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Lez talk mechanical keyboards

Anony said:
that, imo, is NOT a good keyboard mainly due to the fact that the surface is glossy
who the hell thought that was a good idea
also, rather get usb 3.0
Click to expand...

mm yeah i'm not personally aware of any other mech keyboards with usb 3.0 hubs.

Might want to keep an eye on mass drop, you have to create an account. Currently there is a vote for a wireless mechanical keyboard

But anyone looking for a mechanical keyboard should keep an eye on massdrop, especially if you live in the North America region.
 
Blitzhex said:
I bought one of these off Massdrop, Varmilo VB87M Bluetooth /w gateron browns. Hope the bluetooth doesn't randomly cut out or repeat keys Anyone have any suggestions on high quality bluetooth dongles?
Love the mint caps and the case (as thin as a k70/95). Reviews say the case is very heavy and sturdy as well, which is a huge plus.

HTB1G9CjGXXXXXb8apXXq6xXFXXXx.jpg
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I was mildly interested in this one, but there seem to be a few issues with it (light always on for Insert, unknown battery life?, Cherry MX clones left). Otherwise, it would have been really nice.
 
Hmmm recommendations for a good typing keyboard, the DAS 4 looked great, but you guys have had some not so great things to say about it. And it is damn expensive, the fancy extra features it has aren't really too important to me.
Want something with blues or browns as an option, preferably from Amazon or Newegg.
Prefer tenkeyless, but fullsize is fine too if it opens up much better options.

Thanks in advance!
 
hateradio said:
I was mildly interested in this one, but there seem to be a few issues with it (light always on for Insert, unknown battery life?, Cherry MX clones left). Otherwise, it would have been really nice.
Click to expand...

Battery should last around 600 hours (depending on your led brightness) because it uses the new low power 4.0 bluetooth or something, but you don't know how many years the battery will last, so I have my fingers crossed for that.
I don't know how the insert light works, but people are reporting the insert light can be completely turned off normally and turns itself on during idle and turns back off after 5 mins of idling, or something.
All the reviews and impressions (geekhack, youtube, massdrop etc) I've seen about gateron switches suggest they are smoother than cherry mx switches. They're supposed to feel like lubed or vintage cherry mx switches. I've got couple year old cherry mx black switches atm and it's disappointing how scratchy they feel, as if they're rubbing down the wall of the housing. The increased smoothness of the gaterons sounds very promising.
 
Deleteeeeee said:
I could get a DAS 4 pro delivered for that kind of money which has superior build quality to the code keyboard.
Click to expand...

As someone who has both the CODE and a Das 4 Ultimate, I don't really agree with this statement. The Das does have the anodized aluminum finish at the top which looks quite nice, but it also lacks the detachable USB cable and cable routing, and I find the detachable ruler feet to be dumb and actually inferior, even aside from the "7h3 f00b4r rul35" they put on the packaging. The CODE is very well built in its own right and has a smaller footprint, with my only quibble being in the slight bit of flex on the plastic near the space bar.

In terms of features, the Das has the USB hub and the volume control wheel, whereas the CODE has programmable DIP switches (making use on OS X a and by far the most attractive backlight of any keyboard (this is obviously subjective), and a better selection of available switches (notably MX Clears, my preferred switch for everything except gaming, where I still prefer Browns).

Given the choice between the two, I would always pick the CODE, which is why I use it as my primary home workstation keyboard, whereas the Das is my work keyboard (though I had the keycaps replaced with a set of Vortex PBT front-labeled ones because other people who occasionally use my desk didn't quite appreciate all blank keys).
 
gokieks said:
As someone who has both the CODE and a Das 4 Ultimate, I don't really agree with this statement. The Das does have the anodized aluminum finish at the top which looks quite nice, but it also lacks the detachable USB cable and cable routing, and I find the detachable ruler feet to be dumb and actually inferior, even aside from the "7h3 f00b4r rul35" they put on the packaging. The CODE is very well built in its own right and has a smaller footprint, with my only quibble being in the slight bit of flex on the plastic near the space bar.

In terms of features, the Das has the USB hub and the volume control wheel, whereas the CODE has programmable DIP switches (making use on OS X a and by far the most attractive backlight of any keyboard (this is obviously subjective), and a better selection of available switches (notably MX Clears, my preferred switch for everything except gaming, where I still prefer Browns).

