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Lez talk mechanical keyboards

Alright guys, I've done a little research so far but before I go any further I thought I'd ask if anyone here knew where I could find what I am looking for.

I have recently taken up coding and am falling in love with it. I also primarily game on PC although no mobas or mmo's and I generally use my Elite controller where applicable. I would like to find a happy balance so I was looking at some 80% TKL keyboards and I think I am leaning that way.

I had my heart set on the white Ducky ONE
large_1695_tklonew_3.jpg

with blue cherry MX switches and possibly some orange and cream keycaps...

But then my wife pointed out to me that I do a lot of work at night and something with rgb might be a wiser decision...

I couldn't find any other rgb lit or even just backlit in general, white keyboard that had the same retro look as the Ducky One that I wanted. The closest thing I found was this MK MK84,
large_1377_DSC_0417.jpg

but I don't know anything about those switches plus I'm not really feeling the look so much... But I think it could grow on me.

I checked out the Ducky Shine 5 and while I like the way it looks, I couldn't find any in white. I saw that the Shine 4 came in white but I can't find that thing for sale anywhere and I don't quite like the way the board looks in the rear...

Does anyone know if there is anything like what I am looking for that is good quality?
 
My friend, this is exactly what you want: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/plum84-electro-capacitive-keyboard?mode=guest_open
Plum84 electro-capacitive keyboard, white, 70% size, RGB lighting. My coworker has one and let me try it out today. Typing on it feels much smoother than on a keyboard with cherry switches and it comes dampened so that it's much quieter as well. The stock key caps are great too. I'm considering picking up one myself just because. Definitely check it out. I actually bought a full size ducky one but returned it because the stabilized keys felt and sounded cheap to me.

MD-21446_20160607104344_4ca12d36ab2b0e47.jpg
 
Oh, man. Why did you guys have to post those mass drop links? I had no idea what the site was.

I should have said that I was looking for something to treat myself to as a reward for reaching a certain point in my coding lessons... Now I have this urge to check massdrop like I need a fix or something.

That Plum does look nice and it's the layout that I want. Though I'm not really feeling the translucency of the plastic and I think I'd like something more off white. Sigh, I feel like I may be being being too picky.
 
celcius said:
My friend, this is exactly what you want: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/plum84-electro-capacitive-keyboard?mode=guest_open
Plum84 electro-capacitive keyboard, white, 70% size, RGB lighting. My coworker has one and let me try it out today. Typing on it feels much smoother than on a keyboard with cherry switches and it comes dampened so that it's much quieter as well. The stock key caps are great too. I'm considering picking up one myself just because. Definitely check it out. I actually bought a full size ducky one but returned it because the stabilized keys felt and sounded cheap to me.

MD-21446_20160607104344_4ca12d36ab2b0e47.jpg
Click to expand...

Oh my that is absolutely gorgeous
 
I got a Blackwidow Tournament Stealth from Prime Day and it's been pretty good so far. I think overall I prefer MX Blue a bit more still but its great to have a smaller and quieter alternative to my regular Blackwidow.
 
PBT keycaps, Cherry compatible, RGB backlighting, and $110? Cripes, what a deal. I guess a lot still hinges on the quality of the Topre clones, but still.
 
celcius said:
My friend, this is exactly what you want: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/plum84-electro-capacitive-keyboard?mode=guest_open
Plum84 electro-capacitive keyboard, white, 70% size, RGB lighting. My coworker has one and let me try it out today. Typing on it feels much smoother than on a keyboard with cherry switches and it comes dampened so that it's much quieter as well. The stock key caps are great too. I'm considering picking up one myself just because. Definitely check it out. I actually bought a full size ducky one but returned it because the stabilized keys felt and sounded cheap to me.

MD-21446_20160607104344_4ca12d36ab2b0e47.jpg
Click to expand...

This is beautiful. Wish I'd seen it before buying the Lux.
 
A warning to those considering the Plum84, or any other Topre "clones" like the Royal Kludge RC930. They're fun to type on, but their build quality leaves a lot to be desired. Personally, I find them scratchier and less tactile than my HHKB Pro 2/87u.

Stick to Realforce or HHKB for the true Topre experience. As someone who owns almost every type of keyboard/switch combo available, my advice is to save up and go for the real deal. Trust me, it's worth it.
 
