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Lez talk mechanical keyboards

My new Poker II came in. I'm typing this right now using the USB C to USB C cable that iKBC included in the package on my android phone. This is interesting, I suddenly don't need to bring my laptop in order to type on stuff. The bummer is that one of my alternate shift key broke into pieces during shipping.

Edit: Here's the keyboard with the alternate keys. The keycap that broke was the shift key on the right, so I left the default on. It's good that I don't have issues with symmetry, or this would really annoy me.
QDKIIDr.jpg
 
Tripon said:
I got it through massdrop.

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/33240

The drop is inactive right now, but I think you can buy it on mechanicalkeyboards.com, you'll pay a dollar or two more than what the massdrop price was, but then you don't have to wait a month or so just to receive the keycaps. It'll be $40 plus tax, I think.

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1330

https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1329
Click to expand...

Just following up on this. I grabbed a set of the black pbt keycaps from mechanicalkeyboards.com.
Shipping was quick, price was reasonable (free shipping to boot), packaging was good.

I love these keycaps.
I'm getting a mx blue board soon and will probably get another set to go with it.
Big props to vortex for fixing the layout so all the symbols are properly backlit.

9HlCOgeh.jpg


Thanks again for posting the links. :-)
 
Thanks for the mentions guys. I saw the Filco's and they look nice but I was hoping for something with some color glow. I was even thinking about getting another Ducky lol, The Shine 6. If the white one or special edition were in stock I might have already purchased one of them. Now I'm thinking of just going balls to the walls and spending a little more money and getting a Realforce RGB Topre. I'm not sure if I will like the topre switch but I heard they are amazing.
 
I currently have a Corsair k70 with MX reds and red LED. The Logitech g810 is currently on E3 sale for $85 on Amazon. Can anyone recommend the g810? I have a g502 mouse so could color match, but that's not s big concern.

Thanks!
 
Lockjaw333 said:
I currently have a Corsair k70 with MX reds and red LED. The Logitech g810 is currently on E3 sale for $85 on Amazon. Can anyone recommend the g810? I have a g502 mouse so could color match, but that's not s big concern.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

See if there's a Best Buy around you, they usually have Razer's, Cosair, and Logitech keyboards you can test out and feel.

At least the ones locally to me do.
 
Tripon said:
See if there's a Best Buy around you, they usually have Razer's, Cosair, and Logitech keyboards you can test out and feel.

At least the ones locally to me do.
Click to expand...
Yah I've tried them at BB, I think the g810 feels alright. I'm very used to reds so it's hard to tell without bringing the board home and using for a while. Wondering if anyone can vouch for it's quality.
 
Got a new keyboard today, after my Logitech K800 died. It was an awesome keyboard while it lasted, but I wanted to try something new.

So I got a DasKeyboard 4 Professional. With MX Cherry Brown switches. Haven't gotten used to it yet, but I like the design. I use controllers when gaming, so gaming-use wasn't an important factor for me.

I don't think I've had a mechanical keyboard since I was using Windows 98. So the feel and noise is making me a little nostalgic.

sSe8fWAh.jpg
Click to expand...
 
Trojita said:
Thanks for the mentions guys. I saw the Filco's and they look nice but I was hoping for something with some color glow. I was even thinking about getting another Ducky lol, The Shine 6. If the white one or special edition were in stock I might have already purchased one of them. Now I'm thinking of just going balls to the walls and spending a little more money and getting a Realforce RGB Topre. I'm not sure if I will like the topre switch but I heard they are amazing.
Click to expand...
The Topres are simply top-tier, especially for typing.
 
I have come to you today brothers and sisters, to preach the gospel that is Alps switches!

Cherry Blues!? A child's toy. Once your fingers touch these switches you will know that they are the one true switch king.

Seriously though I love Alps switches and I restored a pretty rare keyboard that has them. I'm using it as my daily driver now.

CTCkbj0.jpg

9mQPYbm.jpg

FDnsMBm.jpg
Click to expand...
 
I tried out some keyboards from Bloody at E3. The idea of an optical switch is interesting, and the keys sounded and felt a lot like MX Blues but a bit more "crisp." Overall travel distance might have been a little shorter too.
 
Dr. Benton Quest said:
I have come to you today brothers and sisters, to preach the gospel that is Alps switches!

Cherry Blues!? A child's toy. Once your fingers touch these switches you will know that they are the one true switch king.

Seriously though I love Alps switches and I restored a pretty rare keyboard that has them. I'm using it as my daily driver now.
Click to expand...
Lookin good!
I'd like to try alps someday.

