Mechanical Keyboard Guide

No kidding. I have been wanting one for a while now and my will just broke. Pulled the trigger on a tenkeyless Ninja with Browns.

My Logitech Illuminated was nice but its going to my wife, the W+left shift+space rollover issue killed that kb for me. Havent used a mechanical since the old IBMs.
 
I've never used mechanicals, and I have never owned a keyboard worth over $10. So I'm pretty excited bout the Filco.
 
Mungojerrie said:
I've never used mechanicals, and I have never owned a keyboard worth over $10. So I'm pretty excited bout the Filco.
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Wow, you sir are in for a treat. There is nothing like typing on a mechanical keyboard as you'll soon discover.
 
Filco arrived today....
Wow, it's amazing.. light and easy to type... my fingers are very happy...
 
Waiting on a friend to get back to me about selling me his Filco w/browns. Would love that. Otherwise, there's a guy in another forum who I'm speaking with about his Majestouch 2. Would love to have a keyboard as solid as a tank.
 
So yeah I had the Filco overnighted. Weak will indeed.

It is awesome. Liking the ninja keys also. Nice when something actually lives up to the hype and 5-star reviews.
 
I love my Filco Ninja Browns, but I still want to try out Blues :( Anyone in San Diego/San Francisco want to do a swap? :D
 
Ritorix said:
So yeah I had the Filco overnighted. Weak will indeed.

It is awesome. Liking the ninja keys also. Nice when something actually lives up to the hype and 5-star reviews.
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GRRR I have to wait till tomorrow when I get off work for my keyboard!!!
 
Smallville said:
I love my Filco Ninja Browns, but I still want to try out Blues :( Anyone in San Diego/San Francisco want to do a swap? :D
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If you wanna try out the Cherry MX Blues, you can drive down to Fry's in Fremont. they have a Razer Black Widow on display.

I actually drove down there just to try out a mechanical keyboard for the first time. I ended up ordering a Filco Majestouch 2 Tenkeyless Brown from Amazon which I'm typing on right now and I love it. this keyboard has been one of the best computer purchases I've ever made. I wish I'd done it sooner.

The blues on the Razer BW felt pretty good. I prefer the more silent, non clicky browns though.
 
I've never owned a mechanical keyboard before and browsing around this section of the forums, the Filco seems pretty popular around here. So I'm thinking of going with that. Is there another high quality mechanical keyboard that is tenkeyless?

If not, then I'm looking to buy a tenkeyless Filco Majestouch 2 with either cherry browns or blue. Is Amazon the only place to purchase new Filco's? I only see the tenkeyless Majestouch 2 available in black or brown switches. Any other place to shop for Filco keyboards? I live in California if that makes any difference.
 
lil layzie said:
I've never owned a mechanical keyboard before and browsing around this section of the forums, the Filco seems pretty popular around here. So I'm thinking of going with that. Is there another high quality mechanical keyboard that is tenkeyless?

If not, then I'm looking to buy a tenkeyless Filco Majestouch 2 with either cherry browns or blue. Is Amazon the only place to purchase new Filco's? I only see the tenkeyless Majestouch 2 available in black or brown switches. Any other place to shop for Filco keyboards? I live in California if that makes any difference.
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Leopold boards at elitekeyboards.com

I understand Ducky's, Das Keyboards and the KBC Poker (though, a mini) are pretty nice. But Leopold and Filcos stand out on top.
 
Dan_D said:
Wow, you sir are in for a treat. There is nothing like typing on a mechanical keyboard as you'll soon discover.
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So I talked to my roommate and he picked up a Das keyboard at the start of summer ( when I started my internship) So today, work just happened to take me near the town I go to school at so I swung by and tried out that keyboard. Holy shit mechanical boards feel wonderful. I can't wait to get home from work today to try out the Filco. Both boards are MX- Browns so I won't have any diversity in that regard. I am just very impressed with the build quality and the feel of these boards. I feel like the spending was worth it already. :D
 
I want a mechanical keyboard!

Been using a Logitech Illuminated for a few year and love it. Needed a replacement and bought another one and I come to find you can't press W+SHIFT+SPACE at the same time now? My old Logitech Illuminated did that just fine!

Sort of want another illuminated one. Definately brown switches or clear.

I see there is a Ducky "Shine" model coming soon? Or maybe a Deck Legend (Made in Wisconsin). I see the X-Armor U9BL-S also (now sold on Amazon under the iONE name.

For non-illuminated I was looking at the Filco Majestouch 2, a Steelseries 6GV2, and a Ducky 9008-G2.....thats about it I think?

Was also looking at the Realforce 103UB. A friend just bought one and I gonna try it out but they are expensive at around $250!

Don't like the Razer or DAS keyboards since they have a glossy finish and louder switches.
 
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If you want the keyboard with the clear switches, then I can't recommend the Deck Legend series enough. The build quality is fantastic and the back lighting is as good as I've ever seen on any keyboard. It isn't perfect in that regard, but none of them are. Still it has the most uniform back lighting of any keyboard I've seen so far. The foot print of the whole thing is a bit on the large side, but it a good unit to say the least. I've got one with Cherry MX Blacks and I only switched to the Das Keyboard Professional because it uses Blues, which are my preferred keyboard switch type. The Deck Ice Legend is on my girlfriend's PC and she loves it.

