Gaming Keyboard For Vision Problems

M

msny

2[H]4U
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Sep 5, 2001
Messages
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I'm an older gamer with some vision problems.
I use a keyboard called "key-u-see" which has yellow
keys with large black letters. It works ok but I'd like
something with better quality.

http://www.amazon.com/Large-Print-E...TF8&qid=1419946978&sr=8-1&keywords=keys+u+see

What I'm wondering is there any kind of mechanical keyboards
with large lettering and maybe back lit? I need something that's
easy to see in dark and low light conditions. Price is not an obstacle
as long as I don't have to rob a bank.

Any suggestions appreciated, thanks.
 
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depending on the games you play and how many keys you need, you could go with this device,
Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-G13-..._1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419948522&sr=8-1&keywords=g13

Newegg, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126050&cm_re=g13-_-23-126-050-_-Product

once you map the keys the way you want, you won't be looking at it.
I have 2, one on each of my gaming machines and use them for my FPS games.
This unit sometimes goes on sale for $38 or so, I bought my second one a couple of weeks ago from Amazon for $38.99
 
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WASD is a good starting option and you can get a nice set of keycaps with a large font.


I'd also recommend you check the geekhack group buys (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=66550.0) from time to time.

Look through the various group buy keycap threads from time to time and if something catches your eye grab get it :).I've seen a few sets with large fonts in the past.
 
EclipseRydr said:
Are you set on mechanical keyboards? I purchased this low cost keyboard, it feels very comfortable and I've had no issues with it. It's backlit and has rather big letters on the keys.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823839013&cm_re=azio-_-23-839-013-_-Product
Click to expand...

No, not totally set on mechanical.
But I want something that's also good in quality and will last.
I play mostly FPS shooters so I need something with great response.

Do you have the blue or red lighted keys?

I'm open to any suggestions. I see this one also which is different I think.

http://www.amazon.com/Azio-Keyboard...ight-KB506/dp/B00I0S6SK0/ref=cm_cd_al_qh_dp_t

That keyboard looks nice..
 
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I bought BOTH the WASD and the AZIO keyboards.

Which ever one is better for me I will keep and give the other to
my daughter.
 
I've got vision problems as well, and have had a Logitech G15 with backlit keys for ages, but honestly, I never, ever look at the keyboard. I touch type, and have for 25 years now. I could use one of those completely blank keyboards with no problem. It leaves me wondering why people need to look at their keyboards. That typing class I took in high school was one of the most useful classes I ever took, and you may want to look into taking a class or two like that at your local votech or wherever. It will only pay off bigger should your vision get worse.
 
Gonna have to agree with sofa, simply learning to type accurately will alleviate this problem by not having to ever look at the keyboard. I use a blank tenkeyless board and primarily play FPS games and I've never once had to look at the keyboard for something since I know where all the keys are. You'd be doing yourself a huge favor by taking the time to learn your way around a keyboard so that you won't have to go out of your way to look for specialty products.
 
doubletake said:
Gonna have to agree with sofa, simply learning to type accurately will alleviate this problem by not having to ever look at the keyboard. I use a blank tenkeyless board and primarily play FPS games and I've never once had to look at the keyboard for something since I know where all the keys are. You'd be doing yourself a huge favor by taking the time to learn your way around a keyboard so that you won't have to go out of your way to look for specialty products.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice!
 
msny said:
OK thanks for that resounding endorsement...;)
Click to expand...


lol no problem, I also have very poor vision. Proliferative diabetic retinopathy in both eyes. Severe double vision ( I wear an eye patch because of this) Very poor low light vision, and in bright light I am pretty much blind (its like having the brightness and contrast cranked to 11) I had to get work to put my workstation in a specific spot due to the overhead lighting making it near impossible to work.

I also cant touch type yet, but I'm working on it since that will be much more beneficial.

A backlit keyboard does help a lot if you cant touch type and have vision problems. The green backlit keyboards like the Razor work best for me.
 
Some general comments about mechanical keyboard quality that I learned while doing some research last week:

Razer keyboards have some fans but a lot more naysayers because they apparently don't implement the mechanical switches properly and have some of the worst keypress feels in the industry.
Corsair keyboards look great and are set up great (some have a bunch of extra scriptable keys) and would have great construction quality... but they have had a terrible, terrible problem with keyboard LEDs burning out very early (some HardOCPers reporting 20 or 30 lights burning out after a few months), and their RMA service to fix them is terrible (you pay $30 or so shipping even if it was their problem to fix).
Logitech is the biggest name in keyboards and mice for a reason; their RMA service is excellent (if your stuff breaks, they'll just replace it and they don't want the broken stuff back) and they seem to have a pretty good handle on what most people want. Their construction quality is not the best, which is why it's so good that their RMA service is so good, but it's good enough. They also have pretty good OS-based customization features and a row of extra keys for scripting. I may end up buying the Logitech G710+; the new G910 has some odd new keycap shapes that may not have been the best idea.
Ducky Shine keyboards have legendary construction quality. It's always said that you could kill a guy with one of their keyboards and it should still work just fine. They seem to do just basic keyboards with no extra scriptable keys, though.
The Roccat Ryos MK Pro is really interesting; you can customize what all of its keys do in ways that go beyond what most other keyboards do, and it saves all those settings onboard, not in the OS. But the wristrest is not detachable and at least some users are not liking that wristrest at all.
 
