Author Topic: Filco Minila or... Noppo?  (Read 3794 times)

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Offline sashi

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Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« on: Fri, 29 August 2014, 12:51:05 »
Hey guys

So I recently moved to a smaller place, so I got a smaller desk.. so I need a smaller keyboard now..

I'm trying to decide on two..

The Filco Minila or the Noppoo Choco Mini

Offline Novus

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #1 on: Fri, 29 August 2014, 12:54:46 »
Filco Minila

Offline Puddsy

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #2 on: Fri, 29 August 2014, 13:24:06 »
my vote also goes to the miniLA

I like mine a lot, but I need to sell it to afford a GON.
QFR | MJ2 TKL | "Bulgogiboard" (Keycon 104) | ctrl.alt x GON 60% | TGR Alice | Mira SE #29 | Mira SE #34 | Revo One | z | Keycult No. 1 | AIS65 | First CW87 prototype | Mech27v1 | Camp C225 | Duck Orion V1 | LZ CLS sxh | Geon Frog TKL | Hiney TKL One | Geon Glare TKL



"Everything is worse, but in a barely perceptible and indefinable way" -dollartacos, after I came back from a break | "Is Linkshine our Nixon?" -NAV | "Puddsy is the Puddsy of keebs" -ns90

Offline IPT

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #3 on: Fri, 29 August 2014, 13:25:19 »
how about a 60% keyboard?
Minila has questionable QC issues from what i've heard.

Offline Puddsy

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #4 on: Fri, 29 August 2014, 13:28:14 »
I've spilled OJ in mine 4 times and it works better than all of my other keyboards
QFR | MJ2 TKL | "Bulgogiboard" (Keycon 104) | ctrl.alt x GON 60% | TGR Alice | Mira SE #29 | Mira SE #34 | Revo One | z | Keycult No. 1 | AIS65 | First CW87 prototype | Mech27v1 | Camp C225 | Duck Orion V1 | LZ CLS sxh | Geon Frog TKL | Hiney TKL One | Geon Glare TKL



"Everything is worse, but in a barely perceptible and indefinable way" -dollartacos, after I came back from a break | "Is Linkshine our Nixon?" -NAV | "Puddsy is the Puddsy of keebs" -ns90

Offline SirPony

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #5 on: Fri, 29 August 2014, 17:32:54 »
filco for sure.... Noppo is just, meh

Offline sashi

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #6 on: Fri, 29 August 2014, 21:01:54 »
Would the air be worth the $10 premium?

The normal cabled version is out of stock :(

Offline tbc

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #7 on: Fri, 29 August 2014, 22:22:37 »
how about a 60% keyboard?
Minila has questionable QC issues from what i've heard.

i've literally heard 0 qc complaints besudes this one.

i own one.

it's solid.

the keycaps just suck
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Offline Novus

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #8 on: Sat, 30 August 2014, 00:27:25 »
I heard good things about it in deskthority as well although it's not a well known/widely used board though atm so you'll have some sampling bias.
« Last Edit: Sat, 30 August 2014, 00:33:03 by the1onewolf »

Offline RED-404

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #9 on: Sat, 30 August 2014, 00:53:26 »
Well, I have the Noppoo Choc Mini 2M none backlit with MX Blacks and I can tell you mine may work and I have had no big problems with it but I don't trust it.
It just feels rickety and the solder joints don't look up to snuff. I think for the most part there quality control works on the luck system.

The problem I did have with it was the board was slightly warped and I had to give it a couple of good twists.

Go with the Filco they have a good name/reputation even if this particular board is a bit of an unknown, as for the Air up to you. You may find a use for that feature at some point.

Offline davkol

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #10 on: Sat, 30 August 2014, 03:42:54 »
Well, choc mini has certainly the better keycaps (no reason to replace them except aesthetics) and good compatibility with keycaps from the Cherry Corp.(except spacebar)… you can pick between ABS doubleshots, POM and dyesub PBT, any of that thick Cherry profile.

I've read the assembly quality leaves quite a bit to be desired in either case. My choc mini certainly isn't perfect, but it doesn't bother me as long as it works—it's been working flawlessly for over two years (anecdotal evidence though).

