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Lez talk mechanical keyboards

DeckLegend105_Red7a.jpg
worth every penny
 

Azulsky

Member
Broke down and got a CODE Tenkeyless with Clears.

Not totally used to the feel with the added actuation force but so far an awesome keyboard.

RIP Leopold Tenkeyless.
 

Goody

Member
Anyone have any experience with Rapoo products? I'm tempted by the V500 as it comes in a color way which matches my monitor and keyboard (white with light blue trim) but don't want to spend 70 bucks on a dud. They use Kailh yellow switches (I think?) which may be a sore point for some but I'm not too versed here.
 

Water

Member
Broke down and got a CODE Tenkeyless with Clears.

Not totally used to the feel with the added actuation force but so far an awesome keyboard.

They still don't make layout swap keysets for that keyboard. >:-[
I'd buy it instantly if I could have it look like a Colemak board in addition to being one.
Might still end up caving eventually if they don't produce such a keyset, but it's almost a matter of principle at this point.
(It's less than 15 keycaps you have to manufacture guys, get to it!)
 

finalflame

Member
Broke down and got a CODE Tenkeyless with Clears.

Not totally used to the feel with the added actuation force but so far an awesome keyboard.

RIP Leopold Tenkeyless.

Amazing keyboard. It's what I use every day at work, and it's fantastic. Coming home to either of my keyboards (Red/Blues) feels criminal.

You'll get used to it. It took me about a week or two, now it's heaven.
 

420bits

Member
Just finished packing up and plugging in the Ducky Shine 4 (year of the horse) and it is really sweet, sturdy and all that jazz that i came to expect form it.

Feels weird with the brown switches compared to my old blue ones. But they drove my GF insane and I had some LEDs die on the Qpad board so it was time to try something new, it is possible to type quiet on this one and they do feel really great so i'm pretty sure i will be satisfied with it for a foreseeable future.

10/10 would recommend.

Update: Just wanted to say that after a few months I'm still 100% satisfied with the Shine 4 and brown switches. I would get one for work as well if it wasn't for the fact that i need a smartcard terminal in it -.-
 

Jzero

Member
Bought the K70 with Blue switches. Feels premium as fuck but the keys don't feel as radically different as people described them (probably because I have heavy fingers). Still, I like the clicking sounds.
 
I have had a noppoo choc mini with browns for about 4 years and really like it. The only downside for me is that it has a US layout (I live in uk), but I soon got used to it. I imported a few of them directly from China.
 

Dave_6

Member
Bought the K70 with Blue switches. Feels premium as fuck but the keys don't feel as radically different as people described them (probably because I have heavy fingers). Still, I like the clicking sounds.

I bought the K65 RGB last Friday and it's my first mechanical KB. I love it! The reds feel great and I love the click they have. The software is a PITA but watching a couple YT vids really helped me out.
 
Just wanted to give you guys an update. I ended up picking up the K65 RGB off the shelf because I couldn't take my old wireless BT keyboard's lag and lack of consistency anymore.

It has cherry red switches in it and honestly...i think I love it. I'm a very light typer and I barely bottom out the keys. as such, it's still an extremely quiet keyboard for me. I still might order a cherry brown keyboard before I officially commit to a cheery red, but it's really good right now. I'm very impressed. I might pick up some of those key quieting doughnut things.

Also, this RGB keyboard is fucking beautiful. I downloaded some pre-made color lighting patterns and am sort of floored. I have Pac-Man running across my keyboard being chased by a ghost. WUT. I am amazed. I'm not sure if it's worth the $40 premium and I worry about replacing keys...but my goodness is it pretty.

Dave_6, I see we have the same keyboard. If you need the link to these color pattern profiles, let me know.
 

Dave_6

Member
Just wanted to give you guys an update. I ended up picking up the K65 RGB off the shelf because I couldn't take my old wireless BT keyboard's lag and lack of consistency anymore.

