Best keyboard under 100

J

jamesoh0

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Apr 4, 2012
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Im looking for a keyboard thats comfortable and fast to type on. Although it doesnt have to be a gaming keyboard, i will do gaming on it. I would like back lighting but its okay without it.
No ugly keyboards please. Under 100 dollars if thats possible...

I tried finding some but didnt have any luck on it so plz help :)

also there seems to be A LOT of mixed reviews and feelings towards the cherry switches DX...
 
For $40, you can get Microsoft's SideWinder X4 Keyboard. Mine should be here tomorrow. It came highly recommended from someone who has used most brands of mechanical keyboards.

If you happen to be a teacher or student, you could get really close to $100 with a refurbished Das keyboard. The Corsair Vengeance K60 comes in around $90.
 
Anything that's relatively flat all around is generally more comfortable to game on when resting your hand on it
 
If your gaming at all get a gaming board, they recognize multiple key presses and have no ghosting, the sidewinder x4 is a good budget board but it is just that a budget board, it's not nearly as comfy as my logitech g15 but for the price I can't complain. I do miss the g15 I just didn't want to spend that much money on a keyboard after the first one went out.
 
moocow0463 said:
If your gaming at all get a gaming board, they recognize multiple key presses and have no ghosting, the sidewinder x4 is a good budget board but it is just that a budget board, it's not nearly as comfy as my logitech g15 but for the price I can't complain. I do miss the g15 I just didn't want to spend that much money on a keyboard after the first one went out.
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dont a lot of mechanical keyboard hav anti ghosting?
 
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also, what switch should i look for? not a lot of stores have mechanical keyboards so its kinda hard to try them out.
 
All of these use Cherry MX switches. I strongly prefer the Blues over Red/Black. Browns are quiet Blues, but the tactile feel in the browns is lower than that of the blues.
All three of these boards are fine. Some people have reported issues with the Razer Black Widow line of keyboards. I tribed out the Ultimate version for a month and didnt notice any of the issues being reported. Maybe the latest batch is fixed? Or the Ultimate line itself is an improvment over the non-backlight version.

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-QuickFire-Mechanical-SGK-4000-GKCL1-US/dp/B0068INSUM
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KBC-Poker-4...80?pt=PCA_Mice_Trackballs&hash=item45fdb62a68
http://www.amazon.com/Razer-BlackWidow-Ultimate-Mechanical-Keyboard/dp/B003ZJ5B4I

This is a good membrane keyboard.

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-JQD-00001-SideWinder-X4-Keyboard/dp/B002ZV51DI
 
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moocow0463 said:
If your gaming at all get a gaming board, they recognize multiple key presses and have no ghosting, the sidewinder x4 is a good budget board but it is just that a budget board, it's not nearly as comfy as my logitech g15 but for the price I can't complain. I do miss the g15 I just didn't want to spend that much money on a keyboard after the first one went out.
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There is no one keyboard that everyone loves. Keyboards are a personal things. Different people have different preferences when it comes to key shape, sound, keyboard features, etc.

I used to have a Microsoft X6 keyboard. They keys on the X4/X6 are between a laptop keyboard and normal desktop keyboard like the G15.

I happened to like the X6 keys, but it did take a few hours in order to get accustomed to it. The #1 reason I went with the X6 was because of the small profile as it being a 10-keyless board. The X6 has ghosting/2KRO. Generally this is a bad trait, but since I'm not a WASD gamer, I never ran into the limitations that some users did. I have a friend who is a traditional WASD gamer and he too didn't run into the 2KRO limit. But a lot of people did. It all depends on how you are setup.

PS/2 keyboards are generally NKRO (no ghosting). A good USB keyboard is generally 6KRO.

The 4 links that I posted are all 6KRO or better, which is good.

IMO if I was the OP I'd get the Cooler Master Storm QuickFire Rapid if I didn't want backlighting. Keep in mind this keyboard is 10-keyless. No number pad.

If I wanted backlighting, I'd get the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate. I'm my testing of the BWU I didn't run into any issues with the board. I think most of the issues are related to the non Ultimate version. The BWU is $12 above budget, but I would recommend it if you require backlighting. Backlit mechanical boards are generally $120 and up.

You could also get the Corsair K90. I like the fact that is is naked. There is no plastic shell/bezel surrounding the keys. So it is very easy to clean. But IMO red switches are not as good as blues. The corsair K90 doesn't even feel half as sturdy as the BWU. The BWU feels like a tank in comparison. The Corsair drivers for macros are trash as they are buggy. The Razer software is MUCH more polished. Here is a link to the K90 is you want to check it out. But even among the faults of the BWU, I would still take the Black Widow Ultimate over the K90 any day of the week.

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Venge...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1333658720&sr=1-1
 
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My mom decided to fund me
So, ducky shine or das silent? :D
Or any other suggestions?

I heard black widows rubber keys rub off tho...

Thanks for the switch info
 
I only tried the Razer Black Widow Ultimate for 30 days. For 30 days it is fine. Razer did use some short cuts on the mechanics of the board. I wouldnt be surprised if the keys wore off on the Razer faster than others.

Ducky Shine and Das are two different boards. For one the Ducky Shine is backlit, the Das is not.

If you want a backlit keyboard, go with the Ducky Shine. If you don't want backlighting, that opens up a lot of options for you. If this was the case, I'd give Das some heavy consideration. But would likely go with the Filco Majestouch Tenkeyless which is basically the CM Quickfire.

Das uses blue switches for everything but their silent line. For their silent line they use browns.

