Mechanical keyboard, mainly for typing?

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Seeyou

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Hi guys

My current keyboard has seen better days, and I thought I'd jump on the mechanical bandwagon and see what all the fuss is about. I'm looking for one mainly for typing/programming, with some gaming on the side, but the gaming performance is really almost a non-issue.

I'm mainly looking for good tactile feedback and ease of typing, but without the ear-shattering "clack clack" of the Blue switches (or so I've gathered from Youtube vids)

It looks like the Brown MX switches are the meeting point between the ultra-clacky keyboards and the quiet, mushy ones? Am I on the right track? And if so, what's a good keyboard that satisfies these requirements?

Let's assume price is not an issue, but I don't need a R3000 ultra gamer stealth deluxe mega edition deathstalker gargantuan with flashing lights and coffee making facilities :)

Thanks in advance!
 
For me the only reason I got a mech keyboard is the response time and the fact that you can press more keys simultaneously. As for programming and typing I don't think its worth the additional expense - I could be wrong.
 
Seeyou said:
Hi guys

My current keyboard has seen better days, and I thought I'd jump on the mechanical bandwagon and see what all the fuss is about. I'm looking for one mainly for typing/programming, with some gaming on the side, but the gaming performance is really almost a non-issue.

I'm mainly looking for good tactile feedback and ease of typing, but without the ear-shattering "clack clack" of the Blue switches (or so I've gathered from Youtube vids)

It looks like the Brown MX switches are the meeting point between the ultra-clacky keyboards and the quiet, mushy ones? Am I on the right track? And if so, what's a good keyboard that satisfies these requirements?

Let's assume price is not an issue, but I don't need a R3000 ultra gamer stealth deluxe mega edition deathstalker gargantuan with flashing lights and coffee making facilities :)

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I was just about to suggest Cherry MX Browns.
 
Seeyou said:
Let's assume price is not an issue, but I don't need a R3000 ultra gamer stealth deluxe mega edition deathstalker gargantuan with flashing lights and coffee making facilities :)
Click to expand...

They make KB's like that? Just wow! :eek:
 
Ry4n said:
For me the only reason I got a mech keyboard is the response time and the fact that you can press more keys simultaneously. As for programming and typing I don't think its worth the additional expense - I could be wrong.
Click to expand...

Really? I got the impression the blue/browns were the ultimate typing experience over your run of the mill mushy key keyboard. Not correct?
 
Ry4n said:
For me the only reason I got a mech keyboard is the response time and the fact that you can press more keys simultaneously. As for programming and typing I don't think its worth the additional expense - I could be wrong.
Click to expand...

You are. You get mechanical keyboards with NKRO and those without. You also get rubber dome keyboards with it and without. Not to mention I've yet to see someone press more than 9 keys at once.

OP, finally someone understands the main advantage of a mechanical keyboard, typing. That's where they really shine.

The Brown switches are quiet, you only feel them click. The blues are the clicky ones, but not really as noisy as you normally hear in Youtube reviews since those are usually due to people bottoming out the keys. If you push them all the way to the bottom they will make a noise on any Cherry switch-based keyboard. The blues are generally regarded as the best for typing but if the sound bothers you, stick with brown.

The only keyboards I know of in SA that uses the browns are the Razer Blackwidow Stealth and the Coolermaster Storm Quickfire Pro. I know the Blackwidows are one of the few good quality products Razer makes, and don't know anything about the CM. I tend to stay away from peripherals made by case and fan manufacturers in general.

You can import Deck or similar keyboards with your choice of Cherry MX switches, but they are very expensive with the terrible exchange rate, shipping, tax and other bull****.
 
I've got a Blackwidow [Ultimate] and I mainly use it for typing, or well coding, and for whenever I play games, which isn't that often. It's really amazing for typing, in my opinion. But it's a death sentence in an office environment, so you'd be best to get something quiet if you want to use it in the workplace.
 
I work from home luckily - although overly loud clacking from the keyboard might annoy me too, especially if it interferes with music.

I was looking at the Blackwidow range - the Ultimate 2013 and the Ultimate stealth 2013. I gather the latter uses the Brown MX switches - although when I listened to a comparison video on Youtube, I could hardly hear a difference in the noise level between the two.
 
Seeyou said:
I work from home luckily - although overly loud clacking from the keyboard might annoy me too, especially if it interferes with music.

I was looking at the Blackwidow range - the Ultimate 2013 and the Ultimate stealth 2013. I gather the latter uses the Brown MX switches - although when I listened to a comparison video on Youtube, I could hardly hear a difference in the noise level between the two.
Click to expand...

The BWU is loud and clacky, but I'm actually used to the noise now. It doesn't bother me at all, and I type fast too, so it does have that distinctive typewriter... err, tommy gun sound. It has gotten rather expensive now though, I paid ~R900 for it and I see it's gone up to around R1900 or something around there.
 
