Mechanical Keyboard Guide

BababooeyHTJ said:
They are made on the same machines as the IBM model M keyboards made by Lexmark. Model M's never used doubleshot keys. They used PBT dye subed keys, the same that Unicomp uses now.
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Ok, You're right I am wrong.

I got the impression that the keys were made to last longer on the IBMs.
 
BababooeyHTJ said:
Buy a cheap IBM Model M off of ebay. Is backlighting really that important to you?
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Yes :p I'm rather obsessive when it comes to the aesthetics of my setup, everything from my case to my speakers and headsets and even my peripherals.

Although after doing some more research and forum-lurking I'm hesitant to get the Blackwidow now. I don't know, just something about the name "Razer" puts me on edge. When I first discovered Razer about 7-8 years ago I thought their products were the coolest things ever and I wanted everything that they came out with, but from personal experience (my aging Copperhead sometimes is not recognized and I have to unplug and replug it back in, happens on different computers/USB ports as well so I know its the mouse) as well as what others have said, Razer doesn't seem to be quite the top-notch company that I thought it was...seems more like flashy bells-and-whistles now, masking a slightly-above-average product in their fancy packaging and advertisment. Same with Logitech...I guess this is what happens when you start spending all your time on forums like [H] :p

Anyway, aesthetics are still really important to me. I could probably do without the backlighting but it has to at least look good. I'm currently looking into a Das or a Deck board perhaps, maybe a Filco when Amazon gets more in stock :) Any specific recommendations? This is for gaming, mostly WoW/SC2/BC2.
 
WorldExclusive said:
Better, more lively/mordern designs, instead of some 1980/90s dull grey/off white
A wider selection of switches i.e. brown, black, blue, red, white, alps etc.
Backlit keys
Ports for peripherals such as USB devices, mice and headsets
Gaming keys such as macros
Compact and standard sizes
......and the list goes on

It's a similar question of why we need different types of ATX computer cases. Everyone is an individual so the products can't be cookie cutter, one size fits all market.
Each person has different needs and wants, the variety of products reflect that in any consumer market.
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Spare-Flair said:
Backlit, not beige (blacks are rare on ebay), multimedia, compact size. That's about it.
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True, I suppose. I like the fact that my keyboard is only a year younger than I am.
For the color issues... creativity with Krylon and different keycaps (or paint the keycaps black, making them blank).

Good stuff. :D
 
SLiGuy said:
Yes :p I'm rather obsessive when it comes to the aesthetics of my setup, everything from my case to my speakers and headsets and even my peripherals.

Although after doing some more research and forum-lurking I'm hesitant to get the Blackwidow now. I don't know, just something about the name "Razer" puts me on edge. When I first discovered Razer about 7-8 years ago I thought their products were the coolest things ever and I wanted everything that they came out with, but from personal experience (my aging Copperhead sometimes is not recognized and I have to unplug and replug it back in, happens on different computers/USB ports as well so I know its the mouse) as well as what others have said, Razer doesn't seem to be quite the top-notch company that I thought it was...seems more like flashy bells-and-whistles now, masking a slightly-above-average product in their fancy packaging and advertisment. Same with Logitech...I guess this is what happens when you start spending all your time on forums like [H] :p

Anyway, aesthetics are still really important to me. I could probably do without the backlighting but it has to at least look good. I'm currently looking into a Das or a Deck board perhaps, maybe a Filco when Amazon gets more in stock :) Any specific recommendations? This is for gaming, mostly WoW/SC2/BC2.
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I was a big Razer hater too and stay away from all their products but I consider the Blackwidow to be a mostly Cherry MX product than a Razer product :)

It helps that the Razer is available locally, I could play with it in the store, return it if I wanted to, not have to pay shipping, etc. and it was backlit to boot which is rare in a mechanical keyboard. It is backlit much better and much more evenly than the X-Armor ones and the Deck Legends is too expensive, hard to ship to my location, and the font is strange.

It's a great keyboard. I wouldn't touch any other Razer product with a 10 foot pole however.
 
SLiGuy said:
Yes :p I'm rather obsessive when it comes to the aesthetics of my setup, everything from my case to my speakers and headsets and even my peripherals.

Although after doing some more research and forum-lurking I'm hesitant to get the Blackwidow now. I don't know, just something about the name "Razer" puts me on edge. When I first discovered Razer about 7-8 years ago I thought their products were the coolest things ever and I wanted everything that they came out with, but from personal experience (my aging Copperhead sometimes is not recognized and I have to unplug and replug it back in, happens on different computers/USB ports as well so I know its the mouse) as well as what others have said, Razer doesn't seem to be quite the top-notch company that I thought it was...seems more like flashy bells-and-whistles now, masking a slightly-above-average product in their fancy packaging and advertisment. Same with Logitech...I guess this is what happens when you start spending all your time on forums like [H] :p


Anyway, aesthetics are still really important to me. I could probably do without the backlighting but it has to at least look good. I'm currently looking into a Das or a Deck board perhaps, maybe a Filco when Amazon gets more in stock :) Any specific recommendations? This is for gaming, mostly WoW/SC2/BC2.
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If aesthetics matter, know that both Razer BW models and the Das have piano black glossy finishes on them. That means mass quantities of fingerprints all the time.
 
