Mechanical Keyboard

[theattrox]

I'm looking for a good mechanical keyboard to use for games like starcraft 2 and team fortress 2.

After doing some research I found that Cherry MX Brown would suit my needs. I'd even consider black if it doesn't feel like i'm pushing down on rubber foam.

I like this keyboard by Filco but I can't seem to find it in stock anywhere.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WOF7QM

So I did more searching and I found that Razer Black Widow now has a "Stealth" edition which uses MX Browns.

http://store.razerzone.com/store/razerusa/en_US/pd/productID.235228400

if anyone has any input please feel free to give me some help deciding

 

[Ben90]

The Razor is a pretty good option to go mechanical for cheap. It won't be as nicely built as a Filco or even a Ducky, but again not everyone needs to be busting through windows with their keyboard.

What turns the Razor off for me is the fact that it is only 2KRO. This may or may not be important to you, but I personally enjoy knowing that any button combination I press will always work no matter what.

You could always check out Leopold keyboards. They have better keycaps than a Filco but with slightly less better build quality overall. You will notice that they are all NKRO.

Its always interesting to see how highend keyboards from gaming companies (G15, Black Widow) really don't hold a candle to the cheaper mechanical boards. They can't spend $1 to put diodes on their boards to give NKRO which actually helps in quite a few situations, but they can put a LCD on the top of their keyboard.

 

[cnk]

I picked up a Steelseries 6Gv2 with their 30% off coupon last month and have been very happy with it. The key presses have good feedback and you can type without the clicking if you don't push the keys down all the way. . .although that does take some practice. I don't mind the clicking anyways as it's kind of an audible feedback to me that I hit the key.

 

[Ben90]

That Steelseries 6Gv2 looks like a pretty sweet deal actually. I would take it over the Razer any day. The 30% off you got is just Cherrys on the cake. (Lame pun intended)

I will say however that I only see the 6Gv2 using MX Blacks. This could be a turn off for someone if they were really set on Browns.

I did however get a slight LOL out of this little marketing bullet point. This is the same company that said gold connectors decrease latency.

And because of the built-in debounce rate found on any quality keyboard, any polling rate above 200Hz is simply a waste of CPU time and really just a result of pointless marketing hype.

 

[jhansman]

One note on the Razer Black Widow-I managed to get one for work and while I like the responsiveness of the keys, I am constantly hitting the Caps Lock key when going for the "a" key. Not sure why, as it is positioned like it is on any other k/b. I am a touch typist, so my fingers fly. If you opt to try this keyboard, get from a retailer you can return it to without hassle (like Best Buy or the like). It may be a good gaming k/b (has macro support), but for general typing, I dunno.

 

[XLNC]

I went with a WASD Keyboard and I've been very happy with it so far. It has the Cherry brown switches you're after. It's color customizable and affordable to boot.

http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/semi-custom-keyboard.html

 

[jhansman]

Do any of the Cherry keyboards use their brown or blue switches? You'd this this was an obvious answer, but so I've been unable to determine which (if any) do; their website is strangely uninformative. Tried emailing Cherry, but that query was bounced back as undeliverable. The Razer Blackwidow I'm typing now ain't gonna cut it, so I'm hoping Cherry makes a model with these switches in my price range.

 

[Ben90]

At first I was going to tell you how ridiculously stupid of a question that was. Of course Cherry sells boards that use their switches. After searching their site for a bit, I realized that the question you were really asking was indeed not so obvious. Which board uses Blues/Browns?

After a few minutes I found the answer. It appears the two boards that use them are the "G80-3000 MX Blue Stem" and "G80-1865 MX Brown Stem".

They need to make their site more maneuverable.

 

[jhansman]

Right, got just that answer from tech support. When I spoke to the tech, he apologized for the site, saying it really should be more obvious which of their products use which switches. Looks like the G80-3000 is the one I'd most likely buy. Can't find any reviews on it, though.

