Mechanical Keyboard Guide

Skull_Angel said:
Registering is one of the problems, but without taking them apart and cleaning them other problems could arise. The contact leaflets becoming deformed from sticking or springs rusting if cleaned improperly would probably be the biggest problem, but others have noted changes in spring-rate and/or the <click> from blue switches from not being completely cleaned after hours of soaking.
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master noran said:
Thanks for the replies

Hmm, remember seeing ripster leave out some switches for quite a while outside and they did not rust. Can't seem to find a guide on how to take apart mx switches.
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I USED to have lots of Guides for repairing switches at Geekhack but iMav deleted them!

Ask HIM where they are.

I'll be posting backups sometime at /reddit/mechanicalkeyboards/.
 
Link doesn't seem to be working properly, but if that's the CMStorm Quickfire Pro at a discounted price of ~$50 the choice is up to you. They've been trying to get rid of these boards as they had them manufactured by iOne (which is a poor QC manufacturer), the good thing is that they've stated they will never use iOne to manufacture keyboards again.
 
Neither link works for me either. The Trigger should be going for like $120-130 tho... Decent value compared to other backlit boards IMO, tho I know nothing about the build quality of that model, and I'm not crazy about the looks or macro key positioning. That's very subjective tho, CM's been cranking out a lot of stuff lately, maybe someone else can chime in on it.
 
Let me try this for a third time for the link: Link

Wow... it refuses to work. I'll do tinyURL then.

http:///9ag8wy9

Is there a thing in the HF that doesn't allow links via NCIX and TinyURL?

http:///vt1gT

That doesn't work either...

http:///products/?sku=71928

It's the Canadian site, but if you looked for the same one on the USA side, it'll be cheaper.

And yeah, this site refuses to post NCIX, but doesn't mind Newegg...
 
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Aside from the link issues, the CMStorm Trigger would be something I would recommend if someone wanted a full sized mech. with macro keys and backlighting (and probably the only one I'd recommend with macro keys).
 
Oh, I didn't realize you were trying to post and NCIX link... Yeah, HardForum has blocked those for years, happened over some advertising dispute I think. Used to be more obvious when the link was broken because it'd show a series of X, dunno if they changed the filtering system or what.
 
Excellent guide! thanks for putting time into this, actually made research extremely easy.
 
Cherry has ML switches which are mechanical with a short travel. They can be ordered on various keyboards even on newegg I believe.
 
Geekhack is down but HW being fixed.

It's a bit creaky.

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What is the cheapest mechanical keyboard with backlight keys and some kind of volume control? (either a wheel or, sliding bar, anything)
 
Probably the CMStorm Trigger; you'll be hard pressed to find a better quality backlit for cheaper. There are others as well, but any known to have good quality will cost quite a bit more.
 
Skull_Angel said:
Probably the CMStorm Trigger; you'll be hard pressed to find a better quality backlit for cheaper. There are others as well, but any known to have good quality will cost quite a bit more.
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Huh, hadn't noticed it's down to $90-100, good value indeed. Even non-backlit boards often sell for that much, tho you can also find non-backlit stuff like the RK9000 and QuickFire on sale for $60-70. If you want backlight you need to spend a little more, the Trigger's probably about as low as it gets, most backlits are $120+.
 
Yeah, and the CMStorm Trigger isn't a "cheapo" board either; it's a full feature board assembled by a more than decent manufacturer.
 
CM Storm Trigger or Ducky Shine II (Full keyboard)? For their respective prices ($119 normally for Trigger, or $90 on Amazon; or Ducky Shine II which is $148 on Mechanical Keyboards), which is still the better product (and taking price into consideration)?
 
Ducky's available in more colors and switch configurations, if that matters to you.
 
MX Browns and LED back lighting. I would kill to have Blue or Green instead of the Red (LEDs), but yeah. What I'm asking is, are Ducky Shine II's worth it over the price of a Trigger ($90)?
 
If the lighting options and/or layout is more appealing to you, the Ducky Shining II could be worth it; only you can justify the cost. As far as build quality go, I'd probably rate them evenly though. The key caps on the Ducky may be printed better, but I couldn't tell you for sure; I know they're nicer than most other ABS backlit keys.
 
Ducky uses Cherry stabilizers I think, instead of Costar (which feel identical to the regular keys), again, if that matters to ya. My Corsair uses the same ones and it doesn't bother me but I did notice it.
 
