Mechanical Keyboard Guide

Great thread. Very informative.

First I come on here and finally retire my ancient CRT for a great new monitor, then I read about the Zowie mouse, now I want a mechanical keyboard. :)

I've never typed on anything other than the cheapos that come free with PCs, so this should be an interesting upgrade.

*goes back to reading*
 
SH1 said:
While I wouldn't want everything to still be computer beige, the keyboard being uniquely so and constructed to such an amazing level of quality, works for me. It's quite lovely in it's own way I think...

Maybe kind of like the automakers got rid of a lot of the chrome after a period of garrish excess, but eventually re-introduced it in more tasteful quantities... :)
Click to expand...

Yes... Computer beige just seems so unattractive these days. When I found, however, that I had a mint model M sitting in the basement and brought it to work (too loud for home) I find that since it's in such good condition it actually looks really good next to all of the black and silver hardware. I think it's because it's a high quality piece and it's pretty much flawless. If it looked like a dragged it here behind a truck I don't think my impression would be the same.

Of course it might just be in the eye of the beholder. My peers and I had Commodore 64s and Atari 2600s so we're not young and they even said "what's with the super retro keyboard" the second they saw it.

I'm going to have to make a separate post, possibly over at geekhack, to figure out just exactly what it is that I have. A lot of the "indicators" don't add up. Blue logo, but no mention of Lexmark. A different model# from the usual, possible because it has green print on the alt key. It's got the modular style quick connect on the keyboard, but the plug has "COMPAQ" molded into it. Whatever - it types great :D
 
I have an old IBM Model M that I rescued from the junk pile at work. No one wanted it, and it was going to be thrown away.

Thing types like a dream - a little on the loud side though. (understatement)
 
Jaz709 said:
Call me a fussy "B" when it comes to keyboards. For years i could never find anything I've been hapy with when it came to computer keyboards. Back in the day I learned to type with the old manual typewriters along with the IBM office electrics that had the one touch correction. I used to love those old IBM's. Just wish there were something similar in a computer keyboard with the same touch.

Out of the boards that were available, the Logitech illuminated was the only thing that I remotely liked. I hate the smooth texture of the keys along with them being a flat layout among the usual gripes with cheaper boards. Not sure whether it's just me or whether this thing is starting to crap out on me like the other units I've used.

For the past week I've been researching mechanical boards. I've never seen them in stores and wasn't aware they were still being manufactured because of this. From what I've read they hold most everything I've been missing in my typing experience. They have stepped keys, not mushy along with the usuals. I figured either the cherry brown or blues would do the trick. Then I stumbled upon the Topre units. I wanted a true mechanical up till that point. Sigh!

A lot of people are happy with the browns and blues but I was under the impression that, for many, the Topre were the ultimate in keyboards. At this point I'm sick and tired of spending my money on crap and never being happy with the cheaper boards. I could have bought several mechanical boards for what I've spent on boards in the past 10 years. :eek: So tonight I said to hell with it and purchased a Realforce 103UB (Black).

I went out on a limb with this one but hopefully it'll be well worth it. I'm sure my girlfriend will be happy to not hear me complain about a keyboard not working or crabing that I don't like this or that with the thing. I haven't read anything about owners returning these things nor selling them because of a bad purchase so hopefully I'll be able to return with a happy story. :D
Click to expand...

Torpe is the King of Boards so if you want the absolute best without complaint, buy that brand.

BababooeyHTJ said:
Why isn't Unicomp listed in the OP? I find the spacesaver far more comfortable to type on than my blackwidow. I'm surprised that it doesn't seem to be more popular.
Click to expand...

Any links to the boards? I will add them to the list.

kubla_khan said:
I have a Deck, think it's the legend (all black with dimmable blue leds under each key) model #KBA-CBL-105B, bought in 2007 for the redonkulous price of $160. It is mechanical, feels even better to me than the old IBMs, came with a lot of extra replacement keys (skulls, trucker flap girl silhouette, penguin/windows, etc.) very stiff, heavy and moddable. Cool, right?
Caveat: It's a super huge pain in the ass. Within a couple of months, I started getting missed keystrokes (some wouldn't have a result, push it several times, and then have that letter show up as a random repeat) and multiples of keys (like zzzzz after one press), also some random delay. Never seen probs like this before, and I've had probably a dozen different KBs over the years. Thought it might be a USB problem or BIOS setting, eliminated those possibilities and emailed Deck. They seemed in denial and said it must be dirty, that ashes and/or dust could foul the keys and blah blah we're no help it's your fault and we'd love to service it at a ridiculous expense to you, if only you'll also pay the shipping. Both ways. lolwut?!?
Even though no other KB I have ever used had these probs, they were correct (though wrong in design and/or at least in customer service). Though I have no idea how some invisible microscopic dust particles can foul the mechanics (and so quickly), I can correct these probs by cleaning it inside, which is a super-huge pain in the ass (you have to take it apart completely as a vacuum alone or even a blower won't work) and IMO shouldn't be necessary, it's not like it's the internals of a hard drive, and I am more than sanitary in my habits (wash hands dozens of times a day, vacuum all the time, kind of a germaphobe, etc). It can't really be depended on much past a week or two after cleaning, so I live w/it, afraid to purchase another mech (a different brand, of course) until I know it won't have these probs and I refuse to use a non-mech.
Has anybody else experienced anything even remotely similar?
Any other Deck owner out there? Please pipe up.
Click to expand...

