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I have been pretty satisfied with a regular $20.00 keyboard, but wanted to see what the fuss was all about with you guys and these fancy keyboards. So, I finally buckled down and got one. I needed help deciding on which switches to buy even after reading all the posts by all the keyboard enthusiasts out there. So I bought the WASD Keycap and Cherry MX Switch Sampler Kit:
http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/wasd-sampler-kit.html
This was about $10 shipped First Class.
Well, to me, the general consensus was really spot on: The brown switch seemed to be the best overall to press on due to that small feedback it gives you. The red switch was my second favorite, due to how effortless it was to press down and how quiet it was. The blue switch was awesome and all feedbacky and clicky, but a hair too noisy. The black switch, while by no means horrible, was my least favorite; it just had a tad bit too much resistance for me like it was fighting me back and felt like it might be a chore to press down on every single time (just my humble opinion of course!).
Moving on... the keyboard I decided on after going back and forth on an assortment of expensive Filco, Topre, and Ducky models was the Ducky Shine 2 Tenkeyless White LED / Cherry MX Red. Although I liked the brown switch by a slight margin, I chose the red switch since this would primarily be for gaming.
The white LEDs are nice from an aesthetics standpoint, and customizable with several modes of lighting and levels of brightness, including the ability to turn them off. In terms of usability, the red switches are enjoyable to type on and the caps feel nice and fine! It's everything I expected it to be. Build quality is pretty good and I have not noticed any problems yet in my few days of ownership besides just getting adjusted to the layout itself.
With the WASD keycaps on this time. OK...Yes it is a little blingy and the lights won't be to everyone's preference, but this was primarily a "fun" keyboard for games and late night usage, so the Shine version seemed like the right choice. I do still want to get a more serious or exotic top end keyboard like a Made in Japan Topre for general use one day, but the Ducky is a pretty respectable board in its own right IMHO.
I know this was all TLDR; and "cool story, quack!"
...but I DO hope this post may be helpful to someone out there coming from the perspective of someone who is brand new to these. This keyboard is partly about aesthetics and of course partly about function...and IMHO it does well in both departments. I am really looking forward to moving up in the ladder of mechanical keyboards and getting something of better quality later on!
http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/wasd-sampler-kit.html
This was about $10 shipped First Class.
Well, to me, the general consensus was really spot on: The brown switch seemed to be the best overall to press on due to that small feedback it gives you. The red switch was my second favorite, due to how effortless it was to press down and how quiet it was. The blue switch was awesome and all feedbacky and clicky, but a hair too noisy. The black switch, while by no means horrible, was my least favorite; it just had a tad bit too much resistance for me like it was fighting me back and felt like it might be a chore to press down on every single time (just my humble opinion of course!).
Moving on... the keyboard I decided on after going back and forth on an assortment of expensive Filco, Topre, and Ducky models was the Ducky Shine 2 Tenkeyless White LED / Cherry MX Red. Although I liked the brown switch by a slight margin, I chose the red switch since this would primarily be for gaming.
The white LEDs are nice from an aesthetics standpoint, and customizable with several modes of lighting and levels of brightness, including the ability to turn them off. In terms of usability, the red switches are enjoyable to type on and the caps feel nice and fine! It's everything I expected it to be. Build quality is pretty good and I have not noticed any problems yet in my few days of ownership besides just getting adjusted to the layout itself.
With the WASD keycaps on this time. OK...Yes it is a little blingy and the lights won't be to everyone's preference, but this was primarily a "fun" keyboard for games and late night usage, so the Shine version seemed like the right choice. I do still want to get a more serious or exotic top end keyboard like a Made in Japan Topre for general use one day, but the Ducky is a pretty respectable board in its own right IMHO.
I know this was all TLDR; and "cool story, quack!"
...but I DO hope this post may be helpful to someone out there coming from the perspective of someone who is brand new to these. This keyboard is partly about aesthetics and of course partly about function...and IMHO it does well in both departments. I am really looking forward to moving up in the ladder of mechanical keyboards and getting something of better quality later on!
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