Mechanical Keyboard Guide

SolidSnakeUS said:
Is there really that much of a difference between the regular and the ultimate of the Blackwidow? I know the Ultimate has backlighting for each keys and has audio/usb ports, but if I've lived without either of those up till now, should I even go for the Ultimate? Is it worth the $80?

I think I'm asking because I could of never dreamt to spend that much money for a keyboard. I mean, look at my system, and I've had this Logitech media keyboard for like 6 years. But is the Blackwidow worth every penny?
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Actually there is. I have both. The normal one has normal key caps with pad printed lettering. The Ultimate has key caps that are clear with a plastic/rubber coating on them that gives it a completely different feel/look (aside from being backlit)

Key caps are a big part to the feel of a keyboard.
 
EnderW said:
I've been using my das keyboard for a few months now and I just don't like it
I'm not a touch typist and it seems like I make way more mistakes with this keyboard than my old logitech "soft" key G13
so I'm going back to a logitech, maybe a G510 or G110

on another note, what's my best bet for learning to touch type after 15 years of using my own method of mostly index and middle finger? I can type most stuff without looking - about 90% of this post was without looking at the keyboard but it's just because I know where the keys are in space, I don't have a "feel" for the keyboard
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Mavis Beacon
 
canon.tk said:
Actually there is. I have both. The normal one has normal key caps with pad printed lettering. The Ultimate has key caps that are clear with a plastic/rubber coating on them that gives it a completely different feel/look (aside from being backlit)

Key caps are a big part to the feel of a keyboard.
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Key caps feel exactly the same to me and I tried both. I chose the Ultimate in the end. There is no rubber coating. It feels the same as regular plastic though we know it's just a paint finish that they laser out the markings on for the light to shine through.

What I like about the Ultimate is that when you turn all the lights off, the ugly Razer logo at the bottom of the keyboard isn't lit either.
 
Spare-Flair said:
Key caps feel exactly the same to me and I tried both. I chose the Ultimate in the end. There is no rubber coating. It feels the same as regular plastic though we know it's just a paint finish that they laser out the markings on for the light to shine through.

What I like about the Ultimate is that when you turn all the lights off, the ugly Razer logo at the bottom of the keyboard isn't lit either.
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Uh, wow. The keys feel totally different because they are and you can use the FN + F12 to change the brightness level of the logo, and turn it off on the non-ultimate.

If you think the texture of the keys are the same then you didn't really try the boards out that well.

Like I said the non-ultimate is just a normal fairly rough textured key cap while the Ultimate is a clear key cap with a coating on it that has the lettering in a negative to let the LED light through. The caps are a lot smoother and have a mat finish on them that'll wear off fairly quickly to leave the semi shiny coating showing.
 
100inch said:
Learn where to put your hands and what fingers should be used to hit what keys. Then type a lot and look at keys when you need to. It should all work itself out. Millions of teenagers growing up in the AIM era (pre texting era) learned to type that way.
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Yeah, I never learned to touch type and these days I almost never look down to see where the keys are located.
 
sok0 said:
And they also cost 20-50$ more than they used to on elitekeyboards.....
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I know. There's two reasons for that. Amazon middle man fee and yeah, they're imported products from the UK. ;)

Still cheaper I think (?) vs. if you directly imported yourself from the Keyboard Company in the UK but I could be mistaken.

Past this...where else can we even buy Filcos? It's the best thing we've got that I know of IMO.
 
I think the filco boards were cheaper last week and they were still inflated then.
 
sok0 said:
And they also cost 20-50$ more than they used to on elitekeyboards.....
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lolwut?

More like $10 - and you had to pay for shipping with EK, and EK didn't have any boards with red switches. The prices of the other boards are all comparable.

Mr. Wolf said:
I've never seen red switches before. What are they like?
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Lighter blacks or linear browns, however you want to call it.

MrSneis said:
I think the filco boards were cheaper last week and they were still inflated then.
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No, these are the same prices as they were on the first batch. Whether you think they are overpriced or not is obviously up to you.
 
Q-BZ said:
I know. There's two reasons for that. Amazon middle man fee and yeah, they're imported products from the UK. ;)

Still cheaper I think (?) vs. if you directly imported yourself from the Keyboard Company in the UK but I could be mistaken.

Past this...where else can we even buy Filcos? It's the best thing we've got that I know of IMO.
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Importing directly from thekeyboardco would cost a lot more :O

Occasionally you can get filcos from pchome.global.com.tw, but they are usually unavailable. Two of my tenkeyless boards came from there at a cost of $125/ea + $10 shipping.
 
Hope you like it. I like typing on my reds just fine but I don't think they are anything special or whatever when compared to the others. They aren't that much more expensive than the other boards and they are "Limited," but who knows how limited they actually are?
 