Given the choice between the two, I would always pick the CODE, which is why I use it as my primary home workstation keyboard, whereas the Das is my work keyboard (though I had the keycaps replaced with a set of Vortex PBT front-labeled ones because other people who occasionally use my desk didn't quite appreciate all blank keys).
Click to expand...

yeah my impressions were only from reviews and forums, since the das has an aluminium front plate one reviewer said it has much less flex than the CODE. I have also been reading about the 'pinging' issue with CODE keyboard. These two things gave me the impression of it having lower build quality than the DAS. Did you have any experience with the 'ping' issue on your CODE board?

Thanks for your impressions of the two boards!
 
Can anyone recommend a good keyboard that is Quiet or at least much quieter than my current keyboard?

I currently have a noppo choco mini with Cherry Mx reds and the clicking noise drives my girlfriends absolutely insane. I need a solution asap.
 
Bleeether said:
Can anyone recommend a good keyboard that is Quiet or at least much quieter than my current keyboard?

I currently have a noppo choco mini with Cherry Mx reds and the clicking noise drives my girlfriends absolutely insane. I need a solution asap.
Click to expand...

Have you considered adding o-rings to your board?
 
MX Red aren't clicky but the sound is clearly high if you systematically bottom-out.

O-rings might reduce that noise but trying not to bottom-out is the best solution on the long term.
 
Bleeether said:
Haven't heard about this, i'll have to look into that option.

A quieter keyboard would be ideal though.
Click to expand...

the real quiet 'mechanical keyboards' are by Matias ,to a lesser extent topre and keyboards that use cream ALPS switches (rare). These things are pricey and will feel nothing like red cherry switches.

Other users here would have more knowledge about this, but the biggest source of noise you would be getting from your red switch keyboard would be when you are bottoming out the keys, that is when you are pressing all the way down, until the plastic of the key touches the switch itself. After that there is the noise of the key springing back up and there is little you can do about this noise honestly.

The truth is that other mechanical keyboards using similar switches are going to have an overall similar level of volume. It even makes recommending a similar but perhaps slightly quieter keyboard very difficult imo.
 
Looking to replace my current keyboard with a new one. It's not broken like in unusable, but the key "1" sometimes doesn't register me pressing it. This also happens to "O" and sometimes even "W".

Cleaned it multiple times meaning without any form of dust, or any other filth stuck underneath the keys, it doesn't seem to help.

This keyboard is a Razer Blackwidow Ultimate from 2012 (when they still used blue LEDs),with blue MX switches, which my team and I won during a small promod tournament in that same year.
before this one I had a Steelseries 7G, which had black switches if I remember it right. First mech keyboard I bought, and never had issues with it.

LEDs are not a major for me, as much as I like them, however I have my eyes focused on a Ducky right now. A shine 4 being the newest model(s) while the Shine 5 seems to come out very soon.

Also looked at WASD Keyboards, but the extra shipping costs are not going to cut it for me.

Not very "experienced" with mechanical keyboards (yet), so I wouldn't really know the major difference between all of the switches.
Maybe it helps that I play a lot of piano, and I love some weight on my keys (force required to press properly).
 
New user of mechanical keyboard here, and I think I am having some issues.

I received my Corsair K70 Vengeance, with Cherry Blue switches, and after two weeks of use, it seems like the switches are starting to get different touchs and clicks. Some keys are softer and doesn't make that much noise at clicking compared to others, while other keys became harder to press. I removed the caps to check if something was stuck but seems like problems in the switches.

Is this a reason to return it? Or it is normal? Thanks.
 
Paasei said:
Looking to replace my current keyboard with a new one. It's not broken like in unusable, but the key "1" sometimes doesn't register me pressing it. This also happens to "O" and sometimes even "W".

Cleaned it multiple times meaning without any form of dust, or any other filth stuck underneath the keys, it doesn't seem to help.

This keyboard is a Razer Blackwidow Ultimate from 2012 (when they still used blue LEDs),with blue MX switches, which my team and I won during a small promod tournament in that same year.
before this one I had a Steelseries 7G, which had black switches if I remember it right. First mech keyboard I bought, and never had issues with it.

LEDs are not a major for me, as much as I like them, however I have my eyes focused on a Ducky right now. A shine 4 being the newest model(s) while the Shine 5 seems to come out very soon.

Also looked at WASD Keyboards, but the extra shipping costs are not going to cut it for me.

Not very "experienced" with mechanical keyboards (yet), so I wouldn't really know the major difference between all of the switches.
Maybe it helps that I play a lot of piano, and I love some weight on my keys (force required to press properly).
Click to expand...

Of the two keyboards you have tried which do you prefer? The razer has a set of macro keys, but as you are already looking at the ducky shine and WASD board I guess this is not a concern for you.

I do not have personal experience with the ducky shine but it is generally considered a solid choice of keyboard.