The board I'm working on now is a fc660m.. looking at going with with people call "zealiostotle" switches. I guess there's some cheap vintage switches from Taiwan goin around called aristotles. And people take the stem and spring and put them in zealio housings. Haven't fully researched it yet, still trying to figure how to change the color of the aluminum case. Looking at alcohol ink and an airbrush possibly.


Pretty sure I'm gonna go with this keyset
https://www.candykeys.com/product/dsa-candy-iso-ansi/
 
SirClinksAlot said:
Any opinions on the Klictro Chameleon RGB? Im looking to get my first mechanical keyboard and saw this on massdrop today for $80. Seems like it has nice specs at that price. It has Kailh Brown switches.

https://tinyurl.com/y9v7m97a
Click to expand...

Please don't use a URL shortener in your links.
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/klictro-chameleon-rgb-mechanical-keyboard?&mode=guest_open

It looks to be a rebrand of iOne Scorpius-U9SFL. Non-RGB versions of the keyboard have been sold under many different brand names.

For the price, it seems ok if you want RGB backlighting and USB-passthrough.

Qpad MK-85 seems to be the same keyboard with Cherry switches instead of the Kailh, although some websites list it as having Kailh switches? Since the Qpad version is marketed as a gaming keyboard, it seems to be available with only linear switches.
 
Hello, currently in the process of building a PC and need a keyboard. Was looking at the razor black widow but it's a bit steep in price. Any recommendations that are similar? Or better alternatives? Any help is appreciated!!
 
Zeusy said:
Hello, currently in the process of building a PC and need a keyboard. Was looking at the razor black widow but it's a bit steep in price. Any recommendations that are similar? Or better alternatives? Any help is appreciated!!
Click to expand...

I have a Rosewill RK9000 V2. It's a simple full sized​ keyboard with no LEDs (a few are available with blue LEDs), available in a valley of different Cherry MX switches. I use the Browns. They're usually around $80.
 
chaosblade said:
Is that the one from Massdrop? If so how is it? A lot of the comments were negative, so I'm hoping they are alright. And hopefully they aren't a pain with costar stabilizers.
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It's been about a week since I put the Cherry PBT set on my Nixeus Pro with Blue Gateron's. Typing still feels nice, but I can see the complaints about it. The keycaps feel rough vs. ABS keycaps, which are more of a smooth texture. Also, because they're only single layer shot, they're thinner than the doubleshot PBT keycaps that I picked up from Vortex. I also got the grey keycap set while I heard most of the issues were with the legends Red and black keycaps. Thankfully, the legends haven't faded yet, and I don't think they will unless I do something drastic.

If you're looking to save a couple of bucks on a PBT set and don't care about backlighting, go ahead and pick up the no frills Cherry PBT set. If blacklit and having double shot PBT is important, go with the Vortext set.
 
Tripon said:
It's been about a week since I put the Cherry PBT set on my Nixeus Pro with Blue Gateron's. Typing still feels nice, but I can see the complaints about it. The keycaps feel rough vs. ABS keycaps, which are more of a smooth texture. Also, because they're only single layer shot, they're thinner than the doubleshot PBT keycaps that I picked up from Vortex. I also got the grey keycap set while I heard most of the issues were with the legends Red and black keycaps. Thankfully, the legends haven't faded yet, and I don't think they will unless I do something drastic.

If you're looking to save a couple of bucks on a PBT set and don't care about backlighting, go ahead and pick up the no frills Cherry PBT set. If blacklit and having double shot PBT is important, go with the Vortext set.
Click to expand...

I got the white ones, haven't taken them out since I don't have the keyboard yet but the tops look fine to me at least. Seen some complaints that the sides and bottoms and poor quality manufacturing, I'll find out eventually I guess. Can't expect a $30 keycap set to be perfect when "good" ones seem to run 2-3x that price.

I don't mind the feel of them either, not sure if I've used PBT keycaps before (if I have it was a long time ago on an 80s keyboard or something) so I don't know if the more rough texture is normal or not.

They had a Vortex non-backlit black on white set but I had already ordered and gotten the other one. If it was white on black/dark gray I probably would have caved on it but the ones I have are probably fine for black on white. Don't know that I'd have wanted backlit keycaps since my board won't be backlit. And I'm really iffy on the translucent ones, even back in the 90s I thought translucent plastic was ugly :P



And I either forgot or didn't realize how slow AliExpress shipping is. But as long as it gets here I'll be fine with it, wasn't going to get a keyboard with Clears for a decent price elsewhere. I do wonder about the logos and icons on the keyboard though. The blue caps/scroll lock icons and Ganss logo on the GS87 are going to stand out and be ugly after changing the keycaps. Wonder if I can do something to fade the color or just remove them. Removing might be easier depending on how they are on there.
 
