Recommend me a gaming keyboard

boogle wrote:

Dude I will buy your das for work. f*ck this dell pos.

If you really want it I will totally go ahead and order another Leopold. How's $75? I think it's got about five months of use on it.

We can even skip shipping. You can buy it from me at Penguincon next month.

Can I talk you down to 60? But penguincon works.

boogle wrote:

Can I talk you down to 60? But penguincon works.

Sure. Consider it a deal.

So, if I think I'd like an LCD, it's a G19 or a G510? Does the G19 have anything to recommend it other than the color LCD and USB 2.0 ports? Is the color screen that much better for gaming?

The 510 is half the price, and doesn't require its own power supply.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

So, if I think I'd like an LCD, it's a G19 or a G510? Does the G19 have anything to recommend it other than the color LCD and USB 2.0 ports? Is the color screen that much better for gaming?

The 510 is half the price, and doesn't require its own power supply.

What do they display on the LCD? I've never even bothered to check because it seemed unappealing. Now I'm actually curious for some reason. It would be kinda fun if it displayed CPU/GPU temps and usage stats.

You can make it do a variety of things. System temperatures and other usage info included.

That said, I eventually just stopped using mine completely. I liked it for a long time, but it wasn't actually as convenient as it seemed.

Plus the keyboard itself sort of sucks.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

What do they display on the LCD? I've never even bothered to check because it seemed unappealing. Now I'm actually curious for some reason. It would be kinda fun if it displayed CPU/GPU temps and usage stats.

When I was using a G15, I had LCDSirReal set up to do just that, plus framerate and network activity. It was pretty geeky-cool, but after a few months...

Thin_J wrote:

Plus the keyboard itself sort of sucks.

...I switched to a Razer BlackWidow because the G15's keys felt too mushy.

misplacedbravado wrote:

...I switched to a Razer BlackWidow because the G15's keys felt too mushy.

Solid a choice as any. The Blackwidow uses Cherry MX Blue switches, which are the most popular for general typing use.

My board uses MX Browns. Almost the same switch, minus the extra clicky part and a tiny bit less pressure required for a keypress.

Either way, can't say it enough... mechanical boards are so much better if you spend any amount of time at your PC at all.

I agree with thinj's hardware gospel.

It looks like Corsair's mechanical keyboards are going to be available 11/1 on Newegg. I sure like the looks of the non-mmo one, but I don't exactly need another mechanical keyboard at the moment.

Thin_J wrote:
misplacedbravado wrote:

...I switched to a Razer BlackWidow because the G15's keys felt too mushy.

Solid a choice as any. The Blackwidow uses Cherry MX Blue switches, which are the most popular for general typing use.

My board uses MX Browns. Almost the same switch, minus the extra clicky part and a tiny bit less pressure required for a keypress.

Either way, can't say it enough... mechanical boards are so much better if you spend any amount of time at your PC at all.

I disagree with this statement. I spend 8 hours a day at work and countless hours at home at a computer and, 90%+ using a mouse so the keyboard is of little consequence to me.

Thin_J wrote:
Tigerbill wrote:

I disagree with this statement. I spend 8 hours a day at work and countless hours at home at a computer and, 90%+ using a mouse so the keyboard is of little consequence to me.

Ok captain semantics, if you're one of the tiny percentage of people who sits at a computer but somehow doesn't type on it, then fine, the keyboard won't matter.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

It looks like Corsair's mechanical keyboards are going to be available 11/1 on Newegg. I sure like the looks of the non-mmo one, but I don't exactly need another mechanical keyboard at the moment.

Some people might care, some might not. The corsair boards aren't actually all mechanical. All your F-keys, and I think numpad stuff are all rubber dome. I might be wrong about the numpad. I really can't remember. The Corsair rep on HardOCP posted details.

Really? They sure all look like they would be mechanical in this photo:

IMAGE(http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/23-816-001-03.jpg)

Is that maybe the MMO keyboard?

Edit: I see you were talking about the MMO keyboard. I just really like the rubberized WASD keys on the FPS one. I wouldn't have any interest in the MMO keyboard.

Tigerbill wrote:

I disagree with this statement. I spend 8 hours a day at work and countless hours at home at a computer and, 90%+ using a mouse so the keyboard is of little consequence to me.

Ok captain semantics, if you're one of the tiny percentage of people who sits at a computer but somehow doesn't type on it, then fine, the keyboard won't matter.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

It looks like Corsair's mechanical keyboards are going to be available 11/1 on Newegg. I sure like the looks of the non-mmo one, but I don't exactly need another mechanical keyboard at the moment.

Some people might care, some might not. The corsair boards aren't actually all mechanical. All your F-keys, and I think numpad stuff are all rubber dome. I might be wrong about the numpad. I really can't remember. The Corsair rep on HardOCP posted details.

*It's their "G" keys you can put macros on. Entire top row and their macro keys are all rubber dome. Rest of the keyboard is mechanical.

Personally, I'd wait and look for one of these.
By all accounts they're boards made by the same group behind FILCO. One model available with Black, Brown, or Blue switches and another similar model with Reds.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Edit: I see you were talking about the MMO keyboard. I just really like the rubberized WASD keys on the FPS one. I wouldn't have any interest in the MMO keyboard.

The Corsair rep confirmed it for both keyboards. Remember... production samples do not generally equate to end of line consumer product. F keys are rubber dome on both boards.