It has cherry red switches in it and honestly...i think I love it. I'm a very light typer and I barely bottom out the keys. as such, it's still an extremely quiet keyboard for me. I still might order a cherry brown keyboard before I officially commit to a cheery red, but it's really good right now. I'm very impressed. I might pick up some of those key quieting doughnut things.

Also, this RGB keyboard is fucking beautiful. I downloaded some pre-made color lighting patterns and am sort of floored. I have Pac-Man running across my keyboard being chased by a ghost. WUT. I am amazed. I'm not sure if it's worth the $40 premium and I worry about replacing keys...but my goodness is it pretty.

Dave_6, I see we have the same keyboard. If you need the link to these color pattern profiles, let me know.

Yeah if you have a link to some that would be awesome. I currently have mine set to blue when it's just sitting there but every key push sends out a rainbow pattern.
 

mstevens

Member
My das pro brown switch keyboard just arrived in the mail. First time having a mechanical keyboard (it was recommended to me by a friend). It is really nice so far!
 
I just got MX Cherry reds. They're pretty good. It would have been too loud to get blues.

I actually would prefer Logitech's new switches that are super quiet and feel pretty good, but they're on a shit keyboard with custom key caps that are terrible.
 
Some pics of the Ducky Mini (2014) I picked up recently ^_^


Build quality is top notch and it feels very solid. I do wish there was some kind of customization software included though.

It's a 2014 model with red switches and dual colour LEDs. This is also my first mechanical keyboard.
 

nakedeyes

Banned
Was on here a few months back talking/asking about getting a Topre Realforce 87U. Well, I got it! I love soo much using it everyday at work. I just received my 2nd one for home!

Love the charchol black PBT keys. Got the Silent "S" version at work, but got the uniform 45gram "EK" version for my house ( was on special over the holidays ).

Good times! Can't recommend it enough. Still wondering if I should have gotten a Novatouch though, just so I could get some more crazy colors on my keys :)
 
Is Das Keyboard still considered one of the best? What's the best switches for overall use of gaming and typing? Cherry reds? I was trying to read up on the switches but I'm still not entirely sure I understand how they feel vs. one another.
 

pmj

Member
I was just going to make a post about my Das Keyboard, but I don't know much about the differences between blue and red.

I went for blue and typing feels great, very responsive and clicky. I can definitely type faster on it than I could on my old keyboard. Well, I can when I get started. I put my hands down wrong, often with my left pinky on the caps lock key, and start typing garbage with alarming frequency. Sometimes I also strike the wrong key randomly while typing. This is probably because I'm so used to MS Natural Keyboards, having used one of those for something like 15 years. Adapting to a regular keyboard with the keys all squeezed together in straight lines is tough.

I've done a little bit of gaming on it and it works fine. I have no complaints. Reds are supposed to be quicker though.

I also went for a Das because it was the only keyboard I could find that wasn't a hideous monstrosity for 1337 gamerz, and because they touted full Linux compatibility. I doubt it's actually any better built than other keyboards.
 

sca2511

Member
Picked up the Poker II w/ reds on Massdrop, can't wait! My first mechanical. I'm going to be using it mainly with my Surface Pro 2.
 

Tekniqs

Member
love me some blues. I tried the logitech 710 with browns and didn't quite like it. ended up buying the corsair k70 with blue switches. CLICKITY CLACK
 

pmj

Member
Spent some time thinking about Das and gaming. The Das is the only mechanical keyboard I've used so there'll be a bit of guesswork in what I'm going to write.

One thing many keyboards targeted toward gamers have is the option to disable the Windows/Super keys to prevent accidental visits to the desktop while playing games. Das doesn't have that.

It is very barebones. You get the keyboard and a bar which can be fastened underneath the keyboard to raise it in the back, and that's it. No wrist rest included. You can't raise the keyboard in the front to angle it down away from you. I don't find it a problem, but it might be for you. No Christmas light show or programmable keys either. It's a keyboard and nothing else.

