The Dell Y-UK-DEL1.
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Dedicated media controls
Clicky volume knob
USB ports in back
Wide space bar
Browser/email/calculator/etc. buttons
Thin bezel
Looks nice
Pad printed keycaps show only slight wear after using them for like 15 years
This was the exact board I had before I got my first mech board. I left it at home when I went away to school (September). When I came back (December), it was torturous to use. Only thing I miss about it is the volume knob.
What made it torturous? The only thing I can think of is that they keys can bind slightly when pressed off-center. I use Cherry ML switches a lot so I got used to pressing keys in the center and it's not a problem for me.
Pulled mine out of the closet to type this reply, just for you :P
Checking the model number on the back, my board is actually a SK-8135, which appears to be the same board except for the design of the windows keys. Could be an era thing (XP era vs. Vista era?). It's no worse than any rubber dome board, and better than quite a few. It's hard to put into words the exact issues I have with the board -- the lack of travel prior to actuation, and the hard bottom out that I get on every keystroke has me rebelling against it. I do type 5-10 wpm faster than my clears (I mostly attribute that to difference in actuation force), but I feel the fatigue in my hands and arms much faster than if I was typing on a mechanical board.
Torturous is kind of a strong word, I suppose, but I undeniably find my mechanical boards preferable -- except for maybe my board with reds. Personally, I find my enjoyment of a board increases with tactility. Crisp rubber domes feel better than squishy rubber domes (which are in the same category as MX reds and blacks). From there, the more tactile a switch is, the more I like it. I like browns better than rubber domes, blues even more, and clears more still. Buckling spring lies somewhere in the same category as blues, as do MX greens.
I suppose it's weird that I feel fatigue faster typing on a board that requires less force to actuate (rubber dome vs. MX Clear). It might have something to do with the fact that I don't bottom out nearly as much with clears and so actually have less shock on each keystroke, I really don't know.
In the end, I suppose it's all a matter of what I'm used to. And now having typed this post, my fingers feel very strange, almost like they feel after I use a lawnmower (although less intense), if that makes sense. To me, not a nice feeling, and why I'm glad I no longer have to use rubber dome boards on anything more than an occasional basis at work.
I have no clue if that answers the question satisfactorily or not, but I hope it sheds some light on things, at least.
Oh yeah -- an endgame keyboard is the board that expresses the culmination of the hobby. For me, because I have many different places and situations that I will end up using boards in, I think I'll end up with multiple endgame boards, in more of an endgame rotation. Probably by the end of it, it'll be at least one board that I've built myself, probably with clears and some custom firmware, either a TKL or a 60%, with a matching number pad.
