Looking for a new keyboard

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xeefus

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 25, 2005
Messages
328
Hello. I know this thread might not be the best of ideas but I'm getting kinda insane looking for a keyboard... I just can't find the one that meets my requirements.

So what I'm looking for is an USB-connected keyboard, no supercool extra functions like the G15's little screen at the top, macro-buttons etc etc.
Standard buttons, standard layout, no notebookbuttons or weirdly placed buttons.

I need to be able to press atleast 4 keys simultaneously on it, which I can't do right now at my current keyboard it seems, or, it's a little weird really...
I use the caps lock button to talk in ventrilo, then I cannot push more than 2 buttons + the capslock simultaneously. Really annoying when playing games like Counter-Strike where you need to communicate alot. But when I don't use capslock it seems to be working okay, sometimes not... Really annoying anyway.
It worked perfectly on my old microsoft keyboard which is no more rest in peace etc...

So if anyone is sitting on one of those magic keyboards I'd glady like to know the name of it!
 
thrawn86 said:
gosh I've never heard of a keyboard that allows 4 simultaneous button presses. I guess I always thought that had more to do with software (ie windows) but I'm totally pulling that out of my ass.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126013 is what I use with an mx310, except I have the model with the media keys up top.
Click to expand...

Oh... Well I don't know how to explain that it worked with my old keyboard. It was a PS/2 so that might have something to do with it?

Soo, does caps lock + 3 other buttons work out for you?
 
xeefus said:
It's wireless. I don't like wireless products. (and it has got notebook buttons too if I'm not mistaken) :( But it sure looks nice.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it does (have notebook-ish keys). I missed that part of your post. I've always preferred notebook keyboards, so the Edge is perfect for me.
 
TechLarry said:
Nice, but two issues for me:

1. No numeric keypad.

2. Bluetooth. No need for Bluetooth. It add's an incredible amount of overhead to the operating system, and if they use the same version that came with the original DiNovo, it plays hell with startup times.
Click to expand...

Same for me, although I'm not sure I need the numeric keypad. The only time I use it is when I do quick calculations with the windows built-in calculator. And that's really rare since I usually do it faster in my head ;)

Well, if anyone has got any other keyboard feel free to tell about it. :)
 
For a long time I've been looking for the right keyboard for gaming, night time use, a bit of Bling and found it!
To start with, I was looking at the Logitech G15 but its too busy.
While reading reviews about the G15, I came across the Saitek Eclipse II backlit keyboard.
All the reviewers seemed to love it so I bought one, it arrived yesterday.

What a magic keyboard!
Its lovely to type on, just the right feel.
It has backlighting which shines though laser etched keys, the lettering cant wear off.
For night time typing it is perfect.

The backlight has 3 colours, Blue, Red and Purple which can be changed by pressing a button on the keyboard. The brightness is fully adjustable too with an analogue rotary dial which looks great, even better than in photos! Its a really tidy looking keyboard.
This keyboard might fit your bill as its also USB.

I got it in the UK from
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=501657

A couple of reviews:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=501657
http://www.extrememhz.com/eclipseII-p1.shtml
 
About the Z-Board, looks pretty... weird... not close to standard layout... :(

Nenu said:
For a long time I've been looking for the right keyboard for gaming, night time use, a bit of Bling and found it!
To start with, I was looking at the Logitech G15 but its too busy.
While reading reviews about the G15, I came across the Saitek Eclipse II backlit keyboard.
All the reviewers seemed to love it so I bought one, it arrived yesterday.

What a magic keyboard!
Its lovely to type on, just the right feel.
It has backlighting which shines though laser etched keys, the lettering cant wear off.
For night time typing it is perfect.

The backlight has 3 colours, Blue, Red and Purple which can be changed by pressing a button on the keyboard. The brightness is fully adjustable too with an analogue rotary dial which looks great, even better than in photos! Its a really tidy looking keyboard.
This keyboard might fit your bill as its also USB.

I got it in the UK from
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=501657

A couple of reviews:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=501657
http://www.extrememhz.com/eclipseII-p1.shtml
Click to expand...

Well uhm... I've tried that one, it seems to have the same problem with multiple keypresses as mine :( But other than that it's great to type with and so.
 
I use a Zboard, it has a totally normal layout. True, it comes with some wonky layouts, but you don't have to use em :p

Only thing thats a bit odd, is the Esc and F1-F12 keys are smaller than normal from top to bottom, but not obnoxiously so, and I have large hands. (6'5" tall :p)
 
Traze said:
I use a Zboard, it has a totally normal layout. True, it comes with some wonky layouts, but you don't have to use em :p

Only thing thats a bit odd, is the Esc and F1-F12 keys are smaller than normal from top to bottom, but not obnoxiously so, and I have large hands. (6'5" tall :p)
Click to expand...

Ohh. I see. I saw a picture of this really strange layout and thought it was their normal layout. But I read on the webpage and yeah...

Can you try pushing capslock, and 3 other buttons at the same time and see if anything happens? Like W, A and space. Or maybe even press 7 letters at the same time ;)
 
Using OpenOffice 2.0, I can hold dowm Caps Lock and press 4 keys simultaneously.

With CS:S same thing, at least with Caps Lock held down, max buttons is 4

Heh, just tried A, W, Space, and Caps lock, no go, but can do caps lock and 4, or space and 4, or Caps, Space and 1 or 5 letter keys. Keep in mind, for some reason, I can't install latest drives, not thats its affected me much, so later drivers might have better support.

Trying the drivers again, let you know in a bit.