Yeah, the ultimate elite editions are that price, the ultimate itself is still about 900-1000 bucks - and I believe it's just missing all the bizarre bells and whistles I'm not looking for anyway. Definitely one of the contenders, though if I can find something with the same feel and less of the clack, it would be great :)
 
I got the Coolermaster Quickfire TK Brown - love it!
 
Seeyou said:
I work from home luckily - although overly loud clacking from the keyboard might annoy me too, especially if it interferes with music.

I was looking at the Blackwidow range - the Ultimate 2013 and the Ultimate stealth 2013. I gather the latter uses the Brown MX switches - although when I listened to a comparison video on Youtube, I could hardly hear a difference in the noise level between the two.
Click to expand...

Did you read my post? The majority of the noise is due to people typing like idiots, bottoming out the keys, so both will be noisy. If you type properly (gently) the blues will sound like mouse clicks and the browns almost inaudible.

But yes the new prices of Razer products are insane, not just the keyboards.
 
I'm a programmer by profession and write code for a solid 8 hours a day. I can testify to the value of mechanical keyboards. You get decent rubber domes, but it's been by far the best investment that I've made. That being said, they're hard to get hold of in good old SA. The imports are expensive and they tend to be pricey.

I started on the CM Storm Quickfire Rapid with blue switches: http://www.cmstorm.com/en/products/keyboards/quickfirerapid/

I read somewhere (I think on Geekhack) that it is a rebranded Filco. It's seriously great if you get over the branding. But hey, if you type enough, you shouldn't be looking at the keys anyway ;). I used this for about a year.

Then when I started working at the office I didn't want to make too much of a noise because if you pick up speed the clicks can get quite bothersome. So I tried out the CM Storm Quickfire Pro with brown switches: http://www.cmstorm.com/en/products/keyboards/quickfirepro/

I didn't really like the browns. They felt less tactile than the blues. The tactile feedback of the blues is "sharper". The browns felt "fatter" and slightly "scratchy". It was weird. I didn't like it at all actually, it felt a bit overrated. But, to my luck, the keyboard was faulty and I returned it. I asked for red switches on the swapout as I've always been curious.

So now I use the reds at work. I absolutely love them. It's a bit weird at first (no tactile bump) but once you get used to them it's amazing. I'm typing on the blues now at home and they feel kind of stiff after the loose reds. The reds are smooth as silk and I fly on them. As for no tactile / click, it really doesn't bother me, I LOVE the feel of them.

I've also tried out the Razer Blackwidow (it has blues). It felt a bit "cheaper" than the CM Storm and it has macro keys very close to the left. These get very annoying for typing because it absolutely mindf**ks your hand placement. The CTRL key is also smaller I think.

So yeah, I've tried 2x blues, 1x brown and 1x red. The red is my favourite. It makes a HUGE difference to my job. I hope that helps.
 
AnthIste said:
I've also tried out the Razer Blackwidow (it has blues). It felt a bit "cheaper" than the CM Storm and it has macro keys very close to the left. These get very annoying for typing because it absolutely mindf**ks your hand placement. The CTRL key is also smaller I think.
Click to expand...

Yeah the macro keys to the left were flippen annoying until I got used to the shift to the right. Now anything else feels simply stupid. Most mechanical keyboards do howerver have macro keys, especially to the left. Some have two rows even. Been coding/typing/playing on it for just under two years now and I am loving it.
 
Gah, you recommend the reds? You guys are killing me :)

I'm a programmer too, so typing is pretty much 90% of my day. I hadn't given any thought to the red switches, as everything I've ever read about mechanical keyboards said they were the worst for typing. I'm going to make some calls this weekend and see if any local stores have some demo models out. You're all making way too much sense for me to decide!
 
Seeyou said:
Gah, you recommend the reds? You guys are killing me :)

I'm a programmer too, so typing is pretty much 90% of my day. I hadn't given any thought to the red switches, as everything I've ever read about mechanical keyboards said they were the worst for typing. I'm going to make some calls this weekend and see if any local stores have some demo models out. You're all making way too much sense for me to decide!
Click to expand...
Tell me if you find any that have Cherry MX red, blue and brown together as I would like to compare the 3 next to each other for myself.

I think the best it to try for yourself as preferences for keyboards and mice are very subjective so I wouldn't buy one based on someone else's views.
 
nfbs said:
Tell me if you find any that have Cherry MX red, blue and brown together as I would like to compare the 3 next to each other for myself.

I think the best it to try for yourself as preferences for keyboards and mice are very subjective so I wouldn't buy one based on someone else's views.
Click to expand...

Gonna be difficult - it's still a pretty niche product with most brick and mortars. Called around - some stores have never heard of them, or don't stock them. Others have some Gigabyte budget mechanical variant and just respond with silence when I ask which colour Cherry switch it has.
 
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