Blogs Why mechanical keyboards aren't for me

OR - conversely, people could enjoy collecting as a hobbie. Pretty innocent Believe, there is no e-peen to be had buying a manky old keyboard that you are just going to take to pieces.

I don't think I ever use a quiet keyboard, I'm at the moment using an alps board with offensively loud switches.

FWIW I've never spent over £100 on a keyboard - I try not to spend much money at all, buy old things, and trade services for stuff, or run groupbuys. But i've also built keyboards that are worth $500 for people. I have infact spent way more money on electronics/tools than I have on keyboards.

Another things is - keyboards, keycaps, keyboard paraphinalia - sold correctly and in the right circles doesn't really depreciate at all, some things gain value slowly - can't be said for that many things. I could right now sell all my collection for WAY more money than I have put in.

 

I understand why you want a mechanical keyboard makes perfect sense I have one. Took a long time for one to come out which was backlit and had media keys.

What I don't understand is getting a keyboard without a numpad, no F keys and no windows key. I can't live without those keys.

I also don't understand the need to buy stupid looking keys which are horrible to type on but cost unworldly amounts of money. 70$ for 4 keys! WTF are you doing spending that much on something so s***.

 

I don't like mechanical keyboards, not one bit.

Mate you do realise you are on a PC modding site don't you? Replace "mechanical keyboards" with "PCs" and you've just insulted the majority of your peers on here in one fell swoop

 

My Blackwidow is very noisy, even more so than the ancient NMB keyboard I was using. (When I say ancient, I mean it - circa 1996). I hate most modern basic keyboards I've tried as they tend to feel flimsy. My desk has a keyboard drawer that extends, so a flimsy keyboard on that really sucks. But I wanted a backlit keyboard with some heft to it so I love my Blackwidow despite the noise. That being said, it's all about comfort for me when it comes to a keyboard. Does it feel right? I can deal with the noise. My case is air-cooled and my fan profile is set to spin up a bit earlier than normal when gaming to keep the GFX cards cool. So I already deal with a lot of background noise. If I were using the BW keyboard in an office environment though, I could see some people getting annoyed by the sound.

 

Wow.

Feel the Mech Board hate in the comments:

"Somebody likes something that I don't like, I am duty bound to slag it and them off!"

Yawn!

Antony, your venerable Eclipse is really on it's way out - it's starting to make spelling mistakes:

 

No Dave, they're well thought out comments on the subject

And I've decided to respond in an equally adult and reasoned way:

U MAD BRO?

 

Fair comment, noise is definitely a negative factor with many mech keyboards. I can't bear the noise from blue switches, I'd end up beating myself to death with my own keyboard if I had one in the office.

However, I'm heavy handed enough that I pretty much destroy membrane keyboards within a few months and switched to mech in frustration at the flimsiness and a fair bit of nostalgia for the much loved Model M. I haven't broken a mech keyboard (yet!) and have essentially spent less money than I would have done if I'd just kept buying new membrane ones.

bagman, I've become so sued to the 88 key layout that it feels wierd when there is a numeric keypad as the mouse is too far away. Each to their own I suppose.

 

They sell the Quiet Click switches in packs of 200 for $50, and another $20 for shipping to Europe, if anyone is into some DIY.

 

Again it comes down to one's definition of 'too much agro'.

 

What is it about mechanical keyboards that prevents RSI? I'm not picking a fight, I'm genuinely curious because I type a lot too and my hands get sore.

For me I'm wary of mechanical keyboards because regardless of how good they are, I have a hard time believing that when a £5 keyboard works perfectly fine, that a mechanical one will be better *enough* to justify spending upwards of £60

 

Funny - the only backlit keyboard I've owned was not mechanical...

 

Rubbers need fully depressing for key press assurance. Cherry MX Blues activate after 50cN of force and at about 2mm of travel and bottom out is at 4mm, not bottoming out saves undue strain.

edit- GK why not send Ant your type-S for review?

 

Have you tried an Enermax Aurora. It has a similar low action to an old IBM laptop keyboard and a scissor switch key action. They're not silent but are very quiet. I've been using them for close to 7 years and would find it difficult to adapt to any other.

Edit: Never mind, unless you can blag one from Enermax they're extremely hard/impossible to find.

 

I do a lot of writing and I like short-throw keys. The problem with mechanical types for me is that you have to push the damn thing down several hundred feet before it actually registers the keystroke, which really slows things down.

The keyboards I like best are on laptops.

 

The only rubber dome board I have around here is a "Logitech Ultra Flat Keyboard", and it's at least as loud as my MX reds. I guess it varies.

 

borrowed one from the office as i dont want to spend the money if indeed it was that noisy when i use it late night when my 2yr old is sleeping in the next room.

result? when typing, not so bad.

but i'm gamer.

and when i game, i mash those buttons. i mash them good.

2 yr old certainly noticed it. that's when my wife had something to say...


so yeah. no mechanical for me too.

 

As an owner of MX Brown keyboard, I can say that I think mechanical switches are extremely over-hyped. But also as others have mentioned, you can't complain about mechanical switch noise if you keep bottoming out. Half the appeal of getting a mech switch is being able to press a key half way and still actuate, which helps REDUCE noise, increase typing speed, and (depending on the switch type) increase accuracy.

To me, some membrane keyboards are a bit louder. The keys rattle more easily and you have to press harder to make them actuate. So you're hearing your finger slapping the key, the key itself slapping the bottom, and then the key rattling when you release.

Personally, I find my keyboard pretty loud, but only when releasing the keys. The springs push the keys back way too harshly and there's a bit of reverberation when it happens. I think if Cherry MX made switches with weaker springs that didn't kick back so fast, mechanical keyboards, when properly used, could be much quieter than membrane.

 

Ideally I would like a silent membrane keyboard with TKL layout, low profile keys, no lighting and no extra media buttons.

I've had my MK for 3 years and it has survived a coke spill, a coffee spill and also being dismantled by me so I guess I got my money's worth, but my friends on skype and TS still crack jokes about me pvping against my KB every time I start typing.