I bought mine second hand, I've been using it for the past year almost. No errors or missed keystrokes. I rarely clean out the dust particles and never had a problem.
Everyone uses of their PC parts is differently and it's very hard to tell what the true cause of the problem is. Could be a quality issue or it could be abuse by the user.
If the board was still under warranty at the time Deck must inspect the board without coming to a conclusion. They don't have the best customer service, but there are ways to deal with a company like that.
 
Being I already had the order placed for the Topre I decided not to cancel the order. I figure it'll come in handy for when my girlfriend is sleeping.

I was all excited about getting my mits on a couple of 1391401's till I received an email. Looks like the labels are written in spanish. Therefore they would have been manufactured by Maxiswitch in Mexico. :( From the picture these boards looked to be in near mint condition. I've been told they were in storage for the past 15 years. They were dated 16 October 1989.

Now I'm undecided whether to hold out for the units made in KY or say to heck with it and just buy a clicky from Unicomp.
 
How often does the Rosewill go on sale? I want to pull the trigger on it, but if it really gets discounted a lot I may wait a bit.
 
Drexl said:
How often does the Rosewill go on sale? I want to pull the trigger on it, but if it really gets discounted a lot I may wait a bit.
Click to expand...

Hard to say. It's been a while since that last sale a lot of people jumped on. Best advice I can give you is keep close tabs on Newegg and Amazon and make your move when you feel right about it.
 
Drexl said:
How often does the Rosewill go on sale? I want to pull the trigger on it, but if it really gets discounted a lot I may wait a bit.
Click to expand...

I couldn't wait so I ordered one last week. Chiefvalue didn't charge shipping while newegg did so I ordered from Chiefvalue. Came out to be around $108 after tax.

Pretty nice keyboard and I would recommend it to anyone who's thinking about the purchase. Just keep in mind the click noise inherent of cherry switches. The noise is definitely bearable for me, but thats just my opinion.
 
BigAss (Big Asian) Enter Keyboard for A BadAss StarCraft Playah
79479-badboy.PNG


Wonder if this guy gets carded much?
 
tekneek said:
I couldn't wait so I ordered one last week. Chiefvalue didn't charge shipping while newegg did so I ordered from Chiefvalue. Came out to be around $108 after tax.

Pretty nice keyboard and I would recommend it to anyone who's thinking about the purchase. Just keep in mind the click noise inherent of cherry switches. The noise is definitely bearable for me, but thats just my opinion.
Click to expand...

Yeah, actually I'm having some second thoughts because I may want to get a board with brown switches instead. I'm reading that blues aren't optimal for gaming, but I really don't know if I would have a problem with them or not. I'm not a competitive gamer or anything like that.

The problem is finding one. I can't find a Filco for a reasonable price, and there's no word on when the Leopolds will be in stock at Elite Keyboards, so I'm left with few options. Maybe the Das Silent would be good; I don't know.
 
I'm in the same jam you're in, Drexl. Contemplating ordering from Asia for a Filco but the translation stuff is crossing my eyes.
 
Drexl said:
Yeah, actually I'm having some second thoughts because I may want to get a board with brown switches instead. I'm reading that blues aren't optimal for gaming, but I really don't know if I would have a problem with them or not. I'm not a competitive gamer or anything like that.

The problem is finding one. I can't find a Filco for a reasonable price, and there's no word on when the Leopolds will be in stock at Elite Keyboards, so I'm left with few options. Maybe the Das Silent would be good; I don't know.
Click to expand...

I've had no problems gaming or typing on blues...I have a Razer Blackwidow and it feels just fine playing online CS:S or L4D2 or other games like the Witcher.

I've never used a keyboard with blacks or clears so I guess I can't really compare, but it's way better than membrane or scissor keys for me.
 
I ordered a Zowie Celeritas (Browns) today. I used a friend's Filco w/Browns over the weekend and liked the feel better than my Das (Blues). I'll post pics/comments when it's delivered.
 
patric said:
I've had no problems gaming or typing on blues...I have a Razer Blackwidow and it feels just fine playing online CS:S or L4D2 or other games like the Witcher.