The Plum84 felt solid when I used it *shrugs*
This may sound crazy, but I liked it more than the HHKB2 (my coworker had both side by side)

Today I bought a Corsair K70 RGB (with brown switches) for my personal computer. My 2013 Corsair K70 (blue LEDs with brown switches) will now become my work keyboard. :)
Gotta love the cherry mx browns.
 
celcius said:
The Plum84 felt solid when I used it *shrugs*
This may sound crazy, but I liked it more than the HHKB2 (my coworker had both side by side)

Today I bought a Corsair K70 RGB (with brown switches) for my personal computer. My 2013 Corsair K70 (blue LEDs with brown switches) will now become my work keyboard. :)
Gotta love the cherry mx browns.
Click to expand...

It has a sturdy body, and the weight from the metalic plate does make it feel good. However, a few hours (or even days) of testing isn't really enough when it comes to Topre switches imo. Unfortunately, it's not just about the build quality of the case—keycap material, profile, slider smoothness and plate/case mounting totally change the way Topre boards feel.

But that's me. Keyboards are a bit of an obsession for me, so I tend to overanalyze every small detail :P If you're strapped for cash, the Plum84 is a solid board. It's pretty much a RC930 retrofitted into a Choc Mini body. If you open them up you'll see that the internals are identical.

A couple of things to take into consideration when buying these things:

1) It uses 35g switches, which many consider too light for Topre. You lose a lot of tactility, which is one of the biggest selling points of Topre. Of course, if you're a big fan of Browns, you'd probably prefer a lighter switch anyway.

2) The spacebar is 5.5u so you're pretty much stuck with it. Luckily the stock caps are pretty good (and PBT!)

3) The sliders are scratchier than the ones found in HHKB or Realforce boards. They also come with dental bands preinstalled, so if you want a bit more key travel you can take these things off and lube sliders. I've done this with mine and it feels really good, almost as smooth as 65g Purple Zealios.

4) Depending on where you are, it's cheaper to buy these clones from Aliexpress or Taobao. I live in Malaysia so getting them shipped from China is significantly cheaper.

Overall I would say it's a solid starter board for those looking to get into Topre. If you prefer lighter tactile switches like Blues or Browns this is a no brainer. For those looking for a bit more tactility I would go for a Royal Kludge RC-930, or save up and get a 55g Realforce.
 
THEBONDIGTY said:
Could someone recommend a typing keyboard? I work doing translations on the computer and need a new keyboard
Click to expand...

Nothing feels better for typing than a keyboard with Topre switches. The only thing I like as much is something with Zealio switches but that means custom keyboards that are just equally expensive.
 
Typing on a RGB keyboard was distracting so I turned off the lights, but then I realized it wasn't worth paying extra for the RGB edition so I exchanged it for a LUX non-RGB. Now all is well. :)
edit: Ugh, the space bars on the 2016 Corsair keyboards feel so cheap (I also have a 2013 K70 and the difference is night and day). I'll be returning mine tomorrow after work... I just wish there was a store where you could try out the keyboard first.
 
So I have decided against getting Blue switches. While they are more fun to hear and press, something about them throw off my typing. I think it's that little bit of extra force required to get past the click sound. Going back to the decent browns.

My choices are the Logitech G610, which I tried and enjoyed, and the Ducky One. The G610 is like 25$ cheaper, is there any reason I shouldn't go for that? Is the Ducky better in any way?
 
I just picked up my first mechanical keyboard as well. I went with the K70 in Brown and I'm very happy with my purchase. Pleasure to use and feels very well built.
 
Anybody have any experience with the K65 Vengeance (the TK)? I've got a Steelseries 6GV2 ATM and want to switch from black switches to red ones, the K65 seems pretty good for the price. It's either that or the Qpad MK-80.
 
I ordered g610 brown, getting it tomorrow I hope it's good, couldn't try beforehand. I had good experience with Logitech products, other than my K810 that went crazy for no reason and G710+ that had key caps breaking >.< Hope this is durable like mechanical keyboards generally are.
 
miladesn said:
I ordered g610 brown, getting it tomorrow I hope it's good, couldn't try beforehand. I had good experience with Logitech products, other than my K810 that went crazy for no reason and G710+ that had key caps breaking >.< Hope this is durable like mechanical keyboards generally are.
Click to expand...

I loved mine for the short time I used it. Exactly like the 710+ but in a different form factor. The only thing I didn't like was that it had no palm rest, and the keyboard was a little high. I would need to buy one.

If the keycaps break just call them up and ask for replacements. They sent me full set of caps for my 710+
 
I'm sure it has been brought up here but where the hell is the ASUS Claymore? Wasn't this announced at CES 2015 and then shown again at CES 2016?
 