And after two years the key caps held up much better than they have after half that usage on my Logitech G-15 Rev 1 or 2, and my Das Keyboard Professional. If Deck ever comes out with a Cherry MX Blue based keyboard, I'll probably jump all over it.
 
Geoff326 said:
If you wanna try out the Cherry MX Blues, you can drive down to Fry's in Fremont. they have a Razer Black Widow on display.

I actually drove down there just to try out a mechanical keyboard for the first time. I ended up ordering a Filco Majestouch 2 Tenkeyless Brown from Amazon which I'm typing on right now and I love it. this keyboard has been one of the best computer purchases I've ever made. I wish I'd done it sooner.

The blues on the Razer BW felt pretty good. I prefer the more silent, non clicky browns though.
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I totally forgot about Frys! Unfortunately, I don't have a car so my girlfriend drives me around so I would have to somehow convince her to drive me there :(
 
Geoff326 said:
If you wanna try out the Cherry MX Blues, you can drive down to Fry's in Fremont. they have a Razer Black Widow on display.

I actually drove down there just to try out a mechanical keyboard for the first time. I ended up ordering a Filco Majestouch 2 Tenkeyless Brown from Amazon which I'm typing on right now and I love it. this keyboard has been one of the best computer purchases I've ever made. I wish I'd done it sooner.

The blues on the Razer BW felt pretty good. I prefer the more silent, non clicky browns though.
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Smallville said:
I totally forgot about Frys! Unfortunately, I don't have a car so my girlfriend drives me around so I would have to somehow convince her to drive me there :(
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That's not as useful as you might think. I've got a Razer Black Widow and it feels almost nothing like other Cherry MX Blue switch based boards. My Das Keyboard feels much higher quality, sounds different and feels different despite the switches supposedly being the same. The key caps make the difference and the ones on the Razer suck.
 
lil layzie said:
Question, does the Majestouch 2 come in blue flavor? Cherry blue switches that is.
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yea, they're available with the blue switches. they're referred to as click action on amazon from the keyboard co.

tenkeyless
http://www.amazon.com/Filco-Majestouch-2-Tenkeyless-FKBN87MC-EB2/dp/B004WOF7S0/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1311999003&sr=8-6

full size
http://www.amazon.com/Filco-Majestouch-2-Keyboard-FKBN104MC-EB2/dp/B004VKYHP4/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&m=A104717BI2VJF7&s=generic&qid=1311999042&sr=1-7
 
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Thanks for pointing that out.

I was actually looking at the page for the tenkeyless but closed it without reading the description because there is no option anywhere for me to add it to cart. Is it just me or is the option not there to purchase it? lol

Oh well, I think I'm already set on the tenkeyless Majestouch 2 with browns since it's recommended for gaming and typing while being quieter than the blues.
 
lil layzie said:
Thanks for pointing that out.

I was actually looking at the page for the tenkeyless but closed it without reading the description because there is no option anywhere for me to add it to cart. Is it just me or is the option not there to purchase it? lol

Oh well, I think I'm already set on the tenkeyless Majestouch 2 with browns since it's recommended for gaming and typing while being quieter than the blues.
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I think there's a bug in some of the amazon product pages where the "Add to Cart" button doesn't show up. I think it eventually shows up after a couple days. If you scroll down a little, you can go to the "Frequently Bought Together" section and there will be two items that you can "Add both to Cart". Click that button and then go to your cart and delete the second item.

I love my MJ2 Tenkeyless Brown, it feels great and I plan to game and web browse with it.
 
rendereason said:
Happy hacking pro. Nuff said.
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Those use Topre capacitive switches. No thanks. The idea that there is advantages to membrane keyboard switch types (beyond their low price) and that those advantages are worth combining with traditional mechanical switches for an even better switch at twice the price is ludicrous. I'm not opposed to trying one if someone else buys one but I can't see spending the money on one just to try it.

I'll stick with my Cherry MX or even Alps switches.
 
After typing on MX Browns in my Filco I think I could stand much louder keys; I don't know how my roommates would hold up but it is actually kind of rewarding from my standpoint to have louder keys than membrane keyboards do.
 
Mungojerrie said:
After typing on MX Browns in my Filco I think I could stand much louder keys; I don't know how my roommates would hold up but it is actually kind of rewarding from my standpoint to have louder keys than membrane keyboards do.
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For me it's always been the feel rather than the noise that attracts me to the Cherry MX Blue switches.
 
Well im currently typing from my XArmor U9BL-S...I like it. Quality seems to be good....typing is wayy better compared to the logitech G15...only complaint is after you turn of or restart the keybaord, the backlight resets...Im considering returning the keyboard back and looking for another one..but I want a blacklit one.
 
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I'm thinking about buying a Filco Majestouch Ninja Tenkeyless keyboard (FKBN87MC/EFB2) with blue switches but they are no where to be found.

Anyone got any info on this keyboard?
 
Ugh, I really want to get a mecha keyboard (never tried one) to go with my new mouse and pad. Really hard to decide with all the options out there.

I live near Deck's offices and I might stop there tomorrow to test one out (and buy it maybe). Kind of out of my price range though, but I'm all for supporting local businesses.

On the other hand, I've heard good things about the Thermaltake Meka G1 and it's only $100. No backlighting but it otherwise seems nice.

Decisions, decisions.

edit: Just ordered the Meka G1, hard to beat $100 shipped from Amazon. Hopefully it's what I'm looking for.
 
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