What are some higher quality current keyboards and mice?

[SamirD]

I bought the Topre Type Heaven and, while it is okay, it cannot compare to the Realforce Topre in feel, imo. I now use the Topre Realforce 87U which is the best keyboard I've tried.

I did own a Unicomp keyboard. It arrived with something rattling inside and the workmanship seemed a little 'rough'. It stopped working after a year. It's better to buy a real IBM keyboard if you want to own a buckling spring in my humble opinion.

Interesting to hear your experience with the Type Heaven vs Realforce. I have some sort of Topre Japanese board that I got for 'cheap' (relatively Topre speaking) to get a feel for Topre, but hadn't taken the plunge yet on a real board. I was leaning towards the RF anyways, but this definitely gives me something to think about if I see a deal.

Oh, and I hear you on the Unicomps--they're definitely no IBM/Lenovo. I have identical 101 layout IBMs and a Unicomp and there definitely is a difference in refinement--much more so than any difference between the various years of the Model M.

 

[jiminator]

If you use a keyboard with Cherry MX switches then you should also buy a set of O-rings to install on the keyboard. It helps keep the keys from bottoming out and also reduces noise.

 

[SamirD]

If you use a keyboard with Cherry MX switches then you should also buy a set of O-rings to install on the keyboard. It helps keep the keys from bottoming out and also reduces noise.

I personally hate o-rings on all the boards I've tried. I feel it takes away from the crispness of it. But I'm typically using blues or equivalent so the point is for my keys to never bottom in the first place.

 

[cyclone3d]

For home I have a Corsair Strafe RGB. Well built. The only downside is a couple of the keycaps have the paint wearing off. At some point I'm going to order a set of doubleshot PBT caps for it.

For work I have a Cherry MX Board 6.0. Very sturdy build and would be just fine for whatever you want to use it for.

My gaming mouse if a Corsair M65 PRO RGB. I really like it. I got it to replace my aging Logitech G9. I like the M65 so much I bought a second to keep in my laptop bag.

 

[kirbyrj]

I bought my other half the aforementioned Corsair K70 with Brown Switches last week.

She loves it. Not a gamer, just wanted a good keyboard for typing on. She says it's light years on from her old Logitech.

I have a K70 and I hate it. I get random double typed letters and missed letters all the time. Sucks balls.

 

[Dioniati]

I don't believe in those extra magic keyboards with lights on it, I just use Kanex wireless keyboard K166-1102 connects very fast and feels nice as well

 

[daglesj]

I have a K70 and I hate it. I get random double typed letters and missed letters all the time. Sucks balls.

You have a bad one then. My other half is a ex typist so I would have heard by now if it wasn't up to the task.

 

[Lateralus]

You have a bad one then. My other half is a ex typist so I would have heard by now if it wasn't up to the task.

Yep, my K70 RGB performed perfectly the entire time I used it. I only retired it to try other boards as it isn't available with my favorite switch (Cherry MX Clears).

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Yep, my K70 RGB performed perfectly the entire time I used it. I only retired it to try other boards as it isn't available with my favorite switch (Cherry MX Clears).

I've never used a K70, but from the looks of it, Corsair didn't make the mistake many other "gaming" keyboards have made with this one. They kept the reasonably square keys rather than going nuts with industrial sleek design.

It's usually the keyboards with the sleek industrial designed keys that have the biggest problems. They bind up more and don't have as smooth movement...

 

[TechLarry]

For keyboards, I'm a Razer fan.

For mice, I don't really have any choice but for certain Logitech's with the free-wheeling scroll wheel. I simply MUST have it.

 

[Mad Maxx]

I have a K70 and I hate it. I get random double typed letters and missed letters all the time. Sucks balls.

Could be that typing on a mechanical keyboard just isn't for you. I'm a terrible typist on a mechanical. I use mine for gaming and not much else. The rest of my computer activity is done on a chiclet-style wireless board like my Logitech K810. I type so much faster and more accurately on it than any mechanical.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Could be that typing on a mechanical keyboard just isn't for you. I'm a terrible typist on a mechanical. I use mine for gaming and not much else. The rest of my computer activity is done on a chiclet-style wireless board like my Logitech K810. I type so much faster and more accurately on it than any mechanical.

That's interesting. I've never heard anyone say that before. I always assumed that everyone felt the same way I do, in that once they experience typing on mechanical keyboards there is no going back as everything else feels vastly inferior.

I've never typed on a K70 though, so I have no frame of reference. What I do know is that for me there is no substitute for a good Model M or derivative. The buckling spring feel is PERFECT for typing. I've been pretty impressed Ducky's Cherry MX based designs too though. They arent quite the same as a Model M, but leaps and bounds beyond the rubber domes or scissor switches as found in most consumer devices.

 

[Mad Maxx]

That's interesting. I've never heard anyone say that before. I always assumed that everyone felt the same way I do, in that once they experience typing on mechanical keyboards there is no going back as everything else feels vastly inferior.