MrSneis said:
I think the filco boards were cheaper last week and they were still inflated then.
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I bought (later returned) a tenkeyless Filco Brown for $139 from Amazon when they had them a few weeks ago. I thought it was pretty pricey, especially compared to the $99 Leopold tenkeyless, but it was a very nice keyboard.
 
gorb said:
Hope you like it. I like typing on my reds just fine but I don't think they are anything special or whatever when compared to the others. They aren't that much more expensive than the other boards and they are "Limited," but who knows how limited they actually are?
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They aren't anything special.

People are just raving about them because they're nice and new. Browns are still supreme imo.
 
To be fair I don't consider the browns, blues, or blacks anything special either - they're equally good to me.
 
Now I'm questioning my decision haha, I'm confident on red but is tenkeyless significantly better for fps?
 
I prefer using my tenkeyless boards at all times except at work where I have a fullsize board cuz I need the numpad.
 
Mr. Wolf said:
Ain't seen this before: X-Armor wireless Brown mechanical keyboard! :eek:

http://www.amazon.com/XArmor-U9W-wi...3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1300993289&sr=1-3
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Very interesting, nice layout, nice wristpad and the price is quite good. I would imagine why some people would want wireless but it's a pain in the ass IMO and it won't support full NKRO


edit: Also there is a guy selling a MX black filco with NKRO, 108 keys for $75 the wasd keys are worn out but he's providing almost new red ones along with the originals, good price?
 
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very good price imo

Keycap wear wouldn't bother me in the slightest either
 
So what do Cherry Reds actually feel like? Non-clicky, non tactile, extremely light actuation makes me think of scissor switch laptop keyboards.
 
gorb said:
very good price imo

Keycap wear wouldn't bother me in the slightest either
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I already own the same model, might have to pick this one up and keep it for when the current ones dies.
Spare-Flair said:
So what do Cherry Reds actually feel like? Non-clicky, non tactile, extremely light actuation makes me think of scissor switch laptop keyboards.
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I read somewhere that they were closer to MX blacks.
 
Spare-Flair said:
So what do Cherry Reds actually feel like? Non-clicky, non tactile, extremely light actuation makes me think of scissor switch laptop keyboards.
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I've responded to this question before. Lighter blacks or linear browns. Very light, linear switch.
 
Spare-Flair said:
So what do Cherry Reds actually feel like? Non-clicky, non tactile, extremely light actuation makes me think of scissor switch laptop keyboards.
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Um, not really. Laptop scissor switches are medium force and really, really, tactile, but very short travel.
 
Filco red 104 key here. Like it so far, the build seems a little heavier than the Zowie and I'd almost say its even quieter too, very smooth action and a lot less stiff than the blacks I've felt. I notice the way the bottom of the board is anchored also seems less prone to getting shifted around; we'll see how it holds ~ is the tenkeyless just as solid of a base? Amazon shipped it in a box that's literally 2x the length of the product box so it was slightly embarrassing to receive at the office.

The red keys are a nice touch I wish it came with the red esc. key though.
 
My Filco Brown tenkeyless was very solid and secure when I typed/gamed on it. I hope the Leopold I pre-ordered is as good.
 
The early impressions of the Leopold are very good from what I've seen. Those guys over at geekhack are reaaaaally critical of things though and have already begun to criticize some of the design choices.
 
MrSneis said:
The early impressions of the Leopold are very good from what I've seen. Those guys over at geekhack are reaaaaally critical of things though and have already begun to criticize some of the design choices.
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That's good, though. Get down to the nitty gritty. Good, bad, and ugly and how they compare vs. x number of other brands. :)
 
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Zarathustra[H];1037027979 said:
That is odd. Amazon is now also saying that the Xarmor U9BL has Cherry MX Brown switches. Every review I had read in the past said it had blues...

I'm confused now.
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Probably doesn't mean much...or does it?...but I went to look up the company's website for laughs and this is all I see: http://www.xarmor-usa.com/store_closed.html


What's the story on these guys? Do owners at least have a (hopefully) toll free number that they can call or some such? That sure doesn't look terribly promising upfront.
 
Q-BZ said:
Probably doesn't mean much...or does it?...but I went to look up the company's website for laughs and this is all I see: http://www.xarmor-usa.com/store_closed.html


What's the story on these guys? Do owners at least have a (hopefully) toll free number that they can call or some such? That sure doesn't look terribly promising upfront.
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That's some webpage!

I sure hope they aren't in the process of going under or something...
 
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Zarathustra[H];1037029647 said:
That's some webpage!

I sure hope they aren't in the preocess of going under or something...
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That was my first thought as well. It looks ominous that way, doesn't it?
 
So some more impressions of reds vs browns. I notice that the reds are not very akin for typing papers and such, something about the tactile feel of the browns feels better. I'm now more conscious of if/when I am bottoming out during typing, apparently it's best to avoid doing so!

I also found that replacing the WASD with red key caps is slightly distracting to my brain, I know we don't look as we game or type but every now and then I peek down and my fingers go to the wrong spots.
 
I am really not sure who that keyboard is for, the wireless seems completely unnecessary and probably detracting. Its nice to see more products with something other than Cherry blues though.
 
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