Looking at buying a Corsair STRAFE, and trying to decide what switches I want. I'm between Brown and Red, and don't know where I can test them in person. I mostly use this PC to play shooters. Barring me finding a way to test them out in person, I wanted to see if anyone else had this keyboard or recommendations for which switch I should pick. Reds seem like they'd be fairly "mushy," though easier to press than the Browns. I know that there's not a "right answer," but I was wondering if there was a general consensus on which switches were generally better for gaming.
 
NoMoreTrolls said:
Looking at buying a Corsair STRAFE, and trying to decide what switches I want. I'm between Brown and Red, and don't know where I can test them in person. I mostly use this PC to play shooters. Barring me finding a way to test them out in person, I wanted to see if anyone else had this keyboard or recommendations for which switch I should pick. Reds seem like they'd be fairly "mushy," though easier to press than the Browns. I know that there's not a "right answer," but I was wondering if there was a general consensus on which switches were generally better for gaming.
Click to expand...

I'm not 100% sure on this since I don't go often, but I recall Best Buy used to have some keyboards on display in their gaming area. Maybe you can try checking there? They usually have reds on display, from what I remember.

edit: i'm a redundant idiot, apparently
 
NoMoreTrolls said:
Looking at buying a Corsair STRAFE, and trying to decide what switches I want. I'm between Brown and Red, and don't know where I can test them in person. I mostly use this PC to play shooters. Barring me finding a way to test them out in person, I wanted to see if anyone else had this keyboard or recommendations for which switch I should pick. Reds seem like they'd be fairly "mushy," though easier to press than the Browns. I know that there's not a "right answer," but I was wondering if there was a general consensus on which switches were generally better for gaming.
Click to expand...

If you have a Frys Electronics or MicroCenter near you both should have a wide variety of keyboards with different switches to test. That is at least how I decided which keyboard I was ultimately going to buy.
 
Those PBT MasterKeys seem like a very good value if the legends are laser etched rather than pad printed. I love all these GAMER GEAR companies realizing that people want plain, functional stuff sometimes.
 
KRaZyAmmo said:
looking for a mechanical keyboard usb around $60. A friend of mine recommended me something Logitech. But i'm open to suggestions.
Click to expand...

The Logitech g610 is on sale for $69 right now at Amazon and best buy. It's a solid, no nonsense board, you can get it in reds or browns. They should have one on display at best buy if you are interested.
 
Lockjaw333 said:
The Logitech g610 is on sale for $69 right now at Amazon and best buy. It's a solid, no nonsense board, you can get it in reds or browns. They should have one on display at best buy if you are interested.
Click to expand...

Might have to take a little trip down to BB to check that one out.
 
What's a good place to sell a mechanical keyboard that's not eBay? I got a Ducky One TKL RGB with Cherry Reds and I don't like it at all. I've listed it on gaf, but are there any other enthusiast communities that are reliable and would appreciate it?
 
Tripon said:
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=pbt+cherry+cooler+master

Cooler Master is selling their Master Key keyboards (full size and Ten Keyless versions) with PBT keycaps installed instead of regular ABS keycaps. These are non backlit, however, you can get it in Cherry MX Silver, Red, Brown, or Blue. There's also supposed to be a Cherry MX Green version, but I don't see it on Amazon, and I can't see any other website selling it.
Click to expand...

Definitely would have gotten one of these with browns if they were up before I ordered my keyboard. Can't be disappointed though because they don't have one with Clears. Nobody does...
 
Just read the Kotaku review, these definitely look like they're pad printed. Not my cup of tea but still a decent value.
 
Miker said:
What's a good place to sell a mechanical keyboard that's not eBay? I got a Ducky One TKL RGB with Cherry Reds and I don't like it at all. I've listed it on gaf, but are there any other enthusiast communities that are reliable and would appreciate it?
Click to expand...

There's also geekhack.org
 
Been thinking about getting a keyboard for work and I'm not sure which direction I should go in. At the moment I'm between a Unicomp and a Plum 87, kinda apples and oranges but both seem like good choices. I took a coworker's Unicomp for a test drive and I liked how serious it felt and no one around me was bothered by the noise, plus it's like $85 (and neato), but idk how I'll feel about it's stiffness and noise in the long term. I haven't tried a plum and it costs $110, but I've heard a lot of good things about it and it seems like a more flexible keyboard in general, and probably the safer option... Then I guess door number three would just be getting another brown Leopold 750, but as much as I love it I feel like it would be a waste to buy two of the same keyboard.
 