Ahhhh after a long wait...

WASD Keyboards will be releasing their V2 TKL boards in March 2013.
I highly respect this company, and my direct email conversations with the owner proves they aim to satisfy their customers, much like CaseLabs.
If you want a no frills, high quality mech board, look no further and don't buy anything else until this is released.

Here's the news:
http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/blog

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Now that I will be rebuilding my PC, I'll update the OP when I'm done.
 
I just ordered a Ducky Shine 2 tenkeyless with Blue switches and white illumination. At $142 shipped, it was a bit pricey, but I've been looking for exactly those specs for a long time.

Early Christmas present for me. :D
 
Tyler-Durden said:
I just ordered a Ducky Shine 2 tenkeyless with Blue switches and white illumination. At $142 shipped, it was a bit pricey, but I've been looking for exactly those specs for a long time.

Early Christmas present for me. :D
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I've been trying to avoid pulling the trigger on that exact board for a bit now. Not sure how much longer I can hold out.
 
A couple quick questions:

I'm very seriously considering the Rosewill RK-9000 with brown switches. I see Rosewill now has the RK-9100 that's illuminated, but appears to be an entirely different keyboard. There's a white RK-9000 w/ browns on sale for $75, and the black RK-9000 is OOS.

1. Is the 9100 replacing the 9000, or are they going to be sold concurrently? I'm a little afraid with the 9000 being out of stock because that's the one I want.

2. Is $75 for the 9000 with browns a good price? I don't really care about the housing color. I know it's usually a bit more expensive than the same board with reds or blacks simply due to popularity, but I've seen the one with reds go for as little as ~$50.
 
They'll both be available for sale and continue to be for a while as far as I've heard, no plans to stop manufacturing.

$75 (USD) is still a good price, I doubt the price on Cherry MX Brown boards will go down much for a while since the switches them selves seem to have been running low on availability recently.
 
$75 is excellent for the white board with browns IMO, if you don't mind the white anyway... The other switch types have seen ever steeper discount during sales but they know brown sells the most, I haven't seen it lower (for the RK-9000 specifically) but you should check Camelegg... Granted, that won't tell you anything about pay discounts thru promo codes etc.
 
Got my Ducky Shine 2 tenkeyless with Blue switches and white backlighting today. This thing is solid as a rock. I've owned Filco, Leopold, CM Storm, Rosewill, Razer, Corsair, ABS mechanical boards. This Ducky is the best built of all. The white letters are really clean and bright. I'm very pleased. :D
 
All this Ducky talk is making it hard to resist buying a Ducky 9008G2 with MX reds.

I just need to wait for the expense report check to come through :D
 
Tyler-Durden said:
Got my Ducky Shine 2 tenkeyless with Blue switches and white backlighting today. This thing is solid as a rock. I've owned Filco, Leopold, CM Storm, Rosewill, Razer, Corsair, ABS mechanical boards. This Ducky is the best built of all. The white letters are really clean and bright. I'm very pleased. :D
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Just got word from my fiance that a Ducky Shine 2 tenkeyless with Brown switches and white LEDs is on the way! Having read your post I am super excited for it.
 
I just listed my Ducky keyboard in the For Sale forum. Nothing wrong with it. I just want to get a full size board with MX Reds.

$110 including free UPS ground shipping.

SOLD! :D
 
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I just wish there were more modern designs utilizing buckling spring keys.

To this day, I can't find myself using any other type of keyboard switch.
 
jamsomito said:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...odeId=1&Description=rosewill+mx+brown&x=0&y=0

Looks like they took the black RK9000 off the list even. It was present but showing OOS for the last little while. Is this typical for OOS items? (i.e. will it simply show back up when it's in stock again?)

Sorry if I'm just being paranoid.
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It happens some times on Newegg, but I've also heard rumors of Cherry MX Black being labeled EoL. I don't know if it's true or not, but I wouldn't worry about it too much (there's easy ways to mod Cherry MX switches if you want to put the effort into it).


Zarathustra[H];1039422103 said:
I just wish there were more modern designs utilizing buckling spring keys.

To this day, I can't find myself using any other type of keyboard switch.
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Blame the patent system! I think it's silly to monopolize what would other wise be popular tech if not for the patent holders; smart, but still silly.
 
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