If you want extra weight behind every key press then you might want to consider green or clear cherry switches. Greens are clicky like blues but require about 60% more actuation force, clears are similar to green but do not retain the 'clickiness' of blue or green switches.
 
Cutreman said:
New user of mechanical keyboard here, and I think I am having some issues.

I received my Corsair K70 Vengeance, with Cherry Blue switches, and after two weeks of use, it seems like the switches are starting to get different touchs and clicks. Some keys are softer and doesn't make that much noise at clicking compared to others, while other keys became harder to press. I removed the caps to check if something was stuck but seems like problems in the switches.

Is this a reason to return it? Or it is normal? Thanks.
Click to expand...

I would probably return it and try and get a replacement.
 
Deleteeeeee said:
Of the two keyboards you have tried which do you prefer? The razer has a set of macro keys, but as you are already looking at the ducky shine and WASD board I guess this is not a concern for you.

I do not have personal experience with the ducky shine but it is generally considered a solid choice of keyboard.

If you want extra weight behind every key press then you might want to consider green or clear cherry switches. Greens are clicky like blues but require about 60% more actuation force, clears are similar to green but do not retain the 'clickiness' of blue or green switches.
Click to expand...

I do not use those macro keys, so I couldn't care less about not having them.
To further answer what keyboard I liked more, I can say I liked the Steelseries more, as I simply never had any problems with it.

As there is only one store where you can actually physically see/try mechanical keyboards in my environment it does turn out that I prefer blue switches over black and brown. So it might be a good idea to stick with blue, or just try green as it's apparently a lot like blue.
 
It would probably be pretty hard to find a green switch you can try for free. Might have to get a key sampler if you want to get a feel for green switches.
 
mNf3cpO.jpg
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Replaced my MX Blue Blackwidow Ultimate with a MX Brown Shine 3. Definitely not (completely) motivated by the recent Razer malfunction at Evo2015 tournament finals. I was getting locked up key presses when I'm pressing all sorts of weird directions in games like CSGO, Ys Origin, or other action/platformers. "Extreme anti-ghosting" my ass. Losing a boss fight because suddenly my character won't stop running to the right really sucked.

There's so many gimmicky LED modes on keyboards nowadays. It's odd not making such loud clicks now. Browns still audible but definitely toned down. Not sure about the decision to go tenkeyless. I might miss the Enter button that was over there.
 
Saprol said:
Replaced my MX Blue Blackwidow Ultimate with a MX Brown Shine 3. Definitely not (completely) motivated by the recent Razer malfunction at Evo2015 tournament finals. I was getting locked up key presses when I'm pressing all sorts of weird directions in games like CSGO, Ys Origin, or other action/platformers. "Extreme anti-ghosting" my ass. Losing a boss fight because suddenly my character won't stop running to the right really sucked.

There's so many gimmicky LED modes on keyboards nowadays. It's odd not making such loud clicks now. Browns still audible but definitely toned down. Not sure about the decision to go tenkeyless. I might miss the Enter button that was over there.
Click to expand...

How do you feel about the difference between costar and cherry stabilizers? Does the ducky keyboard feel 'solid' to you, is there any flex or rattle that you have noticed?
 
Deleteeeeee said:
How do you feel about the difference between costar and cherry stabilizers? Does the ducky keyboard feel 'solid' to you, is there any flex or rattle that you have noticed?
Click to expand...
Didn't know they were a thing. I haven't pulled any caps off either board. It's a bit hard to decide whether the difference in feel is caused by the blue->brown change or the stabilizers. Apparently it's these are on the larger keys? The Blackwidow's shift keys wobble a bit more as pressing down one side doesn't bring the rest of the key down.
 
is anyone looking to get a set of Thick PBT Blank Black keycaps? :/
I ordered an extra set from a geekhack MO which I doubt I'll ever use ._.
(I'll just stick to my Filco Browns forever)

---
I'm converting another friend to Mechanical Keyboard too :3
 
Saprol said:
Didn't know they were a thing. I haven't pulled any caps off either board. It's a bit hard to decide whether the difference in feel is caused by the blue->brown change or the stabilizers. Apparently it's these are on the larger keys? The Blackwidow's shift keys wobble a bit more as pressing down one side doesn't bring the rest of the key down.
Click to expand...
Yeah keys like shift, enter and space bar use stabilisers. Thanks for your impressions!
 
Has anyone here ever done the shelf liner sound dampening mod?

My pok3r with clears is a little pingy, and I'd like to open it up and line the case with some shelf liner to try to get rid of it. I'm not sure if it's possible in the pok3r, though, since the case is so low profile. I know the poker 2 was able to do it very easily.
 