The media keys are not mechanical and a bit crappy. It's hard to press the right one without looking down at the keyboard. There's also a sleep key, unfortunately placed right above the "previous" media key. It doesn't do anything in Linux, but I suppose in Windows it will probably work the way it seems like it should work unless you tweak the keyboard shortcut keys. I assume Windows lets you do that? Accidentally sending the computer to sleep while playing a game when all you wanted to do was to change the song playing seems like a very real possibility. The volume control on the other hand is great.

The LEDs indicating stuff like caps lock are blindingly bright if you lean forward and look straight into them. How often do you look straight into them? Well, they're located right above the media keys, so for me, it's a frequent enough thing that I'm planning on opening the keyboard to try to block off a bit of light.

I think that the Das is probably a solid choice if you put value in a keyboard being nothing but a keyboard. If you play a lot of games, and don't mind the whole gamer aesthetic with lights, sharp angles and aggressive logos, you might be better served by one of the gamer keyboards that are so popular here.
 
Some pics of the Ducky Mini (2014) I picked up recently ^_^



Build quality is top notch and it feels very solid. I do wish there was some kind of customization software included though.

It's a 2014 model with red switches and dual colour LEDs. This is also my first mechanical keyboard.

That actually looks beautiful, and I'm in the market for a new mechanical keyboard (I can't Reds haha).

One question though, as far as I can tell this is true, but for the buttons that ARE there, are they all the right size/right position? I'd love to slim off some space if I can, but I HATE when keyboards have totally spiffed up layouts just to save some space. I can deal with FN keys though.

Also, is it possible to get it in JPN layout?
 

Nelo Ice

Banned
So what would be a good keyboard for coding and gaming? I don't really game much anymore but would like to have the option just in case. And atm I am teaching myself how to code so I figure I should get myself an appropriate keyboard.

Not to mention I just noticed one of my CC rewards for signing up was getting $200 cash back if I spend 1k in 3 months on it. So figured hey it's tax season and I need an excuse to hit that limit lol. Of course not looking to get anything too expensive since I'm still on a budget after all.
 

Pandemic

Member
I know nothing about keyboards, particularly mechanical keyboards.

I game a fair bit and currently using a normal Logitech keyboard, nothing special about it.

I thought I'd buy a $100-150 keyboard.

Any suggestions?

The Razer BlackWidow Chroma looks pretty sick.
 

mkenyon

Banned
I'd suggest getting something like this sampler so you can see which type of switch you like the most. Or just go to a store that has a bunch of display models and play with them. Frys has a ton if you have one near you.
Is there a logitech keyboard that's more liked than the G710+? I'm kind of leaning towards that with the macros and backlight.
Why Logi only?
 
I love the Corsair K70 for gaming. The Cherry MX Reds are great without sounds too loud, although it was my first mechanical keyboard since switching over from rubber domed keyboards. The non standard layout is pain though, I'd love to buy custom key caps for it but they seem to be a lot less common in this size.
 

Ark

Member
Some pics of the Ducky Mini (2014) I picked up recently ^_^



Build quality is top notch and it feels very solid. I do wish there was some kind of customization software included though.

It's a 2014 model with red switches and dual colour LEDs. This is also my first mechanical keyboard.

EDIT: I answered my own question and I've just ordered a Ducky Mini with Cherry Red's. Hopefully I'll have it by the end of the week.
 

Dave_6

Member
What's funny is at first I was using a variety of different profiles downloaded through the forum.

What I've settled on is straight white backlighting. So much for RGB :p

Mine stays blue until I hit a key then it's a rainbow, lol. I downloaded some other profiles but haven't bothered messing with it.
 

Ryne

Member
Finding that K70 at a reasonable price is tough here in Canada. It's on my wishlist though.

It was suggested as a good keyboard to be my first mechanical, but there sure is a premium on it.
 
GAF I'm building a PC and looking for a solid, yet inexpensive (probably no more than $100) mechanical keyboard. Lights are not necessary, but I don't care if it does have it.

Can anyone help please?
 
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