It showed up earlier than anticipated. First impression, for a plastic keyboard it feels way too heavy and quality, it's quite nice but yeah the height is a little too much without a palm rest, have to find something for it. There is no place for clips or anything though, probably have to get a cushion one.

For some reason they made the sides of glossy plastic when the front is all matte, why...
the volume control and the media keys are very good and feel great. Caps feel a lot better that 710+, they probably won't break as fast as that one. I feel for about $90 this is quite good, probably can get even cheaper by the end of year.
 
miladesn said:
It showed up earlier than anticipated. First impression, for a plastic keyboard it feels way too heavy and quality, it's quite nice but yeah the height is a little too much without a palm rest, have to find something for it. There is no place for clips or anything though, probably have to get a cushion one.

For some reason they made the sides of glossy plastic when the front is all matte, why...
the volume control and the media keys are very good and feel great. Caps feel a lot better that 710+, they probably won't break as fast as that one. I feel for about $90 this is quite good, probably can get even cheaper by the end of year.
Click to expand...

Sounds about right haha

AHH I can't decide! Ducky One vs WASD Code vs Logitech G610.

Anybody have opinions? The only reason I'm considering the code is because of the white backplating. It looks nice in pictures, but don't know if its good or not in real life.
 
My G710+ MX Brown arrived and... at first I was not impressed at all. I mean it sure was better than my old membrane keyboard, but the keys felt a bit too loose and wonky. I also got a cheap preowned CM QuickFire XT MX Brown and I really like the feel of it. However it doesn't have all the bells and whistles like G710+ (macro and media buttons, backlighting etc.) which for me are quite essential.

BUT - once I removed the preinstalled o-rings from G710+ it became so much better, keys are much more sturdy and now I'm very happy with it. Sure it's a bit more noisy but that doesn't bother me. I still do prefer the feel of QuickFire (which I'll be using at work), but the G710+ will be my new gaming keyboard :)
 
Ugh, picked up the G610 with MX Reds, and now I'm REALLY not sure what I want. I miss having the feedback from blues/browns, but I really do feel faster with this. In fact, I almost feel too fast. My hands move faster than my brain if that makes any sense. My fingers seem to press the key faster and just wait for a split second for me to choose the next key.

WHAT TO DOOO
 
If you can type optimally with Red, I'd say go for it over Brown. They're so good for FPS games too if that matters to you. Moving with WASD on tactile keys isn't great. I prefer Brown for StarCraft or moba even though. You don't want to press the wrong key :b
 
VlaudTheImpaler said:
Alright guys, I've done a little research so far but before I go any further I thought I'd ask if anyone here knew where I could find what I am looking for.

I have recently taken up coding and am falling in love with it. I also primarily game on PC although no mobas or mmo's and I generally use my Elite controller where applicable. I would like to find a happy balance so I was looking at some 80% TKL keyboards and I think I am leaning that way.

I had my heart set on the white Ducky ONE
large_1695_tklonew_3.jpg

with blue cherry MX switches and possibly some orange and cream keycaps...

But then my wife pointed out to me that I do a lot of work at night and something with rgb might be a wiser decision...

I couldn't find any other rgb lit or even just backlit in general, white keyboard that had the same retro look as the Ducky One that I wanted. The closest thing I found was this MK MK84,
large_1377_DSC_0417.jpg

but I don't know anything about those switches plus I'm not really feeling the look so much... But I think it could grow on me.

I checked out the Ducky Shine 5 and while I like the way it looks, I couldn't find any in white. I saw that the Shine 4 came in white but I can't find that thing for sale anywhere and I don't quite like the way the board looks in the rear...

Does anyone know if there is anything like what I am looking for that is good quality?
Click to expand...

Find a year of the goat
Ducky_Year_Of_The_Goat_19.jpg


Or just buy a shine 5 and get ducky white key caps or a thirdparty set of key caps.

the US or Euro set of these oem white keycaps.
https://www.facebook.com/1175474883...7547488320354/964740533601041/?type=3&theater

or PBT key caps https://www.facebook.com/1175474883...547488320354/1054148027993624/?type=3&theater
 
So, I'm contemplating putting in white LEDs in my Ergodox when it comes in, and using opaque keycaps, to give it just enough glow to see the frame of the keyboard in the dark. Does anyone have any experience with this? Any pics? Am I just totally crazy?
 
