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I wanna buy a mechanical keyboard


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12 minutes ago, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

So I’ve had my current keyboard for over a decade, but I wanna make the switch to mechanical. I’m pretty much in the dark about them. 
 

i don’t want to spend crazy, preferably under $100. 

Is there anything particular you'd like?

Form Factor? Full size, TKL, 60%?

Media buttons? Macro Buttons?

 

Moving in mechanical you'll have a different selection of switches as well.

Tactile - A short bump while depressing the key

Linear - No bump, just a smooth key press

Clicky - Tactile but with an loud audible click

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29 minutes ago, Nokt said:

Is there anything particular you'd like?

Form Factor? Full size, TKL, 60%?

Media buttons? Macro Buttons?

 

Moving in mechanical you'll have a different selection of switches as well.

Tactile - A short bump while depressing the key

Linear - No bump, just a smooth key press

Clicky - Tactile but with an loud audible click

Definitely full size. I don’t care about the macro and media buttons, really. 
 

I think I’d prefer tactile. Husband has one that’s really clicky and I get tired of that. 

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I have some Corsair K70 RGB with brown switches. It is full size and it has media keys which I consider essential. It is over a hundo tho.  I like the brown switches. They have nice feedback but don't have that pen clicking noise that other switches have. Brown switches aren't silent tho. Non-RGB will be cheaper but I think all mechanical corsair crap is over 100 if you want a full size board. 

 

I don't know with covid n all but Best Buy had a bunch of keyboards on display and I went there to test out keys before I bought mine off amazon. 

 

I recall people liking the ducky brand. They have ducky branded ones that are just over $100 at $102 on amazon. 

 

There is also this video which may or may not help. 

 

 

Also, IIRC

Red Switch = Best for gaming

Blue Switch = Best for typing

Brown Switch = A combo of red and blue. Not as good for typing or gaming, but it is better for typing than red switches and better for gaming than blues. 

 

IIRC again:

Reds have no... actuation point? That means there is no resistance when pressing keys and your inputs are smooth and ultra fast. This can cause issues when you type, or so I've heard. Like, accidently double typing the same letter, or they are easier to accidently press down. So sssomething liike thhis could happen maybe? Blues require more force to press down and have a lot of feedback. They really give you that nice feeling of constantly clicking your pen. That makes your inputs slower of course. Tho if you aren't an ultra pro gamer then it really doesn't matter. Browns are like weaker blues. Less clicky, but far more clicky than reds. Requires less force to push down than blues but still has a good typing feel. 

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The simple answer is that there are a lot of mechanical keyboards, and other than how they look there's very little functional difference between them. There are a lot of switches out there, but if you've never used a mechanical keyboard just get cherry mx brown switches, they don't make extra noise but you feel a click at the moment of actuation. I've had good experiences with Ducky keyboards in the past in terms of reliability, but I suspect most companies are just fine.

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1 hour ago, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

Definitely full size. I don’t care about the macro and media buttons, really. 
 

I think I’d prefer tactile. Husband has one that’s really clicky and I get tired of that. 

Ducky One 2 $99 - Mechanical Keyboards is nice because they give you a large range of switches to choose from. For instance if you lean towards MX brown but want something a little heavier you can get MX clears or get silent versions of switches with Silent Black/Red. There are also several options of keycap colors, I just linked the first one.

 

Razer Huntsman $150 - Probably will catch a lot of flak for this one, but go type on one of these at Best Buy, seriously. It a wild experience. Most mechanical keyboard have a weightyness to them, some scratchiness (why lubing is so big in custom keebs). This thing glides like butter on top of a hot pancake. I'm 100% buying the 60% variant when it goes on sale for under $100.

 

I can't really recommend anything else in the price point. I've used Razer for most of my mechanical keyboards until I got into custom keyboards. I never had a bad experience with them, but I know that a lot of people are anti-razer. The blackwidow is currently on sale for $70 Best Buy link

 

A few of my friends have the Logitech, but I'm fairly certain they use Romer switches which I know little to nothing about.