Browns are more quiet than blues, but they are still louder than membrane keyboards.

If your computer is in the family room, consider getting brown or clear switches. If your computer is in your bedroom, I think that you would enjoy the fuller tactile response of blues.

The only blues in stock right now in the Ducky Shine series seem to be the white led version.

http://tigerimports.net/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=11539

White LEDs seem to be rare for backlighting. So I am somewhat surprised that of any one them, it's the white that are in stock.
 
White still seems to not be a very popular color for PC lighting, despite it's inherent superiority ;)
 
I hear that pink is an awesome color too just as long as you have the guns to back them up with.
 
If you're gonna get a Ducky Shine TigerImports is pretty much the only place in the US with browns in stock. If you want a different MX switch color you can also check out tankguys.

I personally pulled the trigger on a Ducky Shine with browns and white LEDs yesterday. Looking forward to giving it a go.

Also if you have a Frys near you chances are probably good they will have at least one mechanical keyboard out to test out. So hit them up and try it out to see if the difference in feel is worth the price to you. It's how I figured out I wanted a mech keyboard.
 
FYI Frys mainly has blacks and reds (Linier).

Bestbuy seems like the only place with Blues (tactile).
 
Retne said:
You could also pick up a Ducky for $80.
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Where? They're all $100+ at Tiger Imports or Tank Guys... Almost doesn't make sense to get anything but the backlit version because the price difference is often like $10-20 at most.

CoolerMaster's QuickFire line seems to be one of the better budget keyboards around, they've got a tenkeyless version and they're coming out w/a partially backlit version now (WASD and the keys around that are backlit, not the entire thing, kinda meh). They seem to have a better rep as far as quality and construction goes than the Razer BWU (blue or brown), and they're cheaper ($80-100) and available w/red, blue, and brown MX switches too.

The Corsair K60 and K90 (both MX red) are currently on sale for like $67 and $83 (from $110 & $130)... The F keys, macro keys (K90), and Home/Insert/Page block are rubber domes but at those prices and with all the extra perks they have it's hard to overlook 'em imo.
 
Impulse said:
Where? They're all $100+ at Tiger Imports or Tank Guys... Almost doesn't make sense to get anything but the backlit version because the price difference is often like $10-20 at most.
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Here. It isn't the Shine model though. Just plain old 1008s. Tank is out of the browns in the $80 price range. Took a look at tiger and they have 1087s for $79 and 1008s for $99. They even have brown 1087s in stock.

I do agree the CM QuickFire tenkeyless is something else OP should take a look at. Most people seem pretty happy with them so far.
 
Retne said:
Here. It isn't the Shine model though. Just plain old 1008s. Tank is out of the browns in the $80 price range. Took a look at tiger and they have 1087s for $79 and 1008s for $99. They even have brown 1087s in stock.

I do agree the CM QuickFire tenkeyless is something else OP should take a look at. Most people seem pretty happy with them so far.
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Ahh, you're right... I was looking mostly at the 9000 series because I read they were better built, dunno if there's any truth to that tho. Might've been at Geekhack where they're rather snobbish about their keyboard choices. :p
 
I think the 1008 and 9008 series are newer and the older 1087 models were the ones people said were janky.
 
The $80 version isn't backlit. Get the Ducky Shine for backlit.
CM QuickFire for non backlit. The QuickFire is a cheap version of the Filco Majestouch-2 Tenkeyless which sells for $139. The only difference is the branding and that the CM version uses cheaper caps. Which might be an issue depending on how long they last.
 
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Retne said:
I think the 1008 and 9008 series are newer and the older 1087 models were the ones people said were janky.
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Actually, it looks like the 1087 are all tenkeyless, and Tiger Import has it available in every switch type for $80...

For keyboards w/number pads the 1008 must be the outgoing model as it's only available w/reds at $99, then the 9000G2 is available in brown/black/blue but not w/every key cap type, and the 9008G2 (which has 4 extra shortcut keys, same as the Shining) is available in almost every combination of switch and PBT/ABS key cap, for roughly the same prices as the previous previous model ($117-130).

Then you've got your Shinings at $142-150... So the only sub-$100 are really the tenkeyless, at 'least going by Tiger Import's stock. Frankly if someone's after 104 it seems silly to get anything but the Shining, unless you'd really rather have PBT caps (in which case it'll cost you like $130 w/o back lighting).

I just bought a K90 but I'm actually looking for a solid budget board w/browns as a gift for someone... I'll probably choose between the Rosewill or Quickfire, unless I decide to spring for a Shine. I'd get 'em a K90 while they're still going for $83 after MIR & DC but I don't think the K90's quite her thing.
 
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I guess the QuickFire Pro is new isn't it? It's $99 at the Egg, 104 keys, partially back lit, MX Browns (other switch types coming eventually I think). Newegg just put up the pics today it seems. I wonder if that will eventually drive down the price of the Rosewills (currently $110 for browns)... I mean, it adds partial back lighting, multimedia key mappings over the F-keys, and Windows key disabling.

Edit: Can anyone figure out the alternate multimedia functions or whatever from NE's photos or CM's site? Seems like there's way more than usual, I guess two are probably for the back light and one's for the game mode but it looks like there's alternate/extra functions all over the keyboard (all thru the F-keys, Insert/Delete, and even on the number pad). Just curious...
 
Newegg just dished out a 15% discount code for all keyboards, EMCNFND98, expires at 12pm Sunday. Brings the Rosewill w/browns down to $93.50 and the new CM Quickfire Pro down to $85.
 
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