H3XAntiStyle said:
So, I'm contemplating putting in white LEDs in my Ergodox when it comes in, and using opaque keycaps, to give it just enough glow to see the frame of the keyboard in the dark. Does anyone have any experience with this? Any pics? Am I just totally crazy?
Click to expand...
I don't think you're crazy, or at least not alone... I'm hoping to do the same when (if?) Axios keyboard become available...

It has been done, you can probably find many pictures. Quick search, although blue and not white, on one of the last version of Ergodox:
0Z3IlPC.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Ashhong said:
Sounds about right haha

AHH I can't decide! Ducky One vs WASD Code vs Logitech G610.

Anybody have opinions? The only reason I'm considering the code is because of the white backplating. It looks nice in pictures, but don't know if its good or not in real life.
Click to expand...
G610 has a non-standard bottom row, so if you ever see a nice keycap set you won't be able to put them on your keyboard. I'd just roll a dice on the WASD Code or the Ducky One

also I have no idea why I said the quickfire tk was overpriced. must've had a different keyboard in my head
 
I see lots of people asking for keyboards for long days of typing/coding. I would HIGHLY recommend looking for an ergonomic keyboard rather than just a plain one with fancy lights.
 
Koren said:
I don't think you're crazy, or at least not alone... I'm hoping to do the same when (if?) Axios keyboard become available...

It has been done, you can probably find many pictures. Quick search, although blue and not white, on one of the last version of Ergodox:
Click to expand...
At least I'm not crazy! And I found one of white, which is what I was going for, so it looked good. : )


adamantypants said:
I see lots of people asking for keyboards for long days of typing/coding. I would HIGHLY recommend looking for an ergonomic keyboard rather than just a plain one with fancy lights.
Click to expand...

Agreed. It's why I'm getting the ergodox, I've been aware of the bad form factor but never really decided to do anything about it, but I'm soon to be in a job where I'll be learning coding, and in an office, so I took it as an opportunity to order an ergodox with reds so it's some nice quiet comfort. :D
 
adamantypants said:
I see lots of people asking for keyboards for long days of typing/coding. I would HIGHLY recommend looking for an ergonomic keyboard rather than just a plain one with fancy lights.
Click to expand...
You can always want an ergonomic one WITH fancy lights ;)

Unfortunately, ergonomic keyboards are still hard to source and expensive...

I think Ergodox EZ is probably the easiest way to enter this field, but it's still not perfect:

- quite expensive at 295$ (and you only have choice of Gaterons, for the original crowdsourcing, MX were available, too)

- I'm still not 100% sold on the layout. Thumb keys are slightly too far (and I would probably have them lower, too), and I would have welcome two pinkie columns... but the worst is the choice of 1.5x for pinkie keys: first it make sourcing key impossible, as you'll never find 1.5x for all rows, and you'll probably press them off-center, so they're far more resistance when you press those. I wonder if I would have welcome a bit more vertical staggering...

Having 90° rotated DCS for the thumb is also awful*

That being said, that's still nice to have, and while there's not enough memory for my taste, having a fully programmable firmware is great. I hope the Axios will be available one day...

CiTfGxaW0AA2TrD.jpg

(one configuration among others, you can look at https://twitter.com/multiplxd for other tidbits)

* still looking for a shop wwith both G20 keys and O-ring to tweak mine. Any idea?
 
Goddammit I cannot decide between Reds and Browns. I like both! The feedback from browns give me more of a fluid typing, with rhythm. The Reds though make my fingers move so fast. I don't know the last time I've struggled this much with a decision lol
 
Got a Plum84 for my work keyboard. Our work environment is getting more and more cramped so I'm appreciating the 60% size.
 
"* still looking for a shop wwith both G20 keys and O-ring to tweak mine. Any idea?"


Pretty sure the only place you can pick up G20s are directly from Signature Plastics and they don't have o-rings, so unfortunately you're going to have to live with ordering them separately if you want them.
 
I'm looking for a change from my k70 with reds. Ideally something with brown keys or the equivalent of. I've had my eye of a few ducky keyboards but have yet to seem them in real life, all the photos I've seen makes it look really cheap which has kinda put me off them each and every time.

Anyone have any recommendations?


Edit: it seems that ducky just isn't very good at taking promo shots of their rgb back lighting. The build quality looks fine.
 
