I need a mechanical keyboard...

[Nickster258]

Needs:

• Mechanical
  
• No drivers (easy to setup / PnP)
  
• Decent price ( $120 or less)
  
• Sturdy. CAN'T be flimsy.
  
• Needs to look robust and 'professional' ( At work there are only old dell membrane keyboards and I would like to bring my own.)
  
• It has to be backlit, however either white or blue backlight. (To fit the 'professional' terms)
  

Anything that you guys can suggest?

I am familiar with the corsair, logitech, and razor ones but I like none of those.

What do you suggest?

[Cutlassw30]

I really dislike cherry mx series of switches, they are really prone to failure. I personally use a IBM model M keyboard made by unicomp and it uses a buckling spring switch, and its much more robust.


http://pckeyboard.com/page/category/UKBD

It is not back lit but really I think you could live with out that because buckling spring is much much better than any cherry mx blue/green switch in terms of reliablity and typing pleasure.

[greatgamer34]

I love the Corsair K70 with the MX Blues, I will be getting one shortly
*Edit*
Cooler master makes a great keyboard (i forgot the name though and am to lazy to search for it).

[jxu]

How about this one?

[NL59DevilEvil]

How about this one?

Thats only for swag users.

[Cutlassw30]

I love the Corsair K70 with the MX Blues, I will be getting one shortly
*Edit*
Cooler master makes a great keyboard (i forgot the name though and am to lazy to search for it).

Cherry switches are for noobs.

Topre and buckling spring all the way

[greatgamer34]

I love the Corsair K70 with the MX Blues, I will be getting one shortly
*Edit*
Cooler master makes a great keyboard (i forgot the name though and am to lazy to search for it).

Cherry switches are for noobs.

Topre and buckling spring all the way

im not quite sure what Topre and buckling springs are.
care to explain why theyre better?

[tyler569]

Thought Nick, if you want this for work you probably don't want a mechanical keyboard.

1. Mechanicals are loud

2. Most mechanical keyboards are designed for better having performance, which makes them worse to type on. This is not a huge problem with all switches, but for example MX Reds are supposed to be great for FPSs and terrible for typing on.

Keep these things in mind.

[jxu]

Nickster, professionals don't use mechanical keyboards

Look in the office of any Fortune 100 company - everyone uses standard dell keyboards that can be replaced easily. This includes IT, programmers, writers, management, etc.

Plus, as tyler said, mechanical keyboards are very loud and unless you work separately from your coworkers it will annoy the hell out of them.

Only gamers use mechanical keyboards.

[Nickster258]

My point with the professionalism was not to be like a professional, but to have the aesthetics as one. I don't want a flashy keyboard with many lights and showy features, but a basic one. I am familiar with the standard work keyboard and yes, I hate them so much.

The main reason for the professionalism: I like mechanical switches and the feel of them, hence the reason I wanted a modest one.

Also, about the loudness factor: I know it is loud, but I have my own office. Literally my own room (cause my work is awesome).

Also... I have bought a keyboard...

[mort96]

The way I've heard it is that mechanicals are awesome for typing, but haven't really been that prominent within gaming until relatively recently.

I'm thinking of buying a mechanical keyboard myself, and after what I've read about it, cherry MX blue switches seem great for typing. Model M also seems pretty interesting.

[Nickster258]

I chose the Thermaltake Poseidon Z...

Before people kill me and all... let me explain.

Differences in kailh switches and Cherry are slim to non, not to mention it being only $70 for full backlit keyboard and a nice look to it.

[mort96]

I kind want to go to the polar opposite of full backlit keys though; namely das keyboard 4 ultimate's complete lack of key labels. In my opinion, that looks pretty slick. The issue though of course is the price; $169 ain't cheap.

[jxu]

I believe a completely blank keyboard is a ridiculous and misguided attempt at minimalism.

Anyway for gaming I recommend Cherry MX Red, easy to press

[Nickster258]

I believe a completely blank keyboard is a ridiculous and misguided attempt at minimalism.

Anyway for gaming I recommend Cherry MX Red, easy to press

I like the stealth ones, the ones with the the lettering on the front of the keys instead of the top.

[mort96]

I believe a completely blank keyboard is a ridiculous and misguided attempt at minimalism.

Anyway for gaming I recommend Cherry MX Red, easy to press

Why would one need labels on the keys though? If you know where all the keys are, you don't need them, and if you don't know where all the keys are, leaving the keys blank would be a great way to learn their position.

[jxu]

I believe a completely blank keyboard is a ridiculous and misguided attempt at minimalism.

Anyway for gaming I recommend Cherry MX Red, easy to press

Why would one need labels on the keys though? If you know where all the keys are, you don't need them, and if you don't know where all the keys are, leaving the keys blank would be a great way to learn their position.

