Which mechanical keyboard should i buy?

I got the K70 today and I'm in love with it. I don't think I can go back to a non-mechanical keyboard again. I think I'm most surprised by the weight of the keyboard itself. It feels like I could use it as a weapon if things get too tense in the office.

Man malor you're just a ray of sunshine.

Which is it? Using both cables is bad or only one is bad? You contradict yourself in the above statement.

Both things are bad. It's designed for two cables, and you're deliberately driving the USB port past what it's officially supposed to deliver. You may get away with that, but you're dependent on ASUS having over-engineered that port well enough to take that load for a long period of time.

Designing it for two cables is also a bad idea, both because it's just inherently dumb to require two connections for something so non-essential, and also because people will do exactly what you're doing: use it with one.

I have a K70 RGB Brown Switch and drive it from a single USB 3 port. The bump is noticeable and allows me to use the keyboard without pressing the keys down all the way. They register at like 50% of a press and the keyboard is practically silent when I glide over the keys and barely press them.

If you are used to mashing a rubber dome keyboard, you will instinctively mash a mechanical switch and the bump is only pronounced with a light touch.

During the last couple weeks of daily use, I have only had to unplug and plug the keyboard back in once when a lighting profile didn't switch properly.

I have reds at home and browns at work. The bump is noticeable but small. I like the reds for gaming a bit better, but I love the browns for lots of typing. Blinky LEDs have zero appeal to me, and were something I actively avoided for work.

I agree, I have an Aivia with the brown switches, and just bought my wife the Corsair Vengeance with red switches. No bump at all on the red - continuous slide all the way down. The browns have a pronounced bump about a third of the way down, which to me is very comfortable. (I learned on old old typewriters and used the IBM PC 101 keyboard style for over a decade.) So with the browns, for gaming, you can just push the key partway down to get repeats, and for typing you still have the key resistance that lets you wail on the keyboard while being sure you actually pushed the key far enough to register.

I am so, so happy to have found mechanical keyboards again. I'll never go back.

Edit: price dropped!

My 2 month old Corsair backlit K95 is still sitting around gathering dust looking for a new home....

$100 and free shipping.... Wrist rest not included BUT I'll toss in the palm rest accessory and red keys

IMAGE(http://cwsmgmt.corsair.com/media/catalog/product/k/9/k95_11_angle.png)

IMAGE(http://corsair.com/media/catalog/product/k/7/k70_acc.png)

I decided to clean up an old Gateway 2000 keyboard from '97 that I found at work. It was so gross. It's working now, and is a fantastic upgrade from my previous work keyboard. I also cleaned up an old keyboard from a Macintosh SE/30. The SE/30 also got cleaned as in working order. That keyboard is amazing, though. I wish I could use it with a PC.

Old keyboards are great.

Oh hey, just realized that this is a way newer mechanical keyboard thread than the first one I found, so I'm gonna re-post in here!

I had no interest in a mechanical keyboard. Then I was passing through Best Buy and ran across the Logitech G910. Now I think I kinda want one. I definitely don't want to pay the $180 retail, but maybe I can start keeping an eye out for sales. Any impressions of this thing? And yeah, before you ask, the super customizeable backlight colors are kind of a draw for me. I could definitely see lighting up just the keys that are used in a particular game as being a neat thing to have.

Sound is an issue. I don't have an experience typing on a mechanical, so I don't have any preferences yet, but I know that a loud keyboard will make my wife very unhappy. If the Logitech is kinda crappy, do other keyboards let you do fancy single-key lighting color scheme things?

Well, if you want a high quality, quiet keyboard, look into Topre switches. They're basically the best quality rubber domes that exist; their domes have individual springs underneath each one, and the actual switch mechanism is capacitive; the non-contact mechanism means the keys show very little wear, over time. Once the rubber breaks in, which takes about a month, they become exceedingly comfortable, and they're very quiet. Amazon has the Topre Type Heaven for $150; that's the least expensive model that has them, AFAIK. (normally Topre boards are $250ish). These keyboards are exceptionally comfortable for really long typing sessions, because the springs do a great job of cushioning your strikes and returning energy to your fingers. It's subtle, but you really start to notice it, after awhile. The bottom of the stroke is, well, just a little springy, as opposed to being a sudden stop, like with nearly all mechanicals.

The big problem with that style of keyboard, from your perspective: very limited backlighting options. The keyboard has a solid sheet of rubber underneath it, which makes it quite resistant to spills and keyboard crud, but it's real hard to get either electricity or light through rubber.