 

[vbuggy]

I quite like the look of the new Corsair Vengeance - which uses reds, which I think really is the only switch you could use over a decent rubber dome that actually makes sense for gaming (and you could argue) regular typing - as long as you adjust your style slightly.

That's on my radar at the moment, but as for the Filcos in Blue, Black and Brown I currently own (I also have Topres, and I'm equally meh about these for gaming although these are better keyboards to type intensively on IMO), as well as other less well known equivalents I had sporadically before - I don't really rate any of them hugely over a decent rubber-dome for gaming TBH.

 

[Rifter]

Steelseries 6Gv2

I love mine, will never buy another board as long as thin thing keeps working.

 

[Ben90]

I quite like the look of the new Corsair Vengeance - which uses reds, which I think really is the only switch you could use over a decent rubber dome that actually makes sense for gaming (and you could argue) regular typing - as long as you adjust your style slightly.

That's on my radar at the moment, but as for the Filcos in Blue, Black and Brown I currently own (I also have Topres, and I'm equally meh about these for gaming although these are better keyboards to type intensively on IMO), as well as other less well known equivalents I had sporadically before - I don't really rate any of them hugely over a decent rubber-dome for gaming TBH.

We can both agree that there is no perfect switch that does everything perfectly. Mechanical switches are all the rage with the "gaming" crowd, but the honest truth is that a keyboard is probably the last place to look for something to enhance your game.

I do believe that you overrate Rubber Domes however. While my opinion isn't everything, I would prefer any MX switch over the BEST Domes in every situation except three: Blacks for extended typing and Blues for FPS's/Racing and Noise. (Blacks are still better than most Domes for typing IMO)

The problem is that in every other situation its an opinionated fact that MX switches are better than Domes. Sure the differences won't make you a 150WPM monster or an 31337 gaming machine, its just nicer to use.

 

[vbuggy]

Different strokes for sure.

I am personally in disagreement with the 'nicer to use' though, which is for me the key issue. e.g. The X6 doesn't give me finger pain after a heavy bout of gaming. Every Filco for example does. It's the bottom-out factor (if it isn't the key spring ratio) - and I imagine I'm not the only one, but that there are a lot of other guys out there who think being able to brag about their mechanical is worth the tradeoff. I don't.

Typing, not an issue but then a good rubber dome is far more *all* purpose friendly in my book.

(Yes, I know of, and have tried, bottom-out pads. Needs to be built into the key mechanics for this to be successful IMO)

However it's definitely 'Nicer to press' for sure, for trained typists and the inner nerd in us who gauge key feel by pressing them down very slowly

 

[2disbetter]

Filco keyboards were availible from Elitekeyboards.com but they have since stopped carrying them. If you are looking for qaulity keyboards that is a good place to look. I got my happy hacker from there.

2d

 

[AdamK47]

I like my Razer Black Widow Ultimate. I didn't think I would like it at first, but it grew on me.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

A couple other options to consider if you're looking for Browns, both easily available in the US: WASD keyboards will build you a custom job for $139 (fonts, key colours, switches up to you), or you could try a Das Model S Silent (apparently they offer a discount if you're a student or work in education).

WASD has a great reputation for customer service at the geekhack forums. I just ordered a custom board with Cherry MX blues from them. I e-mailed after placing the order to request a different font on the keyboard... he'd already printed the keycaps, so he printed new ones and sent the first set anyway. So now I'm getting an extra set of custom keycaps for free. Satisfied customer so far.

 

[subtraction]

I placed an order for a Das Keyboard I believe it was a Professional S with blue switches. Should be arriving this evening. I picked it because I liked the name, simplistic look, and the reviews online seemed solid.

I have seen no mention of anything Das Keyboard in this thread. I will post back with my initial impressions when it arrives.

Edit: So far I like it. The build quality is much better than any standard cheapie keyboard I have ever had. Overall I am pleased and hope it will serve me well for a long time...