There is absolutely no reason to get rid of them. Even if you know the keys very well, they serve as a reference. Minimalism is to remove all extraneous parts, not to get rid of functionality for no reason other than an attempt to be unique. If you want to be unique, that's fine, but it's for no purpose.

[Cutlassw30]

Ok Idk who told tyler mech keyboards are not made for typing but they ARE infact made for typing. A mech keyboard improves the joy of typing simply because the user doesn't have to bottom out the key for it to actuate. Also I dislike cherry mx switches (RED and BLACK are terrible for typing btw, blue and green are good) because they are MADE to suck in dust basicly. They are extreamly unreliable and generally break with in 2 years.

The way the cherry switch works is when you press it down it travels 2mm to when the switch clicks and actuates and 4mm to when it bottoms out. The issue is when it bottoms out dust gets sucked into the switch mechanism because of the low pressure the plunger leaves behind and the fact that the key switch is not sealed by the keycap from the outside air (Like on a buckling spring design).

Look at this animation:



The thing is practically made to suck dust. Also notice how the white plunger travels up and down on the main blue plunger (Which makes the click) Those things always get stuck and then you are left with no click (Like after spilling a drink or handling the keyboard wrong).

The buckling spring switch was designed by IBM in the mid 1980s for typewriters and the original IBM AT computer. Most industrial work places use these keyboards still to this day because they last upwords of 20 years. The buckling spring switch is a bit different from the mx switch. The spring gets pushed down until it actually buckles in the center and causes a click and a tactile feedback and strikes down on a hammer which hits a membrane pad. Also the key switch is sealed from the outside elements by the keycap itself.



Notice how its only 3 moving parts which are all sealed from the outside compared to the open plunger and 4 moving parts of the mx blue.

IBM no longer makes theses keyboards but a company called unicomp does and they are quite cheep at around 80$.
Many state and I do believe that the buckling spring is the best switch design and provides a better tactile feel compared to cherry mx blue or even green. And don't listen to that "you can't game on it bullshit" I play BF3 with it just fine.

http://pckeyboard.com/

Here is some sound clips compared to mx blues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpyQu1qj2FM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMG25ZkteXg

As a note for how durable the buckling spring switch is I will leave you with this. This keyboard is 22 years old:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ80bIUEMyQ

[Nickster258]

Ok Idk who told tyler mech keyboards are not made for typing but they ARE infact made for typing. A mech keyboard improves the joy of typing simply because the user doesn't have to bottom out the key for it to actuate. Also I dislike cherry mx switches (RED and BLACK are terrible for typing btw, blue and green are good) because they are MADE to suck in dust basicly. They are extreamly unreliable and generally break with in 2 years.

The way the cherry switch works is when you press it down it travels 2mm to when the switch clicks and actuates and 4mm to when it bottoms out. The issue is when it bottoms out dust gets sucked into the switch mechanism because of the low pressure the plunger leaves behind and the fact that the key switch is not sealed by the keycap from the outside air (Like on a buckling spring design).

Look at this animation:



The thing is practically made to suck dust. Also notice how the white plunger travels up and down on the main blue plunger (Which makes the click) Those things always get stuck and then you are left with no click (Like after spilling a drink or handling the keyboard wrong).

The buckling spring switch was designed by IBM in the mid 1980s for typewriters and the original IBM AT computer. Most industrial work places use these keyboards still to this day because they last upwords of 20 years. The buckling spring switch is a bit different from the mx switch. The spring gets pushed down until it actually buckles in the center and causes a click and a tactile feedback and strikes down on a hammer which hits a membrane pad. Also the key switch is sealed from the outside elements by the keycap itself.



Notice how its only 3 moving parts which are all sealed from the outside compared to the open plunger and 4 moving parts of the mx blue.

IBM no longer makes theses keyboards but a company called unicomp does and they are quite cheep at around 80$.
Many state and I do believe that the buckling spring is the best switch design and provides a better tactile feel compared to cherry mx blue or even green. And don't listen to that "you can't game on it bullshit" I play BF3 with it just fine.

http://pckeyboard.com/

Here is some sound clips compared to mx blues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpyQu1qj2FM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMG25ZkteXg

As a note for how durable the buckling spring switch is I will leave you with this. This keyboard is 22 years old:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ80bIUEMyQ

Thanks cutlass. While I do see the benefits for buckling spring keyswitches, I really like the 'modern' switches along with a much sleeker appearance of the keyboard than the 80s.

Also, my keyboard has a five year warranty and I am extremely happy about that.

[greatgamer34]

oh, i personally dont like the concept of buckling springs...

[Cutlassw30]

oh, i personally dont like the concept of buckling springs...

That is the great thing about science! You don't have the like the concept for it to work!

[greatgamer34]

lmfao! science FTW!