If the reason you're buying is for the lighting, as opposed to comfort or quality, I think that Logitech board may be the only one doing what interests you. Other manufacturers are doing some things with lights (like Ducky, with their Shine series, and Corsair's K95), but what you're describing sounds much more advanced.

Typically, Logitech stuff is pretty durable; I wouldn't worry too much about the new key mechanisms they're using. They'll probably last pretty well, so as long as you like how they feel, they should be an okay purchase.

The part that's actually getting the most hate from people on the G910 (other than its general aesthetics) is the keycaps. They have these silly angled slopes on them that people seem to be finding very uncomfortable.

And since the switch stems are completely new and no other boards are available with those switches you can't just replace the keycaps like you could with a Cherry MX board.

I'll throw the 710 from Logitech out as something to look at. It's single color backlit, and is two zoned as well. It's fairly quiet, and I've seen it for under $100 on Amazon recently.

No one wants the corsair keyboard I have for $100? Seriously? What's wrong with you guys?

I dunno, JC; if I didn't already have a K70, I'd buy it!

Thin_J wrote:

The part that's actually getting the most hate from people on the G910 (other than its general aesthetics) is the keycaps. They have these silly angled slopes on them that people seem to be finding very uncomfortable.

And since the switch stems are completely new and no other boards are available with those switches you can't just replace the keycaps like you could with a Cherry MX board.

I'll report back on that since I got one for Xmas. Personally I like the looks.
IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/J8kcZgo.jpg)

JC wrote:

No one wants the corsair keyboard I have for $100? Seriously? What's wrong with you guys?

Did Corsair move away from mixing rubber domes with mechanicals on those? I had one, and we kind of disappointed by that.

The K70 I'm using is 100% Cherry Reds, and I believe his K95 is, also.

Yeah it's all cherry red mechanical switches.

JC wrote:

No one wants the corsair keyboard I have for $100? Seriously? What's wrong with you guys?

I'd grab it but the whole holiday thing has basically erased the budget. I've been looking for another Cherry red so I can take this one to work.

Chaz wrote:

Oh hey, just realized that this is a way newer mechanical keyboard thread than the first one I found, so I'm gonna re-post in here!

The K65, K70, and K95 have per-key lighting with the RGB editions. They also come in different switch types (Cherry Red, Brown, Blue) and you can install O-rings under the switches if they're too loud, but I find the K70 Browns silent enough for me. When you get used to using a mechanical board you stop pressing the keys all the way down and the noise vanishes almost entirely.

They keys activate without touching the base board, with a feedback switch like a brown or blue you learn where that is and where to stop. I think the Logitech advantage over the corsair is the app integration. Otherwise every key on the Corsair boards is a macro key and they have exclusive use on the Cherry switches for now.

K65 is $150 (Best Buy Only)
K70 is $170 (Corsair Website only in-stock)

A logitech rep posts at mechanical keyboard reddit and they said the logitech keys are more responsive because they have a fraction less travel distance. But we're talking really minor. The mechanical keyboard reddit is a good place to read some reviews from folks that have collections of mechanical boards.

Malor wrote:

The K70 I'm using is 100% Cherry Reds, and I believe his K95 is, also.

The one I had was Cherry MX reds, but not for 100% of the keys. It was a great keyboard and very well constructed though.

I just joined the mechanical movement thanks to my wife's gift of a Razer Black Widow Ultimate. All I can say is the hype was true - this really is something special. I love the sound and feel of this sucker!

Ordered some rainbow key caps for swag.

boogle wrote:

Ordered some rainbow key caps for swag.

YOLO

boogle wrote:

Ordered some rainbow key caps for swag.

What trade show will you be giving them away at?

Sir.

Ordered the CODE Keyboard, tenkeyless with the MX Clears, to be my new work keyboard.

One of the really nice bits about that keyboard: you can use it in PS2 mode. No hijacking it over USB when it's on the PS2 port.

I've been contemplating one of those, mostly because I want to try clear switches. Browns with a little more resistance sounds pretty appealing.

groan wrote:

I'll report back on that since I got one for Xmas.

I keep coming back here looking for more firsthand impressions of those new switches, and to see if you hate the keycaps as much as some seem to. Updates! I needs'em!

Hah, just found this thread and was all excited! As I skimmed through the posts, all I could think of was:

"You kids with your newfangled so-called mechanical keyboards with the lightemups and the doodads. Back in MY day, our keyboards were simple, white Model Ms that weighed two billion pounds, and we were grateful for 'em!"

I still have three Model M's. Kinda four with the Mac version I bought from Unicomp.

Kids these days...;)