I've never typed on a K70 though, so I have no frame of reference. What I do know is that for me there is no substitute for a good Model M or derivative. The buckling spring feel is PERFECT for typing. I've been pretty impressed Ducky's Cherry MX based designs to though. They arent quite the same as a Model M, but leaps and bounds beyond the rubber domes or scissor switches as found in most consumer devices.

I'm in a distinct minority on this one, but there are a few of us around here in that camp.

 

[SamirD]

That's interesting. I've never heard anyone say that before. I always assumed that everyone felt the same way I do, in that once they experience typing on mechanical keyboards there is no going back as everything else feels vastly inferior.

I've never typed on a K70 though, so I have no frame of reference. What I do know is that for me there is no substitute for a good Model M or derivative. The buckling spring feel is PERFECT for typing. I've been pretty impressed Ducky's Cherry MX based designs too though. They arent quite the same as a Model M, but leaps and bounds beyond the rubber domes or scissor switches as found in most consumer devices.

I've heard of this too. The chiclets are great in that they have such a small amount of key travel that once you're used to it, a mech seems like it takes too long. Hence the shortened throw of a lot of newer switches like the speed silver.

At the same time, I find that chiclets don't allow for proper rebound adjustment like a proper tactile/clicky board (like the aforementioned model M which I'm using right now), so you're more prone to bottom out and fatigue the fingers. Like all ergonomics, what works for one won't for another and vice versa, so it's all good out there.

 

[kirbyrj]

Could be that typing on a mechanical keyboard just isn't for you. I'm a terrible typist on a mechanical. I use mine for gaming and not much else. The rest of my computer activity is done on a chiclet-style wireless board like my Logitech K810. I type so much faster and more accurately on it than any mechanical.

That could be. They aren't the clicky model M style. IIRC, the K70 is a cherry mx red switch. Maybe I just need a different switch. Probably the best typing keyboard I used was an older Microsoft Office keyboard. I used that board for so long that moving to anything else was a shock.

 

[TechLarry]

I have a K70 and I hate it. I get random double typed letters and missed letters all the time. Sucks balls.

Thats the problem with Mechanical's with short activation strokes. I can't stand them as a touch typist.

Keyswitches like Razer Green's with longer activation strokes and a defined 'bump' at actuation are much better for daily work. They are NOT quiet though. I use a Polycom Conference Speakerphone and I constantly get complains about it LOL

 

[SamirD]

That could be. They aren't the clicky model M style. IIRC, the K70 is a cherry mx red switch. Maybe I just need a different switch. Probably the best typing keyboard I used was an older Microsoft Office keyboard. I used that board for so long that moving to anything else was a shock.

Yeah, reds and blacks are just smooth linear switches that you have no idea when to stop pressing, lol. If you try a solid tactile switch or a clicking one, I'm sure you'll have a different experience.

 

[SamirD]

Thats the problem with Mechanical's with short activation strokes. I can't stand them as a touch typist.

Keyswitches like Razer Green's with longer activation strokes and a defined 'bump' at actuation are much better for daily work. They are NOT quiet though. I use a Polycom Conference Speakerphone and I constantly get complains about it LOL

I've felt some seriously solid tactile switches that I believe would give clicky ones a run for their money (couldn't try them out), or of course there is Topre, but it's not completely silent either.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I've felt some seriously solid tactile switches that I believe would give clicky ones a run for their money (couldn't try them out), or of course there is Topre, but it's not completely silent either.

Ive found that even clicky Cherry MX switches are reasonably quiet if you put those dampening rubber o-rings in there. Most of the noise even from the clicky ones doesn't come from the switch itself, but rather from the key bottoming out.

I was surprised how quiet the blues and greens we're on my key tester when I installed the rings.

 

[TechLarry]

Yeah, reds and blacks are just smooth linear switches that you have no idea when to stop pressing, lol. If you try a solid tactile switch or a clicking one, I'm sure you'll have a different experience.

I remember those. The scroll wheel was awesome!

 

[SamirD]

Ive found that even clicky Cherry MX switches are reasonably quiet if you put those dampening rubber o-rings in there. Most of the noise even from the clicky ones doesn't come from the switch itself, but rather from the key bottoming out.

I was surprised how quiet the blues and greens we're on my key tester when I installed the rings.

I find those orings shortens the throw too much for me and dampens the crispness.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I find those orings shortens the throw too much for me and dampens the crispness.

I've never actually typed using them, only had them in a key tester. It may very well be that I feel this way too when actually typing. No idea.

A key tester seems like a good idea, but in retrospect it's pretty tough to tell what it's going to be like typing on them after using the tester.

 

[SamirD]

I found a tester is really not even close to the real thing. I've felt switches in a tester that I thought would be awesome and then were disappointing, and vice versa. And even mounted switches aren't enough until you actually type on them because that's when you actually see the actuation point on the screen. I've felt boards that I thought would be great and then the sound isn't aligned with the key on the screen and my hands and head are both confused. In typing tests I'll end up dropping 20% speed.