Well my leopold developed a little bit of a squeak last night. I applied a bunch of lithium grease to the stabilizers and it seems to have solved the issue... fingers crossed.
 
Spare-Flair said:
I was a big Razer hater too and stay away from all their products but I consider the Blackwidow to be a mostly Cherry MX product than a Razer product :)

It helps that the Razer is available locally, I could play with it in the store, return it if I wanted to, not have to pay shipping, etc. and it was backlit to boot which is rare in a mechanical keyboard. It is backlit much better and much more evenly than the X-Armor ones and the Deck Legends is too expensive, hard to ship to my location, and the font is strange.

It's a great keyboard. I wouldn't touch any other Razer product with a 10 foot pole however.
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Ah, I see. Thanks for the input. Are you using the regular or the ultimate version?

BababooeyHTJ said:
;):p
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Is that a vote towards a Das/Deck? :)

Mr. Wolf said:
If aesthetics matter, know that both Razer BW models and the Das have piano black glossy finishes on them. That means mass quantities of fingerprints all the time.
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Yeah, I know. I don't mind that much, I kind of like the look and wouldn't mind cleaning it. Honestly right now I am leaning towards the Das, particularly the Model S Ultimate. Something about those unlabeled keys looks soooooo sexy...
 
I'm really happy with my Das keyboard. I was very ambivalent about it at first, but I think it mostly has a 1 or 2 week learning curve before you really pick up on it and can't look back to soft squishy keyboards. I definitely recommend the normal one with the cherry browns. If anything I wish I had gotten a keyboard with cherry blacks instead, because you can feel and hear the feedback but it's still fairly easy to accidentally depress a key with a light tap. I've seen my WPM go up about 10-20 on average simply from the keyboard and I especially feel that I make a lot less typos, and it's really fun for gaming! I prefer it so strongly now that I always try to do my HW and write reports at home... it's so much more enjoyable than using crappy Dell keyboards.

I think the best feature about a mechanical keyboard for both gaming and typing is the audible feedback you get. You know exactly whether or not a key has been depressed by the sound whereas with a traditional keyboard you have to wonder if you lightly touched a key whether or not it registered. This allows you to instinctively know if you need to backspace to fix an error or if you didn't properly do an action in a game, and once you get used to this it lets your speed bump up by a good margin. It also makes it feel crippling to go back to traditional keyboards!
 
moussaka said:
are the Leopolds only going to be available in tenkeyless?
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They will eventually be available from EK down the road, for now though amazon still has some full size filcos I believe. From everything I have seen so far filcos are definatley superior to leopolds then again they also cost more.
 
Lpb45 said:
From everything I have seen so far filcos are definatley superior to leopolds then again they also cost more.
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Wrong. Filcos cost more because Amazon has to import them from the Keyboard Company, in England. I had a Filco tenkeyless, last month, and now have a Leopold. Both are solid, well-built, and perform great. The Leopold's lettering is a brighter white than the Filco's. I like having the Caps/Scroll Lock lights embedded in the keys, too. Only reason I returned my Filco was that half of the letter W flaked off its key. I'm sure that was just a random defect. I'd have no problem buying another Filco in the future.
 
I have to admit, I like the textured plastic on the Filco's much more then the matte flat black on the leo's.
 
master noran said:
I have to admit, I like the textured plastic on the Filco's much more then the matte flat black on the leo's.
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Whoa whoa whoa, wait a minute here. Isn't it the Filco's that have matte flat black and the LEOS that have textured? I'm thinking of the keys unless you mean the body.
 
Mr. Wolf said:
Wrong. Filcos cost more because Amazon has to import them from the Keyboard Company, in England. I had a Filco tenkeyless, last month, and now have a Leopold. Both are solid, well-built, and perform great. The Leopold's lettering is a brighter white than the Filco's. I like having the Caps/Scroll Lock lights embedded in the keys, too. Only reason I returned my Filco was that half of the letter W flaked off its key. I'm sure that was just a random defect. I'd have no problem buying another Filco in the future.
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Not understanding? Do you think the Leopold is a better board or are you just saying that the filco is on par in price because Amazon is putting extra costs onto the product, IE : Importing it by Air Freight (Dumb and costly)
 
Lpb45 said:
Not understanding? Do you think the Leopold is a better board or are you just saying that the filco is on par in price because Amazon is putting extra costs onto the product, IE : Importing it by Air Freight (Dumb and costly)
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I simply responded to your comment where you wrote Filcos are definitely superior to Leopolds based on what you've seen. As one who has owned and used both, I think they're equally excellent. The fact that the Leo is less expensive, regardless of why Amazon marks up their Filco boards, makes it the better buy.
 