If you want the rubberized keys, I'd say they will almost inevitably be available to order seperately from the Corsair website. Buy the rubberized key set and change them out with the Cherry MX keycaps on any other Cherry board.

That's gonna totally lock them out of the WordPerfect market.

Thin_J wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Edit: I see you were talking about the MMO keyboard. I just really like the rubberized WASD keys on the FPS one. I wouldn't have any interest in the MMO keyboard.

The Corsair rep confirmed it for both keyboards. Remember... production samples do not generally equate to end of line consumer product. F keys are rubber dome on both boards.

If you want the rubberized keys, I'd say they will almost inevitably be available to order seperately from the Corsair website. Buy the rubberized key set and change them out with the Cherry MX keycaps on any other Cherry board.

I have been planning on trying to order the keys separate from Corsair. I tried to find something similar online, and didn't have any luck. My current WASD keys look pretty gross from being used so much.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I have been planning on trying to order the keys separate from Corsair. I tried to find something similar online, and didn't have any luck. My current WASD keys look pretty gross from being used so much.

If you just want a new regular set WASDKeyboards.com is pretty awesome and you can choose whatever color you want and they have them either engraved or laser etched.

I still really want to try red switches at some point so I'm probably going to end up with the CM Storm with the red switches and the rubberized keyboard surface.

Thin_J wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I have been planning on trying to order the keys separate from Corsair. I tried to find something similar online, and didn't have any luck. My current WASD keys look pretty gross from being used so much.

If you just want a new regular set WASDKeyboards.com is pretty awesome and you can choose whatever color you want and they have them either engraved or laser etched.

I was able to find keycap sets, but that site you pointed to is better than what I've seen. I may have to order some from there if I can't find the rubber ones. I've thought about painting my current WASD keys with enamel model paint, but haven't got around to it, and I dunno if it would turn out too well.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

It looks like Corsair's mechanical keyboards are going to be available 11/1 on Newegg. I sure like the looks of the non-mmo one, but I don't exactly need another mechanical keyboard at the moment.

Damn, 11/1?! I put my order in for my K60 at the beginning of this month already, this wait's going to kill me.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I was able to find keycap sets, but that site you pointed to is better than what I've seen. I may have to order some from there if I can't find the rubber ones. I've thought about painting my current WASD keys with enamel model paint, but haven't got around to it, and I dunno if it would turn out too well.

There's a thread on HardOCP with a few people that have ordered from them. Their boards rival FILCO or Leopold for quality for the same price, plus they allow you to completely customize the board.

Also, people have so far been super, super impressed with their customer service.

One guy got a board with a key where part of the 6 key wasn't quite etched right. They sent him a replacement for free.

I ordered a keycap set from them myself. People took pictures of it at Penguincon

*Picture was taken by Lupus
IMAGE(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v282/Thin_J/vncibjev0bigf2qvytgoxh.jpg)

I think I want to try the LCD thing, so I believe I'll give the G510 a shot and see. I've been a slave to laptop keyboards for so long that I probably have no palate for superior key response anyway.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

I think I want to try the LCD thing, so I believe I'll give the G510 a shot and see. I've been a slave to laptop keyboards for so long that I probably have no palate for superior key response anyway.

Most laptop keyboards are mechanical

I think the god awful ASUS RoG laptop I've been using has god awful, rubbery keys.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

I think the god awful ASUS RoG laptop I've been using has god awful, rubbery keys.

Highly possible.

Like anything else, they're not all created equal, and like I said... most

That said, I'm not sure I understand complaining about godawful rubbery keys on a board you've been using and then buying another keyboard well known to have godawful rubbery keys.

According to a CoolerMaster rep that posts over on OCN the CM Storm boards should MSRP for about $79.99, putting them squarely in line with Logitech's crappy rubber dome boards.

And they give you a choice between blue, brown, black, or red switches.

I'm looking for an upgrade in terms of layout and LCD; I was able to adjust to the feel.

The bottom line is that I've been on laptop for a long time, and I want to see what the Logitech w/LCD craze is all about. If it turns out that the LCD is unimportant and the feel of the keys annoys me (though I hope to try before I buy at a B&M store), at least I'll have spent $80 on the G510 instead of $170 on the G19.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

The bottom line is that I've been on laptop for a long time, and I want to see what the Logitech w/LCD craze is all about. If it turns out that the LCD is unimportant and the feel of the keys annoys me (though I hope to try before I buy at a B&M store), at least I'll have spent $80 on the G510 instead of $170 on the G19.

I look forward to your like one week progression from "this is pretty neat!" to "I never look at this piece of sh*t and I hate the keyboard"

Yeah, I had a G15 that died fairly quickly from a failed strain relief on the cable, and I really didn't like the keys on it. It had many features on the electronic front (macros and n-key rollover), but the tactile feel was mushy. So not only did I not particularly like the keyboard itself, the unit failed much too young. For the price, the build quality was just not there.

I admit it. I'm holding out for the crazy stupid SWTOR keyboard from Razer, if it ever ships.

rabbit wrote:

I admit it. I'm holding out for the crazy stupid SWTOR keyboard from Razer, if it ever ships.

Hahaha... you can control special macro keys using the force.

I've got a G15 and a G510, and I'm sure there could be better keyboards, but I like the LCDs. I've been using Logitech keyboards for quite awhile, so maybe I'm just used to them.

I'm open to trying a mechanical again if I find a decent deal on one (used them back when that's all there was), but I doubt I'll magically be better at games with one.