems like a lot to spend, but when you actually think about how much you use it etc, it's one of the best value purchases you can make.
I only spent £65 on my first, but I've already spent £55 on another, and £45 on keycaps

 

It gets addictive after a while, especially if you use the GeekHack site

 

I was in the market for a new keyboard as mine was really old and I wanted a wired one so batteries weren't an issue. I started researching what was available and everyone raved about mechanical ones. I was a bit dubious about spending so much but as everyone says it's one of the few bits of your computer that you interact with directly and won't be out of date in a month.
The difference is like night and day, I really don't like typing at work now. Half tempted to buy another mechanical one to use there.
Buy one, you won't regret it (well, it's very unlikely).

 

I would just go get a filco majetouch 2. Even if you don't like it the sell value are quiet high due to Filco is a trusted brand unlike some of the newer ones.

 

I must have been distracted by something when I was on here the other day, I swear I had made another post...

Anyway, thanks for all the advice! And for the pics from [PUNK] crompers. I've decided it's worth spending money on a decent keyboard and I think I'm going to order the ISO layout Das Keyboard Ultimate in the next couple of days; no point switching to ANSI when there's a choice. I was also looking at the Filco TKL but though I rarely use the number pad, I do use it occasionally and I'm not convinced that I'd notice a benefit from a smaller keyboard. The Filco is also more expensive and I actually think the Das looks nicer. That leaves a choice between switches but I'm still leaning towards the blues for typing.

 

Absolutely, 100%
You probably spend at least half that on your mouse, and it's far less complicated, did you question that?

Seriously though, as mentioned by many, you spend how much time using it and how long will it last? The keyboard is the one part that has not really changed in decades, and isn't likely to for a while yet. Spend the money and get a nice one, it will probably be one of the last you ever buy. Find the right one and you will probably never go back to a rubber dome keyboard ever again even if it dies.



One thing about tenkeyless... think hard on it.
If you do anything involving numbers (taxes, engineering, networking, banking, etc...) you may regret not getting those extra keys. I don't feel I use them that much, but whenever I use a laptop I always get annoyed at the lack of them.

My advice is to have those keys unless you are sure you DON'T need them. In most cases they aren't really in the way.

 

Simple. Consider your interaction with the computer.

There are primarily 4 sensory interactions with the unit:

1. Keyboard
2. Mouse
3. Monitor
4. Speakers and/ or headset

These are items that last through upgrades and so it makes sense to splurge a little more for better quality of interaction.

I've over the years, spend a little over S$1000 (~US$800) on mice alone looking for the perfect ergonomics. Sad to say, the last mouse that really fit me was the Logitech MouseMan Wheel which was a Serial/ PS2 ball mouse. It's been dead long since.

My first LCD was an Eizo L350 that cost me S$1180 (~US$850 back in 2001) and I never looked back.
It was replaced with an Eizo L568 17" in 2006 which I use up till this day. Both monitors were 2-3x of comparative equivalents.
However, they are trouble free and saved my eyes a lot of grief. The L350 was given away to my aunt and she's still using it up till now. That's 10 years of trouble-free operation!

I'm currently using a Unicomp buckling spring keyboard as well. It did cost a fair bit ~US$70 online and the shipping cost as much. I ended up shelling out US$140 in total after shipping but it just feels so much better to type on a nice keyboard.

If you factor in how long such devices would last, you'd realize that they actual cost less in the long run compared to buying cheapo peripherals which would breakdown and need replacing. The price premium would have long been paid up by means of years of better quality of service - which in fact cannot even have a price tag attached to it.

 

I too am considering one of these beasties but I would find key back lighting useful. Is the Ducky shine any good?