Hmm anyone knows if there's big diffrence in keyboards sold in Japan vs those with US layout ?
 
my friend tried to sell me on this but I'm still having a hard time understanding why a mech. kb is better over any other gaming kb. i'm using a logitech wave and a g11
 
Mr. Wolf said:
I simply responded to your comment where you wrote Filcos are definitely superior to Leopolds based on what you've seen. As one who has owned and used both, I think they're equally excellent. The fact that the Leo is less expensive, regardless of why Amazon marks up their Filco boards, makes it the better buy.
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The Leo may be a better buy but the filco is a better overall board. Not by a lot but it is.
 
Mr. Wolf said:
Care to provide any evidence?
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I'd like to see it, too, since these boards are so new. I've seen feedback go both ways on the subject but little to nothing concrete as of yet to back any of it up with.
 
I like the Leo a lot but here are my observations in favor of Filco:

For one I think that the fold out feet on the Filco with rubber is significantly better.

The stabilizers are more "stable" on the Leo's but many have complained they are too mushy.

My backspace was squeaky on my Leo, a few dabs of white lithium fixed that.

The detachable cable was never a big seller for me.

I *think* that some keycaps for Leo's may need to stay Leo only due to the stabilizers... can anyone confirm this one for me?
 
Just check all of the reviews that have been posted on Geekhack. I have yet to see a filco review where people are complaining about squeaky keys, mushy keys, weird feel from stabilizers yet there's been about 4-5 with these problems since they started shipping.

I don't think the Leo is in any way a bad board it is a very very good board better then 99% of stuff on peoples desks nowadays I just dont think it is a better board then a filco.

Here's some stuff from reviews

"PS how to fix the backspace its scaring me... is the LITERAL-squeak to be expected or it needs to be fixed by EK or it is a simple shipping thing? Can I pull a key off with my bare hands? I only have those to work with."

"- The backspace key is squeaky if I hit it on the left side (I always hit it on the left side). It's also a little "squishy" feeling compared to the crisp single switch keys."

"The stabilizer keys are kinda meh to me. It takes a lot more pressure to get it down and its not responsive at all. You press it down and then it goes lazy on you going up."

These are direct quotes.
 
I'm going to do a direct comparison between the Leo and Filco boards. My sister-in-law wants a mechanical for her office work (paralegal) so I ordered a Filco tenkeyless and will give it or my Leo to her when I'm finished. I'll post pics/comments.
 
Mr. Wolf said:
I'm going to do a direct comparison between the Leo and Filco boards. My sister-in-law wants a mechanical for her office work (paralegal) so I ordered a Filco tenkeyless and will give it or my Leo to her when I'm finished. I'll post pics/comments.
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Excellent.




Lpb45 said:
Just check all of the reviews that have been posted on Geekhack. I have yet to see a filco review where people are complaining about squeaky keys, mushy keys, weird feel from stabilizers yet there's been about 4-5 with these problems since they started shipping.
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Agreed.

I don't think the Leo is in any way a bad board it is a very very good board better then 99% of stuff on peoples desks nowadays I just dont think it is a better board then a filco.
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That's the consensus I'm gathering as well. Comparable and maybe even equal but not superior.


Here's some stuff from reviews

"PS how to fix the backspace its scaring me... is the LITERAL-squeak to be expected or it needs to be fixed by EK or it is a simple shipping thing? Can I pull a key off with my bare hands? I only have those to work with."

"- The backspace key is squeaky if I hit it on the left side (I always hit it on the left side). It's also a little "squishy" feeling compared to the crisp single switch keys."

"The stabilizer keys are kinda meh to me. It takes a lot more pressure to get it down and its not responsive at all. You press it down and then it goes lazy on you going up."

These are direct quotes.
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Yup, seen them. I don't see that kind of feedback about Filcos ever barring the occasional lemon or some such. Then we had someone like Mr.Sneis here and there with dissatisfaction about...was it the legs and the keyboard staying in place? Something like that? So it's early in the game but we're starting to see something and so far it's kind of a mixed picture.

To be fair: Some of those complaints could be off of lemons or defects as well.

It's going to take some more time and more people getting them before we really starting getting a clear picture. I personally doubt that the Leopolds are "better" than Filcos.
 
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The Filco stabilizers are a bit rattly. I've seen people claim that they prefer cherry stabilizers. I don't know if this is a common issue with cherry stabilizers or not.
 
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