Mister Negative said:
Has anyone here ever done the shelf liner sound dampening mod?

My pok3r with clears is a little pingy, and I'd like to open it up and line the case with some shelf liner to try to get rid of it. I'm not sure if it's possible in the pok3r, though, since the case is so low profile. I know the poker 2 was able to do it very easily.
Click to expand...

I did it on my Poker II. On the Pok3r I found just putting shelf liner under the case to be enough to get rid of the pinging. Try that first before you open it up. The Pok3r actually has a sheet of plastic between the case and the PCB, I assume that also helps get rid of the pinging noise, though probably not by much.
 
Shiina said:
I did it on my Poker II. On the Pok3r I found just putting shelf liner under the case to be enough to get rid of the pinging. Try that first before you open it up. The Pok3r actually has a sheet of plastic between the case and the PCB, I assume that also helps get rid of the pinging noise, though probably not by much.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I currently use a towel underneath but still get a little bit of ping. And part of my worry trying the mod on the pok3r was the plastic tray. I'd have no idea whether to put it between the tray and PCB or under the tray.
 
Bought a tenkeyless keyboard with MX Browns called Ozone Strike Battle (seriously) to replace my full-size Ducky keyboard. Loving the compact size.

19296587533_fb1c3d26c4_o.png
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19294931024_ce8d97ec45_o.png
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19730686730_a511ec3d77_o.png
Click to expand...

This is my first time using brown switches.. and they feel a lot lighter than my previous boards which had Clear and Red switches. I thought Reds were supposed to be lighter than both though..
 
Dr. Kazuo said:
Bought a tenkeyless keyboard with MX Browns called Ozone Strike Battle (seriously) to replace my full-size Ducky keyboard. Loving the compact size.



This is my first time using brown switches.. and they feel a lot lighter than my previous boards which had Clear and Red switches. I thought Reds were supposed to be lighter than both though..
Click to expand...

those look amazing :3
might be a good replacement for my Filco Browns!
love the compact look
 
Got my CM XT Stealth with brown switches.
Quick review:

  • There is some flex, if i hold down the right corners with my right hand and hold down the bottom left corner with my left while also raising the top left corner with the same hand, it flexes up almost a centimeter. I guess the steel plate is mostly there for weighing down the keyboard.
  • Costar stabilisers feel immediate, and give a nostalgic rattle sound especially the space bar. If you are after a solid keyboard in both sound and feel i'm not sure I would be able to recommend costar stabilisers.
  • I really like the soft-touch/rubberized coating on the frame of the keyboard, the difference in appearance between that and the keycaps isn't that noticeable.
  • The font isn't too bad as it is printed on the front side of the key caps, however on the led display for the lock keys its there in all its glory.
  • Brown switches are light, at least coming from a rubber dome keyboard, they require less force to get to the actuation point then most rubber dome keyboards. However the lightness also makes them nice for gaming as well (i imagine anyway, haven't had a chance sine this keyboard is for work).
  • I really enjoy the sound of the board for the most part, I had some o rings from a sampler that I put on it, which dampened the sound a bit, but still had a satisfying sound. I might have to do further testing before I buy some o rings.
  • The stealth keys are easy to get used to if you don't look at your keyboard much. My boss had a go and said he was kind of weirded out by it.
  • Despite being a brown switch, it is of course louder than any rubber dome keyboard, even with o-rings. I'm only saying this in case people had misconceptions.
  • Cable: This is one area where the keyboard is weak really, it has no cable routing and simply plugs into a usb port located right of the middle of the keyboard.
For 113AUD delivered its on the cheap side of most cherry mx keyboards, and I'm pretty happy with my first mechanical keyboard. If more full sized keyboards came out with cable routing I would definitely consider them.

For my next keyboard (for home) I am looking at something like the WASD code or the CM XTi, the XTi I would probably picked up if it had RGB back lighting.
 
Das keyboard 4 Professional VS Ducky Legend. MX Blue for both. I am torn between the two as Das looks sleek, but apparently can be disappointing build quality wise. I'm looking for factoids about either keyboard that can tip me in a certain direction.
 
I just got a Das Ultimate 4 delivered to my desk a couple of hours ago.

I also got some PBT Keycaps from Signature Plastics on the way.

They both costs almost the same. :-\
 
MNC said:
Das keyboard 4 Professional VS Ducky Legend. MX Blue for both. I am torn between the two as Das looks sleek, but apparently can be disappointing build quality wise. I'm looking for factoids about either keyboard that can tip me in a certain direction.
Click to expand...
I just saw some pics of the Legend a few days ago. It looks pretty large, but then I'm into TKL.

