Mechanical Keyboards

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AnthIste

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I'm looking to buy a nice mechanical keyboard that's geared at typing, rather than gaming. Something like a Filco, Rosewill or maybe a Das Keyboard. Does anyone have any experience with sourcing these? I have not found anywhere that imports to South Africa :(
 
The Razer Blackwidow should be good enough, it uses Cherry Blues which are geared towards typing.

Razer BlackWidow, mechanical gaming keyboard, with cherry MX blue tactile & clic - R691

Product Page

The Mechanical Keyboard Guide

Cherry MX Blue switches are the best cherry switch for typing. The tactile bump can easily be felt, and the resistance is similar to your average keyboard.
Click to expand...

I personally have a Steelseries G7 that uses Cherry Blacks, which are geared towards gaming (FPS shooter games specifically)
 
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I have a Razer Blackwidow and for me it's the best thing under the sun. It's made as a gaming keyboard but ironically enough, as NomNom said, it has cherry blues which are typing switches... it games and types like a beast.
 
I know about the Razer Blackwidow :). I have typed on a friend of mine's and yes, it does use the MX Blues but the built quality feels a bit "plasticky" and the whole "Razer look" thing doesn't really do it for me. I know in the end it's mostly the switches that count but the combined aesthetic and build quality kind of put me off
 
I have a coolermaster storm quickfire with black switches. Amazing quality. Have a look at Sybaritic if you are keen on the corsair k60. Best price in SA
 
Another two new releases with mechanical switches are

Corsair CH-9000004 K60 vengeance performance
Corsair CH-9000003 K90 vengeance performance
 
froot said:
I have a Razer Blackwidow and for me it's the best thing under the sun. It's made as a gaming keyboard but ironically enough, as NomNom said, it has cherry blues which are typing switches... it games and types like a beast.
Click to expand...

Sound sells. ;)

90% of those buying wouldn't know they have typist's switches.
 
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Would not recommend the Corsair's unless you like very light actuation (easy to press keys). I like some resistance, almost resting fingers quite heavily on the keys without pressing them.

Blue for typing, black/brown/red for gaming is most popular...

They're all great though, huge step up from membrane. :)
 
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Have used the Blackwidow a lot for typing - works really well. One advantage it has is that the front of the keyboard is not very high off the desk, so it is easy to reach the keys with the hands in a typing position. The more gaming orientated keyboards can be a little bit higher.

The lettering has started to wear on the commonly used hotkeys over the last year, but they are still legible.
 
The Blackwidow does seem to be quite popular :). I'm keeping it as a kind of last resort. It seems all the mechanical keyboards that are readily available in SA are "gaming keyboards" with a lot of bells and whistles that one does not really need in a "work" keyboard (I do a lot of programming, that's mainly what I'm buying the board for).

But yes, the blues are more suited to typing than the blacks. I have not heard of the Corsair and it has red switches, which I was considering, so thank you :)

What about importing, does anyone know of any channels that ship to good old SA?

EDIT: red switches are similar to blacks in the sense that they are linear (no tactile bump), but they are a lot lighter (in theory as light as a brown, but apparently they "feel" lighter). This gives an overall "smooth and silky" feel when typing. When I typed on a friend's blues they felt a touch heavy.

EDIT EDIT: The Corsair is only partially mechanical :eek:. That's _not_ good for typing
 
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Go with brown or red if you found blues heavy. Brown if you like the tactile bump. Red if you like linear.

You could try www.takealot.co.za. Browns seem non existent in SA. I see CM Storm have a Brown and Red version of their QuickFire (seems to be rebranded Filco), wonder if we'll get them in.
 
The corsairs are not fully mechanical but the majority are. It's just a pity the esc and del keys are normal

Sybaritic's price is crazy though, way cheaper than anyone else. Very tempting

I am happy with the CM Quickfire though. The size makes it great for games as it gives a more natural distance between the hands.
 
Thank you for the suggestions guys. The Quickfire looks cool, and it's a tenkeyless. Just once again the main use for the board is not gaming but work :). It seems the local stores only tend to stock "gaming" items though, so if the Qucikfire is in fact a rebranded Filco that sounds like a good option. Maybe Prophecy or someone will be able to get it.
 
I have the DAS - you will certainly not go wrong
 
The IBM model M keyboard is considered the best keyboard ever created.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/147939/inside_the_worlds_greatest_keyboard.html

Refurbished Model M's can be bought here.
http://www.clickykeyboards.com/

Lexmark had the contract to produce the model M keyboards for IBM and when this contract expired the employees bought the equipment and formed their own company, Unicomp, who now produce the these keyboards under their own brand name.

Unicomps homepage
http://pckeyboard.com/page/PLST
 
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droid said:
The IBM model M keyboard is considered the best keyboard ever created.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/147939/inside_the_worlds_greatest_keyboard.html
Click to expand...
Model M was my keyboard for many years. It came with AT plug, but when problem arose, I found matching PS/2 cable for a new PC (it had a socket for different cable options).

Now I am using Lexmark model (?worn sticker)71G4644 manufactured 1995, also built like a tank, with the same layout, IBM logo, no Windows keys (which I prefer), but there is no socket for cable and I have feeling it is not the original tactile which I loved. Still it is the best keyboard I could get hold.

Another IBM keyboard KB-6326 (1997) is built and feels like just typical membrane stuff. Still better than many others. In service on another computer. No Windows keys as well! :)
 
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