Mr_Kuschels said:
The year of the goat should be really tough to find, especially for a decent price.
I like the look of the Ducky Shine 5 with white keycaps :)
Click to expand...
just note the PBT keycaps are inscribed and although the light will shine through it will not be as clear as the ABS keycaps that have "clear" windows that allow the light to shine right through the letters/symbols.
 
I'm not sure I'd ever buy another one. I bought the black widow ultimate and it didn't solve any problems, but it did add the problem of annoying click sounds.
 
sviri said:
I'm not sure I'd ever buy another one. I bought the black widow ultimate and it didn't solve any problems, but it did add the problem of annoying click sounds.
Click to expand...

What problems didn't it solve? Many people like the clicking sound of mechanical keyboards, but there are some silent keyboards out there. You could also buy o-rings to dampen the sound of mechanical key switches.
 
Sparrowhawk said:
What problems didn't it solve? Many people like the clicking sound of mechanical keyboards, but there are some silent keyboards out there. You could also buy o-rings to dampen the sound of mechanical key switches.
Click to expand...

I mean, I never had a big enough problem with non-mechanical keyboards that necessitated me spending a lot of money on a mechanical one. Typically a new product will have to solve some sort of issue for me (ie. I want better graphics, I want more comfort, I want something that makes life easier etc.). So basically I spent a bunch of money on a keyboard that actually introduced a new issue to me: it's too loud.

Don't get me wrong though. The keyboard screams quality, but was 100% unnecessary, and requires post-purchase upgrades (sound dampening rings you speak of) to have an equivalent feature set of most $10 keyboards.

Not at all trying to sound bitter, just being realistic with my experience purchasing one of these.
 
sviri said:
I mean, I never had a big enough problem with non-mechanical keyboards that necessitated me spending a lot of money on a mechanical one. Typically a new product will have to solve some sort of issue for me (ie. I want better graphics, I want more comfort, I want something that makes life easier etc.). So basically I spent a bunch of money on a keyboard that actually introduced a new issue to me: it's too loud.

Don't get me wrong though. The keyboard screams quality, but was 100% unnecessary, and requires post-purchase upgrades (sound dampening rings you speak of) to have an equivalent feature set of most $10 keyboards.

Not at all trying to sound bitter, just being realistic with my experience purchasing one of these.
Click to expand...


What were you expecting when you bought one, did you think it would radically make typing/gaming easier?
How long have you had it for? When I first started using cherry red keys it took me a while to get use to, due to them being so sensitive to type on, but now I struggle when having to use a shitty keyboard.
Maybe you bought keys that don't really cater to your use case.
Don't take this the wrong way. I'm just trying to understand what your mindset when deciding to buy one.
At the end of the day it's still a normal keyboard.
 
Sparrowhawk said:
What problems didn't it solve? Many people like the clicking sound of mechanical keyboards, but there are some silent keyboards out there. You could also buy o-rings to dampen the sound of mechanical key switches.
Click to expand...

In my experience, o-rings don't work well with clicky switch. I tried the ones that come with the Novatouch on an MX Green board.
 
sviri said:
I mean, I never had a big enough problem with non-mechanical keyboards that necessitated me spending a lot of money on a mechanical one. Typically a new product will have to solve some sort of issue for me (ie. I want better graphics, I want more comfort, I want something that makes life easier etc.). So basically I spent a bunch of money on a keyboard that actually introduced a new issue to me: it's too loud.

Don't get me wrong though. The keyboard screams quality, but was 100% unnecessary, and requires post-purchase upgrades (sound dampening rings you speak of) to have an equivalent feature set of most $10 keyboards.

Not at all trying to sound bitter, just being realistic with my experience purchasing one of these.
Click to expand...

The silencing rings would not help with a clicky keyboard, as the rings only dampen the sound of the keys bottoming out. The click action takes place at the actuation point during the downstroke and would not be effected by the silencing rings.
 
MoonGred said:
What were you expecting when you bought one, did you think it would radically make typing/gaming easier?
How long have you had it for? When I first started using cherry red keys it took me a while to get use to, due to them being so sensitive to type on, but now I struggle when having to use a shitty keyboard.
Maybe you bought keys that don't really cater to your use case.
Don't take this the wrong way. I'm just trying to understand what your mindset when deciding to buy one.
At the end of the day it's still a normal keyboard.
Click to expand...

That's a really good question. It was May 2012 and I'd been on the Diablo 3 hype train since being a little kid playing the shit out of 2. It really came down to me wanting to have a completely new rig for the moment of release. Still using the keyboard and the rest of the rig to this day.
 
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