I hope someone out there can help me! I have been spending faaaaaaaar too long looking at keyboard and have pretty much decided on the QuickFire TK: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/cm-keyboard-quickfire-tk-mechanical-brown-cherry-switches Browns for half gaming half typing. But I don't mind reds either! Before I hit the button, bite the bullet and shoot myself repeatedly are there any other similarly priced cherry keyboards? My requirements are pretty simple... Numpad is a must ISO layout is a must No USB hub or audio rubbish Backlit would be nice but not necessary No more than the £75 the TK is I really like the Happy Hacking style but has no numpad. Are there any others like this for my price range? So yeah, not asking much! Haha! Any help is very much appreciated, thanks a lot!
For all of those requirements you've pretty much nailed it on the head (including either reds or browns that is). Other options could include Ducky Zero w/Reds (Possibly better build quality & looking at the model number I think that it's UK layout despite the picture) Q-Pad MK-50 w/Reds (Cheaper but not as good quality I'd guess) CM Storm Quickfire Pro w/Reds (Again probably not quite as good build quality due to different OEM afaik) Where are you seeing the TK w/Browns in stock btw? Hope that helps! GK
Hey GK, thanks for the reply! That certainly does help! AFAIK, the TK with browns is in stock at scan. That ducky does look really reallllllly nice though! It looks a lot more like the Happy Hacker style but is a full sized which is what I want. As I said, back-lighting really isn't a necessity so that is a real contender for me! Hmmm.... TK or Zero, TK or Zero... Do you think I will notice much difference red vs brown? This will be my first mechanical and I don't like the sound of blues (excuse the pun) or blacks. If I am right in thinking that red is a smoother action but doesn't give you much actuation feedback, whereas brown does but not enough to put you off. I am just worried with browns about double tapping in games etc. Also, are both keyboards equally as good for replacing keycaps? I expect I will end up buying a few nice little extras! Sorry for all the questions, just wanna do this right the first time around.
In all honesty the difference between browns and reds is not that noticeable. There is obviously a difference but it's not as big as reds vs blacks or reds vs blues. I prefer reds for gaming as they're linear... The ducky is more standard sized in terms of keycaps (i.e. notice how all the Ctrl, Alt Win etc keys are the same size - actually they all look standard sizes to me) The TK at Scan with browns is out of stock (they have it with reds though) Also it doesn't have standard sized caps (see how the modifier row is all different sizes)
Again really useful stiff GK, thank you! I think I'm going to go with the Ducky, it seems like a more sensible purchase. One last question (or two)... Have you had any personal experience with the Ducky? Is it really good? Am I going to be happy with the quality etc or is there something out there that is just a million miles better for a little more money? If you think it's all fine and it is a for years to come keyboard then I'll just get one now! Also is there some kind of free shipping code for ccl with bit tech? Thanks!
I haven't had any experience with the Ducky but Shirty has - he is of the opinion that they're as good as Filcos (which I do own) and if that's the case then they certainly will be nice and solid. For your requirements I'd probably stick with that - you might pay a fair amount more for not a lot of gain. There used to be a free shipping for BT members on CCL but since the partner forums have all gone that may have finished... Send Yorkie a PM and see what he says
My first board was a Ducky and I've considered trying to rebuy it (if I can remember to whom I sold it) or buying another since it was really nice Build quality was good, price was good, and I thought it looked great as well.
i switched from reds on a corsair K60 to browns on a filco because on the reds i was bottoming out a lot and hammering against the thick aluminium back plate. with browns it's not so much increased resistance as the tactile bump which helps me avoid bottoming out. the QF TK appears to have a slightly unusual bottom row layout while the ducky is a more standard (matches filco, cherry g80-3000). that might be relevant if you wanted to get replacement caps at some point.
Thanks for all the comments guys, it really does help! If there's nothing else anyone has to share I think I'm going to make the purchase, it does look like an absolutely lovely board so I think I will be very happy with it!
Just buy it already! Make sure to stop in the Mech boards thread to express your joy at excellent peripherals.