I've never used a keyboard with blacks or clears so I guess I can't really compare, but it's way better than membrane or scissor keys for me.
Click to expand...

I second the BlackWidow. I just got it from Amazon and it's my first mechanical. For $70, you really can't beat it.

I seriously wanted to hate the keyboard (because of the glossy finish, which isn't so bad in person), but after using it for a few days I actually really like the keyboard. I couldn't justify spending much more on a different brand/model with the same exact switches and was surprised as to how solid/well-constructed the BlackWidow felt in person.
 
I'm really enjoying my 6Gv2, but how do you clean the keys properly? My WASDs' paint is browning a bit, so I don't want to do anything silly, like accidentally remove it. :p
 
Is there a good cheap alternative to the DAS with similar switches? I want to replace my crappy membrane Dell at work but don't want to spend over $100. Or should I bite the bullet and just get a DAS?
 
Blackstone said:
Is there a good cheap alternative to the DAS with similar switches? I want to replace my crappy membrane Dell at work but don't want to spend over $100. Or should I bite the bullet and just get a DAS?
Click to expand...

Depends on the features you want/need.

The cheapest keyboard with Cherry blue switches out right now is the Razer BlackWidow (for about $70 on Amazon).

An alternative to that is the Rosewill RK-9000 for about $100 (also with Cherry Blue switches).

Other than that, you'd have to spend above $100 for the Cherry switches or get creative and order from China through a proxy.
 
Actually, the Scorpius M10 is the cheapest with blues (~$59 new), but build is poor and they had quality control issues in the past (cold solder joints). Supposedly fixed with the current gen.
 
If you like Cherry blues, you could try a buckling-spring keyboard. An old Model M can be obtained cheaply enough if you don't mind cleaning it up.
 
That's pretty cool, nice to see they trying to get mech keyboards to be more "mainstream"


I'm still using my Filco 108 key with NKRO and MX black switches, I ordered a blue skull MX key, a key removing tool and a set of purple WASD keys from elitekeyboards, so I will post a pic here when I get everything set up.



On another note, has anyone ever ordered from them and it took 4 days to ship the order out? What a joke.
 
Well, I believe EK is a one man operation, so a 4-day delay may stem from personal reasons.
 
I recently spilled some tonic in my Deck Ice Tactile. So in preparation of the RMA, and me not being able to be without a mechanical keyboard...I snagged a Blackwidow from the local Microcenter. Ya know...this board is pretty damn good!

I REALLY like the cherry blue switches more so than the clears. They just feel soooo good. Ooooo.

The Deck could be used as a weapon and kill someone, and keep on typing. The Blackwidow can be used to knock you unconscious at the least, and keep on going. The deck is a 10/10 on build quality...Th BW is a 9/10. I am shocked. Did Razer actually make this keyboard?

I personally don't like the piano black, but some might. I actually thought the rubberized keys (or whatever the coating they have on here is) would be like the Lycosa and rub off in a week or five...But again, its pretty damn good quality. And I see it lasting much longer.

Some may not like the lettering, but I personally do. Clear and precise, along with the back-lighting which when next to the Deck, I can not tell which is brighter. The Deck has more levels of brightness, and the BW has a pulsing option (which I found annoying). I also like the overall look more so than the Deck. The Deck will fit right in at work no problem...The BW a little more stylish. Says game with me.

The software that comes with the Razer actually works. Made a macro, assigned it to the proper key no problem. Proceeded to play some Rift with it. Works fine. Another plus.

Played a couple hours of BFBC2 also...Played wonderfully.

2 big issues for me, though others might not find this an issue. The F keys start slightly over to the right more so than a standard keyboard. So where you would normally have an F1, you have a space there, then F1 starts the row of keys.

Second issue is the WASD side of the keyboard. The bottom left side of the keyboard, because of the way it's raised off the desk...digs into your palm. It gets annoying after some time.

Long story short? I may keep this BW. Unless someone can recommend me a nicer cherry blue keyboard. Try and keep it under 300 bucks though!
 
Some group called unio or something along those lines make them, not Razer Prime. I do indeed love mine, though I got it for typing, lol...
 
Pylon said:
Actually, the Scorpius M10 is the cheapest with blues (~$59 new), but build is poor and they had quality control issues in the past (cold solder joints). Supposedly fixed with the current gen.
Click to expand...

I saw that one on Amazon, but after finding some reviews about it I decided the BlackWidow was a safer bet.

Actually one of the biggest selling points to me about the BW was that they've kept up their driver & firmware releases.

Gmok Bonecrusha said:
I recently spilled some tonic in my Deck Ice Tactile. So in preparation of the RMA, and me not being able to be without a mechanical keyboard...I snagged a Blackwidow from the local Microcenter. Ya know...this board is pretty damn good!
Click to expand...

