Which mechanical keyboard should i buy?

I love the Browns. There's still some noise if you press the key hard enough that it bottoms out though. If you want truly silent then you should install those O-rings under the keys.

complexmath wrote:

I love the Browns. There's still some noise if you press the key hard enough that it bottoms out though. If you want truly silent then you should install those O-rings under the keys.

The Logitech has them (or something similar).

Ok, so I have heard about these o-rings before, but don't quite understand. Do they prevent the keys from hitting bottom while typing? This being my first mechanical since the old IBM days, it feels like the majority of the noise is coming from the keys hitting bottom, not the click of the blues. I guess my question is twofold: 1) would the o-rings deaden the noise of the key and 2) would they take away from the feel of the keyboard? Thanks.

1) yes 2) possibly. Here's a link that explains it.

Thanks!

Pro tip: get them for way cheaper by buying identical generic O-rings.

Oh also, a lot of the noise from IBM keyboards was a "click" generated by the mechanism within the key. Some Cherry MX keys replicate this and others don't. My favorite are the Browns, which have a tactile but no audible click.

I put O-rings on my keyboard with Browns, as I always bottomed them out. It changes the feel (of course, since the end of your keystroke is no longer a firm CLACK of the keycap against the bottom), but I think it is preferable to the bottoming out.

However, I like stiffer switches even better. My work keyboard with Clear switches is my favorite keyboard of all time. Every keyboard I get from now on will have Clears, period. It's nice that Clears seem to be a lot easier to find than they used to be. When I got my CODE keyboard, it was about the only Clear switched keyboard I could find. EliteKeyboards now has a two keyboards with Clears in the tenkeyless section alone.

*Legion* wrote:

However, I like stiffer switches even better. My work keyboard with Clear switches is my favorite keyboard of all time. Every keyboard I get from now on will have Clears, period.

I have clears on my home keyboard and blues on my work keyboard. I'm not entirely clear which I prefer. The stiffness of clears mean that I seldom bottom them out but the click/tactile feeback of the blues also stops me from bottoming them out.

I like the clicky-clicky sound at work although it would drive me nuts at home.

Cathadan wrote:

Pro tip: get them for way cheaper by buying identical generic O-rings.

Thanks for that. I had looked at the WASD rings on Amazon and found a generic version that had 150 for 7.25. Ordered, will be here tomorrow.

complexmath wrote:

I love the Browns.

Man I saw this out the corner of my eye and was about to have a nice laugh, then I double-checked what thread I was in.

Abu5217 wrote:

Yeah, I am really torn. The keyboard itself is very good so far. Satifyingly clicky, solid, etc. I honestly don't know how much I really would have used the lighting features (the board does have setting to light only WASD, 1-6 and the arrows) but I feel that it's a bit lame.

FYI, I know you sent it back but you can change the keys it lights by holding down the light switch until it starts blinking then toggling the keys you want. For example I added the enter keys into the mix.

EvilDead wrote:

Any tips on quieting the spacebar stabilizer rattle? It occurs on key release and dampeners aren't doing anything. I thought the Cherry Red K70 might be quieter but the spacebar is even louder than the Logitech 710 browns. All the single length keys sound fine and are slightly quieter than browns.

Nobody else is bothered by this? My googling isn't helping much but someone did suggest trying to stuff some cotton under the mechanism.

MannishBoy wrote:
complexmath wrote:

I love the Browns. There's still some noise if you press the key hard enough that it bottoms out though. If you want truly silent then you should install those O-rings under the keys.

The Logitech has them (or something similar).

Yes, the 710+ comes with them pre-installed.

EvilDead wrote:

FYI, I know you sent it back but you can change the keys it lights by holding down the light switch until it starts blinking then toggling the keys you want. For example I added the enter keys into the mix.

Actually, I haven't yet sent it back. I ordered some o-rings to see if the noise is reduced enough to satisfy the better half. Thanks for the tip on the lighting, I think that would do enough to make it worthwhile.

O-rings helped a bit on the cherry reds for noise and feel. Only my space bar really bothers me now.

Edit: The key you press is the one with the LED ring around it. It will start blinking after holding it for a few seconds.

IMAGE(http://www.corsair.com/~/media/Corsair/Product%20Photos/keyboards/k70/k70-black/large/K70_06_K_US.png)

Awesome, thanks. I should be in the throes of o-ring attaching this evening... fun times!

I would say that I found that o-rings on both my cherry clears and cherry blues made next to no difference. Perhaps I type with clumsy elephant fingers

I'm a total novice when it comes to buying mechanical keyboards, but I do want something flashy. I want some advice. The Corsair K70 RGB Mechanical Keyboard Gen 2 is on sale for £116 on Amazon UK, and I'm tempted. Is there a better keyboard I could get for less (or even slightly more)?

I had an older model Corsair that I liked pretty well, although I've gone back to Logitech and am currently using a g710+. Their RGB boards are pretty nice too though.

I finally got around to buying one of these things, went with the Logitech 810. I'd forgotten what typing should feel like. Wow.

Clusks wrote:

I'm a total novice when it comes to buying mechanical keyboards, but I do want something flashy. I want some advice. The Corsair K70 RGB Mechanical Keyboard Gen 2 is on sale for £116 on Amazon UK, and I'm tempted. Is there a better keyboard I could get for less (or even slightly more)?

I recently purchased a Corsair K70 (not RGB) with Blue switches, and I love it. Fair warning, I did have to buy a set of rubber o-rings (about $8 US) for the keys, as they were a bit too loud when bottoming out, but other than that it's a great keyboard.

Clusks wrote:

I'm a total novice when it comes to buying mechanical keyboards, but I do want something flashy.

OK just checking to be sure... you specifically want a flashy keyboard? When I bough mine I had a really hard time because I was specifically looking for something non-flashy. For most easily available mechanical keyboards, flashy is the norm.

The Logitech does look appealing from what I've seen, I may consider that one too, how is that one on noise? If it would save messing on with the rubber rings then that'd put it ahead.

Yes, flashy is the way forward, I'm a sucker for that sort of thing

The new logitech switches are at least as quiet as MX Browns, which are some of the quieter switches out there.

Clusks wrote:

Yes, flashy is the way forward, I'm a sucker for that sort of thing ;)

Ducky Shine 5 flashy?

That's got MX Blues though, and they are loud as hell.

AnimeJ wrote:

That's got MX Blues though, and they are loud as hell.

The one linked is blues, but pretty much all the MX Switches are available. (brown here)

I picked up a Logitech G910 to replace my 2013 Black Widow Ultimate. The difference in clickety-clackity is HUGE. I don't feel like I'm disturbing the entire house when I type a post after 10:00 PM.

Hello friends,

It's time for a new keyboard and I'd like try out mechanical. I'd like to stay under $100 but could go above for a compelling reason, and I do need the much-maligned number pad. Some kind of backlighting is preferable, and I'd really like just plug and play with no software. The less bezel and desk real estate, the better. (I realize this is at odds with my 10-key, leave me alone.)

Based on my totally superficial research, this Aukey is at the top, this Azio, blue or brown I don't know, and maybe this Corsair? They're supposed to be good, right? This is a bit above $100 but that gets me RGB lights instead of the terrible red that's $40 cheaper.

Any recommendations would be most welcome.

I just bought this Corsair Strafe last month. Cherry brown. I had some gift card money so got it for less than $50.

Nice red backlit keys if you need it, with a toggle button for off, dim, medium, and bright. And number pad, yes.

Only had it 3 weeks, but loving every minute of it. Wish I could work from home.