evilsofa said:
Some general comments about mechanical keyboard quality that I learned while doing some research last week:

Razer keyboards have some fans but a lot more naysayers because they apparently don't implement the mechanical switches properly and have some of the worst keypress feels in the industry.
Corsair keyboards look great and are set up great (some have a bunch of extra scriptable keys) and would have great construction quality... but they have had a terrible, terrible problem with keyboard LEDs burning out very early (some HardOCPers reporting 20 or 30 lights burning out after a few months), and their RMA service to fix them is terrible (you pay $30 or so shipping even if it was their problem to fix).
Logitech is the biggest name in keyboards and mice for a reason; their RMA service is excellent (if your stuff breaks, they'll just replace it and they don't want the broken stuff back) and they seem to have a pretty good handle on what most people want. Their construction quality is not the best, which is why it's so good that their RMA service is so good, but it's good enough. They also have pretty good OS-based customization features and a row of extra keys for scripting. I may end up buying the Logitech G710+; the new G910 has some odd new keycap shapes that may not have been the best idea.
Ducky Shine keyboards have legendary construction quality. It's always said that you could kill a guy with one of their keyboards and it should still work just fine. They seem to do just basic keyboards with no extra scriptable keys, though.
The Roccat Ryos MK Pro is really interesting; you can customize what all of its keys do in ways that go beyond what most other keyboards do, and it saves all those settings onboard, not in the OS. But the wristrest is not detachable and at least some users are not liking that wristrest at all.
Click to expand...

Any info on WASD keyboards?
 
leezard said:
lol no problem, I also have very poor vision. Proliferative diabetic retinopathy in both eyes. Severe double vision ( I wear an eye patch because of this) Very poor low light vision, and in bright light I am pretty much blind (its like having the brightness and contrast cranked to 11) I had to get work to put my workstation in a specific spot due to the overhead lighting making it near impossible to work.

I also cant touch type yet, but I'm working on it since that will be much more beneficial.

A backlit keyboard does help a lot if you cant touch type and have vision problems. The green backlit keyboards like the Razor work best for me.
Click to expand...

I hear ya!
Double vision caused by retinal tear right eye 14 years ago so I wear prisms glasses in both eyes.
I have 2 specialist just to get new glasses every year.

Then cataracts in both eyes a year latter. Now I have severe dry eye, and the cold
weather is my curse. My vision was always poor growing up, I wore the milk bottle glasses.

I can touch type somewhat, but arthritis in my hands is bad, so I need to visually look at
the keyboard as I make many mistakes.

Hang in there, I know what you talking about, not many do.
 
msny said:
I hear ya!
Double vision caused by retinal tear right eye 14 years ago so I wear prisms glasses in both eyes.
I have 2 specialist just to get new glasses every year.
.
Click to expand...

Pretty much the same reason I have double vision, retina was 98% detached they repaired it and replaced damaged cornea. I tried prisms, they never could get them right for me.
 
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msny said:
Any info on WASD keyboards?
Click to expand...

I did not look at them too much because I was focusing heavily on having extra scriptable keys, and the WASD keyboards don't seem to have that and go for traditional 87/88 or 104/105 layouts, but as far as physical customization goes they seem to have EVERYTHING else but extra keys, especially on colors and fonts for each individual key. Excellent construction and if anything breaks you'll just fix it yourself because you can.

As far as vision problems go, I've got the very opposite, retinitis pigmentosa from Usher Syndrome type 2. The only good news is that retinal tears won't happen barring physical injury; the bad news is that I've lost all peripheral vision, making even my 20" monitors a bit too large so I'm sticking with the NEC 20WMGX2 for gaming and wishing those nice 27" and 32" monitors could be useful to me.
 
leezard said:
Pretty much the same reason I have double vision, retina was 98% detached they repaired it and replaced damaged cornea. I tried prisms, they never could get them right for me.
Click to expand...

My Prisms work OK but when my eyes get tired
my vision drifts apart and I'm useless at that point.
Can't drive ect.

The only reason I can play FPS games is because if I'm up close
to the monitor I don't see the double vision at all.
 
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