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Affordable back-lit keyboard?

C

Cantharellus

n00b
Joined
Feb 24, 2013
Messages
7
I'm looking for a basic keyboard with back-lighting. I don't need anything fancy outside of that. Budget would be <$40-$50. If there's added bonuses to any keyboard options that'd be great to know about too.

I've always used old keyboards or whatever came with the computer. Now that I'm building a new one, I may as well get a nice(r) keyboard to go with it.

Thanks in advance.
 
if its cheaper i would just grab a led strip and fit it along the membrane layer
 
I suppose another question would be: what is the avg I can expect for a nice keyboard with back-lighting? I would not mind waiting a bit, saving up some more $ and getting a nice keyboard for the first time. I've been used to crappy keyboards for over a decade, so saving up a bit and finding something nice might be worth it in the long run. I'm seeing a lot of recommended keyboards around 150$, and for someone who's hardly spent anything on keyboards in the past, that seems like a lot.

Maybe I've been missing out on a lot of nifty functions all this time though? Any info on what I'm missing is appreciated as well.
 
The quality of most rubberdome keyboards is similar, though some argue that keytronic, siig and microsoft are some of the better brands. I would try to spend less than $30 USD on a decent rubberdome and try to keep it under ~$60 USD for a good scissor-switch keyboard.

Starting prices on decent unusesd and no-frills mech. keyboards should be ~$80 USD (some sales can dip these prices below $60 USD), but expect to pay closer to ~$130 or more for backlighting.
 
Kueller said:
Logitech still makes the Illuminated, right? That's a decent scissor switch illuminated keyboard. They weren't known for good rollover performance though, 2KRO in some cases was the complaint I recall.

The CM Storm Quickfire TK might be something to consider.
http://www.amazon.com/CM-Storm-QuickFire-Mechanical-SGK-4020-GKCR1-US/dp/B00AOIRCI6
Click to expand...

All membrane keyboards are limited to 2-KRO, iirc; the difference is that some are optimized for gaming cluster use while others are not (modifiers don't count towards the rollover limit), there are no gaming optimized scissor-switch keyboards that I know of sadly. It isn't really a problem unless you do a lot of jumping while strafing and using actions at the same time though; full NKRO is just unnecessary unless you use multi-player on one keyboard or the game specifically requires you to press many keys simultaneously (rhythm games).
 
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Skull_Angel said:
All membrane keyboards are limited to 2-KRO, iirc; the difference is that some are optimized for gaming cluster use while others are not (modifiers don't count towards the rollover limit), there are no gaming optimized scissor-switch keyboards that I know of sadly. It isn't really a problem unless you do a lot of jumping while strafing and using actions at the same time though; full NKRO is just unnecessary unless you use multi-player on one keyboard or the game specifically requires you to press many keys simultaneously (rhythm games).
Click to expand...
I was just noting it, some people care, some people don't. The OP didn't specify what the keyboard would be used for, be it office or gaming. Obviously if it's just office and web browsing 2KRO is fine but if he wants to game, I would at least take rollover into consideration.

Since I didn't explain before and the OP may or may not know: KRO stand for Key Rollover, or the number of keys that can simultaneously be activated. 2KRO guarantees any 2 keys can be activated at the same time 6KRO guarantees any combination of 6 keys can be activated at the same time. NKRO (N-Key rollover) guarantees every key can be activated at the same time. Depending on the combination, more than the specified number of keys can be activated, the KRO rating is just the minimum.

2KRO is pretty restricting. That's walking forward, strafing, and something else: Jumping, crouching, toggle action, prime grenade on the same zone on the keyboard.

Or how about something like X3, where you fly around in space. It's easy to get up to 5+ keys: 2 Movement keys and afterburner held down, weapon group toggling, target cycling, directing allies to attack/defend ect. My old 2KRO keyboard would let me get 1 movement direction (so a straight line) and afterburner, or 2 movement directions (for a defensive spiral), but no afterburner. Then it got moved to my HTPC and I bought a mechanical.
 
A common misconception about NKRO is that many think it means that all keys may register if pressed at once, but realistically it's more like any number of keys within a reasonable limit that is over the number capable by most humans; this can be misleading and useful for gimmicky marketing. Gaming concerned, I'd say 6-KRO is currently the sweet-spot 'till full-sped USB support becomes more standard for keyboards.
 