The most important part is the layout anyway, and you have to decide that for yourself. I think the minila's thumb Fn keys are an excellent idea, but the rest is nuts IMO… I mean, Delete in the arrow cluster? Seriously? No right Control (see what I did there?) and 1x right Shift? Nope. Especially compared to quite reasonable modern choc mini (late 2011 or newer).

Offline Novus

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #11 on: Sat, 30 August 2014, 05:15:35 »
I think noppoo slightly improved their newer models.
The one I got on massdrop had no QC issues and it's not bad when all is said and done.

Offline Tony

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #12 on: Sat, 30 August 2014, 05:36:57 »
If I were you, I would choose the Noppoo.

Minila's layout and keycaps suck. Noppoo pom keycaps has very good feel.

For switch Filco is better, Noppoo is decent.
Keyboard: Filco MJ1 104 brown, Filco MJ2 87 brown, Compaq MX11800, Noppoo Choc Brown/Blue/Red, IBM Model M 1996, CMStorm Quickfire Rapid Black
Layout: Colemak experience, speed of 67wpm

Offline CaptLock

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #13 on: Sat, 30 August 2014, 09:09:51 »
Filco

Offline Fragil1ty

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #14 on: Sat, 30 August 2014, 11:58:03 »
Hey guys

So I recently moved to a smaller place, so I got a smaller desk.. so I need a smaller keyboard now..

I'm trying to decide on two..

The Filco Minila or the Noppoo Choco Mini


Right, well the Filco is ugly as sin, so that's a no go in my opinion.


I'm always going to suggest the Noppoo because it's been my keyboard of choice for the past 1.5 years, now..


The only downside I'm going to suggest here is that because of the Chinese manufacturing some batches tend to break easier than others, but with that being said, some don't.


The Noppoo is rather cheap, good quality, great keycaps, the list goes on.
你搞砸了

Offline pr1me

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #15 on: Sat, 30 August 2014, 12:09:14 »
FC660M could be an alternative

Offline sashi

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #16 on: Sat, 30 August 2014, 13:13:57 »
after much consideration, I've decided to go with the Filco.. I hope I will be happy with it.

Going to get it on Monday

Offline sashi

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #17 on: Wed, 03 September 2014, 22:09:34 »
so today

I got my Filco Minila

Loving the small size

The small spacebar is actually not a problem as I have pretty small hands.

The small backspace key, I'll have to get used to but the dip switches, I can switch the |\ key with the backspace one so thats a nice option


Offline Fragil1ty

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #18 on: Thu, 04 September 2014, 05:06:09 »
FC660M could be an alternative

I'd go for this to be honest, that's the new board that I'm going to be going for. The Noppoo has and always will be a primary contender in my opinion, but  Noppoo don't seem to be producing as many of them as they once were. I'm not sure what's going on with their company, but it's like the choc mini is just becoming an obsolete product.

In my honest opinion, the Noppoo Choc mini is/was the best board that I've ever used, it was my perfect layout, but with that being said, it has a lot of faults.

  • The longevity just isn't there
  • They tend to break a lot easier than other boards (poor construction maybe)
  • No backplate
  • Debouncing issues on a lot of their models
But with that being said, some of the advantages are:

  • Superior 75%
  • Amazing feeling keys
  • Rather cheap in comparison to some of the other keyboards out there
  • Form factor
To be honest, if you want to get a Noppoo then go ahead, I think it's still a great board and I would never sway anyone from getting one, but maybe it's time to try and move onto better boards, e.g. The FC660m, that's the board I'm going to be getting next and while it's not exactly 75%, it's sturdy, got a backplate, doesn't have a lot of manufacturer issues, has great longevity and looks simply gorgeous.

I hope this helps you in your decision making process.
你搞砸了

Offline CaptLock

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #19 on: Thu, 04 September 2014, 08:57:59 »
Filco

Offline davkol

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Re: Filco Minila or... Noppo?
« Reply #20 on: Thu, 04 September 2014, 09:50:18 »
Filco
Not sure if troll… (hint: over 10 % of captlock's posts simply state "Filco")