My keyboard finally arrived. Ganss GS87 with MX clears.

Some assembly required, not sure if it was because customs people are asses (they did clearly open it) or if it was like this out of the factory, but the spacebar wasn't attached. So I had to figure out how to reattach that with the stabilizer. Apart from that the really cheap looking pad print on the keycaps it feels pretty sturdy.

I type heavy enough that I will easily bottom out my clears. Probably in large part because I have used rubber domes as long as I can remember. The tacile feel is really minor when typing. More easily felt on the switch sampler or when focusing on a single key. That's one of the reasons I didn't like browns as much, I didn't even notice it at first when I tried out a keyboard with them at the store and thought they might have been reds. Along with the fact I knew I'd effortlessly and noisily bottom out on those.

Getting in on those GMK silencers was probably a good idea, too bad it will be a long time before those ship out. Will probably wait to replace my keycaps until I get those so I can do it all at once.



And having a proper functioning backspace key again is lovely.


And I'm going to have to figure out my keycaps. The set from Massdrop didn't include a 1.25u Fn key, only a 1u. That seems a little weird to me, wouldn't a 1.25u be more standard? I'll have to see when I put them on, but it looks like I either need to use a different cap or just deal with the slight extra space around the 1u key.


And it's kind of crazy how much smaller it is. Was using a Logitech K740 (actually the prior version that looks the same) which is full size and has a lot of extra bezel around the sides. This doesn't have any of that and is TKL so it seems tiny in comparison.
 
I ordered a k70 lux rgb to replace my k70 red LED. I really don't like the new keycap font on the lux, too large, too wide, looks cartoony. Is there any place that sells replacements that fit the k70 lux with normal font, preferably the same font as the old k70?
 
Had the New Poker II for a couple of weeks. Nice little 60% keyboard. Weird thing is that USB A to USB C cable with it wasn't able to connect and install drivers. But my Anker USB A to USB C was able to do it instantly. I connected my phone with it to a power bank and it shows a connection, so what I'm guessing is that the cable itself isn't USC compliant, and that it was reconfigured. The USB C to USB C one works fine though, so I use it to type on my phone when I'm at a desk and typing on the keyboard is faster than the on screen keys.

So I have an extra cable that's worthless.
wtzgU.gif
 
Does anyone know if the Realforce 87U and HHKB use the same length of spacebar? I was thinking about going PBT on mine, but all the PBT replacements are labeled as being for the HHKB.
 
Orayn said:
Does anyone know if the Realforce 87U and HHKB use the same length of spacebar? I was thinking about going PBT on mine, but all the PBT replacements are labeled as being for the HHKB.
Click to expand...
I double-checked my 87U and HHKB and the spacebars are exactly the same.
 
Just got a ikbc F108 RGB.
Made my strafe rgb seem like a factory reject.
The stabilized keys were always very noisy on my strafe; all sound identical on the ikbc.
And it comes with vortex's pbt backlit keycaps too, which is gravy.
I just bought a set of those for my strafe rgb (going to my wife now) and it improved the feel of typing but obviously didn't do much for the stabilized keys.

The only downside is no software for effects/colors. Not a big deal really, but a third party solution would make this the perfect keyboard.

I have a ducky one with mx blues on the way; I caught a good deal on mechanicalkeyboards and had a coupon.
 
Zissou said:
I've discovered massdrop. How destroyed will my personal finances be?
Click to expand...

Personally, I won't pay for ABS keycaps. Hope you don't fall too far in the massdrop hole. I spent $500+ on that damn website already. Thankfully, I think I got it out of my system. The shipping costs always makes me side glance. A good thing to check is to price compare with Amazon or https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/ to see if they have it in stock. It might be a dollar or two more, but shipping will be way faster.

MoogleMan said:
Just got a ikbc F108 RGB.
Made my strafe rgb seem like a factory reject.
The stabilized keys were always very noisy on my strafe; all sound identical on the ikbc.
And it comes with vortex's pbt backlit keycaps too, which is gravy.
I just bought a set of those for my strafe rgb (going to my wife now) and it improved the feel of typing but obviously didn't do much for the stabilized keys.

The only downside is no software for effects/colors. Not a big deal really, but a third party solution would make this the perfect keyboard.

I have a ducky one with mx blues on the way; I caught a good deal on mechanicalkeyboards and had a coupon.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I'm really impressed with their keyboards right now. I picked up their New Poker II (60%) keyboard about a month ago. It's my travel keyboard now.
 
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