Hey all thanks for the info. As one poster mentioned, I didn't mention whether I was using for office or gaming, etc. I'll be doing a lot of gaming. Primarily I'm an RPGer. Anything from Baldur's Gate to Mass Effect and Skyrim. Also play EVE Online and some LOTR Online. Not a big FPS gamer, though I do enjoy it from time to time.

Amazed how many options are out there, especially with mechanical keyboards. I think I'll be waiting a bit for a new keyboard, and I'll look for something with 6KRO. I figure with the amount I've spent so far on my new rig, I may as well not be limited by my keyboard.

Really appreciate the replies! I'm a noobie here and not sure how I didn't stumble upon this website and forum earlier!
 
Just to add a bit more info for you; for all intents and purposes there is no realistic latency advantages between USB and PS/2; if someone claims otherwise from experience, it is either all in their head or there is something going on with their hardware. The real advantage to going PS/2 is saving USB real-estate.

There is a difference in latency, but can go either way and it's so small that it is unnoticeable by humans (somewhere on the very-low end of double-digits in milliseconds). One of the major determining factors for this is the keyboard's own controller and firmware, so it is pretty pointless to decide on a keyboard because of rumored interface performance.

Modern motherboard PS/2 interfaces don't even use the same pathway as old systems did, it's a common misconception to think that they are faster because they use CPU interrupt. I could be wrong, and please correct me if I am; the current PS/2 interface is on the same path, but even further removed from the CPU than the USB interface, USB travels from SB > NB before reaching the CPU while PS/2 has to pass through Super I/O > SB > NB before reaching the CPU.
 
If you just want an affordable backlit keyboard, I would suggest the Microsoft sidewinder x4 I think its called.

If you're willing to spend a little more I would definitely suggest a mechanical instead of rubberdome
 
royce321 said:
if its cheaper i would just grab a led strip and fit it along the membrane layer
Click to expand...

I have been trying to think of an affordable way to do this that wouldn't decrease the usability of the keyboard for a couple weeks. Whoa I feel dumb
 
Skull_Angel said:
All membrane keyboards are limited to 2-KRO, iirc; the difference is that some are optimized for gaming cluster use while others are not (modifiers don't count towards the rollover limit), there are no gaming optimized scissor-switch keyboards that I know of sadly. It isn't really a problem unless you do a lot of jumping while strafing and using actions at the same time though; full NKRO is just unnecessary unless you use multi-player on one keyboard or the game specifically requires you to press many keys simultaneously (rhythm games).
Click to expand...

Eh?

Microsoft sidewidner X4 and X6 are both membrane and both of them are 20 key rollover, although >11 key doesn't work reliably due to a bug in the microsoft USB keyboard driver (the I-Pac FS/32 had the same issue with arcade->keyboard emulation until Andy Warne did a workaround which made up to 19 keys work at once).
 
Cantharellus, this is a bit outside of your stated budget range, but if you truly want something nice/different for your new build, then you should give some seriously consideration to this mechanical backlit keyboard from Monoprice.

You aren't going to find very many backlit mechanical (non-membrane) keyboards below $130 or so, so this is a really good price. And if you've never tried a mechanical keyboard, trust me, you'll love it compared to the crappy $10-15 keyboards that come with most systems. Besides offering an adjustable LED backlight (each key has a red LED behind it), this one also offers up to 50 macros, has 64 KRO, offers two USB ports and has headset audio/mic hook-ups. Since you game, I'd highly recommend expanding your budget a wee bit and giving this mechanical board a go. You'll thank me later... :)
 
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Supercharged_Z06 said:
Cantharellus, this is a bit outside of your stated budget range, but if you truly want something nice/different for your new build, then you should give some seriously consideration to this mechanical backlit keyboard from Monoprice.

You aren't going to find very many backlit mechanical (non-membrane) keyboards below $130 or so, so this is a really good price. And if you've never tried a mechanical keyboard, trust me, you'll love it compared to the crappy $10-15 keyboards that come with most systems. Besides offering an adjustable LED backlight (each key has a red LED behind it), this one also offers up to 50 macros, has 64 KRO, offers two USB ports and has headset audio/mic hook-ups. Since you game, I'd highly recommend expanding your budget a wee bit and giving this mechanical board a go. You'll thank me later... :)
Click to expand...

+1 - This is a nice mechanical at a nice price. Always had great success with Monoprice.
 
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