Ok, so I found that its the same with latest drivers. Had an idea tho, if you set it to Tab, instead of Caps Lock, you can get Space, Tab, W, and A at same time, no problem.
 
Well, it's not the cheapest kid on the block, but I have one of these too and it's damned fine keyboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823102003

javascript:Biz.Product.ShowImage.shiftImage(0);

It has a Laptop type feel to it, the keyswitches are wonderful, and it's all aluminum up top. Very well made. No audio controls, just a simple, nice keyboard.

If you are after compact, and like Laptop keyboards, and especially if you like trackpads or IBM's TrackPoint, this one is a winner too:

http://www.amazon.com/IBM-USB-Keybo...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1179350614&sr=8-1

It duplicates the wonderful IBM ThinkPad Keyboard in an external case:

104-6193388-1035911


If you don't want the keypad, they have the 'travel' version that's the same but without the keypad:

http://www.amazon.com/IBM-ULTRANAV-...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1179350689&sr=8-2

104-6193388-1035911




xeefus said:
Same for me, although I'm not sure I need the numeric keypad. The only time I use it is when I do quick calculations with the windows built-in calculator. And that's really rare since I usually do it faster in my head ;)

Well, if anyone has got any other keyboard feel free to tell about it. :)
Click to expand...
 
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Traze said:
Using OpenOffice 2.0, I can hold dowm Caps Lock and press 4 keys simultaneously.

With CS:S same thing, at least with Caps Lock held down, max buttons is 4

Heh, just tried A, W, Space, and Caps lock, no go, but can do caps lock and 4, or space and 4, or Caps, Space and 1 or 5 letter keys. Keep in mind, for some reason, I can't install latest drives, not thats its affected me much, so later drivers might have better support.

Trying the drivers again, let you know in a bit.


Ok, so I found that its the same with latest drivers. Had an idea tho, if you set it to Tab, instead of Caps Lock, you can get Space, Tab, W, and A at same time, no problem.
Click to expand...

Allright... Thanks for testing. So, capslock is the thief in the drama it seems?
But the tab button brings up the scoreboard. That's not really good. I'm used to capslock since uhm 4 years back in time...
God this is a tough choice. :p

Those IBM keyboards are pretty nice but well I live in Sweden and they're not sooo cheap here...
 
yes i own the multimedia one and i just tested those four buttons (W+A+caps+space) in counterstrike 1.6 and indeed all four buttons register. i moved diagonally towards the left and jumped with the cap's turning on and off ;) ill get some pictures up in a few moments
 
N H O said:
yes i own the multimedia one and i just tested those four buttons (W+A+caps+space) in counterstrike 1.6 and indeed all four buttons register. i moved diagonally towards the left and jumped with the cap's turning on and off ;) ill get some pictures up in a few moments
Click to expand...

Perfect!! I'm getting this one then! Thanks alot dude! Just what I've been looking for.
Pictures would be pretty good too. :D

Oh what the heck...
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=310-8038
Swe/Fin (QWERTY) - Dell Quietkey USB Black Keyboard for Dell PowerEdge SC1420 System

For Dell PowerEdge system? I don't have one of those... This is reaaaaally confusing me... Why would it be specially for that one? That's the only black USB-keyboard which looked like the one you posted I could find.
 
itll work with your computer man, its just the OEM replacement for the keyboard that comes with the dell poweredge ;)
 
pictures as promised

IMG_0996.jpg

IMG_0997.jpg

IMG_0999.jpg

IMG_1000.jpg

IMG_1002.jpg

IMG_1005.jpg

IMG_1007.jpg

IMG_1009.jpg


only thing that i would change is the green led lights for blue ones :p
 
I like the looks of that Dell. Is the palm rest detachable?

EDIT: I found pics...it looks like it's detachable...and it almost looks like it's off in one of the pics above. :p
 
Looks sweet! Thanks for the pictures.
Is the palm rest annoying as it is for most keyboards, or is it actually useable?
Still pondering about getting the media version or the non-media version.
 
i really dont mind the palm rest, even though the attachment is flimsy it works for me :p
 
N H O said:
my new favorite keyboard:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=310-8038
has very quiet keystrokes and takes up very little space

multimedia version which also has a USB hub on it:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=310-7940
Click to expand...

Those are what I use. Nice keyboards for a very cheap price. Looks like they've even dropped a little more in price since I last ordered a couple of them. I like them because they're very compact and also because they match my Dell 2007wfp.
 
N H O said:
i really dont mind the palm rest, even though the attachment is flimsy it works for me :p
Click to expand...

Yeah well I'll find out myself now then :) Ordered the multimedia version with USB-hub thing. (5% off with student rebate ;))

Thanks alot everyone! I hope I'll be satisfied with this one. Looks good, USB, the simultaneous-button problem seems to be not there, I got 5% off. Nothing can go wrong now! :):)
 
burningrave101 said:
Those are what I use. Nice keyboards for a very cheap price. Looks like they've even dropped a little more in price since I last ordered a couple of them. I like them because they're very compact and also because they match my Dell 2007wfp.
Click to expand...
they are indeed very nice :D


xeefus said:
Yeah well I'll find out myself now then :) Ordered the multimedia version with USB-hub thing. (5% off with student rebate ;))

Thanks alot everyone! I hope I'll be satisfied with this one. Looks good, USB, the simultaneous-button problem seems to be not there, I got 5% off. Nothing can go wrong now! :):)
Click to expand...
sweet man, be sure to post up after you receive ;)
 
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