I actually had the same reaction! I was expecting this board to be crappy and had full intent to return it promptly after receiving it. After opening the box, I was surprised to feel this thing being as solid as it is. I really haven't found anything with Cherry switches to justify spending a lot more money on. I'm actually hoping that Razer's release prompts other companies to lower their prices to compete.
 
Gmok Bonecrusha said:
I recently spilled some tonic in my Deck Ice Tactile. So in preparation of the RMA, and me not being able to be without a mechanical keyboard...I snagged a Blackwidow from the local Microcenter. Ya know...this board is pretty damn good!
Click to expand...

This is why I'd never be a keyboard distributor.

At least the Deck Legend will never get Malaria.
 
PynkFloydd said:
I saw that one on Amazon, but after finding some reviews about it I decided the BlackWidow was a safer bet.

Actually one of the biggest selling points to me about the BW was that they've kept up their driver & firmware releases.



I actually had the same reaction! I was expecting this board to be crappy and had full intent to return it promptly after receiving it. After opening the box, I was surprised to feel this thing being as solid as it is. I really haven't found anything with Cherry switches to justify spending a lot more money on. I'm actually hoping that Razer's release prompts other companies to lower their prices to compete.
Click to expand...

The mechanical keyboard market doesn't work the same way other components. They're not going to lower prices.
Most of the makers are small companies, Razer is a larger company and can offer lower prices.
It's a take of leave it market. You may see price wars between Logitech and Razer, but not between Das, Deck, Filco etc.
 
Last edited:
I would like to try out the Razor but I am really worried about fingerprints and smudging on the piano black and I hated the rubberized keys on the lycosa. Am I going to hate that on the Razor as well?

I was going to go for a Filco but those are hard to get now right?
 
WorldExclusive said:
The keyboard market doesn't work the same way other components. They're not going to lower prices.
Most of the makers are small companies, Razer is a larger company and can offer lower prices.
It's a take of leave it market.
Click to expand...

Ahh... I guess you're right. Cherry switches would have to replace cheap membrane keyboards in the mainstream before there'd be a significant drop in prices. ...and that's probably not going to happen anytime soon.

The drop in price is usually attributed to "Economies of Scale". I think with mechanical keyboards, it's more of a "Veblen Effect".

It'll be interesting to see what'll happen over the next few years as gamers embrace the transition from membrane switches, though.



Spare-Flair said:
I would like to try out the Razor but I am really worried about fingerprints and smudging on the piano black and I hated the rubberized keys on the lycosa. Am I going to hate that on the Razor as well?

I was going to go for a Filco but those are hard to get now right?
Click to expand...

The piano black was the biggest complaint I had before getting the keyboard. Now that I have it, it's not that bad. A lot of other stuff in my setup is piano black (monitor, printer, etc.) and it fits in well. The glossy finish is only on the background (frame) of the keyboard and the only place I get smudges is the bottom edge, which is easily wipeable when it gets bad. Actually, the cool thing about the glossy is that on the top right edge, all of the indicator lights are only visible when you activate the corresponding lock (caps, num, etc.). I think unless you toss around your keyboard a lot, it shouldn't be an issue as the sides, bottom and keycaps are all a matte finish on the plastic.

The BlackWidow doesn't have rubberized keys. They're normal plastic. You can feel the printing on the keycaps a little bit, but it's not that big of a deal. The only thing I'd say is that it took me a few days to get used to typing on the mechanical switches coming from membrane keyboards.
 
PynkFloydd said:
Ahh... I guess you're right. Cherry switches would have to replace cheap membrane keyboards in the mainstream before there'd be a significant drop in prices. ...and that's probably not going to happen anytime soon.

The drop in price is usually attributed to "Economies of Scale". I think with mechanical keyboards, it's more of a "Veblen Effect".

It'll be interesting to see what'll happen over the next few years as gamers embrace the transition from membrane switches, though.
Click to expand...

Mechanical boards are becoming more common but until Logitech releases one, people will continue to use rubber dome keyboards.
Logitech tends to set the standard for "gaming keyboards" at an affordable price.
$100+ is a lot of money to spend for the majority of people. The problem is that a $40-50 mech board will be trash, it's inevitable for a quality mech board to cost $80+.
Once you go above $80 for a keyboard it's not about price, it's about the quality of the board so lower prices are not possible IMO.
 
Last edited:
Interesting: I was looking around at both Amazon and Newegg and I see that my Rosewill RK-9000 is not only out of stock but the listing is deactivated.

Does anyone know if there's anything behind that like it's been discontinued? I hope not because it's a great KB that I've been recommending to people and I have at least on family member that was getting ready to buy one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top