I'm thinking of getting a Mini, myself. :?
 
so today is the last day for a sale for the das keyboard professional 4 (blue switch)
at 165$ CAD, including tax, it brings it up to 187$ CAD
now is this my ideal mkb and it's it's 20$ off the original price, so i'm pretty much saving on the taxes here

i dont think it will go lower than this price in canada any time soon, only 2 retailers carry it, and amazon's third party prices flux like crazy
even though it's on sale, 187 is ALOT to spend on a keyboard, i know it's something i used every day, but my current keyboard, i'm pretty okay with it
it's not a bad keyboard, there's no negatives about it for me right now, it's a solid keyboard (it's wireless, got good battery life, has pretty good media keys and a bunch of extra customizable keys)
 
Replaced my CM Storm Quick Fire TK Stealth with MX Browns with a Ducky Shine 4 with MX Clears. My problem with the brown switches was that I was bottom them out constantly while typing which felt bad in my opinion and it was too loud to use late at night. In comparison, the clear switches feel better to type on, although my spacebar key feels a bit heavier than the other keys and the backspace sounds like it gets stuck for a bit every time I press it close to bottoming it out. I don't really care for the led colours, but they were useful at the LAN event I bought the keyboard at last week. I'm very happy with my purchase especially as I paid only 99€ for the keyboard.
 
Got a cleaning question guys. Spilled some juice on my Ducky. Now it's pretty localised to a small section of keys around my left hand and I have been spraying it with a diluted alcohol keyboard cleaner which is doing the trick... kinda but I feel like the stickiness keeps creeping back - though I might just be imagining it, comparing them with non-sticky ones but...

Anyway, anyone got experience cleaning out MX Switches? Wondering if there's a better way of doing it.
 
Still with my trusty G19, so i ask, is there any foreseeable Mechanical keyboard with good LCD like the G19 coming ?

Or do i have to wait even more ?

Thanks !
 
I have a Novatouch with dolch dsa keycaps going on and I like it a whole lot. I'll probably be sticking with topre switch boards moving forward.
 
Cindres said:
Got a cleaning question guys. Spilled some juice on my Ducky. Now it's pretty localised to a small section of keys around my left hand and I have been spraying it with a diluted alcohol keyboard cleaner which is doing the trick... kinda but I feel like the stickiness keeps creeping back - though I might just be imagining it, comparing them with non-sticky ones but...

Anyway, anyone got experience cleaning out MX Switches? Wondering if there's a better way of doing it.
Click to expand...

Alcohol cleaner is fine to get it off, but remember that if you don't wipe it up afterwards it just moves the stickiness around. I'd reccomend putting the cleaner on a rag/q-tip and wiping out that way.

Is it down in the switch bodies? If so, you should still be able to crack them open and wipe everything off. Check YouTube/Google for a guide that looks close to you board. Depending on switch type there may be some grease in there too, I'm not sure what a good replacement would be but surely there is info out there.
 
Default DOS said:
I have a Novatouch with dolch dsa keycaps going on and I like it a whole lot. I'll probably be sticking with topre switch boards moving forward.
Click to expand...

I had the same combination for a while. I noticed the backspace felt very strange with DSA caps on, like it had extra clack to it. Changed to SA caps and it went away.
 
mnbnguyen said:
I had the same combination for a while. I noticed the backspace felt very strange with DSA caps on, like it had extra clack to it. Changed to SA caps and it went away.
Click to expand...

There's nothing strange about mine, thankfully. I get the usual click when the key bounces back up and the slider hits the top, but that's pretty standard with the novatouch mx stems.
 
DouglasteR said:
Still with my trusty G19, so i ask, is there any foreseeable Mechanical keyboard with good LCD like the G19 coming ?

Or do i have to wait even more ?

Thanks !
Click to expand...

The G910 Orion Spark, has a slide out phone/tablet holder at the top of it. The idea is you install their software on your computer and your tablet/phone and then use that as a touchscreen to display stats and other functions. Of course you don't need that specific keyboard to try the software, so you could even adapt it to your current setup and give it a go. As far as a keyboard with a dedicated lcd display, I personally am not aware of any announcement about such a product.
 
So the W key on my Filco Majestouch 2 seems to be faulty. It sometimes doesn't register keystrokes. How would I go about the replacing the switch? I think I'd just swap it with a rarely used key, like the "Pause" key.

Pretty disappointing honestly. This keyboard is about a year old by now. Most of my membrane keyboards worked for longer than that.
 
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