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Just now, Moa said:

pretty poor quality control and reliability

This. My very first keyboard still works and is a Razer branded one. On the other hand, My 5.1 surround sound headset from broke within the first year of owning them. I had the SWTOR mouse and the right click stopped working properly after a few years. 

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10 hours ago, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

What’s the hate with Razr about?

Typically price for what you are getting. The Naga (probably one of Razers most notable products) isn't anything fancy and there is a dozen or so mice that are the exact same for much cheaper. Same goes for their keyboards, their switches are just rebranded switches with minor adjustments.

10 hours ago, Moa said:

Their aesthetics aren't for anyeveryone, and they have a reputation for poor quality control and reliability.

The Huntsman is actually pretty minimalist compared to the blackwidow. They also make a blackwidow lite that has this same style.

Razer Huntsman Review - RTINGS.com

 

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On 1/27/2021 at 7:04 PM, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

I ended up going with the Apex Steelseries 5. Per another recommendation. Just got it in, but I really like it.

 

Love Steel series I have a nice membrane keyboard from them (the base Apex which they don't make anymore gaming membrane keyboards is a small market) and the Rival 710 mouse.

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  • 3 weeks later...
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Late to the part but I have the G915 and love it. Really good feel to type on, but low profile which I prefer. It's wireless makes it a perfect fit use in my living room and it's a good enough connection that I've yet to ever notice any connectivity problems or latency.

 

Only strike against the G915 IMO is the exorbitant price.

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On 1/6/2022 at 4:19 PM, legend said:

Late to the part but I have the G915 and love it. Really good feel to type on, but low profile which I prefer. It's wireless makes it a perfect fit use in my living room and it's a good enough connection that I've yet to ever notice any connectivity problems or latency.

 

Only strike against the G915 IMO is the exorbitant price.

I wanted the wireless one because I have to two PCs I wanted to switch between instead of having two keyboards but ~240ish seems ridiculous for a keyboard. 

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1 hour ago, SuperSpreader said:

I wanted the wireless one because I have to two PCs I wanted to switch between instead of having two keyboards but ~240ish seems ridiculous for a keyboard. 

 

It's a totally obscene price. I cringed when I bought it and I still cringe when I think about it.

 

But at least it is a legitimately a good product!

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2 minutes ago, SuperSpreader said:

At the same time I got a $120 and a $70 keyboard so maybe I should have just bought the one. 

 

Haha that definitely is inching up on the price. I guess you can still tell yourself that the two were still cheaper and you never have to actively "switch" :p 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Good timing finding this thread.  I'm trying to find a mechanical keyboard as well, as I've been using a mushy lenovo that came with my computer.  It'll mostly be for work and some light gaming.

 

The world of mechanical keyboards is pretty deep and confusing, and I think I'm burning myself out with research.  Is there a simple keyboard on the cheaper side with good build quality?  I don't really care about RGB or customization or macros or anything.  I just want to improve my typing experience, and a I need a number pad.  I was looking at the Logitech K845, which seems very reasonably priced at $60.  Any other similar recommendations?

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6 hours ago, ShreddieMercuryRising said:

Good timing finding this thread.  I'm trying to find a mechanical keyboard as well, as I've been using a mushy lenovo that came with my computer.  It'll mostly be for work and some light gaming.

 

The world of mechanical keyboards is pretty deep and confusing, and I think I'm burning myself out with research.  Is there a simple keyboard on the cheaper side with good build quality?  I don't really care about RGB or customization or macros or anything.  I just want to improve my typing experience, and a I need a number pad.  I was looking at the Logitech K845, which seems very reasonably priced at $60.  Any other similar recommendations?

 

the key thing is what typing experience do you want

 

clicky - loud clicky keys

linear - no click - the pressure works throughout the keystroke

tactile - click on press but you don't have to FULLY press (my favorite - and these are brown switches)

 

Roccat is good but the software is probably better on a Logitech tho, also consider Corsair and Razer

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